HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard was a British fast battleship built during WWII and commissioned after the war. She was the only ship of her class and was the biggest, fastest and last of the Royal Navy's battleships and the final battleship to be launched in the world.
Work on the ship's design commenced before the war because the Royal Navy anticipated being outnumbered by the combined German and Japanese battleships in the early 1940s. The British had enough 15-inch guns and turrets in storage to allow one ship of a modified Lion-class battleship design to be completed faster than the ships of that class that had already been laid down. Work on Vanguard was started and stopped several times during the war and even after construction had begun, her design was revised several times to reflect war experience. These stoppages and changes prevented her from being completed during the war.
Vanguard's first task after completing her sea trial at the end of 1946 was, early the next year, to convey King George VI and his family on the first Royal Tour of South Africa by a reigning monarch. This photo was apparently taken around that time, because the text on the back of the card notes a pole mast rigged on the mainmast, specifically to carry the Royal Standard during that tour, so I've dated the image as circa 1947.
While refitting after her return, she was selected for another Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1948. This was cancelled due to King George's declining health and Vanguard briefly became flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet in early 1949. After her return home in mid-1949, she became flagship of the Home Fleet Training Squadron.
Throughout her career, the battleship usually served as the flagship of any unit to which she was assigned. During the early 1950s, Vanguard was involved in a number of training exercises with NATO forces. In 1953 she participated in Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Review. While she was refitting in 1955, the Admiralty announced that the ship was going to be put into reserve upon completion of the work. Vanguard was sold for scrap and was broken up beginning in 1960.
Elements of the ship can still be seen today. As part of the scrapping process, sections of 150mm-thick (5.9-inch) steel plate were recovered and used for the shielding of the whole body monitor at the Radiobiological Research Laboratory (now DSTL) at Alverstoke, Gosport in Hampshire.
This image is from a National Maritime Museum Card, No. 218. The photograph is an Admiralty copyright. Other copies of the card are available for sale on-line. I got this card probably in the early 1970s and despite being kept in an album, it has been through the wars. It took a fair amount of tidying-up before I posted it.
HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard was a British fast battleship built during WWII and commissioned after the war. She was the only ship of her class and was the biggest, fastest and last of the Royal Navy's battleships and the final battleship to be launched in the world.
Work on the ship's design commenced before the war because the Royal Navy anticipated being outnumbered by the combined German and Japanese battleships in the early 1940s. The British had enough 15-inch guns and turrets in storage to allow one ship of a modified Lion-class battleship design to be completed faster than the ships of that class that had already been laid down. Work on Vanguard was started and stopped several times during the war and even after construction had begun, her design was revised several times to reflect war experience. These stoppages and changes prevented her from being completed during the war.
Vanguard's first task after completing her sea trial at the end of 1946 was, early the next year, to convey King George VI and his family on the first Royal Tour of South Africa by a reigning monarch. This photo was apparently taken around that time, because the text on the back of the card notes a pole mast rigged on the mainmast, specifically to carry the Royal Standard during that tour, so I've dated the image as circa 1947.
While refitting after her return, she was selected for another Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1948. This was cancelled due to King George's declining health and Vanguard briefly became flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet in early 1949. After her return home in mid-1949, she became flagship of the Home Fleet Training Squadron.
Throughout her career, the battleship usually served as the flagship of any unit to which she was assigned. During the early 1950s, Vanguard was involved in a number of training exercises with NATO forces. In 1953 she participated in Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Review. While she was refitting in 1955, the Admiralty announced that the ship was going to be put into reserve upon completion of the work. Vanguard was sold for scrap and was broken up beginning in 1960.
Elements of the ship can still be seen today. As part of the scrapping process, sections of 150mm-thick (5.9-inch) steel plate were recovered and used for the shielding of the whole body monitor at the Radiobiological Research Laboratory (now DSTL) at Alverstoke, Gosport in Hampshire.
This image is from a National Maritime Museum Card, No. 218. The photograph is an Admiralty copyright. Other copies of the card are available for sale on-line. I got this card probably in the early 1970s and despite being kept in an album, it has been through the wars. It took a fair amount of tidying-up before I posted it.