Carriers Ark Royal, Hermes and Albion-all at Singapore Naval Base-1963

That enlarged picture of the cruiser makes all the difference, you can clearly see the raked funnell tops, making it definately a Tiger Class.
HMS Tiger was dispatched to Brunei in 1962 as a show of naval force against the Indonesian insurgents, there’s a photo on the Tiger Association web site of it unloading stores at Brunei in December 1962.
It’s most likely that it’s Tiger, which, incidentally was being held in reserve in Portsmouth during the Falklands War, there was talk at the time of it being re-comissioned if things got really tough and more ships were lost in the South Atlantic, mainly because of it’s 6” guns and large helicopter hangar, which had been installed in the late 60’s.

For some interesting information and photographs of the skirmishes in the Far East in that period, particularly with regard to aircraft used, try the site http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/index.html

Looks like HMS Tiger or Lion.

Blake? When were the two converted?

Looks like HMS Tiger or Lion.

Looking at the enlarged portion on the photo, I had the same thoughts. Pity that the hull number isn’t visible.

Thems cracking photos. Brightened my day to see them, thanks for posting

Looks like HMS Tiger or Lion.

For those involved in ‘Cruiser spotting’ I’d better try and give you something better to work on…not much better alas, but here is the ship in the background :

David

Old Git, I have that sign on 8mm film somewhere but no photos unfortunately. The sign was slung inside a cargo net ,IIRC. Living in Plymouth, I attended most Navy Days at Devonport. Probably why I later became a ‘crab’!!:)

Lauriebe – I think it was 1964 when I went. I still have the booklet and will see if I can dig it out.
OG

Fair enough – any other suggestions?

There weren’t many cruisers about even then, not a Lion Class as they had raked funnel tops, with that funnel arrangement it looks like a Fiji Class but Gambia was in reserve then, it could have been Mauruitius but I don’t know where it was serving in 63, probably in reserve too. I need to find my Ian Allen Warships book for that period.

Found it, Mauritius was in reserve then, it could have been RIN Mysore, ex-HMS Nigeria, HMS Sheffield, Belfasts sister ship was the wrong shape for it to be that.

Can’t help with the date unfortunately, a bit before my time 🙂

But it is interesting to me bacause my father served aboard the Albion when she was a ‘proper’ Carrier with an angled deck, with the likes of Sea Hawks, Sea Venoms, and Gannets flying off of it.

Great pictures, thanks for posting.

Re HMS Belfast, if it was indeed 1963 then it’s unlikely. The ship left Singapore on 26 March 1962 for the UK where she made a final visit to Belfast and after an exercise in the Mediterranean was paid off on 24 August 1963.

Fair enough – any other suggestions?

Cracking pictures!! – I also remember visiting the Ark and Albion (possibly also Hermes?) at Portsmouth Navy Days a few years after this.
Is that HMS Belfast in the background of the first photo?

Re HMS Belfast, if it was indeed 1963 then it’s unlikely. The ship left Singapore on 26 March 1962 for the UK where she made a final visit to Belfast and after an exercise in the Mediterranean was paid off on 24 August 1963.

Further to the dates mentioned for No.803 NAS at Tengah, the Sea Vixen squadron, No. 892 NAS, that served alongside them on Hermes records a further detachment at Tengah from 12 June 1963. It returned to Hermes on 27 June 1963 and the ship then appears to have sailed back to the UK, arriving around 11 September of that year.

Is it possible that XP229 was shipped home for repair aboard Hermes? The Ark appears to have been still in the Far East at that time.

Thanks for the replies guys, the dates when the Hermes Scimitars were in at Tengah is interesting. We also got some Hermes Wessex in at Changi, at that time, as I can see I have pics of those.
Pleased to find out about XP229 and the damage details are fascinating too..so much info around if only I can ‘mine it all out’!
I do see the bottom of the port finlet looking damaged, noticeable in both pics.

Compare it with this one for instance:

Sorry that’s a smaller pic, can’t access a bigger res one, I’m at work at the moment (call this work!)
I had wondered what the ‘C’ on the mid fuselage of the Gannets was and had wondered if a graffiti artist from Centaur had been busy. Now I know it’s ‘C’ Flight.

I can now see from my pics that Ark doesn’t have any Sea Vixens on board at this time, just Scimitars.
Of the Scimitar, an American is reported as remarking, in a Fleet Air Arm book I have, that ‘Only the British could design a plane so big and powerful and not make it supersonic’!
I really loved the Sea Vixens, I’ll upload some better pics of those and Scimitars from Ark sometime.
Regarding a ‘book’. It’s an interesting thought. I have over a thousand pics from that era, including loads showing the change over from ‘big props’ to jets at Paya Lebar (Singapore’s airport before Changi was converted).
Perhaps therefore a book would be a good way to display them.
DT

Fascinating shots again Postfade, would be great to see in a book!
Gannet XP229 did indeed get damaged in a taxing incident on this cruise. Laurebies details should narrow down the dates quite nicely.
The ‘C’ denotes 849 C flt, first time I have seen the ‘Royal Mail’ zap – briliant stuff!

Could this have been the cause of the damage mentioned by Wyvernfan in the post above:

Taxying after landing, port brake failed and caused the rear fuselage to slew round, tail damaged by hitting parked Scimitar XD221, Ark Royal, Cat HY, 28.5.63.

Those details are from the airccraft’s history as recorded in the Air-Britain book ‘Fleet Air Arm Fixed-Wing Aircraft Since 1946’ by the late Ray Sturtivant. Next line of text in the book indicates that XP229 was at Westland, White Waltham for a Cat 4 repair by 30.9.63.

Brilliant pics David, many thanks for sharing them with us. Do you know the reason why the Gannet has been unloaded at the dock.? Also is the small bottom finlet on the port side tail surface damaged.. can’t quite see for sure. Perhaps i have just answered my own question..

David, Hermes appears to have been in Far Eastern waters from around late-62 until mid-63. No. 803 NAS, which was onboard with its Scimitar F1s at the time, shows two deployments to Tengah then. The first was from 20 Dec 62 until 7 Jan 63. The second was 18 Mar 63 – 24 Apr 63. BTW, Gannet AEW3, XP229, was lost in the South Atlantic on 19 May 73. It ditched some 5 miles ahead of Ark after suffering engine failure 5 minutes into its flight. All occupants were recovered safely.

Old Git, I have that sign on 8mm film somewhere but no photos unfortunately. The sign was slung inside a cargo net ,IIRC. Living in Plymouth, I attended most Navy Days at Devonport. Probably why I later became a ‘crab’!!:)

Cracking pictures!! – I also remember visiting the Ark and Albion (possibly also Hermes?) at Portsmouth Navy Days a few years after this.
Is that HMS Belfast in the background of the first photo?

Lovely shots – thanks for posting them. I remember going on the Ark at the Plymouth Navy Days back in the 60s. They had put a huge sign on one of the carriers which said “Please do not feed the Sailors”.
OG