HMS Vindictive

Harland & Wolff, Belfast launched this ship on 17 January 1918 and she entered service in the Royal Navy as an experimental aircraft carrier on 1 October 1918. She was converted before launch from a Hawkins class cruiser, previously named HMS CAVENDISH. In July 1919 VINDICTIVE sailed to the Baltic Sea to support attacks on the major Bolshevik naval base in Kronstadt, Russia. In August 1919, eight aircraft from VINDICTIVE carried out bombing and strafing attacks on gun and searchlight crews protecting the naval base, suppressing the defences, enabling Royal Navy motor torpedo boats to attack ships there, sinking two battleships and the depot ship PAMYAT AZOVA.

VINDICTIVE was converted back to a cruiser in 1924. For details of her subsequent service, see Vindictive entries under the appropriate date (1925, 1937, 1939).

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