She was refitted and modernised from January to August 1948. Captain John Hughes-Hallett relieved Edwards on 14 June. The ship was recommissioned in early September. While at anchor in Portland Harbour on 17 October, one of her boats foundered short of the ship in heavy weather; 29 men lost their lives. "Illustrious" resumed her duties in early 1949 and conducted trials and training for Avengers, Fireflies, Gloster Meteors, de Havilland Sea Hornets, Vampires and Seafires. On 10 June Hughes-Hallet was relieved by Captain Eric Clifford. During a severe gale in late October, the ship aided the small coastal steamer that had lost power. The weather was too bad for "Illustrious" to rescue the steamer's crew, but she pumped fuel oil overboard to flatten the seas until a tug arrived to rescue the ship on 27 October. On 2 May 1950, she arrived at Birkenhead to commemorate the launch of the new carrier the following day with the First Lord of the Admiralty, George Hall, 1st Viscount Hall, aboard. A Hawker Sea Fury crashed while landing on 15 May, killing the pilot and two members of the deck crew. The prototype of the turboprop-powered Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft made its first carrier landing aboard on 16 June. This event was also the first landing of any turboprop aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier.