Would she have been outward bound for the Far East or returning from, when the 1960 photo was taken?
I ask because I think I was aboard her in HK in August 1960. If I have the right carrier she certainly carried Skyraiders a that time, because I remember being so surprised when I saw them.
If the date is correct, ALBION would be outbound as she departed UK Feb 1960 for the FES and returned to Portsmouth 17 Dec 60. When she returned she was nominated for conversion to a Commando carrier and it also marked the end of front line service for Seahawk, Sea Venom and Skyraider aircraft which were replaced by Scimitar, Sea Vixen and Gannet.
Thank you, you have solved my 60 year old puzzle. I went on board probably while she was lying at Tamar to visit my cousin, a junior lieutenant. I remember being surprised to see the American built 'Skyraiders' on the flight deck.They looked so enormous. Nick
No worries Nick. My notes indicate that in addition to the Hong Kong visit where you went onboard, on that trip ALBION visited Spain, Malta, Sicily, Greece, Aden (Apr 60), Singapore, Philippines, Korea, Japan, Ceylon, Pakistan and Kenya. A great run by any standards !!!
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