A History of HMS Striker

Laid down 5 December 1941, by Western Pipe & Steel, San Francisco California as a C3-S-A2 type freighter, Maritime Commission, hull number 198, Western Pipe and Steel hull number 78; purchased by the US navy to be the USS PRINCE WILLIAM AVG- 19 (later changed to ACV- 19 on August 20 1942). She was launched on 7 May 1942. Whilst still under construction it had been decided that ACV- 19 was to be transferred to the Admiralty on loan under the ‘Lend-Lease’ agreement upon her completion. It was to take another year before she was completed and ready for handing over to the Royal Navy.

An advance party of the RN crew had sailed for New York in September 1942 on board the troop ship Queen Elizabeth. They disembarked at New York on the east coast of the United States, and were accommodated at RN Camp Peekskill, New York State, to await transport across the continent to San Francisco on the west coast.

After working up and sea trials Striker was employed on convoy escort duties on the North Atlantic and Gibraltar routes embarking 824 naval air squadron operating 9 Swordfish & 6 Sea Hurricane aircraft on October 27th. Striker completed 9 Gibraltar convoys and 3 Anti-Submarine sweeps before being switched to other duties. On March 21st 1944 Striker was visited by His Excellency the Governor General of Gibraltar, whilst she was alongside in the dockyard.

Striker’s air squadron disembarked to RNAS Grimsetter on April 12th to re-arm, exchanged their 6 Sea Hurricanes for Wildcats on May 5th; a further 3 Swordfish were also received, increasing their number to 12 aircraft. This was in preparation for Striker carrying out an offensive role in Norwegian waters and Artic convoy duties.

Striker, in company with the escort carrier Vindex carried out three offensive strikes in Norwegian waters in the summer of 1944, against German shipping and the battleship Tirptz before being tasked with escorting four arctic convoys; two outward convoys to the Kola Inlet, Russia, and two returning convoys bound for Loch Ewe, Scotland. 824 squadron received an additional 4 Wildcats for these trips, bringing the total carried on Striker to 10.

The first convoy saw Striker, with Vindex, escorting he 33 merchant vessel convoy JW59, leaving Loch Ewe on the 15th-August 1944 bound for Kola Inlet, where it arrived on the 25th. One U-boat was sunk on this run, the U-344; she was sunk by the combined efforts of the destroyer Keppel, the frigate Loch Dunvegan and sloops Mermaid and Peacock, part of the 20th Escort Group as she tried to approach the convoy north of North Cape on the 22nd. In addition three Bv138C German shadowing planes were destroyed, one falling to Striker’s 824 Wildcat flight. The return convoy RA59A, comprising nine merchant ships arrived safely at Loch Ewe on September 6th.

Striker’s second outward Russian convoy, JW60, sailed from Loch Ewe on the 16th September with 30 merchant ships; striker was joined by the escort carrier Campania for this trip, arriving at Kola Inlet on the September 25th. The return convoy RA60, with 30 merchant ships, departed Kola Inlet on the 28th; two merchant vessels are lost to U-boats, Campania's Swordfish from 813 squadron sank U92 of Northern Norway on September 30th. Convoy RA60 arrived at Loch Ewe on October 7th.

No. 824 squadron parted company with HMS striker after this operation, the squadron disembarked on 16 October 1944 to disband at RNAS Abbotsinch.

From October 1944 Striker was assigned to operations in the South West Pacific as a part of the new British Pacific Fleet.

In late October Striker and her sister CVE Fencer departed from Greenock bound for Ceylon, calling at Gibraltar, Port Said  and across the Indian Ocean to Trincomalee, Ceylon. After a short stay in Ceylon both ships and tier escorts sailed for Australia. Both vessels carried a deck cargo of DeHavilland Mosquito Fighter Bombers, most were destined for the Royal Australian Air force but a small number belonged to No. 618 squadron, Royal Air Force. 618's aircraft were equipped to deliver a special ‘bouncing’ anti-ship mine developed from the famous dam busting bouncing bomb designed by Barnes Wallace; these were being ferried to Melbourne, arriving there on December 23rd 1944.

Striker was to be employed as a forward area replenishment carrier; she would not carry any operational squadrons during her time in the Pacific, only replenishment loads of spare airframes for issue to other carriers whilst at sea as a part of the Air Train,  the aviation logistic support element of the British pacific Fleet’s logistics life-line ‘the Fleet Train’. A collection of merchant and military vessels which supplied the fleet with fuel, food armaments and other stores. Based in Sydney, with forward bases at Manus in the Admiralty Islands and Leyte in the Philippines, the Fleet Train operated over a distance of some 2,500 miles each way.

Upon arriving on station Striker became the flagship of the 30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron (30 ACS), with Captain Carne receiving promotion to the rank of Commodore.

Striker was to play an active role in three operations with the British Pacific Fleet, acting as a replenishment carrier. operation ‘ICEBERG 1’ March 26th to April 20th, and operation ‘ICEBERG 2’ May 4th - 25th, both involving strikes against the Pacific Islands of Sakishima Gunto & Formosa. Her third sortie was Operation ‘INMATE’ June 14th & 15th 1945 for strikes against the Truck Islands. As operations against the Japanese mainland continued throughout July and early August, two replenishment carriers at a time were present in the forward refuelling areas, taking it in turns to ferry loads of spare aircraft between offensive operations; Striker continued to operate with the Air train until returning to Sydney after VJ Day.

On August 27th members of the ship’s company attended the wedding of the ship’s Padre, the Rev. Alfred ‘Dickie’ Bird RNVR, to Miss Ellie Lucas, daughter of the Rector of St John’s Church, Darlinghurst, East Sydney. The ceremony was performed at St John’s Darlinghurst; the guest of honour was Commodore Carne.

Striker like her sister carriers was next employed on humanitarian relief work, repatriating refugees and POWs became the priority effort after the Japanese surrender. Striker re-crossed the equator on the 2nd October 1945, on her way to Hong Kong carrying civilians to the colony. Whilst in Hong Kong many members of her original ship’s company were relived of their duties and returned to the UK on board the Troop Ship RMS Sterling Castle. Striker sailed for the UK in early December arriving back in Greenock just in time for the crew to have Christmas leave at home.

Under the terms of the agreement through which she was loaned to the Royal Navy she was to be paid for or returned; Striker was not to be retained, and She was returned to the US Navy, at Norfolk, Naval Base on February 12th 1946. She was struck from the US Navy List, 28th March 1946, and laid up in reserve. She was sold June 5th 1948 to the Patapsco Steel Scrap Co., of Bethlehem, Pa., and shortly after was scrapped.