A History of HMS Archer

Laid down 1st August 11939 at Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Chester PA as Maritime Commission hull number 46, Sun number 184, as a 11,900 ton C3 type freighter Mormacland for the US operator Moore-McCormack Lines. She was launched on 14 December 1939 and was completed on April 24th 1940. Mormacland was purchased by the US Navy 20 May 1941 for conversion into the second ‘Long Island’ class Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier for transfer to the Britain upon completion as BAVG 1. Conversion work was to be carried out by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Virginia. [US Navy classification ‘BAVG’ designates her as ‘British Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier’ – her predecessor and sister ship, USS ‘Long Island’ was AVG 1]

Her conversion consisted of installing a lightweight wooden flight deck on a truss work superstructure which covered 70% of the ships' length, fitting a small enclosed hangar beneath the aft of the flight deck to be serviced by a single lift. Archer had no island superstructure; a small navigation bridge was built under the forward edge of the flight deck while the original bridge was retained under the flight deck with enlarged wings on either side to give adequate visibility. Upon the completion of her conversion into a carrier on 15 November 1941 she sailed for New York were she was transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS ARCHER (D78) on 17 November 1941. Acting Captain J.I. Robertson RN in command.

Sea trials began on December 23rd 1941; putting in to Philadelphia Navy Yard for defect rectification 24 hours later (Archer was to be plagued by machinery probable throughout her carrier).

Trials complete Archer arrived at Norfolk Naval Operating Base in Virginia to embark US built aircraft for transit to the UK. Four days later while steaming off the US East coast Archer collided with, and sank, the American merchantman S.S. Brazos on 13th January 1942. Archer was badly damaged and needed to be towed, stern first, to Charleston, South Carolina for repairs.

Upon her arrival in the UK in 1942 Archer was allocated to Western Approaches Command, receiving a modification refit in February; her US pattern 4 inch guns were replaced with British versions, along with the addition of 2 dual 40 mm mounts and 1 20 mm removed. Part of this modification period was to equip her for operations as an ASW escort for convoy protection.

In March 1942 Archer sailed for the Caribbean to embark her air squadron; 834 naval air squadron, which embarked from RNAS Palisadoes, Jamaica on the 19th. Archer also embarked a cargo of 12 Martlet airframes for transit. Archer was now to be employed on Atlantic and coastal convoy escort duties off Sierra Leone, West Africa, arriving at Freetown, Sierra Leone, on April 4th for repairs after machinery problems.

Archer was ready to resume operations by mid May, sailing from Freetown on May 13th, operations included transporting bullion from Cape Town to Freetown. An aircraft from HMS Archer made history on  June 15th 1942 when Swordfish V4653 piloted by Lt. E. Dixon-Child, accompanied by observer Sub Lt. P. Shaw, and P.O. (T.A.G.) Townson, became the first aircraft to land on the newly constructed runway at USN Wide Awake on Ascension Island. This was part of the search for survivors from the S.S. Lylepark which was sunk by gunfire from the German raider KMS Michel N.W. of Mossamedes, Angola, on June 11th 1942. The Captain of HMS Archer sent an aircraft to drop a message about the rescue of survivors to be transmitted to the Admiralty by the Cable & Wireless Office in Georgetown. Sighting a runway the pilot proceeded to land (and was fired upon by the fields defence forces initially) in order to deliver the message.

On June 26th Archer left Freetown for New York, via Bermuda, where she was to undergo repairs to machinery and receive modifications to improve her aircraft ferrying capabilities. Work commenced n July 15th and were to take three and a half months to complete; Archer sailed from New York with convoy UGS2 on November 2nd 1942 operated a an aircraft ferry carrier carrying US personnel and 30 P-40 Warhawks from the USA to Casablanca, North Africa.

ON completion of the voyage to Casablanca Archer arrived a Gibraltar on November 18th to await a UK bound convoy MKF3 which sailed on the 27th. Upon her arrival in the UK Archer was to enter dockyard facilities in Liverpool for a further two month refit and modification period. This work commenced on December 4th and included lengthening her flight deck. Work completed Archer was reassigned to Western Approaches Command on February 17th 1943 and began a period of workup operations in the Clyde and Scapa Flow areas. 892 squadron embarked on February 19th with 9 Martlet V fighters (reducing to 3 in June). They were joined by 819 squadron on February 28th 1943 operating 9 Swordfish IIs.

HMS Archer was inspected by His Majesty King George VI on March 20th before beginning another round of defect rectifications in shipyards on the Clyde and in Belfast. It was to be the start of May before Archer was ready to resume active duties, sailing from the Clyde to join the 4th Escort Group, operating off Hvalfjord, Iceland, on convoy support operations in the North Atlantic.

On May 5th both of Archer’s squadrons flew ashore to RN Air Section Kaldadarnes, Iceland, returning onboard the next day. On Sunday May 23rd a Swordfish from 819 squadron, made a rocket attack on, and sank the German U-boat U-752; the first U-boat to be sunk by rocket attack alone, and only the second to be destroyed by aircraft operating from an escort carrier.

While operating with EG 4 Archer covered convoys ON 182 and HX239 before being withdrawn for exercises in the Irish Sea from June 27th. On completion of these exercises Archer was allocated to the Commander-in-Chief Plymouth to undertake anti-submarine sweeps in the Bay of Biscay beginning July 19th 1943. This was a short lived patrol, further defects and a lack of U-Boat activity in the area saw Archer withdraw to Devonport Dockyard after only a week on station, arriving at Devonport on the 27th. The next day she began a defect rectification period before sailing to the Clyde to begin major engine repairs. Archer arrived in the Clyde on August 3rd,

Archer had been plagued by engine and machinery defects from the beginning, and these came to a head when work commenced on major engine repairs in August. It was found that her defects were extensive and the Admiralty decided to decommission her effective from on November 6th 1943. Archer was now employed as a stores hulk moored in the Gareloch; she was towed to Loch Alsh in March 1944 and was used as an accommodation ship from March 6th until being ordered to Belfast at he beginning of August 1944 for repairs, to replace main gearing and prepare her for service as an aircraft ferry.

This final bought of maintenance and conversion work was to take seven and a half months, upon completion on March 15th 1945 she emerged as the Empire Lagan, and was transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) for use as a dedicated aircraft ferry carrier. During her time as a ferry carrier she was managed by the Blue Funnel Line for MoWT.

She was returned to the US Navy at Norfolk, Virginia on January 9th 1946 and was stricken for disposal on February 26th 1946. Purchased by Sven Salen of Stockholm and registered under the ownership of Rederi A/S Pulp Company as Anna Salen, she was rebuilt as a passenger ship with accommodation for 600 single class passengers.

Used as an emigrant ship from 1949 on various routes, including Europe to Canada and Australia she was further sold on to Cia Nav SA Piraeus, Greece in 1955. Renamed Tasmania she operated on the Piraeus-Melbourne service of the Hellenic Mediterranean Line. In 1958 she was rebuilt to 7,638 gross tons and in 1961 was sold to China Union Lines, Taipei and renamed Union Reliance. On November 7 1961, the Union Reliance collided with the Norwegian tanker Beran in the Houston Ship Channel and was beached, on fire, to avoid blocking the waterway. She was towed to Galveston on November 11; she was sold for breaking in Jan 1962, work starting in March 1962 at New Orleans.