The sixth HMS Bulwark (R08) of the Royal Navy was a 22,000 tonne Centaur-class light fleet aircraft carrier.

Construction

Bulwark was laid down by the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast on 10 May 1945. She was launched on 22 June 1948, but was not commissioned into the Royal Navy until 4 November 1954.

Operational history

1950s

In 1956, Bulwark took part in her first operation, during the Suez Crisis, she launched up to 600 sorties in what was then known as Operation Musketeer. In 1958 she assisted two tankers which had collided in the Persian Gulf. She towed one of the tankers, Melika, to Muscat, winning an award for this, namely the Boyd Trophy.

Final fixed wing compliment as embarked in 1957, the Gannet squadron was dropped in 1958http://www.btinternet.com/~a.c.walton/navy/rn-cv3.html

• 801 & 898 sqn. 16 Sea Hawk FGA6 Fighter-Attack

• 891 sqn. 8 Sea Venom FAW21 Night/All Weather Fighter

• 820 sqn. 6 Gannet AS4 Anti-Submarine Warfare

• 849 sqn. D flt. 4 Skyraider AEW1 Airborne Early Warning

• 845 sqn. 5 Whirlwind HAS7 Helicopter Anti-Submarine Warfare

• Ships Flight 1 Dragonfly HR5 Helicopter Search and Rescue

In 1958 she paid off at Portsmouth for conversion into a commando carrier. Her sister ship, HMS Albion, would not do so until 1961.

1960s

In 1960, Bulwark was recommissioned with 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 World War II to commission outside the 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 Kestrel: the forerunner of the Harrier. In 1967, she again commissioned in Singapore Naval Dockyard, (HMS Terror), and following her work up, proceeded to Aden to cover the withdrawal and relieve Eagle, spending three months at sea off the coast of Aden and embarking a detachment of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. These were disembarked in Plymouth following a visit to Durban. A period of dry docking took place in Portsmouth followed by service in the Arctic with 45 Commando embarked for Exercise Polar Express. Exercises were carried out around the Mediterranean with various allied Navies, with visits to southern France, Italy and Cyprus. Following these exercises she returned to Plymouth RND for decommissioning in 1969.

1970s and 1980s

In September 1971 Bulwark took part in exercises in the eastern Mediterranean with 845 Squadron embarked. While close to the coast of (then) Yugoslavia she suffered an engine room fire and limped home on one engine.

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

Later in 1972 she took part in exercises in the Caribbean and visited Florida with 845 Squadron embarked.

Under the command of Captain Derek Bazalgette RN, 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 Royal Netherlands Marines 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 RN. In 1975 she returned to the Mediterranean, visiting Gibraltar, 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. 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 Invincible. Around this time, Bulwark acquired the nickname 'The Rusty B', originating from her motto "Under Thy Wings I Will (T)rust". On 28 June, the carrier was involved in exercise Whiskey Venture, with 820 Squadron (flying Sea Kings) and 45 Royal Marine Commando embarked. Also during 1979, Bulwark was involved in trials of the Sea Harrier. 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. 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.

Nonetheless, the carrier remained intact for over a year, and during the early stages of the Falklands War it was announced that Bulwark would be reactivated. However, a rapid ship-survery had determined she had deteriorated too much for this to be practical. The carrier was eventually scrapped in 1984.

Decommissioning and fate

On 27 March 1981, Bulwark returned to Portsmouth for the final time in her career. She was decommissioned and declared for disposal in April. The carrier was towed from Portsmouth to Cairnryan to be scrapped in April 1984.