| Displacement | 24,000 tons |
| Armament | 8 x 2 4.5 DP Numerous light AA |
Aircraft |
63 |
| Speed | 31 knots |
| VTS Rating | 0 3 6
|
Indomitable was a more advanced version of the Illustrious-class CV that had similar armor, but extra hangar space to accommodate around 60 planes, rather than Illustrious' around 40. Britain considered this CV to be a good match for the fleet carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and actually sent her to accompany Prince of Wales and Repulse to Singapore to intimidate the Japanese. Only because she suffered damage on a reef in the Caribbean enroute and had to repair was she spared the ordeal of Force "Z"'s demise from the famous air attack on Dec. 10, 1941.
In "Grand Fleet" her erstwhile "sister" Insuperable took her place as part of Force "Z" . When war started, Insuperable and her battle squadron met the Japanese crack 22nd Air Flotilla off the Malaysian peninsula. Detection radar aboard Insuperable enabled her fighters to intercept many of the slow, lumbering, unescorted bombers, but there were too many of them and torpedoes or bombs hit every ship in the squadron. Several bombs bounced off Insuperable's armored flightdeck, but she took a torpedo that flooded an engine room. Though she managed to limp back to Singapore guarded by air defense units shuttled from Singapore plus her own planes, her planned escape to Ceylon was cut short as the Japanese Carrier Striking Force swept the Indian Ocean clean of British seapower.
