HMS Furious

HMS Furious was one of the most important aircraft carriers in the history of naval aviation, a ship that began life as a large light cruiser during the First World War and was repeatedly rebuilt until she became a full-deck fleet carrier. She carried out the first successful carrier landing, launched the first carrier air strikes against land targets, and served through the Second World War in Norway, the Mediterranean, and the Arctic, ferrying fighter aircraft to Malta and supporting the invasion of North Africa. Her long career, from 1917 to 1944, spanned the entire development of the aircraft carrier from experiment to the capital ship of the Second World War.

1. Key Facts

Field	Value
Type	Aircraft carrier (converted from a large light cruiser)
Country	United Kingdom
Builder	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick
Laid down	8 June 1915
Launched	15 August 1916
Commissioned as carrier	1917 (full flight deck 1925)
Displacement	About 22,500 tons (full load, as carrier)
Length	240 metres (786 feet)
Beam	27 metres (89 feet)
Propulsion	Steam turbines, 90,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	About 30 knots
Complement	About 1,200 officers and men, including air group
Aircraft carried	About 36–48 (varied by period)
Main armament	10 × 5.5-inch guns (as built); later anti-aircraft guns
Armour	Belt 2–3 inches; deck 0.75–1 inch
Main theatres	North Sea 1917–1918; Norway 1940; Mediterranean 1941–1943; Arctic 1942–1944
Fate	Paid off 1944; sold for scrap 1948

2. Origins and Conversion

The Large Light Cruiser Concept

HMS Furious was ordered in 1915 as one of the large light cruisers designed by Admiral Lord Fisher, who wanted fast, lightly armoured ships armed with very heavy guns for operations in the shallow Baltic Sea. She was built with two single 18-inch guns, the largest ever mounted on a British warship other than a monitor, and a speed of about 31 knots. The concept was controversial from the start, because the ships were too large and too weakly protected for the battle line, yet too expensive for cruiser work. Before Furious was even completed, the Admiralty decided that her forward turret would be replaced by a flying-off deck for aircraft, and she entered service in 1917 as a strange hybrid, with a flight deck forward and a single 18-inch gun aft.

The First Carrier Landings

Furious made naval aviation history in August 1917, when Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup on her forward flying-off deck, the first time an aircraft had landed on a moving ship. Dunning was killed a few days later in a second attempt, when his aircraft was blown over the side, but the experiment proved that a ship could recover aircraft at sea. In 1918, Furious was fitted with a landing deck aft as well, and on 19 July 1918 her Sopwith Camels launched the Tondern raid, the first carrier air strike in history, destroying two German Zeppelin sheds in Denmark. The raid showed that aircraft carriers could project power far beyond the range of a ship’s guns, and it shaped the development of carrier aviation for the next generation.

Rebuilding as a Full-Deck Carrier

Between 1921 and 1925, Furious was rebuilt at Devonport into a full-deck aircraft carrier, with a continuous flight deck, a small island on the starboard side, hangars below, and a funnel that discharged smoke through the side of the ship. The rebuilding removed her 18-inch guns and most of her heavy armament, and gave her an aircraft capacity of about 36 aircraft. She was one of the first three British carriers with a full flight deck, alongside her half-sisters Courageous and Glorious, and she became a test bed for carrier operations, deck landing procedures, and aircraft handling throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Her crews and airmen learned the routines of launching, recovering, spotting, and fuelling aircraft at sea that later became standard practice in the Royal Navy and in other navies.

Life Between the Wars

During the interwar years, Furious served with the Atlantic Fleet and the Home Fleet, taking part in fleet exercises, royal reviews, and visits to foreign ports, and she trained successive generations of naval aviators. Her air groups flew a succession of biplane types, including the Fairey Flycatcher fighter, the Blackburn Dart torpedo bomber, and the Fairey IIIF reconnaissance aircraft, and later the first monoplane naval aircraft. She was refitted several times, receiving improved anti-aircraft guns and better aircraft-handling equipment, but by 1939 she was showing her age, with a slower speed than the new fleet carriers Ark Royal and Illustrious. Nevertheless, when war broke out in September 1939, Furious was immediately available, and her experience and her aircraft made her a valuable asset in the first months of the war.

3. Technical Design

Hull, Machinery, and Speed

Furious was a long, narrow ship, 240 metres in length, built for speed, with steam turbines driving four shafts and producing about 90,000 shaft horsepower. Her designed speed of about 30 knots made her one of the fastest capital ships of her day, and speed remained her best defence, since her armour was thin. Her belt armour was only 2 to 3 inches thick, and her deck armour was less than an inch, which meant that she could not stand in a gun action against a cruiser or a battleship. Her machinery spaces were large and vulnerable, and her long hull made her a difficult ship to manoeuvre in confined waters. In practice, her speed allowed her to operate with the fleet and to outrun surface raiders, but by the Second World War, her machinery was worn, and her speed had fallen to about 28 knots.

Flight Deck and Aircraft Handling

The flight deck of Furious, after her 1925 rebuild, was about 175 metres long and 27 metres wide, with a small island on the starboard side containing the bridge and the funnel uptakes. She had two hangars, served by two lifts, and she could carry between 36 and 48 aircraft, depending on the type and the mission. Her aircraft-handling arrangements were improved over the years, with the fitting of arrester gear, crash barriers, and better lighting for night operations. The ship was cramped by the standards of later carriers, and her hangars were low, which limited the size of the aircraft she could carry. Nevertheless, her crews became expert at operating aircraft in bad weather and in the North Atlantic, and Furious was known as a happy and efficient ship, with a reputation for good airmanship.

Armament and Protection

Furious was never heavily armed as a carrier, because her role was to launch and recover aircraft rather than to fight surface actions. Her original 5.5-inch guns were gradually replaced by anti-aircraft weapons, and by the Second World War she carried a mixture of 4-inch anti-aircraft guns, 2-pounder pom-poms, and 20-millimetre Oerlikon cannon. Her anti-aircraft armament was improved during the war, but she was never as well protected as the later Illustrious-class carriers, which had armoured flight decks. Her protection depended on her escorting destroyers and cruisers, and on her own aircraft, and she was never sent into waters where enemy surface ships or heavy air attack were expected without a strong escort. Her thin armour was a weakness, but it was the price of her speed and her large aircraft capacity.

4. Service in the First World War

The Tondern Raid

The Tondern raid of 19 July 1918 was the most famous operation of Furious in the First World War, and it remains a landmark in naval history. Seven Sopwith Camels, launched from her deck in the North Sea, flew to the German airship base at Tondern in Denmark, now Tønder, and dropped bombs on the Zeppelin sheds, destroying two airships, L.54 and L.60, and damaging the base. The aircraft could not land back on the ship, because Furious had no landing deck at the time, and the pilots either ditched in the sea or flew on to neutral Denmark, where they were interned. The raid was a tactical success and a strategic warning, showing that aircraft carriers could strike at targets far inland. It also showed the limitations of early carriers, which could launch aircraft but could not recover them.

Patrols and the North Sea

For the rest of the First World War, Furious served with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea, carrying out patrols, escorting convoys, and taking part in fleet sweeps against the German High Seas Fleet. Her aircraft provided reconnaissance and spotting for the fleet, and they searched for German submarines and Zeppelins, though they achieved few sinkings. The war ended before Furious could be fully developed as a carrier, but her service had proved the concept, and the Royal Navy decided after the war to rebuild her as a full-deck carrier. Her First World War career was short but influential, and the lessons learned from her operations, including the need for a landing deck and for proper arrester gear, were applied to the design of the next generation of British carriers.

5. The Norwegian Campaign of 1940

Air Cover for the Landings

When Germany invaded Norway in April 1940, Furious was one of the first British carriers sent north, and she provided air cover for the landings at Narvik and for the evacuation of Allied troops. Her aircraft, Skuas and Gladiators, flew patrols over the fjords, attacked German shipping and troops, and defended the fleet against Luftwaffe bombers. The Norwegian campaign was fought in terrible weather, with short days, snow, and high seas, and Furious operated in conditions that tested her aircraft and her crew to the limit. Her airmen flew from a pitching deck in darkness and in snowstorms, and they achieved useful results, but the campaign ended in defeat, and Furious was among the ships that covered the evacuation of British and French troops in June 1940.

The Loss of Glorious

The Norwegian campaign ended in tragedy for the Royal Navy when the carrier Glorious, one of the half-sisters of Furious, was sunk by the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on 8 June 1940, with the loss of more than 1,200 men. Furious had narrowly avoided the same fate, because she had left the area to refuel, and the loss of Glorious was a shock to the Navy and a warning about the vulnerability of carriers without adequate escort. Furious was refitted after Norway, receiving improved anti-aircraft guns and radar, and she was assigned to the Home Fleet, where she took part in patrols against German raiders and in the hunt for the battleship Bismarck in May 1941, though she did not make contact with the German ship.

6. Malta Convoys and Ferry Duties

The Club Runs

From 1941 to 1943, Furious was used extensively as an aircraft ferry, carrying Spitfire fighters to Malta in the famous Club Runs, in which carriers sailed to a point south of the Balearic Islands and flew off their aircraft to the island. Malta was under siege, and its air defences depended on a regular supply of new Spitfires, which could only be delivered by carrier. Furious made several of these runs, working with the carriers Ark Royal, Eagle, and Argus, and later with the American carrier Wasp. The Club Runs were dangerous, because the carriers had to sail within range of German and Italian bombers based in Sicily and Sardinia, but they were essential to the survival of Malta, and Furious played a central part in them.

Operation Pedestal and the Mediterranean

Furious took part in Operation Pedestal in August 1942, the great convoy to Malta, flying off 38 Spitfires to the island on 11 August. The convoy was attacked by German and Italian aircraft, submarines, and surface ships, and it suffered heavy losses, but the Spitfires delivered by Furious helped to defend Malta against the Luftwaffe, and the convoy got through. Furious also took part in the invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch, in November 1942, providing air cover for the landings in Algeria, and in operations off Sicily in 1943. Her Mediterranean service was the most important of her Second World War career, and it showed that an old carrier, properly handled, could still make a vital contribution to a modern war.

7. Arctic Service and the Tirpitz Raids

Convoys to Russia

In 1942 and 1943, Furious escorted Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union, providing air cover against German aircraft and submarines in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea. The Arctic convoys were among the most dangerous operations of the war, fought in darkness, ice, and storms, and Furious operated in conditions that were worse than any she had faced before. Her aircraft flew patrols in temperatures far below freezing, and her deck crews worked in snow and ice, but the convoys got through, and Furious earned the respect of the merchant seamen and the Soviet sailors who depended on her. Her Arctic service was a reminder that the carrier, even an old one, was a versatile ship that could operate in any climate.

Strikes Against the Tirpitz

In April 1944, Furious took part in Operation Tungsten, the Fleet Air Arm strike against the German battleship Tirpitz at anchor in Altafjord in northern Norway, flying off Barracuda dive-bombers that hit the German ship with fourteen bombs. The attack damaged Tirpitz and killed many of her crew, though it did not sink her, and it was followed by further strikes in which Furious took part. These operations were the last of her active career, and they showed that the Fleet Air Arm had learned to carry out precision strikes against a heavily defended target. Furious was paid off in September 1944, after twenty-seven years of service, and she was sold for scrap in 1948, ending the career of one of the most historic ships in the Royal Navy.

8. Strengths

Pioneering Role and Versatility

The greatest strength of Furious was her pioneering role in naval aviation, because she was the ship on which the Royal Navy learned how to operate aircraft at sea. She carried out the first carrier landing, the first carrier air strike, and the first successful operations of a full-deck carrier, and the lessons learned from her service were applied to every British carrier that followed. Her versatility was also a strength, because she could serve as a fleet carrier, an aircraft ferry, a convoy escort, and a strike carrier, and she did all of these jobs well. Her long service, from 1917 to 1944, showed that a well-built ship, properly maintained and repeatedly modernised, could remain useful long after her original design had become obsolete.

Speed and Aircraft Capacity

Furious was fast, with a speed of about 30 knots, which allowed her to operate with the fleet and to launch aircraft in almost any wind. Her aircraft capacity of 36 to 48 aircraft was large for her time, and it allowed her to carry a balanced air group of fighters, torpedo bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft. Her speed and her capacity made her a useful ship in the Mediterranean and in the Arctic, where she had to operate far from base and in bad weather. Her crews were experienced and efficient, and they could launch and recover aircraft in conditions that would have defeated a less well-trained ship. Her speed and her aircraft capacity were the reasons why she was kept in service long after her half-sisters had been lost.

9. Weaknesses and Legacy

Thin Armour and Age

The main weakness of Furious was her thin armour and her age, because she had been built as a lightly protected cruiser, not as a warship designed to survive battle damage. Her belt armour of 2 to 3 inches and her deck armour of less than an inch could not stop a bomb or a shell, and her machinery spaces were large and vulnerable. By the Second World War, her machinery was worn, her speed had fallen, and her hangars were too low for the latest aircraft. She was kept out of the most dangerous waters, and she was never sent against a modern enemy carrier or battleship. Her age and her thin protection were the reasons why she was paid off in 1944, while younger carriers continued to serve.

Legacy in Naval Aviation

The legacy of Furious is the aircraft carrier itself, because she was the ship that proved the concept and taught the Royal Navy how to use it. Every British carrier that followed, from Ark Royal to the modern Queen Elizabeth class, owes something to the experiments and the operations carried out on Furious. Her name is remembered in naval history as the first carrier to land an aircraft, the first to launch an air strike, and one of the longest-serving carriers of the Second World War. She was scrapped in 1948, but her contribution to naval aviation is permanent, and her career remains a case study in how a ship can be adapted, rebuilt, and reused for a completely different purpose from the one for which she was designed.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was HMS Furious built?
Furious was laid down in June 1915, launched in August 1916, and commissioned in 1917 as a large light cruiser with a flying-off deck. She was rebuilt as a full-deck aircraft carrier between 1921 and 1925.

What was the first carrier landing?
On 2 August 1917, Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup on the forward deck of Furious while she was under way, the first time an aircraft had landed on a moving ship.

What was the Tondern raid?
On 19 July 1918, seven Sopwith Camels from Furious bombed the German Zeppelin sheds at Tondern in Denmark, destroying two airships. It was the first carrier air strike in history.

How did Furious serve in the Second World War?
She served in Norway in 1940, ferried Spitfires to Malta in the Club Runs, took part in Operation Pedestal and Operation Torch, escorted Arctic convoys, and struck the battleship Tirpitz in 1944.

How many aircraft could Furious carry?
She could carry about 36 to 48 aircraft, depending on the type and the mission, with two hangars served by two lifts.

What happened to HMS Furious after the war?
She was paid off in September 1944 and sold for scrap in 1948, after twenty-seven years of service.

Sources

• The Imperial War Museum, HMS Furious collection and photograph archive
• Norman Friedman, British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft
• David Hobbs, The British Pacific Fleet and British Carrier Operations
• The Royal Navy, Naval Staff History: The Norwegian Campaign and the Mediterranean
• Geoffrey Till, Air Power and the Royal Navy, 1914–1945
• The Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, carrier aviation exhibits