The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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| Tonnage | 24,600 tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 753'11" by 95'9" by 22'4" 229.79m by 29.18m by 6.81m |
| Maximum speed |
31 knots |
| Complement | 1592 |
| Aircraft | 745' (227.1m) flight deck 2 elevators 1 catapult 48 aircraft |
| Armament | 8x2 4.5"/45
dual-purpose guns 48 40mm/40 AA guns 8 20mm Oerlikon AA guns |
| Protection | 4.5" (114mm) belt and
bulkheads 1.5" (38mm) hangar sides and bulkheads 3" (76mm) flight deck 3" (76mm) hangar floor 3" (76mm) steering 1.5" (38mm) torpedo holding bulkhead 13'5" (4.1m) torpedo protection depth designed against 750 lb (340kg) TNT |
| Machinery |
3-shaft Parsons geared turbine
(111,000 shp) 6 Admiralty 3-drum boilers |
| Bunkerage | 4850 tons fuel oil 75,100 gallons (284,000 liters) aviation gasoline |
| Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000km) at 14 knots |
| Sensors |
Type
281 air search radar Type 285 fire control radar |
| Modifications |
Light AA armament continually increased,
reaching perhaps as much as 50 20mm AA
guns and 40 40mm guns by 1945. Radars were continually upgraded, eventually including Type 277 height-finder, Type 960 air search, and SM-1 fighter direction Complement rose to about 2000 by 1945. |
The Indomitable was completed in 1941 and was a near-sister to the Illustrious class, but with some improvements based on combat experience with the earlier ships. Her flight deck retained the 3" of armor but was less heavily armored elsewhere, and the reduced top weight allowed the designers to give her a double level hangar (though one level lacked the headroom for the most modern aircraft.) She also carried more aviation gasoline. This meant she could operate a larger group than her half-sisters.
Indomitable was committed to the Pacific War very shortly after it broke out. Her first operation was to fly an entire deck load of Hurricanes (48 aircraft) to Java on 28 January 1942. She was withdrawn to the Mediterranean by mid-1943, but returned to the Far East in July 1944.
References
Gogin (2010; accessed 2012-12-24)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2010 by Kent G. Budge. Index
