Illustrious continued serving after her front-line war ended. She carried jets and performed postwar duties despite her accumulated damage. Commissioned in 1940 and decommissioned in 1955, she served for fewer than sixteen years. One surviving ship's bell bears heavy damage from her service.
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Illustrious's short postwar jet-carrier career
Illustrious remained useful for jet work after 1945 and was decommissioned in 1955, fewer than sixteen years after commissioning.