HMS Victorious in all her pride and glory. This photo appears to show the decommissioning pennant flying. Note the variety of aircraft as she approaches ‘frigate alley’ in Plymouth. Victorious had an illustrious career during World War 2, beginning with the hunt for Bismarck and ending in the theatre of the pacific facing kamikaze pilots. There were four illustrious aircraft carriers built. The Victorious was the last of the class to go, the others were all paid off in the mid-1950s, old and worn out from the War.
Now more than ever the UK shouldn’t forget its modern naval heritage and previous strength. Sometimes I think we all have tendency to think of our past naval strength from the period of Nelson’s navy during the early nineteenth century. Britain still had the world’s largest navy right up until the end of World War Two. Granted we can’t keep up with the modern super power that is America and dare I say it, even China! But we still need to have a viable naval presence with the power to deter. Ship’s like the Victorious were capable units, but unlike the future Queen Elizabeth carriers, their options were not limited because they weren’t the only assets available. In the 2020’s Britain will have two careers in commission if HMS Prince of Wales isn’t mothballed or sold off (there have been many rumours). Most likely they will be rotated as there currently are not enough numbers to man the two at the same time. Unlike the Britain of the twentieth century, the nation will no longer be able to maintain numerous fronts or effective positions of power across the globe. Make no mistake about it. Aircraft carriers are power projection! They are floating sovereign territory that can make a difference to various scenarios by their presence alone. It’s no coincidence that the Chinese are fast building up their carrier groups with their continued global economic strength and ambition.
If you served or know of anyone who had active duty onboard HMS Victorious I’d love to hear any stories that you might have. Please comment.
Meanwhile take a look at some archive footage of the great HMS Victorious with this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIpmmRxutaA
Enjoy!
Naval focus 
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