View source for HMS Bulwark (R08)

{{short description|1954 Centaur-class light fleet carrier of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Bulwark}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{More footnotes needed|date=April 2022}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image               = HMS Bulwark (Commando carrier).jpg
| Ship caption             = HMS ''Bulwark''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header              = 
| Ship country             = United Kingdom
| Ship flag                = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
| Ship name                = HMS ''Bulwark''
| Ship namesake            = 
| Ship ordered             = 17 April 1943
| Ship builder             = [[Harland & Wolff]]
| Ship laid down           = 10 May 1945
| Ship launched            = 22 June 1948
| Ship acquired            = 
| Ship commissioned        = 4 November 1954
| Ship decommissioned      = April 1981
|Ship nickname             =''The Rusty B''
| Ship homeport            = [[HMNB Portsmouth]]
| Ship in service          =*1954–1958
*1960–1969
*1970 – April 1981
| Ship out of service      = 
| Ship struck              = 
| Ship reinstated          = 
| Ship motto               = "Under thy wings I will trust"
| Ship honours             = [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Operation Musketeer]]
| Ship identification      = [[Pennant number]]: R08
| Ship fate                = Scrapped 1984
| Ship notes               = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header              = 
| Header caption           = 
| Ship class               = {{sclass|Centaur|aircraft carrier|0}} [[aircraft carrier|light aircraft carrier]]
| Ship displacement        = 22,000 tons standard, 27,000 tons full load
| Ship length              = {{convert|737.75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam                = {{convert|123|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught             = {{convert|27.8|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion          = 4 boilers, 2 shafts
| Ship speed               = {{convert|28|kn}}
| Ship range               = {{convert|7000|nmi}} at {{convert|18|kn}}
| Ship complement          = 850 (+ 200 Naval Air Squadron + 800 [[Royal Marines]] Commando)
| Ship sensors             = 
| Ship EW                  = 
| Ship armament            = 
| Ship armour              = 
| Ship aircraft            = As a commando carrier: 16 [[Westland Wessex|Wessex V]] helicopters of 845 or 848 Naval Air Squadron
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
| Ship notes               = 
}}
|}
The sixth '''HMS ''Bulwark''''' of the [[Royal Navy]] was a 22,000 ton {{sclass|Centaur|aircraft carrier|0}} light fleet aircraft carrier. Initially [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] as a [[light aircraft carrier]] in 1954, the ship was converted into a [[commando carrier]] in 1958 and recommissioned as such in 1960. ''Bulwark'' remained in this capacity until 1979 following failed efforts to sell the ship, ''Bulwark'' re-entered service as an [[anti-submarine warfare carrier]] and remained as such until being [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] in 1981. The ship was scrapped in 1984.

==Construction and career==
''Bulwark'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] by the [[Harland & Wolff]] shipyard in [[Belfast]] on 10 May 1945. She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 22 June 1948, but was not [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] into the Royal Navy until 4 November 1954.

===1950s===
{{stack|[[File:HMS Bulwark (R08) at Singapore 1958.jpeg|thumb|''Bulwark'' at [[Singapore]] during the [[SEATO]] exercise "Ocean Link", 1958.]]}}
In 1956, ''Bulwark'' took part in her first combat operation, during the [[Suez Crisis]], when she launched up to 600 sorties in what was then known as [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Operation Musketeer]].<ref name="hbp64">{{Harvnb|Hobbs|1996|p=64}}</ref> On 13 September 1958, ''Bulwark'' was exercising with the frigate {{HMS|Loch Killisport|K628|2}} in the [[Gulf of Oman]] when the tankers {{SS|Melika}} and ''Fernand Gilabe'' collided in the [[Persian Gulf]] and caught fire, the tankers' crews abandoning ship. ''Bulwark'' went to the aid of the two blazing tankers, with her helicopters landing fire fighting parties onto the tankers. ''Bulwark'', with the aid of the frigate {{HMS|Puma|F34|2}}, towed ''Melika'', to [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]]. ''Bulwark''{{'}}s [[Westland Whirlwind (helicopter)|Whirlwind]] helicopter squadron, [[845 Naval Air Squadron]], was awarded the [[Boyd Trophy]] for the squadron's role in the rescue.<ref name="hbp64"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Navy saves two blazing tankers in Gulf of Oman |newspaper=[[Navy News]] |date=October 1958 |issue=53 |pages=1, 3 |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/images/navynews/archivepdfs/1950s/1958/navy-news-october-1958-issue-53.pdf |access-date=19 May 2020}}</ref>

The final fixed wing complement, as embarked in 1957 (the Gannet squadron was dropped in 1958), was as follows:<ref name="btinternet.com">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121011224729/http://www.btinternet.com/~a.c.walton/navy/rn-cv3.html "Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers Part 3: 1950–2000"]. Archived from [http://www.btinternet.com/~a.c.walton/navy/rn-cv3.html the original] 11 October 2011.</ref>

{{plainlist|
*[[801 Naval Air Squadron]] - 8 [[Hawker Sea Hawk|Sea Hawk]] FGA6 fighter-attack
*[[898 Naval Air Squadron]] – 8 [[Hawker Sea Hawk|Sea Hawk]] FGA6 fighter-attack
*[[891 Naval Air Squadron]] – 8 [[de Havilland Sea Venom|Sea Venom]] FAW21 night/all-weather fighter
*[[820 Naval Air Squadron]] – 6 [[Fairey Gannet|Gannet]] AS4 anti-submarine warfare
*[[849 Naval Air Squadron]] – D flt. 4 [[A-1 Skyraider|Skyraider]] AEW1 airborne early warning
*[[845 Naval Air Squadron]] – 5 [[Westland Whirlwind (helicopter)|Whirlwind]] HAS7 helicopter anti-submarine warfare
*Ships Flight 1 [[Westland Dragonfly|Dragonfly]] HR5 helicopter search and rescue
|}}

In 1958 she paid off at [[Portsmouth]] for conversion into a commando carrier. Her sister ship, {{HMS|Albion|R07|2}}, did likewise in 1961.

===1960s===
In 1960, ''Bulwark'' was recommissioned with [[42 Commando|42 Commando Royal Marines]] and [[848 Squadron]] attached to the carrier. In 1961, due to an increasing threat of invasion of [[Kuwait]] by Iraq, ''Bulwark'' landed 42 Commando in Kuwait. In the same year, she became the first Royal Navy warship since the [[World War II|Second World War]] to commission outside the [[United Kingdom|UK]], commissioning instead in [[Singapore]]. She also took part in the campaign against Indonesia, during the [[Indonesian Confrontation]]. In June 1966 she carried out sea trials with the [[Hawker Siddeley P.1127|Kestrel]]: the forerunner of the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier]] fighter aircraft made famous during the [[Falklands War]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Graham R F Drucker |url=http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Bulwark.html |title=HMS Bulwark aircraft carrier profile. Aircraft Carrier Database of the Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939–1945 |publisher=Fleetairarmarchive.net |access-date=2014-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322175446/http://fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Bulwark.html |archive-date=22 March 2015 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

In 1967, she again commissioned in [[Singapore Naval Base|Singapore Naval Dockyard]] (HMS ''Sembawang''), and following her work up, proceeded to [[Aden]] to cover the withdrawal and relieve ''Albion''. By this time, ''Bulwark''{{'}}s nickname "The Rusty B" had become firmly established.

In 1968, after service in the Arctic with 45 Commando embarked for Exercise Polar Express, the ship spent some time in dry dock in [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth Dockyard]] for a refit. For the duration of the refit, the ship's company was accommodated in {{HMS|Centaur|R06|2}}.

In Spring 1969, with commanding officer Captain [[John Templeton-Cotill|J.A. Templeton-Cotill]] (who would later become a rear admiral and Flag Officer Malta), ''Bulwark'' left for the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and Exercise Olympic Express in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]], with visits to [[Gibraltar]], [[Malta]], [[Cyprus]], [[Thessaloniki|Salonica]], [[Venice]], [[Villefranche-sur-Mer|Villefranche]], and [[Toulon]].<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Home |url=https://www.naval-review.com/ |access-date= |website=The Naval Review |publisher= |quote=}}</ref>  For the later part of this voyage, a TV crew embarked to shoot a documentary 'Captain R.N.'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/17645 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526080156/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/17645 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-05-26 |title=BFI &#124; Film & TV Database &#124; CAPTAIN R.N. (1969) |publisher=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk |date=2009-04-16 |access-date=2014-04-06}}</ref>  She returned to [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] to decommission in August 1969 for a four-month refit.

===1970s and 1980s===

In January 1970, ''Bulwark'' recommissioned and sailed to [[Singapore]] via [[Gibraltar]], [[Cape Town]], [[Gan (Seenu Atoll)|Gan]], and [[Brunei]].  After a minor refit in Singapore Naval Dockyard (to repair damage sustained in Tropical Storm Diane after leaving Cape Town), the ship sailed for [[Kobe]], Japan (EXPO 70), Hong Kong, [[Jakarta]] and [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] Australia before returning to Plymouth.

The ship visited [[Liverpool]] from 1 July to 7 July 1971.

In September 1971 ''Bulwark'' took part in exercises in the eastern Mediterranean with 845 Squadron embarked. Whilst at anchor off Trieste she suffered a boiler room fire, in 'B' boiler room, and limped home on one set of boilers. The repairs were started in Plymouth by the dockyard but were then completed in Malta by the ships own company while involved in Operation Exit between January and end of March 1972.

In 1972, ''Bulwark'', like her sister ship ''Albion'', was involved in withdrawals across the declining empire. In 1972 she was headquarters ship for [[Operation Exit]], the withdrawal from [[Malta]], an emotional withdrawal for the Royal Navy. ''Bulwark'' lay in Grand Harbor for 11 weeks and flew more than 1,000 missions.

Later in 1972 she took part in exercises in the Caribbean Sea and visited Florida with 845 Squadron embarked. On the return journey, ''Bulwark'' had to discharge all remaining aviation fuel and transfer on to accompanying Royal Fleet Auxiliaries all ammunition to prepare to move in to dry dock after entering Plymouth. The spell in dry dock was extended due to dock yard strikes and she did not sail again until October.

In the January 1973 ''Bulwark'' sailed for exercises in the Caribbean Sea and suffered damage due to heavy storms during the 10-day crossing of the Atlantic. The first port of call was a 10-day visit to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], which meant sailing under the Cooper Bridge. ''Bulwark'' became the largest warship to have sailed under that bridge. The following day brought a snow storm, the worst in this area for more than 80 years, which did not stop for about eight days. After the visit came the exercises in the Caribbean, with visits in between to Viaques and [[Puerto Rico]].

Under the command of Captain Derek Bazalgette, she saw service in the Mediterranean in 1973 visiting Malta, [[Piraeus]], [[Istanbul]], Gibraltar and, in December 1973, [[Travemünde]], the port of [[Lübeck]]. Owing to a delayed start date for refit, she embarked a company of Netherlands Marine Corps and spent early 1974 in the Dutch Caribbean, also visiting [[Cartagena, Colombia]]; she suffered damage during the storms of January 1974 in the eastern Atlantic. The 1974 refit was undertaken in Devonport Dockyard, during which time command transferred to Captain Johnnie R C Johnston. In 1975 she returned to the Mediterranean, visiting Gibraltar, [[Villefranche-sur-Mer|Villefranche]] and Malta before returning to her home port of Plymouth in July.

In March 1976, ''Bulwark'' was withdrawn from service and placed in Reserve.  Also during this year the Ministry of Defence offered ''Bulwark'' to the [[Peruvian Navy]]. After two years of negotiations finally the Royal Navy decided to keep the ship. Furthermore, she underwent a refit at Portsmouth in 1978, and was recommissioned as an anti-submarine warfare carrier on 23 February 1979, due to delays with the new aircraft carrier {{HMS|Invincible|R05|2}}.

On 28 June 1979, ''Bulwark'' was involved in exercise Whiskey Venture, with [[820 Naval Air Squadron|820 Squadron]] (flying [[Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King|Sea Kings]]) and 45 Royal Marine Commando embarked. Also during 1979, ''Bulwark'' was involved in trials of the [[British Aerospace Sea Harrier|Sea Harrier]].<ref name="btinternet.com"/> At the start of 1980, ''Bulwark'' visited the United States of America; participating in Exercise Safe Passage off the east coast of the United States in late February. On 15 March, while alongside in Philadelphia, a fire destroyed one boiler, which could not be repaired to operational status. The carrier returned to Portsmouth on 2 April, and on 15 April embarked [[45 Commando]] for Exercise Dawn Patrol off [[Sardinia]]. In August, ''Bulwark'' was involved in Exercise Teamwork 80 off Norway. On 9 November, a major fire damaged the forward hangar and some messdecks.  Minimal repairs were performed to both areas in order for her to stay in service until HMS ''Invincible'' was commissioned in the spring of 1981.

==Decommissioning and fate==
On 27 March 1981, ''Bulwark'' returned to Portsmouth for the final time. She was decommissioned into unmaintained reserve without any repairs being attempted to the damaged boiler or other fire damage. The carrier would however, remain intact for the next two years. During the early stages of the [[Falklands War]] it was announced that ''Bulwark'' would be reactivated and sent south to support the fleet, and then remain as a headquarters hulk at [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Port Stanley]] following the war. A rapid ship survey, however, determined that in addition to the only minimally repaired fire damage suffered in 1980,<ref>{{cite web |title=HMS Bulwark |url=https://www.theyard.info/ships/ships.asp?entryid=1281 |website=Harland and Wolff |access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref> her machinery and structure had deteriorated such that it would have taken as much as eight months and a significant amount of funds to get her minimally seaworthy.

She was finally declared for disposal in April 1983 and some material was removed as potential spares for {{HMS|Hermes|R12|2}}.  She remained anchored in harbour until she was towed from Portsmouth to [[Cairnryan]] to be scrapped in April 1984.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Hobbs |first=David |title=Aircraft Carriers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies: The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia from World War I to the Present |year=1996 |location=London |publisher=Greenhill Books |isbn=1-85367-252-1}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Hobbs|first=David|title=British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories |year=2013|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1-84832-138-0}}

==External links==
*[http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/aircraft_carriers/hms_bulwark_r08.htm Maritimequest HMS Bulwark photo gallery]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131214012706/http://www.bulwarkassoc.co.uk/eastleigh/gallery/gallery.htm HMS Bulwark Albion Centaur Photo Gallery]

{{Centaur class aircraft carrier}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulwark (R08)}}
[[Category:Centaur-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Belfast]]
[[Category:1948 ships]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom]]<!-- construction begun during WWII -->
[[Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built by Harland and Wolff]]