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A History of HMS EMPRESS
HMS EMPRESS was an ‘Ameer’ class escort carrier, her keel was laid down September 9th 1942 at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. Tacoma, Washington, a Maritime Commission C3 type freighter hull number 249, Seattle-Tacoma hull number 33; the hull was purchased by the US navy to become the auxiliary aircraft carrier USS CARNEGIE ACV-38, a ‘Prince William’ class escort carrier. She was launched on December 30th 1942. Whilst still under construction it had been decided that CVE 38 was to be transferred to the Admiralty on loan on her completion as an aircraft carrier. Upon her delivery on August 9th 1943 she was accepted on behalf of
the US Navy by Captain J. L. McGuigan, USN Supervisor of
Shipbuilding at Tacoma. The following day CVE-38 sailed for
Vancouver Island, British Colombia where she berthed at berth No 8
at LaPointe Pier August 12th and was transferred to the Royal Navy
on arrival. She was accepted on behalf of the Admiralty by Commander
T.K. Masterman RN, as acting commanding officer and commissioned
into RN service as HMS EMPRESS (Pennant number D42). At the time of her arrival in Vancouver it was unclear whether she would enter the yard for her modification work; due to a shortage of merchant shipping there had a shortfall in Lend-Lese aircraft deliveries from the US to India had developed and the Admiralty proposed that three of the newly completed CVEs should be employed in the ferry role rather than become fully operational. EMPRESS (CVE 38), PATROLLER (CVE 44) and RANEE (CVE 46) were earmarked for this duty, EMPRESS was to begin ferry operations as soon as possible, while PATROLLER would follow in November and RANEE in December. This planning was later amended, with THANE (CVE 48) replacing EMPRESS. This may have been due to the fact that EMPRESS was fully operational upon leaving the Seattle-Tacoma shipyard and would be required for combat operations. HMS EMPRESS was the fourth of nineteen escort carriers to be modified by the Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., North Vancouver, to meet Admiralty requirements. While in Vancouver she was to receive her full crew complement and work-up ready for active service. Alteration work started on August 30th and as the work progressed the ship moved to other berths for different phases of the work. She moved to No 3 berth on September 23rd and to no. 4 berth on October 3rd. While at No. 4 berth her Low pressure turbine rotor on the 10th for remedial work which required the component to be returned to its manufacturer. EMPRESS was moved to No 5 berth on Oct 17th and a replacement LP rotor was received (originally from CVE 41- HMS NABOB) on November 9th and work began installing this before the ship entered Burrards floating dry dock on the1 6th. EMPRESS spent three days in the dry dock before returning to No 8berth after undocking on the 19th. During November many key members of the ship’s crew arrived including her commanding officer Captain H.A. Traill RN, Commander Mastermann assuming the position of executive officer. Her alterations were completed in a total of 99 days, work being finished on December 6th. On December 9th she left the LaPointe Pier site and was moved to the Burrards terminal where she was to load stores and prepare for sea. On December 27th EMPRESS was moved to a mooring in the pool before finally emerging from the Burrards works on January 13th 1944 when she was moored in the harbour inlet. On December 12th 850 Naval Air Squadron arrived at the RCAF station
at Sea Island, Vancouver with 12 Avengers for service with
EMPRESS;
the squadron had flown from USNAS Squantum on the US east coast to
work up and join the ship at Vancouver. The squadron operated with
EMPRESS for the first time on January 20th 1944, conducting a period
of deck landing training while the ship steamed in the Georgia
Strait, between Vancouver Island and the Pacific coast of British
Columbia. They were to embark again on February 17th when EMPRESS
departed from Vancouver bound for the UK, via San Francisco,
Norfolk, and New York.
On the 21st of February
EMPRESS rendezvoused with NABOB off San
Diego; the two ships were to proceed to Norfolk together, but EMPRESS had stripped a turbine and could not continue without
repairs, so NABOB was instructed to proceed to Balboa alone. Upon
reaching San Francisco, additional communications equipment was
fitted to the bridge and combat communications room and further
stores were taken aboard. EMPRESS reached Balboa on 8th March and
passed through the Panama Canal the following day. On reaching
Cristobal on the Atlantic side she met up with her sister CVE HMS
SPEAKER and several other US and Canadian vessels which were
destined for Norfolk, Virginia. It was decided that these ships
would form a small convoy consisting of three CVEs, the U.S.S.
TULAGI, HMS EMPRESS and HMS SPEAKER, two American Destroyer escorts
and two Canadian Corvettes proceeded to Norfolk on March 18th. While
on rout to Norfolk one of 850 squadron’s Avengers operated with
SPEAKER giving the ship’s flight deck parties and air department
their first experience of first deck landings and take-offs. EMPRESS
and SPEAKER spent a week at Norfolk before sailing on to New York in
preparation for joining the Liverpool bound convoy CU 19 which
departed on March 28th. On reaching the Irish coast EMPRESS broke
away from the convoy and made for the Clyde, arriving at Greenock on
April 8th; 850 squadron departed on the 10th bound for RNAS
Lee-on-Solent. On April 11th EMPRESS was officially allocated to the strength of Western Approaches Command and was initially employed for Deck Landing Training operating with aircraft from 768 Squadron based at RNAS Abbotsinch. On completion of DLT duties EMPRESS placed in the hands of a Clyde dockyard for defect rectification and later moved to Rosyth Dockyard for further modification. The dockyard works were to take until late August to complete, the ship sailed from Rosyth to return to Greenock on August 30th to prepare for another tour of duty as the west coast Deck Landing Training Carrier. From September 6th to October 13th 1944 EMPRESS operated with pupils from 768 Squadron, now based at RNAS Ayr. The squadron operated a mixture of aircraft for DLT courses, including Hellcats, Avengers, Fireflies, Seafires Sea Huricanes, and Swordfish and on one occasion Fulmar. On the 7th Sub Lt (E) CB Coleman RNVR was killed in an accident. During November
EMPRESS carried out night DLT sessions with
Swordfish from 766 Squadron from RNAS Inskip followed by night and
day DLT for the Fireflies of 1772 Squadron from RNAS Burscough
between November 25th and 27th. Once the DLT sessions were completed
a series of exercises were flown for the benefit of the ship’s
Fighter Direction Team. Her flying training duties at an end HMS EMPRESS proceeded to Devonport, arriving there just before Christmas. Leave granted to both watches. An ENSA party gave performances on a stage built in the hangar for those remaining on board and guests from other ships in the dockyard. Towards the end of December work began storing and equipping the ship for operations with the East Indies Fleet. At the beginning of January 1945 EMPRESS began loading F6F Hellcat fighters into the hangar and flight deck to be transported to India after which she was to join the East Indies Fleet based in Trincomalee in Ceylon. EMPRESS was to complete the first leg of her voyage in company with convoy KMF 38 which sailed from the Clyde on January 5th and arrived at Gibraltar on the 10th. After refuelling at Gibraltar the ship made a solo passage to Port Said and passage through the Suez Canal. From Port Tewfik she preceded directly to Cochin in Southern India were her ferry load was disembarked. She next sailed for Trincomalee; 845 squadron flew aboard with 12 Avengers from RNAS Colombo Racecourse on February 3rd, EMPRESS arrived in Trincomalee on February 4th ready to begin operations. EMPRESS now operated as part of the 21st Aircraft Carrier
Squadron (21 ACS eventually included; AMEER, ATTACKER, EMPEROR,
EMPRESS HUNTER, KHEDIVE, PURSUER, SEARCHER, SHAH, STALKER and TROUNCER) with the newly created East Indies Fleet. The ship was
pressed into service within days of her arrival on station,
embarking the photo recon Hellcats of 888 squadron from RNAS Colombo
Racecourse on February 7th for a short work-up before embarking a
detachment of 4 Hellcats from 804embarked on the 20th to provide
CAP; the Avengers of 845 squadron were to carry out A/S Patrols. On February 22nd EMPRESS sailed as part of Force 62 which comprised of the CVEs EMPRESS flying the flag of Vice Admiral Walker and AMEER, the cruiser KENYA, destroyers VOLAGE, VIRAGO, VIGILANT, and frigates SPEY, SWALE and PLYM. Logistic support was proved by the Tanker Group, Force 61, RFA ECHODALE escorted by the frigate TRENT. Force 62 was to conduct Operation STACEY, a series photographic reconnaissance missions covering Sumatra and the Kra Isthmus EMPRESS spent 24th and 25th February cruising around the Andaman Islands, small groups of Japanese aircraft were picked up on the radar screens but it was not until March 1st that the first enemy aircraft were engaged by 804 Squadron Hellcats. AMEER's planes claiming a Dinah and an Oscar, while EMPRESS's flight of four took out another Oscar. These three Japanese aircraft were the first to be shot down by fighters from British escort carriers. On completion of the photo reconnaissance of the Kra Isthmus, the adjacent islands and Penang the ships of Force 62 had moved to a position off Simalur Island by March 4th where similar missions were carried out over Sumatra and Sabang. On completion of Operation STACEY the group returned to Trincomalee, the aircraft of 888 squadron flew off EMPRESS on March 6th and headed for RNAS Colombo Racecourse. Force 62 returned to Trincomalee on March 7th after which
EMPRESS
was sent to Colombo for a period of rest and recuperation; one
carrier at a time was taken out of the active force and given the
opportunity to rest between operations. This was particularly
appreciated in CVEs which had not been tropicalised before joining
the EIF. It was a common sight to see the carriers with both lifts
fully lowered to provide a source of ventilation, both at anchor and
at sea when not operating aircraft. EMPRESS arrived in Colombo
harbour on the 9th and disembarked 845 squadron to RNAS Colombo
Racecourse. The ship sailed for Trincomalee on March 29th, 845
re-embarked for passage and disembarked to RNAS Trincomalee when the
ship arrived there on the 30th. On April 11th EMPRESS and KHEDIVE came under air attack, a large formation of Oscars and Dinahs was detected on radar and KHEDIVE’s Hellcats (808 squadron) intercepted them but some Kamikazes got through and attempted to attack. EMPRESS was targeted by two attackers, the first attacked from the stern but being badly damaged by fighter and AA fire it crashed into the sea once EMPRESS manoeuvred hard over to starboard. The second managed to approach EMPRESS to within 200 yards before it was destroyed by gun fire from her two Port forward Bofors turrets. [See foot note] After 10 days at sea EMPRESS transferred the aircraft of 845 squadron to HMS KHEDIVE; her catapult was put out of action once 845 had departed, the main accelerator cable was near to the point of failure and needed to be replaced. While on passage back to Trincomalee news was received that Captain Traill was being appointed to a new post and would be leaving the ship when she made port. The Captain was rowed ashore, as tradition demanded, as the search for an accelerator cable began. However upon enquiring after spares the Flight Deck Engineer was informed that no cables existed anywhere on the island. A few days later Captain J.R.S. Brown RN arrived to assume command;
he was dismayed at the news about the delay in repairing the
accelerator cable, and so he set the crew to work painting the ship.
Her repairs completed EMPRESS embarked 804 squadron on April 22nd
with 20 Hellcats and a single Walrus from 1700 squadron and put to
sea to test her newly repaired catapult in preparation for her next
operation. EMPRESS joined Force 63 again on April 27th for Operation BISHOP, a covering operation fori the invasion of Rangoon Operation DRACULA. "BISHOP" was to involve diversionary strikes against Japanese installations on the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. Force 63 comprised of the Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH (Flag of Vice Admiral Walker) and RICHELIEU, cruisers CUMBERLAND (flag of CS 5), SUFFOLK, CEYLON and TROMP, CVEs EMPRESS (20 Hellcats of 804) and SHAH (l0 Avengers of 851 Sqdn., 4 Hellcats of 804 Sqdn.), destroyers ROTHERHAM, TARTAR, VERULAM, NUBIAN and PENN. Logistic support Force 69 RFA OLWEN escorted by PALADIN. On April 30th the Force 63 carried out a dawn bombardment and
Hellcat strikes on both airfields at Car Nicobar, the largest of the
Nicobar Islands. That evening strikes were made against targets at
Port Blair before returning to repeat the Car Nicobar bombardment.
Malacca was attacked on May 1st and Port Blair again on the 2nd. On
the 3rd the force separated into two groups, TROMP, CEYLON, and
CUMBERLAND, with CVEs SHAH and EMPRESS and destroyers HMS
TARTAR and
PENN were despatched to make an armed reconnaissance of the coastal
shipping between Mergui and Victoria Point.
Operations concluded with a final strike on Car Nicobar airfield on
May 7th; during the 12 days of the operation only one aircraft was
lost, Sub Lt (A) JA Scott RNVR was killed when his Hellcat JX803
ditched off the port bow having succumbed to damage from enemy AA
fire on Sunday May 6th, and there was no enemy opposition from the
air.
On May 8th all the ships in the force celebrated Victory in
Europe Day, the order was given to "Splice the mainbrace” [the issue
of an extra tot of rum] and services of thanksgiving were held
throughout the EIF. EMPRESS reached Trincomalee on May 9th and 804
disembarked to Trincomalee. Shore leave was granted but all
personnel were recalled later that day when an order was received
that all serviceable vessels in the East Indies Fleet were ordered
to prepare for sea. On the May 10th the CVEs EMPRESS, EMPEROR, HUNTER, KHEDIVE, and SHAH put back at sea tasked to provide air support for the 3rd Battle Squadron as it swept across the Andaman Sea hunting for the HAGURO; this action was codenamed Operation “Dukedom”. Japanese intelligence however had learned that that the Royal Navy was at sea, and the two ships returned to Singapore; on May 14th the HAGURO and KAMIKAZE tried again and left Singapore. Of the five CVEs involved two were to suffer mechanical failures which affected their operational capabilities, on the 11th SHAH experienced catapult problems and this prompted a rearrangement of the squadrons between carriers. The heavy Avengers of 851 were transferred to EMPEROR while eight Hellcats from 800 squadron were accepted by SHAH along with four more from 804 squadron on EMPRESS. The second mechanical failure occurred on the morning of 14th when EMPRESS suffered a catastrophic engine failure minutes before she was to turn into wind to catapult the first of 845 Squadron’s Avengers, which had embarked from RNAS Colombo the day before. The Chief Engineer reported the ship was suffering from 'condenseritis' and would need dockyard assistance before the main engines could be restarted. After being sat dead in the water for several hours with only auxiliary power she was taken in tow by the cruiser Black Prince and set out back to Trincomalee. HMS EMPEROR was the only carrier to engage the
HAGURO, only
inflicting minor damage operating at extreme range; The HAGURO was
later engaged the engaged 26th Destroyer Flotilla in a battle that
saw the HAGURO sunk by gun fire and torpedo strikes. #her escorting
destroyer KAMIKAZE received light damage. [Operation “Dukedom” saw
the longest airborne attack flight ever undertaken from a British
carrier, the target being 530 miles from the launch point, and the
final sinking of the HAGURO was the last gun action ever fought
between surface ships]. At the end of May EMPRESS embarked squadrons for training in preparation for the upcoming operation COLLIE; she embarked 888 Sqdn from Colombo Racecourse on the 31st for a short period of training, the squadron returned to Colombo on the 4th of June. Next the Hellcats of 896 Sqdn embarked from RNAS Tambaram and the Avengers of 845 Sqdn from Trincomalee on June 10th; 845 returned to Trincomalee on the 13th while 895 remained aboard until the 24th when they transferred to AMEER. From July 2nd
EMPRESS was at sea tasked with supporting Force 61
during operation COLLIE, the force comprised of the cruiser NIGERIA,
CVEs AMEER and EMPEROR Destroyers ROEBUCK, ESKIMO
and VIGILANT as
screen. [It is not clear what her role was in this operation as she
does not appear to have embarked any aircraft]. EMPRESS was back in
Trincomalee by the 9th and spent a week in harbour before embarking
the Hellcats of 896 on the 17th in preparation for her next
operation. EMPRESS was deployed with Force 63 for operation LIVERY on July
19th; the force comprised of Battleship NELSON, cruiser SUSSEX, and
CVEs EMPRESS and AMEER with Destroyers PALADIN, ROTHERHAM, RACEHORSE
and RAIDER to cover minesweeping operations carried out by HM
Minesweepers PLUCKY, PINCHER, VESTAL RIFLEMAN and HM Indian
Minesweepers PUNJAB and DECCAN off Phuket Island and conduct strikes
on targets in northern Malaya. The operation began on the 24th and
was to last for three days: This was an intense flying period for
the two CVEs, over a 3 day period Hellcats from both carriers flew
over 150 sorties and destroyed more than 30 Japanese aircraft on the
ground, together with trains and road transport in attacks on Kra
Isthmus. On July 26th HMS AMEER was attacked by a Kamikaze, a single
“Sonia” attempted to dive onto AMEER, it was hit and successfully
deflected by fire from the ships’ defensive armament, splashing into
the sea some 500 yards out. Operation LIVERY was the last offensive
operation carried out by the East Indies Fleet in WW2, two
minesweepers were sunk during the operation: the remaining ships of
Force 63returned to Trincomalee on the 28th. Once back at Ceylon 896
Sqdn disembarked to RNAS Puttalam on July 30th for training,
returning to the ship on August 9th when EMPRESS put to sea again.
EMPRESS sailed from Trincomalee on August 8th and re-embarked part
of 896 Sqdn: on the10th she joined Force 61 for operation CARSON,
attacks on Japanese shipping and airfields in Penang and Medan areas
of Malaya. The force included five CVEs, including ATTACKER and
KHEDIVE, and the cruiser ROYALIST. On the 11th the
operation was cancelled but the force remained at sea; on 14th
August the long-awaited signal arrived from the Admiralty 'Cease
hostilities against Japan.' Japan had surrendered unconditionally.
Force 61 returned to Trincomalee. I continued flying operations
throughout August, her squadron suffering two more accidents towards
the end of the month; JX724 skidded into walkway on the 23rd and
JX706 burst a tyre landing on the29th.
Operation "ZIPPER": September 1945 At the start of September I together with sister CVEs I, and I were tasked with the reoccupation of Singapore, code name Operation "ZIPPER". EMPRESS embarked replacement aircraft before sailing with the force which left Trincomalee on the 4th.The replenishment went badly as the first of the Hellcats to fly out to the ship had to be waved off by EMPRESS’ DLCO and had to wait until the second one had landed safely; on his second attempt Sub L. RW George came in to high but ignored the DLCO signals and attempted a landing anyway. He cut his engine but passed over all the arrestor wires, and the barriers to drop onto several airframes in the forward aircraft park. More replacements had to be organised before she could proceed to join the task force. Force 61 arrived off Singapore Island on the 6th and waited for
instructions; on the 8th one of 896 squadrons hellcats, JX679
ditched alongside EMPRESS the pilot Midshipman IC McLean was picked
up by the destroyer SAWNAREZ. On the 10th the order was given for
part of the force to proceed into the harbour, of the force CVEs
EMPEROR, HUNTER, KHEDIVE and STALKER anchored in Keppel Harbour,
Singapore. AMEER and EMPRESS were among 90 ships (including 70 RN
and RIN warships, 3 Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, 3 hospital ships and 14
merchant vessels) present in Singapore Roads for the surrender
ceremony which took place on the 12th. EMPRESS returned to
Trincomalee on the 13th flying off the aircraft of 896 Sqdn for the
last time to RNAS Katukurunda.
After a spell in Trincomalee HMS EMPRESS moved to Colombo on October 11th to embark passengers for a round trip voyage to Australia and New Zealand; on this trip EMPRESS was carrying commonwealth naval personnel home for demobilisation. She embarked (an unknown number) of passengers for Melbourne together with 370 ratings and 53 officers of the Royal New Zealand Navy, and 13 New Zealand soldiers for Wellington. She sailed from Colombo on October 17th. EMPRESS arrived in Wellington on the morning of November 3rd having
briefly called at Melbourne; once berthed at Aotea Quay she
disembarked her passengers who were greeted by large crowds of
relatives and spectators who lined the dockside. HMS EMPRESS was one
of the first warships to be open to the public after the war, and
for several hours in the afternoon she was toured by eager visitors.
The following day she was moved to another berth for minor repairs
to be carried out before sailing on the return leg to Ceylon. The ship arrived back at Colombo on November 23rd and began embarking more passengers and stores, this time in preparation for a voyage to the UK. Amongst her passengers were the aircrews and personnel of 896 Squadron; their aircraft were left at RNAS Katukurunda, and the squadron was to disband on reaching the UK. HMS EMPRESS left Colombo on November 27th and arrived in the Clyde
on December 19th. Once all passengers and stores were unloaded
EMPRESS was stood down from active service in preparation for her
return to the US Navy. On completion of de-storing and equipment
removal HMS EMPRESS sailed for Norfolk, Virginia on January 6th 1946
HMS EMPRESS arrived at Norfolk Navy Yard on January 20th, she was
decommissioned as an RN ship on January 28th.. CVE 38 was returned
to the US Navy custody on February 4th 1946 and stricken for
disposal on 28 March 1946. She was sold for breaking June 21st 1946.
*** FOOTNOTEThe action of April 11th when EMPRESS and KHEDIVE come under Kamikaze attack is drawn from Wellham (2003), an eye witness account from his biography; he was Commander Flying on EMPRESS. Other accounts give differing information: Sturtivant & Balance (1994) list 845 Sqdn as aboard EMPEROR not EMPRESS darning the period of this operation, EMPEROR was an assault carrier and not equipped to operate Avengers except in an emergency see HMS SHAH account. Also details of an incident involving KHEDIVE in Wellham’s (2003) account match the dates (April 8th) given in Sturtivant & Burrows (1995) for a Hellcat of 808 Sqdn crashing into KHEDIVE’s rounddown when the two carriers were embarking their squadrons prior to sailing for the operation. Claims that the first Kamikaze attack on an EIF carrier was against AMEER on July 26th, Brown (1974), must also be questioned in light of Wellham’s (2003) account which put it as over three months earlier. Another sourcee of confusion is the mixing up of EMPEROR and EMPRESS in historical works; Winton (1968, p.234) makes this switch when describing the air attack on AMEER during operation LIVERY. Since his account has been widely used by contemporary writers this error may well have been repeated over several other works.Content revised: December 2008
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