Editing Illustrious-class aircraft carrier (section)

==Ships in class==
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
!scope="col"|Name
!scope="col"|[[Pennant number|Pennant]]
!scope="col"|Builder
!scope="col"|Ordered
!scope="col"|[[Laid down]]
!scope="col"|[[Ceremonial ship launching|Launched]]
!scope="col"|[[Ship commissioning|Commissioned]]
!scope="col"|Fate
|-
!scope="row"|{{HMS|Illustrious|87|2}}
|87
|[[Vickers-Armstrongs]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
|13 April 1937
|27 April 1937
|5 April 1939
|25 May 1940
|Broken up at [[Gare Loch]], 1957
|-
!scope="row"|{{HMS|Formidable|67|2}}
|67
|[[Harland and Wolff|Harland & Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
|19 March 1937
|17 June 1937
|17 August 1939
|24 November 1940
|Broken up at [[Inverkeithing]], 1953
|-
!scope="row"|{{HMS|Victorious|R38|2}}
|38
|[[Vickers-Armstrongs]], [[Wallsend]]
|13 January 1937
|4 May 1937
|14 September 1939
|14 May 1941
|Broken up at Faslane, 1969
|-
!scope="row"|{{HMS|Indomitable|92|2}}
|92
|[[Vickers-Armstrongs]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
|6 July 1937
|10 November 1937
|26 March 1940
|10 October 1941
|Broken up at [[Faslane]], 1955
|}

===Fate of the class===
[[File:HMS Victorious (R38) aerial c1959.jpeg|thumb|''Victorious'' in 1959]]
All four early ships were hard worked during the Second World War, with ''Illustrious'' and ''Formidable'' suffering and surviving heavy damage. Like their contemporary {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6}}, they fought a long and consuming war, and, despite significant overhauls and repair of battle damage, were worn out by 1946, and were scrapped in the mid-1950s. Due to a variety of factors including [[Economic history of the United Kingdom#1945–1951: Age of Austerity|Britain's dire post-war finances]], and the consequent [[Royal Navy#Postwar period and early 21st century|reductions in the size of the Royal Navy]] post-war modernization was limited to just the last of the class; ''Victorious''. Over eight years between 1950 and 1957 she was extensively rebuilt incorporating modern equipment (angled flight deck, steam catapults) to enable her to operate [[Cold War]]-era jet aircraft. Although ''Victorious'' completed a refit in 1967, a minor fire with a manpower shortage and reduction in the naval budgets mean she was not recommissioned but retired in 1968 and sold for scrap. ''Indomitable'' was given an extensive refit, including new boilers, from 1948 to 1950, then served as flagship of the Home Fleet and also saw service in the Mediterranean. She suffered a hangar deck [[Gasoline|petrol]] explosion and fire in early 1953. She was placed in reserve after Queen Elizabeth II's October [[Fleet review|1953 Coronation Review]] and was then scrapped in 1955.<ref>Friedman, p. 153</ref>