Her activities during this period included exercises in company with her sister ship Albion and NATO allies, embarking British troops during the withdrawal from Trieste in October 1954, escorting the royal yacht Britannia during a Royal Tour and numerous visits to friendly ports.

[7] From June 1955 until January 1956, Centaur was based in home waters and undertook a range of visits and exercises with other carriers of the fleet.

She crossed the line for the first time on 26 April en route back from Singapore to Devonport via Suez and Malta, arriving on 15 May 1956.

[10] In the mid-1950s Government Defence Policy was to maintain a fleet of four active aircraft carriers to meet both NATO and Imperial commitments.

[11] The rapid advances in naval aviation technology during this period, such as the angled deck, steam catapults and mirror landing sight, coupled with the planned introduction of the new, heavier second-generation jet fighters such as the Supermarine Scimitar and De Havilland Sea Vixen, rendered the existing Carrier fleet obsolescent.

A particular problem was the lack of hangar deck strength, which when the ships were ordered in 1943, was specified to handle 30,000 lb (14,000 kg) aircraft.

This involved the installation of two 139-foot (42 m) BS4 40,000 lb (18,000 kg) steam catapults forward, the removal of the Bofors guns on the flight deck, improved air operations facilities and the addition of a Type 963 blind-landing radome at the rear of the island.

During March the Whirlwind helicopters of 845 Squadron were landed due to technical problems with their engines and she re-embarked Dragonflies to carry out search And rescue duties.

Three surviving Fairey Swordfish biplanes were restored and flown from her decks, and scenes were also shot on the bridge of the carrier, and in the aircrew briefing room.

[34] Centaur was refitted at Portsmouth from September 1960 until March 1961, during which the upgraded arrestor wires were fitted[35] and additional air-conditioning units installed.

Although she was originally scheduled to cross the North Atlantic for a visit to the US and Canada, events in the Middle East were to lead to a rapid change of plans.

During October she re-embarked her air-group and headed back through the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, to once again relieve Victorious as the duty carrier East of Suez in December.

[40] There was also a brief return to the Gulf in December 1961 when President Kassim of Iraq resumed threats against Kuwait, before backing down again.

Engineering staff isolated the affected boiler, and later that morning a rescue team wearing asbestos suits were able to recover the bodies of their ship-mates.

Later that day their coffins, wrapped in Union Jacks, were flown off to RAF Valley, and a memorial service was held.

However, the decision to keep 2 carriers available for service east of Suez meant that she would serve longer than originally intended in the fixed-wing role.

[48] Centaur was refitted in Portsmouth Dockyard between June and November 1963, during which she was fitted with a large Mirror Landing Sight on a sponson on the port-side of the flight deck and a Type 965 air search radar was installed on a lattice foremast (taken from the Air Direction Destroyer Battleaxe, which had been earmarked for disposal, after being badly damaged in a collision the previous year) at the front of her island.

[50][51] She was destined to be sent to the Far East, however before departing she undertook an emergency mission from 23 to 24 December, to assist the Greek Cruise Liner TSMS Lakonia, which had caught fire near Madeira.

Centaur's helicopter helped to recover the victims of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 128 passengers and crew; their bodies were disembarked on the ships lighter at Gibraltar on Christmas Day 1963 .

[52] After a quick passage through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, she arrived off Aden in January to continue her work-up, during which time she embarked the six Wessex helicopters of 815 Squadron from RAF Khormaksar to complete her air-group.

Britain decided, after urgent appeals for help from President Julius Nyerere, to deploy Centaur accompanied by 815 Naval Air Squadron along with 45 Commando of the Royal Marines.

When Centaur arrived at Dar-es-Salaam, a company of Royal Marines was landed by helicopter on a football field next to the barracks of the mutineers.

The Royal Marine Band displayed the British forces appreciation of the friendly welcome they had received from the Tanganyikans while restoring the country to stability, by taking part in a heavy schedule of parades through the streets of Tanganyika.

During May Centaur was ordered to return to the Indian Ocean to provide further support in Aden, where the Radfan rebellion was escalating into a major conflict.

[54] During the summer her Sea Vixens undertook air strikes against the rebel forces in Radfan, helping to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion.

She returned to Portsmouth on 24 August 1965, and was open for visits by the public during Navy Days, before paying off for the last time on 27 September 1965.

In 1970, she was towed to Devonport, where after another spell as an accommodation ship, and with her condition now deteriorating significantly, she was put on the disposal list.