Wikipedia:Today's featured article/February 5, 2017
The Courageous class was the first British multi-ship class of aircraft carriers. The three ships—Furious, Courageous and Glorious—were originally laid down as battlecruisers to be used in the Baltic Project during the First World War. They were very fast, but their minimal armour and guns limited their long-term utility in the post-war Royal Navy, until they were converted to aircraft carriers as permitted by the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. Furious, already partially converted during the war, began reconstruction in 1921. As the first large carrier completed by the Royal Navy, the ship was used to evaluate aircraft handling and landing procedures, including the first-ever carrier night landing in 1926. During the Second World War, Courageous became the first British warship lost, torpedoed in September 1939 by a German submarine. Glorious, sailing home with minimal escort after the Norwegian Campaign, was sunk by two German battleships in June 1940. Furious ferried aircraft, escorted convoys and launched air attacks in support of British forces until late 1944. (Full article...)
Part of the Courageous-class battlecruisers featured topic.