Aircraft Carrier histories. Royal Navy aircraft carriers of the Courageous Class. Aircraft carrier website dedicated to the history of HMS Courageous, HMS Glorious, HMS Furious, HMS Eagle, HMS Hermes, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Argus from their launch to their participation in major wars also notice board for families of ex-crew of Courageous Class carriers.

HMS Glorious started life as a light battle-cruiser. Laid down on the 1st May 1915 at the Harland and Wolff shipyards. She was launched on the 20th April 1916 and completed on the 14th October 1916.  This Battle Cruiser only saw one action during world war one at Heligoland bight on the 17th November 1917. It was then that a weakness to the ships decking was found when HMS Glorious had fired its main armament of four 15-inch guns (mounted in pairs ) one pair forward and pair aft.  The firing actually caused the structural damage. Probably due to this weakness HMS Glorious and her sister ship HMS Courageous were placed in the Royal naval reserve fleet in February 1919, at Devonport, Plymouth