FADED GLORY



HMS Venerable (R63) was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She served for only the last few months of World War II, and in 1948 she was sold to the Netherlands and renamed HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) and taking part in the military clash in 1962 in Western New Guinea(now, Papua and Papua Barat, in Indonesia)







The Royal Netherlands Navy acquired the Colossus class Venerable in 1948, and commissioned her as HNLMS Karel Doorman. Initially, the carrier operated piston-engined aircraft, but underwent modernisation from 1955 to 1958, including a steam catapult, reinforced flight deck and aircraft lifts, and an 8° angled deck.[ Between the upgrade and 1964, Karel Doorman possessed a mixed air group of jet fighters, anti-submarine aircraft, and helicopters; the fixed-wing aircraft were removed in that year.



In 1968, Karel Doorman was heavily damaged by fire. She was repaired with equipment stripped from British Light Fleet Carriers in reserve and awaiting disposal.However, before the fire, the Royal Netherlands Navy was reconsidering carrier-based operation, and instead of returning her to service, Karel Doorman was sold to Argentina.











Class and type:

Colossus class light aircraft carrier



Displacement:

19,900 tons



Length:

192 m (630 feet)



Beam:

24.4 m (80 feet)



Draught:

7.5 m (24.4 feet)



Propulsion:

4 boilers with steam turbines
2 shafts
40,000 shp



Speed:

24 knots



Complement:

1,300



Armament:

12 x 40 mm AA guns