Scale: 1:192. Waterline model of the aircraft carrier HMS 'Illustrious' (1939). The model is decked, equipped and rigged. It is displayed on a scenic base with the destroyer 'Barfleur' (SLR1576) and assorted small craft. The model is depicted with ten Swordfish aircraft on deck and is shown as it appeared at the end of the Second World War. Built at Barrow by Vickers-Armstrong, ‘Illustrious’ measured 753 feet in length by 95 feet in the beam, displacing 23,000 tons. She carried about 30-40 aircraft. This class of carrier were the first with fully armoured hangars to be built for any navy.

‘Illustrious’ was commissioned into the Navy in May 1940 and after undergoing a working up period, was sent to the Mediterranean at the end of August where a modern fleet carrier was urgently needed to give greater air cover to the Mediterranean Fleet. In September aircraft from ‘Illustrious’ sank the Italian destroyer ‘Aquilone’ off Benghazi. In November of that year its Swordfish took part in the highly successful attack on Taranto. This raid effectively halved the strength of the Italian Fleet and re-established the Royal Navy as the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The following January it took part in Operation Excess (Malta Convoy) and was damaged by bombs after it became apparent that ‘Illustrious’ had been singled out as the main target of enemy attack.

In March 1941 the Lease-Lend agreement between the United States and Britain became law, enabling British ships to be repaired in American yards. Accordingly, it was agreed that ‘Illustrious’ could be repaired at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, and there she was given a major reconstruction.

Between 4 and 6 May 1942, ‘Illustrious’ took part in an assault on the Vichy-French island of Madagascar and on the 7 May its aircraft sank the submarine ‘Le Heros’. After sorties into the Indian Ocean in June and July, ‘Illustrious’ was ordered home for a refit. In September 1943, on returning to the Mediterranean, it provided air cover for the Salerno landings. With the subsequent surrender of the Italian Fleet and with Allied aircraft now able to operate from Sicily, the situation in the Mediterranean was vastly improved and attention was given to reinforcing the Eastern Fleet so that the Allied Fleet could take more of an active part in the war against the Japanese. After a further refit, ‘Illustrious’ returned to the Indian Ocean in early 1944 and took part in various attacks on Japanese naval bases and oil refineries, withstanding several attacks by Kamikazes.

After the war, ‘Illustrious’ acted as a trials carrier for the pilots of various aircraft such as Seafires, Sea Furies and latterly, the new jet-propelled aircraft. It was broken up at Faslane in 1956.