HMS Perseus (R51)
Perseus at anchor
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Perseus |
| Namesake: | Perseus |
| Ordered: | 14 March 1942 |
| Builder: | Vickers-Armstrongs, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Laid down: | 1 January 1943 |
| Launched: | 26 March 1944 |
| Completed: | 19 October 1945 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: R51 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, May 1958 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Colossus-class aircraft maintenance ship |
| Displacement: | |
| Length: | 695 ft (211.8 m) |
| Beam: | 80 ft 4 in (24.49 m) |
| Draught: | 23 ft (7.0 m) (deep load) |
| Installed power: | 40,000 shp (30,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
| Range: | 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement: | 1,076 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
6 × Type 262 gunnery radars |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | None |
HMS Perseus was a Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The ship was initially named Edgar, but she was renamed in 1944 when the Admiralty decided to convert her into an aircraft maintenance carrier. She was completed in 1945, after the end of World War II, and she made a trip to Australia late in the year. Upon her return to the UK in early 1946, Perseus was placed in reserve. The ship was recommissioned in 1950 to serve as the trials ship for the steam catapult then under development. Over 1,600 test launches were conducted before the catapult was removed in 1952 and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier to transport aircraft, troops and equipment overseas. She was reduced to reserve again in 1954 and sold for scrap in 1958.
The Colossus-class carriers were intended to meet a shortage of naval flight decks. Their design was based on that of the Illustrious class, but modified to permit rapid construction in commercial yards. Perseus was not completed to her original design; the success of the maintenance aircraft carrier Unicorn prompted modification of the ship, whilst under construction, to an aircraft maintenance ship without aircraft catapults.
Perseus had an overall length of 695 feet (211.8 m), a beam of 80 feet 4 inches (24.5 m), and a draught of 23 feet (7.0 m) at deep load. She displaced 12,265 long tons (12,462 t) at standard load. Each of the ship's two sets of Parsons geared steam turbines drove one propeller shaft. Steam was supplied by four Admiralty three-drum water-tube boilers operating at a pressure of 400 psi (2,758 kPa; 28 kgf/cm2). The turbines were designed for a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) and gave Perseus a speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). The ship carried 3,196 long tons (3,247 t) of fuel oil which gave her a range of 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).
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