The aircraft carrier RFA Argus is a successful example of the conversion of a civilian vessel.

During World War II, the Anglo-American allies made extensive use of escort aircraft carriers converted from transport ships. The British Navy command drew on this experience when, in the spring of 1982, it needed to urgently deliver transport and assault helicopters, vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and large consignments of weapons and military equipment to the Falkland Islands.

For this purpose, the container ship Contender Bazan, built in 1981 by the Italian shipbuilding company CNR Breda, was chartered. After five days of refitting, the container ship delivered nine Sea King transport and assault helicopters and four Harrier aircraft to the combat zone in June 1982. The aircraft arrived fully assembled and ready for immediate use in combat. The ship made several such voyages and, after the end of hostilities in the Falkland Islands, was returned to its owner.

After analysing the experience of using the container ship, the British Navy command concluded that it could be converted into an aircraft carrier capable of performing tasks such as air and anti-submarine defence of convoys at sea, transporting and landing marine units by helicopter, and transferring aircraft units to new theatres of war, etc. However, the main purpose of such a ship was recognised as being the training of naval aviation flight and technical personnel.

In early 1984, the container ship Contender Bazan was purchased from the shipowner for £13 million and in March 1984 was transferred to Harland and Wolff in Belfast for conversion into an aircraft carrier. The cost of the conversion work was estimated at £50 million, i.e. more than four times the price of the ship itself.

The aircraft carrier RFA Argus

In June 1988, the new aircraft carrier entered service under the designation A135 Argus. Its architecture is basically similar to that of many cruiser aircraft carriers: there is a developed superstructure in the bow, followed by a flight deck.

Compared to the container ship, the dimensions of the bow superstructure are slightly increased due to the placement of the operations room, communications and flight control posts, pre-flight preparation rooms and cabins, as well as crew quarters.

In addition to the bow, the ship is equipped with a second superstructure. Its appearance is explained by the fact that in its original form, the container ship had two funnels installed sideways on small superstructures in the stern. During the modernisation, the superstructure on the port side, together with the funnel, and the cargo cranes were dismantled, and the funnel and superstructure on the starboard side were moved closer to the middle of the hull in a slightly modified form, which made it possible to create sufficiently good conditions for the flight deck equipment. Under the upper deck, there is a hangar with three watertight bulkheads. Each of them is equipped with a watertight door (9.75 m wide, 6.1 m high), and they can also be moved using a hydraulic drive, making it possible to move them when necessary to accommodate aircraft inside the hangar.

The rear section of the hangar on the starboard side houses storage facilities for aviation ammunition, spare parts and other equipment, as well as repair workshops.

The aircraft carrier RFA Argus

The hangar can accommodate eight vertical and short take-off and landing aircraft and three helicopters at the same time. There are two aircraft lifts in the bow (starboard) and stern (port) sections. In addition, the hangar can be converted to accommodate up to 700 marines. The ship's firefighting and drainage systems have also been brought into line with the requirements of the British Navy, the ventilation system has been improved, and the service and living quarters are equipped with air conditioning.

The aircraft carrier has a twin-shaft diesel-electric main power plant: two 18RS 2.5 V400 diesel generators produce electricity for two electric motors that rotate the propellers. The total power of this plant is 23,400 hp, providing a maximum speed of 22 knots. At a speed of 19 knots, the cruising range is 20,000 miles. The ship has fuel tanks with a capacity of 5,617 tonnes of diesel and 3,251 tonnes of aviation fuel. It is also equipped with means for transferring fuel to other ships at sea, which allows it to be used as a fleet tanker.

Due to the sharp increase in electricity demand, the power of the electrical power plant has been significantly increased. It includes three 1,200 kW diesel generators and one 250 kW diesel generator.

The Argus's aircraft carrier capacity is comparable to that of light aircraft carriers of the Invincible class: 12 Sea Harrier aircraft or 6 Sea King helicopters, while the Invincible can carry 8 Sea Harriers and up to 12 helicopters. Of course, it should be borne in mind that, thanks to the presence of a ski jump, Sea Harrier aircraft take off from the Invincible aircraft carrier with a much greater combat load than aircraft taking off vertically from the Argus.

The Argus's defensive armament consists of only two single-barrelled 20 mm Oerlikon GAM-B01 automatic cannons and four 7.62 mm machine guns. Thus, the task of defending it is entirely entrusted to escort ships.

Argus radio-electronic equipment is suited to its new purpose. It is equipped with a new CANE information and control system capable of performing various combat tasks, including controlling aircraft and helicopter flights, coordinating the use of weapons, and displaying air, underwater and surface situations on operational post displays. The radio-electronic armament also includes navigation radars of types 1006 and 1007, air and surface target detection radars of type 904, as well as a radio-technical reconnaissance and electronic warfare station UAN(1). There is also a type 182 anti-torpedo defence system.

The aircraft carrier RFA Argus

In 2024, the ships RFA Argus and landing platform dock RFA Lyme Bay were sent to Australia to participate in the Predators Run exercises. At the end of that year, the Argus returned to the UK, where it underwent repairs that were expected to last until March 2025. It was planned that in 2025, the Argus would rejoin the UK's aircraft carrier strike group, but in July 2025, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Lloyd's Register deemed the ship ‘unseaworthy’. By the end of that year, it was reported that it would be decommissioned.

It should be noted that Argus is the first project to convert a merchant ship into a combat aircraft carrier in modern conditions.

Its example clearly shows that with a proven vertical take-off and landing aircraft design and relatively low financial costs, the creation of a light aircraft carrier is not a major problem.