History
Name: | Hercules
Builder: | Vickers-Armstrong Harland and Wolff
Laid down: | 14 October 1943
Launched: | 22 September 1945
Commissioned: | Never commissioned
Identification: | Pennant number: R49
Fate: | Laid up, 1947; Sold to India, 1957
Name: | Vikrant
Acquired: | 1957
Commissioned: | 4 March 1961
Decommissioned: | 31 January 1997
Homeport: | Bombay
Identification: | Pennant number: R11
Motto: | Sanskrit: Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah English: I completely defeat those who dare to fight with me
Fate: | Scrapped, 2014
General characteristics
Class and type: | Majestic-class light carrier
Displacement: | 16,000 t (15,750 long tons) (standard) 19,500 t (19,200 long tons) (deep load)
Length: | 700 ft (210 m) (o/a)
Beam: | 128 ft (39 m)
Draught: | 24 ft (7.3 m)
Installed power: | 40,000 ihp (30,000 kW) 4 Admiralty three-drum boilers
Propulsion: | 2 shafts; 2 Parsons geared steam turbines
Speed: | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: | 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement: | 1,110
Sensors and processing systems: | 1 × LW-05 air-search radar 1 × ZW-06 surface-search radar 1 × LW-10 tactical radar 1 × Type 963 aircraft-landing radar
Armament: | 16 × 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (later reduced to 8)
Aircraft carried: | 21–23
Aviation facilities: | 1961: Catapult Assisted Take-Off 1989: 9.75 degree ski jump