laststandonzombieisland

13 Sept 1945- Royal Navy landing party complete with Brodie helmets and Enfield rifles head for shore at Hong Kong from the Illustrious-class aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable (background) to guard key points as British forces move in to conduct surrender of Japanese.

Commissioned 10 October 1941, the 30,000-ton Indomitable was supposed to be dispatched to the Far East to support Force Orange, the ill-fated HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse at Singapore, but didn’t make it to the Pacific in time to help either the battlewagons or the colony.

She did, however, provide yeoman service in the Mediterranean before heading back to settle scores against the Japanese in early 1944, fighting at Palembang and Okinawa. She was the flagship of Rear Admiral C H J Harcourt, CB, CBE, when he sailed into Victoria Bay in the above image.

Indomitable went to the breakers in 1955.