A History of HMS Trumpeter

Laid down 25 August 1942, at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. Tacoma, Washington, a C3-S-A1 type freighter, Maritime Commission hull number 248; Seattle-Tacoma hull number 32. The contract was purchased by the US navy 30 April 1942 and was intended to be completed as the USS BASTIAN AVG-37 (AVG changed to ACV on August 20th, only five days before her keel was laid). She was launched on December 15th 1942; her hull was towed to the Commercial Iron Works yard, Portland, Oregon, for completion and fitting out as an aircraft carrier.

Whilst still under construction it had been decided that ACV-47 was to be transferred to the Admiralty on loan on her completion being assigned to the United Kingdom under lend lease. Her US navy designation was further changed to CVE-47 on July 15th 1943. She was transferred to the Royal Navy on 4 August 1943 and commissioned in RN service, at Portland, as HMS TRUMPETER (D09), Captain K.S. Colquhoun RN in command. (She was initially earmarked to become HMS Lucifer but this was changed before she was completed)

Outfitted as an Anti Submarine Warfare carrier, Trumpeter's first operations, in late 1943 and early 1944, were ferrying aircraft and escorting North Atlantic convoys from New York to the Clyde. In the summer of 1944 she was allocated to the Home Fleet and assigned 846 naval air squadron, equipped with Avenger and Wildcat aircraft for offensive operations.

Between August and December 1944 she took part in a series of offensive operations against enemy shipping in the North Sea and against enemy occupied Norway including Operation' Goodwood', the naval sir attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz.

In early 1945 she undertook escort duties with Russian convoys before being returned to anti-shipping operations in the North Sea. Trumpeter was to take part in the last air strike of the European War on May 4th; her aircraft shared the sinking of the German Submarine U711 with aircraft from HMS Queen. Trumpeter was next tasked with providing air cover for the Allied liberation of Denmark.

After a short refit on the Clyde, she was reassigned to the Eastern Fleet, arriving in Colombo, Ceylon in July 1945. In September 1945 Trumpeter was part of a large RN force participating in Operation Zipper, the recapture of Malaya.

HMS Trumpeter was returned to the US Navy on April 6th 1946, reverting to her original name of USS Bastian but was to see no active service with the USN, being marked for disposal on 19 June 1946. She was sold to the Holland America Line and saw merchant service as the ‘Alblasserdijk’ from i19 May 1948, being renamed ‘Alblasserdyk’ in 1953. She was sold to Panama and further renamed 30 April 1966, becoming the’ Irene Valmas’. The ship was eventually scrapped at Castellon, Spain in May 1971.

Ships bearing the name 'Trumpeter'

D09 was second of four ships to bear the name 'Trumpeter' - the first HMS Trumpeter was a  192 ton trawler requisitioned by the Royal Navy for war service between 1914 and 1919.  The third HMS Trumpeter was a Landing Ship (Tank), launched as LST 3524. She became HMS Trumpeter in 1947, before being transferred to the Ministry of Transport in 1956,as Empire Fulmar. She was sold at Singapore in 1968. The fourth HMS Trumpeter is an 'Archer' class coastal training craft in service with the Royal Naval Reserve. Commissioned on 5 November 1988 she was initially used by the Southampton Division of the Royal Naval Reserve as a junior officer seamanship training ship. From February 1991 she was used by the RN's Gibraltar Squadron as a Gibraltar Guard Ship.  She returned to the UK In April 2003  to became Bristol University Royal Naval Unit's tender.