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The Italian ocean liner Conte Rosso was laid down in 1914, her career rapidly taking a different course when she was purchased by the Royal Navy for aircraft carrier conversion, and named HMS Argus, nicknamed, "Ditty Box" after her resemblance to a sailor's kit.
Commissioned September 6, 1918, just prior to the close of the First World War, Argus' 'flush deck', her relative slow speed and small size well fit the purpose of aircraft carrier combat and aviation training she would provide throughout her service.
Argus was called to front line service in 1942, to support the heavily damaged carrier fleet, where she joined Task Force H in the western Mediterranean, and later supported Operation Harpoon, and the Allied landing in North Africa. HMS Argus returned to her training role in 1943, served as an accommodation ship in 1944. She was sold for scrap in 1946 and scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1947.
Displacement: 15,750 tons
Length: 576 feet overall; flight deck 470 ft
Beam: 79 ft 6"; flight deck 85 ft
Draft: 22 ft 6"
Propulsion: four Parsons geared turbines @ 20,000 hp
Speed: 20.75 knots
Complement: 272, excluding air group
Aircraft: 18
Range: 4370 nautical miles @ 16 knots
four 1 x 4" AA;
four machine-guns;
four Lewis guns
Read more about HMS Argus here and here.
Sources: Public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
and pictures from my father's 1943 Naval Recognition Manual
Continue the discussion at the Ships Forum or email me (photos of WW2 ships welcome).
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