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The fourth and last HMS Colossus (R15) had a relatively brief time with the Royal Navy. She was the name-ship of the Colossus-class Light Fleet aircraft carriers, and were basically smaller derivatives of the Illustrious-class carriers. She was launched in 1943 and commissioned in 1944. She served with the British Pacific Fleet from 1945-46, prior to being loaned to France, where she was renamed Arromanches in 1946. While in French service, she participated in the Indo-China conflict in 1948 for three months. She returned to France in 1949 and purchased by them in 1951. The following year, she returned once again to Indo-China, this time as a fully fledged French warship. Between 1958-59 she was reconstructed with a 4 degree angled flight deck.
In 1968 she was converted to an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier, operating up to 24 helicopters. She decommissioned in 1974 after a long and faithful career with the French Navy. She was broken up at Toulon in 1978, a place that had been present to the first Colossus in 1793 and the last in 1978.
See HMS Colossus for other ships of the name.
Colossus Class Statistics
- Displacement: 13,400 tons (13,600 t)
- Length: 695 feet (212 m)
- Beam: 80 feet (24 m)
- Draught: 23.5 feet (7.2 m)
- Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)
- Compliment: 1,300
- Aircraft: 48
- Propulsion: Steam Turbines (4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared turbines)
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