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POCKET SIZED AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

Merchant hulls into warships

 

Humble beginnings

The escort carrier was designed as a solution to the shortage of naval air power for convoy protection by repurposing merchant hulls into pocket sized aircraft carriers. By the end of WW2 Britain had operated 45 escort carriers, in the Atlantic, Arctic, Indian and Pacific oceans: 6 of these were British built 39 were US built.

"Full protection could not be afforded to the convoys until it was possible to provide air escort for the whole of the Atlantic passage; and for some time there was a gap of some 600 miles in mid-Atlantic which land-based air forces could not reach. That was finally bridged partly by the provision of the ‘V.L.R.’ (very long range) aircraft, but even more effectively by the provision of escort carriers which could accompany each convoy."

(Rear-Admiral H. G. Thursfield ,"Failure of the U-Boat Campaign." Illustrated London News January 22, 1944)

The first escort carrier was the British built HMS Audacity, entering service on June 17th 1941. She was the first escort carrier to operate as a convoy escort sailing with convoy, OG-74 on September 13th 1941. Although she only carried maximum of 8 fighters and had only a brief active career before being sunk, she had shown that the concept worked. The idea of converting merchant hulls into vessels capable of operating naval aircraft was to be taken forward by the US Navy who began utilising merchant 'C3' type freighter hulls for conversions into escort carriers. The first US conversion was the USS Long Island which was commissioned on June 2nd 1941.

Thirty-nine US built escort carriers were loaned to the United Kingdom under the ‘Lend-Lease’ agreement that existed between the U.S. and Britain for the supply of war materials. This agreement afforded Britain a valuable life-line;

"The United States should loan what articles were needed, as a man would loan his garden hose to help his neighbor put out a fire without reference to payment, but with the expectation that the hose itself would be returned."

(Franklin D. Roosevelt 17 Dec 1941.)

These borrowed ships were to be returned at the end of hostilities or payment was due. Two were destroyed, one damaged beyond repair, the remaining ships were returned to the US Navy and the majority were converted back into merchant vessels.

Lend lease batch 1

Of the first five escort carrier conversions completed for the RN (Archer, Avenger, Biter, Charger, and Dasher) were essentially copies of the 'Long Island' design. Archer was the first to be handed over, commissioning in November 1941. Charger however, was reclaimed by the USN two days after she was handed over for duty as a training carrier. Archer saw little active service before machinery problems saw her laid up for a considerable time. Avenger and Dasher were both sunk, Biter being the only one of the initial batch to see continuous active service until the end of the war.

Lend lease Batches 2 and 3

The U-Boat treat was increasingly claiming merchant and military vessels on vital convoys; the need for more escort carriers was to become a priority. Orders were placed for two further batches of US CVEs whilst the Admiralty undertook to complete a further five. Batch 2 was 11 'Bogue' class CVEs, although some 'Casablanca' class vessels were initially earmarked for transfer, but these were diverted to the US navy. Batch 3 was a repeat order for a further 23 Bogue class vessels.

Peak strength of 42 carriers

By the end of 1942 the RN had received 8 US escort carriers and completed two conversions in British shipyards. During 1943 it was to gain a further 30; 27 lend lease and 3 more British conversions. This was to be the height of escort carrier production for the RN, the final four US built vessels and the final British conversion had all arrived by the end of February 1944. Out of a total of 45 ships built 2 of the fiat batch of US conversions Avenger & Dasher had been lost plus Audacity.

After the war

The first carrier to be returned to US custody was Biter on April 9th 1945, the last was Atheling on December 13th 1946.

Of the five surviving British escort carriers HMS Nairana was transferred to the Dutch navy in 1946 as the HNLMS Karel Doorman; only HMS Campania had a post war career serving as a transport during British Nuclear testing in the Pacific before being converted to become a floating exhibition hall for the 1951 Festival of Britain, before finally being sold for breaking in 1952. The other four vessels were converted back into merchantmen in the late 1940s.

Master index- Alphabetical listing

Alternative ship menus listed by:  UK built by commissioned date | US built by commissioned date | US built by USN designation

BOLD links are completed pages, normal links are pages with content but are works in progress.  * = recently added or updated.

Name Gallery Commissioned Paid Off
ACTIVITY 29 Sep 42 30 Jan 46
AMEER 20 Jul 43 17 Jan 46
ARBITER 31 Dec 43 3 Mar 46
ARCHER 17 Nov 41 9 Jan 46
ATHELING 28 Oct 43 13 Dec 46
ATTACKER 7 Oct 42 5 Jan 46
AUDACITY   17 Jun 40 Sunk 21 Dec 42
AVENGER 2 Mar 42 Sunk 15 Nov 42
BATTLER 31 Oct 42 12 Feb 46
BEGUM 2 Aug 43 4 Jan 46
BITER 5 May 42 9 Apr 45
CAMPANIA 7 Mar 44 1954
CHARGER   - Retained by USN
CHASER 9 Apr 43 12 May 46
DASHER   2-Jul-42 Sank 27 Mar 43
EMPEROR 6 Aug 43 12 Feb 46
EMPRESS 12 Aug 43 4 Feb 46
FENCER   1 Mar 43 12 Nov 46
HUNTER   11 Jan 43 29 Dec 45
KHEDIVE 25 Aug 43 26 Jan 46
NABOB 7 Sep 43 10 Oct 44
NAIRANA   12 Dec 43 23 Mar 46
PATROLLER 22 Oct 43 13 Dec 45
PREMIER   3 Nov 43 2 Apr 46

PRETORIA CASTLE

9 Aug 43

21 Feb 46

PUNCHER   5 Feb 44 18 Jan 46
PURSUER 14 Jun 43 12 Feb 46
QUEEN   7 De 43 31 Oct 46
RAJAH   17 Jan 44 13 Dec 46
RANEE 8 Nov 43 21 Nov 46
RAVAGER 25 Apr 43 27 Feb 46
REAPER   18 Feb 44 27 Feb 46
RULER   2 Dec 43 29 Jan 46
SEARCHER   7 Apr 43 29 May 46
SHAH 27 Sep 43 6 Dec 45
SLINGER 11 Aug 43 27 Feb 46
SMITER 20-Jan 44 6 Apr 46
SPEAKER 20 Nov 43 27 Jul 46
STALKER   30 Dec 42 29 Dec 45
STRIKER 18 May 43 12 Feb 46
THANE 9 Jun 44 15 Dec 45
TRACKER   31 Jan 43 29 Nov 45
TROUNCER   31 Jan 44 2 Mar 46
TRUMPETER   4 Aug 43 6 Apr 46
VINDEX   21 Dec 43 Sep 46


 

 

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