On 9 April 1942, 91 high level bombers and dive bombers with 38 fighters from the carriers Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu (all offsite links) attacked the British ships, 80 dive bombers with fighter escort diverged on HMS Hermes (Capt. The British ships then received orders to withdraw and Trincomalee harbour was evacuated that day and almost all ships went to sea. On 8 April 1942 a Catalina flying boat reported the sighting of a Japanese Carrier Fleet approaching Trincomalee. The basic hull had been built along the lines of a light cruiser. This imbalance had to be corrected by carrying more water ballast and fuel oil in the port side and aft tanks than in the starboard side and forward tanks. The island located forward of amidships made the ship trim by the bow, the weight of the off-set island also caused a list to starboard. Although very narrow, the island was quite long and massive for a ship this size. HMS Hermes was the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy and fitted with an off-centre island containing the funnel and operations spaces.
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