Editing Centaur-class aircraft carrier (section)

==Ships==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!ID
!Builder
!Laid down
!Launched
!Commissioned
!Decommissioned
!Fate
|-
|HMS Centaur
|R06
|[[Harland and Wolff]]
|30-May-44
|22-Apr-47
|01-Sep-53
|1965
|Scrapped  in 1972-73
|-
|HMS Hermes
|61/
R12
|[[Vickers-Armstrong]]
|21-Jun-44
|16-Feb-53
|25-Nov-59
|1984
|[[INS Viraat (R22)|Sold to India,  1986]],
[[INS Viraat (R22)|Renamed Viraat, scrapped 2021]]
|-
|HMS Bulwark
|R08
|[[Harland & Wolff]]
|10-May-45
|22-Jun-48
|04-Nov-54
|Apr-81
|Scrapped 1984
|-
|HMS Albion
|R07
|Swan  Hunter,
|22-Mar-44
|16-May-47
|26-May-54
|1973
|Scrapped  1973
|}<!-- In the order as listed in Hobbs' "British Aircraft Carriers." -->

===''Hermes'' (cancelled)===
''Hermes'' was the original name-ship of the class. She was ordered from [[Cammell Laird]] of [[Birkenhead]] on 12 July 1943. No work had been done when construction was ordered to be deferred in early 1944. The ship was cancelled on 15 October 1945. The name was transferred to ''Elephant''.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

===''Centaur''===
{{main|HMS Centaur (R06)|l1=HMS ''Centaur'' (R06)}}
''Centaur'' was the first ship completed and the only one completed to the original design. She was ordered from [[Harland & Wolff]] on 12 July 1943 and laid down on 30 May 1944. Construction was halted for two years. The ship was completed on 1 September 1953 and commissioned on 17 September. An interim 5.5-degree angled deck was fitted at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth Dockyard]] from October 1953 to May 1954.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> ''Centaur'' underwent a limited modernisation refit{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=312}} from September 1956 to September 1958 during which the hydraulic catapults were replaced by BS-4 steam catapults;{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=267}} features required to operate modern strike aircraft, like a fully angled flight deck, were not fitted due to yard capacity issues.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=312}} Afterwards, she was limited to mainly Sea Vixen fighters and [[Fairey Gannet]] [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW) aircraft.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=312}}

''Centaur'' operated as an aircraft carrier and a helicopter assault ship during the suppression of the [[Tanganyika Rifles]] in 1964.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=346}} She decommissioned for the last time on 27 September 1965 and became an accommodation ship for the remainder of her life.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> Plans to convert the ship into a helicopter carrier were cancelled in 1966.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=346}}<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> The hulk was sold for scrapping on 11 August 1972.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

===''Albion''===
{{main|HMS Albion (R07)|l1=HMS ''Albion'' (R07)}}
''Albion'' was ordered from [[Swan Hunter]] on 12 July 1943 and laid down at [[Wallsend|Wallsend-on-Tyne]] on 23 March 1944. Work slowed after 1945. The hull was launched on 6 May 1947 and then laid-up with machinery installed; construction resumed after August 1949. She was commissioned on 26 May 1954 as the first carrier ever to be completed with both an angled flight deck - an interim 5.5-degree one - and [[Optical landing system|mirror landing aids]].<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> She participated in [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Operation Musketeer]] during the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

''Albion'' was to have been modernised with steam catapults after ''Centaur'', but this was cancelled after the [[1957 Defence White Paper|1957 defence policy review]].{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=267}} Instead, she became the second ship of the class - after ''Bulwark'' - to be converted into a helicopter assault ship; the refit was done at Portsmouth Dockyard from February 1961 to July 1962. ''Albion'' could carry 900 troops, a greater number than her sister's due to a more extensive conversion; ''Bulwark'' was later refitted to a similar standard.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=346}} Another defence review in 1973 led to ''Albion'' being discarded - rather than being refitted - to pay for {{HMS|Invincible|R05}}.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}} She was decommissioned for the last time on 2 March 1973,<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> to be replaced by {{HMS|Hermes|R12}} when the latter's conversion to a helicopter assault ship was completed in August 1973.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}} ''Albion'' was sold on 22 October 1973 to be converted into a heavy-lift crane to support the [[North Sea]] oil industry; the scheme fell through{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}}<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> and the hull was sold for scrapping a few weeks later.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

===''Bulwark''===
{{main|HMS Bulwark (R08)|l1=HMS ''Bulwark'' (R08)}}
''Bulwark'' was ordered from Harland & Wolff on 12 July 1943, but deferred in early 1944. She was laid down on 10 May 1945, becoming the fourth ship of the class instead of ''Monmouth'' which [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield]] had been unable to start construction of in 1944. Work slowed after the war. The carrier was commissioned on 29 October 1954, and was completed with an interim 5.5-degree angled flight deck on 4 November.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> ''Bulwark'' served as a trials and training carrier in 1955 and 1956,<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> replacing {{HMS|Illustrious|87}} which was laid up in December 1954 and sold for scrapping in November 1956.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch11">Hobbs 2014: chapter 11: Illustrious class - first group</ref> The carrier returned to operational status in August 1956 and participated in Operation Musketeer during the Suez Crisis in November.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

The 1957 defence policy review led to ''Bulwark'' being converted into a helicopter assault ship rather than being modernised for fixed-wing aircraft.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=267}} The initial conversion was done at Portsmouth Dockyard from January 1959 to January 1960, with another refit occurring in 1963 to match the more extensive conversion of ''Albion''.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=346}} In June 1968,<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> she demonstrated - for the first time - the reinforcement of [[Norway]] by assault carriers{{sfn|Friedman|1988|pp=346-347}} during [[NATO]] Exercise ''Polar Express''.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

The carrier was reduced to reserve in April 1976.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> In 1978, {{HMS|Ark Royal|R09}} was retired before the {{sclass|Invincible|aircraft carrier}}s entered service;{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=349}}<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> ''Bulwark'' was refitted in 1977-1979{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=349}} and returned to service on 23 February 1979 to fill the gap.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=349}}<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> The ship suffered a boiler room fire in March 1980; the damage was not fully repaired and her maximum speed was decreased. Another major fire, coupled with the ship's poor material state, led to her retirement six months earlier than planned; she decommissioned for the last time on 27 March 1981. The hull was used for demolitions training by the [[Royal Marines]]. A proposal to convert the hull into an aircraft maintenance carrier for the [[Falklands War]] was rejected due to her poor condition and insufficient equipment. ''Bulwark'' was sold for scrapping in 1984.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

===''Hermes'' (ex-''Elephant'')===
{{main|HMS Hermes (R12)|l1=HMS ''Hermes'' (R12)|INS Viraat|l2=INS ''Viraat''}}
''Elephant'' was ordered from [[Vickers-Armstrongs]] on 12 July 1943 and laid down at [[Barrow-in-Furness]] on 21 June 1944. She was renamed as ''Hermes'' on 5 November 1945 following the cancellation of the name-ship of the class.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/> Construction was protracted due to work on the higher-priority {{HMAS|Melbourne|R21}} and major design revisions. The ship was launched in 1953 only to undergo full modernisation that required partial disassembly and reconstruction; steam catapults, a full 8-degree angled flight deck, a side lift instead of a forward centreline lift, the [[Comprehensive Display System]] (CDS), and the [[Type 984 radar]] were installed. ''Hermes'' completed builder's trials on 18 November 1959 and was commissioned on 25 November.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch28"/>

''Hermes'' was converted into a helicopter assault ship at Portsmouth Dockyard from 1 March 1971 to 14 August 1973;{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}} the steam catapults, arrestor gear, CDS, and the Type 984 were removed. She was refitted as an ASW carrier in 1977.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch28"/> The carrier trialled the Sea Harrier in 1977-1978.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}} From May 1980 to 9 May 1981{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}} she was refitted at Portsmouth into a general-purpose carrier operating Sea Harriers, and ASW and [[air assault]] helicopters; a 12-degree [[Ski-jump (aviation)|ski-jump]]<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch28"/> and [[Ferranti]] 1600E computer were installed.{{sfn|Friedman|1988|p=347}} She was the flagship of the British task force during the Falklands War in 1982.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch28"/>

''Hermes'' paid off for the last time on 22 November 1983 and sold to India after the completion of {{HMS|Ark Royal|R07}}. She was refitted at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] for a year and then commissioned into the [[Indian Navy]] as INS ''Viraat'' on 12 May 1987.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch28"/> ''Viraat'' decommissioned on 6 March 2017,<ref name="in_viraat">{{cite web |title=INS Viraat Decommissioned |url=https://www.indiannavy.nic.in/content/ins-viraat-decommissioned |website=Indian Navy |date=6 March 2017 |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref> and scrapped starting in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nair |first1=Avinash |title=Dismantling INS Viraat at Alang, one piece of history after the other |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/dismantling-ins-viraat-7160312/ |website=Indian Express |date=26 January 2021 |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>

===''Arrogant''===
''Arrogant'' was ordered from Swan Hunter on 12 July 1943, deferred in early 1944, and then cancelled on 15 October 1945. No work appears to have been done. She was to be built at Wallsend-on-Tyne.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

===''Monmouth''===
''Monmouth'' was ordered from the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company on 12 July 1943. She was to have been one of the four ships to start construction in 1944, but Fairfield was too overloaded to do so; ''Bulwark'' replaced ''Monmouth'' as the fourth ship in 1945. ''Monmouth'' was cancelled on 15 October 1945 with no work apparently having been done.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>

===''Polyphemus''===
''Polyphemus'' was ordered from Devonport Dockyard on 11 August 1943, to be constructed after [[HMAS Sydney (R17)|HMS ''Terrible'']]. Construction was deferred in late 1943 and cancelled on 15 October 1945. [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons Marine Engineering]] received orders for machinery before the deferral; the orders were cancelled before the ship was. The [[slipway]] would have required a slight extension to build the carrier; Fore Street was purchased to make room and walled off, and was only returned to [[Plymouth]] in 2005.<ref name="hobbs_2014_ch25"/>