HMS Illustrious
The Fairey Swordfish Torpedo Bomber
By Phil ZimmerRadar, atomic bombs, jet engines and early cruise missiles were among the numerous technological advances of World War II. Read more
HMS Illustrious
“I Survived the USS Franklin Inferno”
By George F. Black, as told to Howard DunbarOn March 19, 1945, the Essex-class carrier USS Franklin (CV-13), dubbed “Big Ben,” lay 50 miles off Honshu, one of Japan’s Home Islands. Read more
HMS Illustrious
Mission to Madagascar: British Assault on Diego Suarez Port
By Cleve C. BarkleyIn early 1942 things could have hardly looked bleaker for the Allies. In Europe, Hitler’s war machine had steamrolled across the entire continent and was now battling before the gates of Moscow. Read more
HMS Illustrious
Divine Wind Over Okinawa
By Kelly BellApril 1, 1945, was Easter Sunday and April Fool’s Day. It was also the day the U.S. Army and Marine Corps launched Operation Iceberg, their massive amphibious assault on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Read more
HMS Illustrious
Royal Navy Ravaged
By Michael D. HullHistory was made in the Mediterranean Sea on the night of Monday, November 11, 1940, when the Italian Navy’s battle fleet was devastated at Taranto, off the Ionian coast of southern Italy. Read more
HMS Illustrious
Operation Pedestal: The Rescue of Malta
By Michael D. HullLocated 58 miles south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, the rocky, 122-square-mile island of Malta was the hinge upon which all Allied operations in the Middle East turned during the first half of World War II. Read more
HMS Illustrious
The Fairey Swordfish Torpedo Plane a.k.a. Stringbag
By Glenn BarnettThe spring of 1941, particularly the month of May, was a troubled time for Great Britain. The German battleship Bismarck had sunk the huge British battlecruiser Hood in just six minutes and was making a getaway to the coast of German-occupied France. Read more
HMS Illustrious
HMS Upholder Fought In Mediterranean To Defeat Rommel In North Africa
By Robert Barr SmithShe was a tiny vessel, not really designed for the dangers and hardships of war in far places and deep waters. Read more
HMS Illustrious
The HMS Illustrious & Other Armored British Carriers Left Their Mark
By Sam McGowanWhen one thinks of carrier warfare in World War II, the Japanese and U.S. navies usually come to mind. Read more
