HMS Perseus ( R51 ) HMS " Perseus " was a light fleet aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II . The ship was initially named " Edgar " , but she was renamed in 1944 when the Admiralty decided to convert her into an aircraft maintenance carrier . She was completed in 1945 , after the end of World War II , and she made a trip to Australia late in the year . Upon her return to the UK in early 1946 , " Perseus " was placed in reserve . The ship was recommissioned in 1950 to serve as the trials ship for the steam catapult then under development . Over 1 , 600 test launches were conducted before the catapult was removed in 1952 and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier to transport aircraft , troops and equipment overseas . She was reduced to reserve again in 1954 and sold for scrap in 1958 . Design , description and construction . The " Colossus " - class carriers were intended to meet a shortage of naval flight decks . Their design was based on that of the , but modified to permit rapid construction in commercial yards . " Perseus " was not completed to her original design ; the success of the maintenance aircraft carrier prompted modification of the ship , whilst under construction , to an aircraft maintenance ship without aircraft catapult s . " Perseus " had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draught of at deep load . She displaced at standard load . Each of the ship ' s two sets of Parsons geared steam turbines drove one propeller shaft . Steam was supplied by four Admiralty three - drum water - tube boilers operating at a pressure of . The turbines were designed for a total of and gave " Perseus " a speed of . The ship carried of fuel oil which gave her a range of at . In order maximize space for workshops and stores , the ship ' s arresting gear and catapult were not fitted ; two large deckhouses were added to port of the island and on the rear of the flight deck . The ship had a single hangar , high . Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by two aircraft lifts ( elevators ) ; each measured . Two large cranes were mounted on the flight deck to move aircraft and stores to and from the flight deck . The ship carried two small self - propelled lighters to allow unflyable aircraft to be transferred between ships or to shore facilities . Bulk petrol storage consisted of . The ship ' s crew totalled 854 , plus 222 in her aircraft repair department . The ship was equipped with six quadruple mounts for the QF 2 - pounder Mk VIII gun ( " pom - pom " ) . These gun mounts could depress to −10° and elevate to a maximum of + 80° . The Mk VIII 2 - pounder gun fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of to a distance of . The gun ' s rate of fire was approximately 96 – 98 rounds per minute . She was also fitted with 19 Bofors 40 mm autocannon in single mounts . The Bofors fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of . It had a rate of fire of about 120 rounds per minute and a maximum range of . All of the guns were mounted on the flight deck , not in sponsons on the side of the hull like her half - sisters that were completed as aircraft carriers . Each " pom - pom " mount was provided with a separate fire - control director fitted with a Type 262 gunnery radar . " Perseus " was ordered on 14 March 1942 under the name " Edgar " . She was laid down at Vickers - Armstrong in Newcastle - upon - Tyne on 1 January 1943 and was launched on 26 March 1944 . The ship was renamed " Perseus " in July 1944 , after the decision had been made to convert her to an aircraft maintenance ship , and she was completed on 19 October 1945 . Service . " Perseus " arrived in Portsmouth on 24 October 1945 , after the end of World War II , to begin working up and sailed on 17 November for Australia . She arrived in Sydney on 21 December , just in time to take charge of winding up the " Air Train " that had supported the British Pacific Fleet . The ship departed Melbourne on 26 March 1946 , carrying a load of aircraft to return to the United Kingdom , and arrived at Rosyth on 17 May where she was placed in reserve . In 1950 , " Perseus " was fitted with an experimental steam catapult . The catapult was placed on top of the carrier ' s existing flight deck and the deckhouse to port of the island was removed to accommodate it . Some 1 , 560 launches were made by the catapult , beginning with over 1 , 000 wheeled dead - loads , of gradually increasing weight , and moving on to with unmanned aircraft with their wings truncated to reduce their ability to glide . The final tests were made by manned aircraft of every type flown by the Fleet Air Arm . After this , the ship arrived in Philadelphia on 14 January 1952 to demonstrate the catapult to the United States Navy . Between them , some 127 launches of manned aircraft were made by the British and the Americans . " Perseus " arrived back at Portsmouth on 21 March and had the catapult removed . All of her remaining maintenance equipment was removed and she was converted for use as a ferry carrier . On 10 December , the ship carried the Westland Whirlwind s of 848 Squadron to Singapore , arriving on 8 January 1953 . She arrived back at Portsmouth on 11 February and then embarked part of the 100 Grumman Avenger s transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act in Norfolk , Virginia on 16 March . She arrived back in Norfolk to load the remaining aircraft on 29 April . " Perseus " was fitted with temporary grandstand seating ( " bleacher s " ) in June for Very Important Persons and the press during Elizabeth II ' s Coronation Fleet Review in Spithead . Later in the year she made a trip transporting troops and equipment to the Far East . On 20 January 1954 , 706 Squadron , a second - line unit , flew aboard to conduct trials of the anti - submarine version of the Whirlwind helicopter . They were successful enough that the squadron was redesignated as 845 Squadron afterwards and " Perseus " ferried them to Malta in April . The ship continued on to deliver relief supplies to Singapore intended for Korea and was reduced to reserve again upon her return on 12 July . The Admiralty intended to convert her to a submarine depot ship and she was towed to Belfast to begin work in 1955 . The cutbacks from the 1957 Defence White Paper caused the conversion to be cancelled and the ship was towed to Gare Loch to await a decision on the ship ' s disposition . " Perseus " sold for scrap in May 1958 and towed to Port Glasgow to begin demolition .