TRIANG SHIP M753☆"HMS ALBION"☆A COMMAND AIRCRAFT CARRIER IN EXCELLENT CONDITION

Description

"HMS ALBION" Was an aircraft carrier in Her Majesties Navy. She was launched in 1947  and served many important missions, mostly emergency evacuations of UK citizens from various nations' due to political upheavals. She was involved in the following conflicts aka undeclared wars.
1956 - Suez Canal Crisis
1964 - Indonesian Confrontation "The Year of Living Dangerously"
She was sold in 1973.
This model has no box. It is, HOWEVER,  in EXCELLENT CONDITION.
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HMS Albion (R07)
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For other ships with the same name, see
HMS Albion
.
HMS Albion (R07), nicknamed "The Old Grey Ghost of the Borneo Coast",
[1]
was a 22,000-ton
Centaur-class
light fleet carrier
of the
Royal Navy
.

HMS Albion in 1956
HistoryUnited KingdomName:HMS AlbionBuilder:
Swan Hunter
,
Tyne and Wear
,
United Kingdom
Laid down:22 March 1944Launched:16 May 1947Commissioned:26 May 1954Decommissioned:1973Homeport:
HMNB Portsmouth
Identification:
pennant number
: R07Motto:Fortiter, Fideliter, Feliciter(
Latin
: Boldly, Faithfully, Successfully)Fate:ScrappedGeneral characteristicsClass and type:
Centaur-class
aircraft carrier
Displacement:24,000 tonnes full loadLength:737.75 ft (224.87 m)Beam:123 ft (37 m)Draught:27.8 ft (8.5 m)Propulsion:Steam turbines, 4 boilers, 2 shaftsSpeed:28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph)Range:6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)Complement:1596 (including air group)Armament:2 sextuple Bofors
40 mm
AA ; 8 twin Bofors 40 mm ; 4 single Bofors 40 mm ; 4 single 3-pounder saluting gunsArmour:1 to 2-inch (51 mm) flight deckAircraft carried:42 (decreased to 26 with jet fighters)
Construction and modifications
Operational history
Edit
In 1956, after refitting at
Portsmouth
, Albion returned once again to the
Mediterranean Sea
for operations relating to the
Suez Crisis
, where her air group struck key Egyptian airfields, and covered the paratroopers landings. In July 1958, Albion had a sample of what she would one day become, when she embarked
42 Commando Royal Marines
, with all its vehicles and additional equipment to the
Middle East
.
Final fixed-wing complement as embarked in 1959–60:
806 sqn. 8
Sea Hawk
FGA6 Fighter-Attack
894 sqn. 12
Sea Venom
FAW21 Night/All Weather Fighter
849 sqn. D flt. 4
Skyraider
AEW1 Airborne Early Warning
815 sqn. 8
Whirlwind
HAS7 Helicopter Anti-Submarine Warfare
Ships Flight 1
Dragonfly
HR5 Helicopter Search and Rescue
The next two years saw her visit the Far East, Australia, New Zealand and the south Atlantic and Indian Oceans, before she returned to Portsmouth to pay off. She was considered as a replacement for the Australian carrier
HMAS Melbourne
but was rejected
[7]
and in January 1961 conversion begun for her to become a
commando carrier
. She recommissioned in 1962, training with
845
and
846
helicopter squadrons as well as
40 Commando Royal Marines
before she joined the Far East Fleet.
On 26 November 1962 she collided with a tug in
Aden
harbour, killing two of the tug's crew.
[8]
She was a vital asset in supporting operations ashore in Borneo during the
Indonesian Confrontation
. In 1967 she was part of the RN task force that covered the withdrawal from
Aden
, and in 1971 was part of another withdrawal of British forces, this time in
Singapore
and the disbandment of the
Far East Fleet
.

A Douglas Skyraider AEW.1 of the Royal Navy's No. 849 Squadron taking off from HMS Albion
She sailed from Portsmouth in March 1971 for the
Far East
, under the command of Captain James Jungius, RN. She paid a brief visit to
Ascension Island
before visiting
Durban
in April 1971. She was in
Bombay
from 3 to 6 May 1971 and, after a passage of nearly seven weeks the ship embarked 40 Commando Royal Marines off
Changi
for an exercise (set as a counter-terrorist operation in
Brunei
). A ceremonial entry into Singapore followed with
848 Naval Air Squadron
providing a flypast as the air squadron disembarked to
HMS Simbang
. A month alongside in Singapore followed, for an assisted maintenance period (AMP). Having embarked the
Australian Army Band
, the ship sailed Singapore at the end of June for Japan, carrying out a full-power trial and encountering typhoons on passage. Albion was in
Kobe
from 1 to 8 July 1971 and then returned to Singapore. A night assault exercise followed in the Marang area, in company with a number of other warships and auxiliaries.
After a rough passage the ship arrived in
Fremantle
on 9 August 1971 for an eight-day visit, shifting from tropical uniform ("whites") to blue uniform ("blues") for the Australian winter. She returned to Singapore on 23 August and had another month alongside. Sailing Singapore on 20 September, she spent two days at the
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
and arrived
Hong Kong
on 30 September, where she was alongside the British naval base,
HMS Tamar
, until 11 October.
Back in Singapore on 15 October, her last two weeks at the
Singapore Naval Base
were spent storing, embarking 40 Commando Royal Marines and 848 Naval Air Squadron as part of the British withdrawal from the Far East. A farewell parade of all British armed forces represented in Singapore was held at 1730 on 29 October 1971 at the base in
Sembawang
, the salute being taken by
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Brian Burnett. The ship sailed the next day and, on 31 October 1971, the ship was one of twenty in a steampast - and flypast - that marked the handover of the naval base to the
ANZUK
forces. Albion then headed west.
First call was
Gan
and then on to
Mombasa
from 14–22 November, where the ship underwent a week's self-maintenance period (SMP) in
Kilindini harbour
. She then sailed to
Masirah Island
and, as part of the "Gulf Covering Force", assisted with the withdrawal of British forces form the
Persian Gulf
. On 10 December she was detached, at full speed, to the
Bay of Bengal
to aid United Kingdom citizens remaining in
East Pakistan
during the
Indo-Pakistan War
but was diverted to Gan, where she arrived on 15 December. From Gan,
40 Commando Royal Marines
were flown home to the United Kingdom. For the ship, it was Christmas in the Indian Ocean and New Year in Cape Town, from where she sailed on 5 January 1972. Back in home waters, she disembarked
848 Naval Air Squadron
on 20 January and entered Portsmouth on 24 January 1972.
After maintenance and leave, the ship sailed from
Portsmouth
on 11 April 1972, embarking 848 Naval Air Squadron, for the Mediterranean. After a visit to Gibraltar, the ship was lying off
Cyprus
from 20 to 29 April, supporting Royal Marines in an exercise. Then followed a large NATO exercise, "Dawn Patrol", which included visits to
Kavala
,
Greece
, and
Souda Bay
,
Crete
. Returning west for home, with a brief stop at Gibraltar, the ship paid an official visit to
Brest
from 23 to 30 May 1972, flying the flag of the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir Edward Ashmore. The ship returned to Portsmouth on the last day of May and, in the first week of June, Captain
William Staveley
RN assumed command.
June 1972 saw the ship carrying out demonstrations at sea for officers from the
Royal College of Defence Studies
and, on 14 June, she headed north for
Rosyth
, where the ship received a visit from the
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
. Having embarked
45 Command Royal Marines
and
848 Naval Air Squadron
in the
Firth of Forth
, she sailed north for exercises in waters around the
Orkney Islands
. She was in
Rotterdam
from 28 June to 4 July 1972 and, on 8 July 848 Naval Air Squadron disembarked Albion for the last time, before the ship spent Clyde Week in
Greenock
. Her last United Kingdom port visit was to
Dover
, marking the ship's adoption by the
Confederation of Cinque Ports
. On 18 July, she held a Families' Day in Portsmouth before going alongside in the naval base for leave and maintenance.
In September 1972 Albion took part in Exercise "Strong Express", then the largest NATO exercise ever staged, in Norwegian waters around
Harstad
. Her final deployment was to Canada, and she sailed from Portsmouth on 10 October 1972, embarking
42 Commando
Royal Marines and
845 Naval Air Squadron
the next day. She arrived in
Saint John, New Brunswick
, on 19 October and landed 42 Commando for exercises ashore with Canadian forces and, two days later,
Halifax
,
Nova Scotia
, for a nine-day visit hosted by HMCS Stadacona. She began her passage along the
Saint Lawrence Seaway
on 31 October, arriving in
Montreal
two days later. With 150 sea cadets embarked, she sailed from Montreal at 0830 on 7 November and arrived in
Quebec
at 2030 the same day. Sailing 10 November, she called at Saint John on 13 November in order to recover 42 Commando, finally departing Canadian waters on 15 November and heading East across the North Atlantic. At 0800 on 22 November, Albion anchored in
Plymouth Sound
and disembarked 42 Commando, 845 Naval Air Squadron and Kangaw Flight RM. Sailing from Plymouth the next day, she entered Portsmouth Harbour at 1430 on 24 November 1972, flying her paying-off
pennant
, with a fly-past by 845 Naval Air Squadron. The usual activities then began before disposal of the ship: de-ammunitioning, returning equipment, the last ship's company dance (ashore), the wardroom paying-off ball and, daily, an exodus of members of the ship's company.
Fate
Edit
In 1973, Albion was sold for conversion to a heavy lift vessel for
North Sea oil
exploration. The plan collapsed and she was instead broken up for scrap at
Faslane Naval Base
.
References
Publications
External links
Last edited 2 months ago
by
Chris the speller
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