HMS Victorious was the third Illustrious-class aircraft carrier after Illustrious and Formidable. Ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme, she was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939. Her commissioning was delayed until 1941 due to the greater need for escort vessels for service in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Her service in 1941 and 1942 included famous actions against the battleship Bismarck, several Arctic convoys, and Operation Pedestal. She was loaned to the United States Navy in 1943 and served in the south west Pacific as part of the Third Fleet. In 1944 Victorious contributed to several attacks on the Tirpitz. The elimination of the German naval threat allowed her redeployment first to the Eastern Fleet at Colombo and then to the Pacific for the final actions of the war against Japan.
After the war, her service was broken by periods in reserve and, between 1950 and 1958, the most complete reconstruction of any Royal Navy carrier. This involved the construction of new superstructure above the hangar deck level, a new angled flight deck, new boilers and the fitting of Type 984 radar and data links and heavy shipboard computers, able to track 50 targets and assess their priority for interrogation and interception. The reduction of Britain's naval commitment in 1967, the end of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, and a fire while under refit, prompted her final withdrawal from service, three to five years early, and she was scrapped in 1969.
World War II
Bismarck episode
Just two weeks after commissioning in 1941, Victorious took part in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic. Originally intended to be part of the escort for Convoy WS 8B to the Middle East, she was hardly ready to be involved in the hunt for Bismarck with only a quarter of her aircraft complement embarked. Sailing with the battleship , the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and 4 light cruisers, Victorious was hastily deployed to assist in the pursuit.
On 24 May 1941, Victorious launched nine of her biplane Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber aircraft, followed by five Fulmar fighters to track the German battleship. The Swordfish, affectionately known by their crews as "Stringbags", under the command of Eugene Esmonde flew through foul weather and attacked Bismarck in the face of tremendous fire from anti-aircraft guns, scoring a hit to the 320 mm armoured belt with a torpedo. No aircraft were shot down during the attack, but two Fulmars ditched after they could not find the carrier in the dark because a rain squall had moved in and the carrier's homing beacon had failed. Victorious took no further part in the chase; aircraft from Ark Royal disabled Bismarcks steering gear, thus contributing to her sinking three days later. Esmonde received a DSO for his part in the action.
Convoy and other Arctic duties
In early June 1941, while part of the escort for troop convoy WS 8X, a Swordfish of 825 Squadron from Victorious located the German supply ship Gonzenheim north of the Azores. Gonzenheim had been intended to support the Bismarck but was subsequently scuttled when approached by British warships. On 5 June, Victorious was detached to Gibraltar, and with Ark Royal and a naval escort, "flew-off" Hawker Hurricane aircraft to reinforce the besieged British Mediterranean base of Malta (Operation Tracer). Victorious returned to the naval base at Scapa Flow with captured crewmen from Gonzenheim.
In late July 1941, she escorted HMS Adventure via the Arctic to Murmansk with a load of mines. On 31 July she took part in the raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo, in which thirteen of her aircraft were lost.
At the end of August, Victorious escorted the first Allied convoy to Archangel (Operation Dervish) in company with a force of cruisers and destroyers, and then covered the return passage of , which had delivered Hurricane fighters to Murmansk. During early September, she launched more air attacks: against Tromsø (twice), against Vestfjorden, and against shipping off Bodø. On 13 September, aircraft from Victorious sank the Norwegian Hurtigruten coastal steamer Barøy.