HMS Glorious HMS " Glorious " was the second of the s built for the Royal Navy during the First World War . Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord , Lord Fisher , they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns . " Glorious " was completed in late 1916 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea . She participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 and was present when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered a year later . " Glorious " was paid off after the end of the war , but was rebuilt as an aircraft carrier during the late 1920s . She could carry 30 % more aircraft than her half - sister which had approximately the same tonnage . After recommissioning she spent most of her career operating in the Mediterranean Sea . After the start of the Second World War , " Glorious " spent the rest of 1939 unsuccessfully hunting for the in the Indian Ocean before returning to the Mediterranean . She was recalled in April 1940 to support British operations in Norway . While evacuating British aircraft from Norway in June , the ship was sunk by the German battleships and in the North Sea with the loss of over 1 , 200 lives . Design and description . During the First World War , Admiral Fisher was prevented from ordering an improved version of the preceding s by a wartime restriction that banned construction of ships larger than light cruisers . To obtain ships suitable for traditional battlecruiser roles , such as scouting for fleets and hunting enemy raiders , he settled on a design with the minimal armour of a light cruiser and the armament of a battlecruiser . He justified their existence by claiming he needed fast , shallow - draught ships for his Baltic Project , a plan to invade Germany via its Baltic coast . " Glorious " had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draught of at deep load . She displaced at load and at deep load . " Glorious " and her sisters were the first large warships in the Royal Navy to have geared steam turbines . To save time the installation used in the light cruiser , the first cruiser in the Royal Navy with geared turbines , was simply doubled . The Parsons turbines were powered by eighteen Yarrow small - tube boilers . They were designed to produce a total of at a working pressure of . During the ship ' s abbreviated sea trials she reached . The ship was designed to normally carry of fuel oil , but could carry a maximum of . At full capacity , she could steam for an estimated at a speed of . " Glorious " carried four BL 15 - inch Mark I guns in two twin hydraulically powered Mark I * turrets , one each fore ( ' A ' ) and aft ( ' Y ' ) . Her secondary armament consisted of eighteen BL 4 - inch Mark IX guns mounted in six manually powered triple T . I . Mark I mounts . These mounts had the three breeches too close together and the 23 loaders tended to interfere with each other . This rather negated the mount ' s intended purpose to provide a high rate of fire against torpedo boat s and other smaller craft . A pair of QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti - aircraft guns were fitted abreast the mainmast on " Glorious " . She mounted two submerged tubes for 21 - inch torpedoes and 10 torpedoes were carried . World War I . Her keel was laid down on 1 May 1915 by Harland and Wolff at their Belfast shipyard . " Glorious " was launched on 20 April 1916 and completed on 14 October 1916 . During her sea trials in November 1916 , " Courageous " sustained structural damage while running at full speed in a rough head sea and had the damaged areas stiffened shortly afterwards to prevent a recurrence . " Glorious " did not suffer any similar damage and did not receive her stiffening until 1918 . Upon commissioning , " Courageous " served with the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet . After most of the 1st Cruiser Squadron was sunk at the Battle of Jutland , the squadron was re - formed with " Courageous " as flagship along with her sister ship " Glorious " . She cost £1 , 967 , 223 to build ( costs to 23 Nov 1916 ) . " Glorious " received a half a dozen torpedo mounts , each with two tubes in mid - 1917 : one mount on each side of the mainmast on the upper deck and two mounts on each side of the rear turret on the quarterdeck . On 16 October 1917 the Admiralty received word of German ship movements , possibly indicating some sort of raid . Admiral Beatty , the commander of the Grand Fleet , ordered most of his light cruisers and destroyer s to sea in an effort to locate the enemy ships . " Courageous " and " Glorious " were not initially ordered to sea , but were sent to reinforce the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron patrolling the central part of the North Sea later that day . Two German light cruiser s managed to slip through the gaps in the British patrols and destroyed a convoy bound for Norway during the morning of 17 October , but no word was received of the engagement until that afternoon . The 1st Cruiser Squadron were ordered to intercept , but were unsuccessful as the German cruisers were faster than expected . Second Battle of Heligoland Bight . Throughout 1917 the Admiralty was becoming more concerned about German efforts to sweep paths through the British - laid minefields intended to restrict the actions of the High Seas Fleet and German submarine s . A preliminary raid on German minesweeping forces on 31 October by light forces destroyed ten small ships and the Admiralty decided on a larger operation to destroy the minesweeper s and their light cruiser escorts . Based on intelligence reports , the Admiralty allocated the 1st Cruiser Squadron on 17 November 1917 , with cover provided by the reinforced 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and distant cover by the battleship s of the 1st Battle Squadron . The German ships , four light cruisers of II Scouting Force , eight destroyers , three divisions of minesweepers , eight " sperrbrecher " ( cork - filled trawler s ) and two trawlers to mark the swept route , were spotted at 7 : 30 am , silhouetted by the rising sun . " Courageous " and the light cruiser opened fire with their forward guns seven minutes later . The Germans responded by laying a smoke screen and this made spotting targets very difficult . The British continued in pursuit , but lost track of most of the smaller ships in the smoke and concentrated fire on the light cruisers as opportunity permitted . One 15 - inch hit was made on a gun shield of , but it did not affect her speed . At 8 : 33 the left - hand gun in " Glorious " s forward turret was wrecked when a shell detonated inside the gun barrel . At 9 : 30 the 1st Cruiser Squadron broke off their pursuit so they would not enter a minefield marked on their maps ; the ships turned south , playing no further role in the battle . " Glorious " required five days of repairs to right the damage caused from the premature detonation and from her own muzzle blast . She fired 57 15 - inch and 213 4 - inch shells during the engagement . The ship received flying - off platforms on top of her turrets in 1918 . A Sopwith Camel was carried on the rear turret and a Sopwith 1½ Strutter on the forward turret . She was present at the surrender of the German fleet on 21 November 1918 . " Glorious " was reduced to reserve at Rosyth on 1 February 1919 and served as a turret drill ship , but succeeded " Courageous " as flagship of the Rear - Admiral Commanding the Reserve at Devonport between 1921 and 1922 . Conversion . The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 severely limited the amount of capital ship tonnage and the Royal Navy was forced to scrap many of its older battleships and battlecruisers . However up to of existing ships could be converted into aircraft carriers , for which the " Courageous " - class ships ' combination of a large hull and high speed made them an ideal candidate for conversion . " Glorious " began her conversion at Rosyth in 1924 , but was towed to Devonport for completion , and she was re - commissioned on 24 February 1930 . During the ship ' s post - conversion sea trials she reached . Her fifteen - inch turrets were placed into storage and later reused during World War II for , the Royal Navy ' s last battleship . Her new design improved on her half - sister which lacked an island and a conventional funnel . All superstructure , guns , torpedo tubes , and fittings down to the main deck were removed . A two - storey hangar , each level high and long , was built on top of the remaining hull ; the upper hangar level opened on to a short flying - off deck , below and forward of the main flight deck . The flying - off deck improved launch and recovery cycle flexibility until new fighters requiring longer takeoff rolls made the lower deck obsolete in the 1930s . Two lifts were installed fore and aft in the flight deck . An island with the bridge , flying control station , and funnel was added on the starboard side as islands had been found not to contribute significantly to turbulence . By 1939 the ship could carry of petrol for her aircraft . " Glorious " received a dual - purpose armament of sixteen QF 4 . 7 - inch Mark VIII guns in single High - Angle Mark XII mounts . One mount was on each side of the lower flight deck and a pair was on the quarterdeck . The remaining twelve mounts were distributed along the sides of the ship . During her 1935 refit , " Glorious " received three octuple 2 - pounder " pom - pom " Mark VI mounts , one on each side of the flying - off deck , forward of the 4 . 7 - inch guns , and one behind the island on the flight deck . She also received four water - cooled . 50 - calibre Mark III machine gun s in a single quadruple mounting . " Glorious " recommissioned on 24 February 1930 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet , but was attached to the Home Fleet from March to June 1930 . She relieved " Courageous " in the Mediterranean Fleet in June 1930 and remained there until October 1939 . In a fog on 1 April 1931 " Glorious " rammed the French ocean liner amidships while steaming at . The impact crumpled of the flying - off deck and killed 1 seaman aboard " Glorious " and 24 passengers and crew aboard " Florida " . " Glorious " was forced to put into Gibraltar to temporary repairs . She had to sail to Malta for permanent repairs which lasted until September 1931 . Sometime in the early 1930s , traverse arresting gear was installed . She was refitted at Devonport from July 1934 to July 1935 where she received two hydraulic accelerators ( catapults ) on her upper flight deck , which was also was extended to the rear , her quarterdeck was raised one deck and she received her multiple " pom - pom " mounts . " Glorious " participated in the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead on 20 May 1937 for George VI before returning to the Mediterranean . Air group . " Glorious " could carry up to 48 aircraft ; when first recommissioned , she carried Fairey Flycatcher fighters , Blackburn Dart and Blackburn Ripon torpedo bomber s , and Fairey IIIF reconnaissance planes of the Fleet Air Arm . From 1933 until " Glorious " returned to the United Kingdom in April 1940 , aside from a period when refitting in the mid - 1930s , she carried 802 Squadron which flew a mixture of nine Hawker Nimrod and three Hawker Osprey fighters until re - equipping with a dozen Gloster Sea Gladiator s in May 1939 . 812 and 823 Squadrons were embarked for reconnaissance and anti - ship attack missions . They flew the Blackburn Ripon , the Blackburn Baffin and the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber s and as well as Fairey III F and Fairey Seal reconnaissance aircraft . When " Glorious " recommissioned after her refit in 1935 825 Squadron was embarked , initially with Fairey IIIFs , but the squadron converted to Fairey Swordfish in May 1936 . World War II . " Glorious " served briefly with the Mediterranean Fleet for a time after World War II broke out . In October 1939 , she moved through the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean where she became part of Force J which was organized to hunt for the in the Indian Ocean . It was not successful and " Glorious " remained in the Indian Ocean until December when she returned to the Mediterranean . Norwegian Campaign . She was recalled to the Home Fleet in April 1940 to provide air cover for British forces landing in Norway . Eighteen Gloster Gladiators of No . 263 Squadron RAF were flown aboard to be transferred to Norwegian airbases . Eleven Blackburn Skua s of 803 Squadron , plus eighteen Sea Gladiators from 802 and 804 Squadrons were also embarked . " Glorious " and arrived off central Norway on 24 April where 263 Squadron was flown off and their own aircraft attacked targets in and south of Trondheim before " Glorious " had to return to Scapa Flow late on 27 April to refuel and embark new aircraft . " Glorious " s Sea Gladiators provided air cover for the two carriers . They damaged one Heinkel He 111 bomber on a reconnaissance mission . Before departing she transferred four serviceable Skuas to " Ark Royal " . She returned on 1 May , but had been unable to load many new aircraft because of poor weather . Only a dozen Swordfish of 823 Squadron , three Skuas and one Blackburn Roc managed to be flown aboard . The task force was under heavy air attack by the Luftwaffe all day and was withdrawn that evening . One Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber was shot down after it dropped its bomb by the Sea Gladiators on patrol . " Glorious " returned on 18 May with six Supermarine Walrus amphibious flying boat s of 701 Squadron and 18 Hawker Hurricane s of No . 46 Squadron RAF . The latter aircraft had been loaded aboard by crane . The Walruses were quickly flown off to Harstad , but the airfield at Skånland was not yet ready for the Hurricanes and they were still aboard when " Glorious " returned to Scapa on 21 May . " Glorious " came back to the Narvik area on 26 May and the Hurricanes were quickly flown off . However , even this success proved to be ephemeral and British forces were ordered withdrawn a few days later . The evacuation ( Operation Alphabet ) began in the north on the night of 3 / 4 June and " Glorious " arrived off the coast on 2 June to provide support although she only carried nine Sea Gladiators of 802 and six Swordfish from 823 Squadrons for self - defence as it was hoped to evacuate the RAF fighters if at all possible . Ten Gladiators of 263 Squadron were flown aboard during the afternoon of 7 June and the Hurricanes of 46 Squadron were also flown aboard without any significant problems in the early evening despite having a much higher landing speed than the biplanes . These had been flown off from land bases to keep them from being destroyed in the evacuation after the pilots discovered that a sandbag carried in the rear of the Hurricane allowed full brakes to be applied immediately on landing . This was the first time that high performance monoplanes without tailhook s had been landed on an aircraft carrier . The Sinking . The captain of the " Glorious " , Captain Guy D ' Oyly - Hughes , was a former submariner who had been executive officer of " Courageous " for ten months . He was granted permission to proceed independently to Scapa Flow in the early hours of 8 June to hold a court - martial of his Commander ( Air ) , J . B . Heath , who had refused an order to carry out an attack on shore targets on the grounds that the targets were at best ill - defined and his aircraft were unsuited to the task and who had been left behind in Scapa to await trial . On the way through the Norwegian Sea the funnel smoke from " Glorious " and her two escorting destroyer s , and , was spotted by the German battleships and at about 3 : 46 pm . The German ships were not spotted until shortly after 4 : 00 and " Ardent " was dispatched to investigate . " Glorious " did not alter course or increase speed . Five Swordfish were ordered to the flight deck but Action Stations was not ordered until 4 : 20 . No combat air patrol was being flown , no aircraft were ready on the deck for quick take off and there was no lookout in " Glorious " s crow ' s nest . " Scharnhorst " opened fire on " Ardent " at 4 : 27 at a range about , causing the destroyer to withdraw , firing torpedo es and making a smoke screen . " Ardent " scored one hit with her guns on " Scharnhorst " but was hit several times by the German ships ' secondary armament and sank about 5 : 25 . " Scharnhorst " switched her fire to " Glorious " at 4 : 32 and scored her first hit six minutes later on her third salvo , at an approximate range of , when one hit the forward flight deck and burst in the upper hangar , starting a large fire . This hit destroyed two Swordfish being prepared for flight and the hole in the flight deck prevented any other aircraft from taking off . Splinters penetrated a boiler casing and caused a temporary drop in steam pressure . At 4 : 58 a second shell hit the homing beacon above the bridge and killed or wounded the captain and most of the personnel stationed there . The smokescreen became effective enough to impair the visibility of the Germans from about 4 : 58 to 5 : 20 so they ceased fire on " Glorious " . " Glorious " was hit again in the centre engine room around 5 : 20 and this caused her to lose speed and commence a slow circle to port . She also developed a list to starboard . The German ships closed to within and continued to fire at her until about 5 : 40 . " Glorious " sank about 6 : 10 , approximately at , with only 43 survivors . As the German ships approached " Glorious " , the destroyer " Acasta " , which had been trying to maintain the smokescreen , broke through her own smoke and fired two volleys of torpedoes at " Scharnhorst " . One of these hit the battleship at 5 : 34 abreast her rear turret and badly damaged her . " Acasta " also managed one hit from her 4 . 7 - inch guns on " Scharnhorst " , but was riddled by German gunfire and sank around 6 : 20 . According to Winton , survivors ' estimates were that about 900 men abandoned " Glorious " . The German did not try to save survivors . The Royal Navy knew nothing of the sinking until it was announced on German radio . The Norwegian ship , on passage to the Faeroe Islands , arrived late on June 10 and picked up survivors , eventually delivering 37 alive to Thorshavn of whom two died . Another Norwegian ship , " Svalbard II " , also making for the Faeroes , picked up five survivors but was sighted by a German aircraft and forced to return to Norway , where the four still alive became prisoners of war for the next five years . It is also believed that one more survivor from " Glorious " was rescued by a German seaplane . Therefore the total of survivors was 40 , including one each from " Acasta " and " Ardent " . The total killed or missing was 1 , 207 from " Glorious " , 160 from " Acasta " and 152 from " Ardent " , a total of 1 , 519 . The disaster and the failure to mount an effective rescue was clearly an embarrassment for the Royal Navy . All ships encountering the enemy should routinely broadcast a sighting report , and so the lack of a sighting report from " Glorious " was eventually raised in the House of Commons . It later became known that the heavy cruiser had passed within 30 – 50 miles of the battle , flying the flag of Vice Admiral John Cunningham , who was carrying out orders to evacuate the Norwegian Royal Family to the UK and maintain radio silence . Some surviving eyewitnesses from " Glorious " and " Devonshire " later testified that the sighting report had been correctly sent , and received in " Devonshire " , but that it had been suppressed by Cunningham , who departed at high speed in accordance with his orders . It has also been alleged by Howland that there was some confusion over the use of wireless telegraphy frequencies on board " Glorious " which could have contributed to the failure of any other ship or shore - station to receive a sighting report . Howland also cites the absence of normal airborne patrols over " Glorious " and its attendant destroyers , in conditions of maximum visibility , as a contributory factor to the disaster . Memorials . For many years the only memorial to the seamen lost in the three ships was a stained - glass window in the church of St Peter Martindale in Cumbria , on the east side of Ullswater . On 8 June 2010 , 70 years after the loss of " Glorious " , " Acasta " and " Ardent " , a memorial plaque inscribed in English and Norwegian was unveiled near the Trondenes Historical Centre in Harstad , Norway , the two destroyers ' last port of call .