Armada: Indomitable

The jewel atop the crown of Britain’s undisputed sovereignty over the European seas, forged in an age of rapid evolution for the Royal Navy.

HMS Indomitable, with her armored flight deck, expanded aircraft facilities, and heavy anti-aircraft artillery, strove to be a jack of all trades in the midst of a war that would put every conceivable aspect of naval combat to the test.
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In April 1937, the first of four planned Illustrious-class aircraft carriers was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyards at Barrow-in-Furness, England. This first, fully-fledged, class of modern British carriers was meant to serve as the proving ground for a new Royal Navy doctrine that called for maximizing carriers’ fixed defenses, both active and passive. Lacking effective radar, fighter planes couldn’t be expected to scramble in time to intercept an incoming attack in conditions of poor visibility. As a result, the Illustrious-class ships sacrificed plane capacity for an armored “box” that encased their hangars, including 76 mm of plating on the flight deck. This feature was a true rarity for its time, and one that wouldn’t be replicated abroad until 1941 with the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiho.

By November 1937, the fourth and final ship of the Illustrious series—Indomitable—was laid down at the same English shipyard. Due to delays in the delivery of required materials, construction was put on hold and the Admiralty took the opportunity to modify Indomitable’s design. The new requirements called for an increase in airplane capacity from 36 to 48, while keeping her weight in line with her three unmodified sister ships. To achieve this, an additional hangar was added above the originally planned one, and some armor was shaved off the sides and lower decks around the “box,” while the flight deck plating was left untouched.

Indomitable was completed and entered service in 1941, shortly before the Japanese Empire joined the war on the side of the Axis. In January 1942, she was assigned to the Eastern Fleet—based in the Indian Ocean—to curtail the rapid advance of the Japanese Navy in the East Indies. Before leaving the Indian Ocean, Indomitable would provide air support for the invasion of Madagascar.

With the Battle of Midway sending any chances of further carrier threats to the bottom of the sea, Indomitable was freed up to be sent to the Mediterranean in July 1942 to partake in Operation Pedestal—a heavily armed resupply convoy for the crucial island of Malta. Air cover was essential to the mission’s success, so it’s no surprise that Indomitable became the focus of German and Italian bombers from the outset. The ship was hit with two armor-piercing bombs, one of which struck an unarmored section of the flight deck, starting fires below-decks. Nevertheless, Indomitable’s squadrons of Hawker Sea Hurricanes performed well against the bombers, with fighter ace Lt. Richard Cork shooting down five enemy aircraft.

In 1943, Indomitable found herself again in a large-scale operation in the Mediterranean, as the Allies prepared for the invasion of Sicily, providing important air cover for the amphibious assault. Shortly after midnight on July 16, a lone bomber approached Indomitable undetected, dropping a single torpedo which struck the ship under the belt on the port side amidships. The damage was heavy, but quick and effective damage control, as well as counter-flooding, allowed her to sail back to Malta for repairs under her own power.

After undergoing extensive repairs and refitting at Norfolk, she was assigned to the Pacific theatre in 1944, where she would serve out the rest of the war. She survived three kamikaze attacks on May 4, 1945. One of the aggressors hit the deck, but the armor withstood the blow and only a few aircraft and sailors were lost as a result; the second kamikaze attack resulted in the plane bouncing off Indomitable's deck and exploding in the water; and the third attacker was shot out of the sky by the ship’s anti-aircraft batteries.




In terms of her aircraft squadrons, Indomitable flies the twin-engine De Havilland Sea Hornets, first operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in 1946.

Aircraft: De Havilland Sea Hornets in one squadron of four level bombers and one squadron of six attack aircraft.

These twin-engine, multi-role planes were developed as land-based fighter/bombers in the twilight years of the war, but were also adapted for carrier operations with a ‘Sea’ variant, complete with foldable wings to fit in the cramped carrier hangars.

Secondary battery: 16 113 mm/45 Mk II BD dual purpose guns in eight enclosed double turrets, situated on four separate sponsons located on either side of the ship, both fore and aft.

Anti-aircraft armament: 21 twin and 16 single 20 mm Oerlikon machine guns; four double 40 mm Bofors mounts; six quad 40 mm Vickers 2-pounder Mk VII “Pom-poms.”

• Air Supremacy
  
• Improved Engine Boost
  
• Improved Engines
  
• Aircraft Armor
  
• Survivability Expert

• Air Supremacy
  
• Improved Engine Boost
  
• Improved Engines
  
• Aircraft Armor
  
• Survivability Expert
  
• Sight Stabilization
  
• Demolition Expert
  
• Adrenaline Rush

The ship has five slots for upgrades. We consider the following combinations to be most effective:

• Air Groups Modification 1
  
• Aircraft Engines Modification 1
  
• Attack Aircraft Modification 1
  
• Attack Aircraft Modification 2 or Bombers Modification 2
  
• Flight Control Modification 1

Like all other carriers, VIII Indomitable has the standard Damage Control Party I and Fighter I on auto-activation. Her planes—both the rocket and bomb-equipped varieties—come with two charges of Engine Cooling I to speed up your squadrons’ movement, and four charges of Patrol Fighters I to deploy strategically on the map.




One of the first aircraft carriers with an armored flight deck in naval history. The ship's game version carries two types of aircraft on her deck: twelve attack aircraft and eight bombers, making it two full squadrons of each. Thanks to this, you can launch a full squadron even if the previous one of the same type hasn't returned from an attack yet, or went down during their assault. All aircraft aboard Indomitable have a high cruising speed for this Tier, allowing you to quickly reach any part of the battlefield and carry out vicious attacks against enemy ships.

• Attack aircraft: six aircraft in a squadron, with two planes on an attack run. Each aircraft carries eight rockets. Maximum rocket damage—2,100 HP; armor penetration—27 mm; chances of setting a target on fire—9%. Cruising speed—188 knots.
  
• Bombers: four aircraft in a squadron, with two planes on an attack run. Each bomber can drop six HE bombs. Maximum bomb damage—4,700 HP; armor penetration—32 mm; chances of setting a target on fire—27%. Cruising speed—182 knots.
  
• Extra credits per battle and 50% more XP provided by the permanent camouflage.

For a detailed look at the ship's technical specifications, follow this link.



[h3]Indomitable. Admiral Pack –20%[/h3]

• VIII Indomitable 
  
• Commander with 10 skill points
  
• 6,000,000
• 110×New Year Streamer camo
  
• 110×Equal Speed Charlie London
  
• 110×India Bravo Terrathree
  
• 110×Zulu
  
• 110×Zulu Hotel
  
• 110×Papa Papa
  
• Combat mission: x3 XP for 25 battles
  
• Unique flag
  
• Port slot