A History of HMS SHAH
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HMS SHAH on her way from San Francisco to join the
Eastern Fleet in Ceylon. She has a deck cargo of
Hellcats and P-40 Warhawks, the Avengers of 851 squadron
are stowed in the hanger. |
HMS
SHAH was an 'Ameer' ('Ruler') class escort carrier; her keel was
laid down on November 13th 1942, at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co.
Tacoma, Washington, a C3-S-A1 type freighter Maritime Commission
hull number 254, Seattle-Tacoma hull number 38. The hull was
purchased by the US navy for conversion into the auxiliary aircraft
carrier USS JAMAICA AVG-43, a'Prince William' class escort
carrier, and was launched on April 21st 1943 by her sponsor Mrs. C.
T. Simard. On July 15th 1943 her US Navy designation was changed to
CVE. Whilst still under construction it had been decided that AVG-43
was to be transferred to the Admiralty under the Lend Lease
agreement; she was delivered to the US Navy at the Seattle-Tacoma
yard on September 27th 1943 and was transferred to Admiralty custody
and was commissioned into RN service as HMS
SHAH (D21), Captain W.J. Yendell RN in command, on the same day.
Modification and preparation to enter service:
After completing her builder's sea trials and Admiralty acceptance
tests HMS SHAH proceeded to Vancouver, Canada to be modified
to meet Admiralty requirements, receive her full crew compliment,
and work up ready for beginning her active service. This work was
undertaken by the Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., North Vancouver,
British Columbia.
SHAH was the fifth ship to be modified by Burrards, and she
arrived at Vancouver at on October 2nd and was berthed in the pool;
at this time sister CVEs AMEER, ATHELING, BEGUM and
EMPRESS were in the hands of the Burrard's yard and at various
stages of modification,. Work commenced to de-store the ship and to
remover her Low Pressure turbine for remedial work to be carried
out, the rotor was removed on October 15th and despatched to Messrs.
Allis Chalmers, Milwaukee, for partial re-blading. On the 17th
SHAH was moved to number 3 berth at Lapointe Pier for her
alteration work to begin: this work totalled 150 separate
modifications and included lengthening of the flight deck, fitting
redesigned flying controls and fighter direction layout,
modifications to hangar, accommodation and store rooms, installing
extra safety measures including major changes to the aviation fuel
stowage and oiling at sea arrangements,, modifying gunnery and other
internal communications, adding extra W/T and R/T sets, and improved
darken ship arrangements.
The
repaired LP rotor was refitted on November 14th before the ship was
berthed in the floating dry dock on the 20th for the fitting of
Asdic equipment and additional sea valves. She was undocked and
moved to number 4 berth on the 24th where the alteration and
modification phase of the work was completed on December 11th,
having taken a total of 55 days. The remainder of the planned works
was concluded while the ship was moored in the stream off Lapointe
Pier, in particular the addition of 130 tons of concrete Ballast.
The next fortnight was spent on trials and working up, including a
short round trip voyage to the US Naval Yard at Bremerton,
Washington to ammunition the ship and then returning to the Straits
of Georgia (between Vancouver Island and the mainland), for
steaming, gunnery, radar and other trials and exercises. After a
short visit to Esquimalt, Victoria, North Vancouver, to embark
Confidential Books and more stores.
Maiden voyage: Ferry trip to Trincomalee via Melbourne and Cochin
HMS
SHAH was one of only a handful of escort carriers that were
to be pressed into active service before making the maiden voyage to
the UK, she was allocated to the 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron in
the East Indies Fleet and sailed for San Francisco on January 2nd
1944. Arriving there on the 7th she took on more stores and
equipment before embarking the twelve Avenger aircraft of 851 Naval
Air Squadron on the 14th. The squadron had flown across country from
USNAS Norfolk, Virginia on completion of forming and working up to
join the ship. The squadron would not be flying on the voyage
because the flight deck was to be used for deck cargo; the
squadron's aircraft were taken below into the hanger before a ferry
load of 32 Wildcats and 22 Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. The following day
HMS SHAH sailed for Melbourne.
On
completion of her visit to Melbourne SHAH sailed for Cochin,
S. India, via Fremantle, departing Melbourne on February 8th. She
reached Cochin on the 23rd and disembarked the ferry load; this
included the airframes of 851 squadron. The squadron was to remain
ashore until March 6th before rejoining the ship. The next two weeks
would be spent working up her air department and flight deck
parties; this was the first opportunity for flying operations to be
carried out. SHAH Arrived in Colombo on February 19th and 851 was
flown off to RNAS Colombo Racecourse. Aircraft were embarked as
required when further training; it was on such training that 851
suffered its first operational loss when Avenger FN813 stalled and
ditched in the sea off the West coast of Ceylon while conducting a
night anti submarine exercise on April 14th killing all three crew
members.
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P-40 Warhawks on the quay side at Cochin as HMS SHAH
unloads her ferry load in February 1944. A pair of
Avengers are ranged on the front of the flight Deck. |
Offensive operations: Anti submarine sweeps in the Indian Ocean
HMS
SHAH was employed on ferry duties again on April 26th 1944,
leaving her squadron ashore in Ceylon she sailed for Bombay,
arriving there on the 30th. On her return to Colombo her squadron
was re-embarked on May 13th from RNAS Katukurunda equipped with 12
Avengers and a fighter flight of 6 Wildcats which had been added to
form a composite trade protection squadron. After further working up
HMS SHAH arrived in Trincomalee on June 16th 1944 and was allocated
to anti submarine duties, sailing on her first A/S patrol in the
Indian Ocean, east of Trincomalee the following day. The CVEs of the
Eastern Fleet had were employed as hunter/killers from the spring of
1944 since close escorting of convoys was ineffective due to U-Boat
commanders targeting vessels not sailing in convoy. Many of these
anti submarine sweeps were conducted off the Seychelles; HMS SHAH
operated with her sister ship HMS BEGUM on several of these
A/S sweeps.
On
completion of this sweep SHAH preceded to Colombo, arriving
there on June 30th; after a short turnaround SHAH put back to
sea on July 5th for trade protection sweeps between Colombo and
Cochin. During this patrol 851 Squadron suffered another serious
incident on the 28th when Avenger JZ119 stalled after being waved
off by the DLCO and crashed onto the quarterdeck, her petrol tanks
exploded on impact killing the observer Sub Lt JHW Calder, the pilot
Sub Lt RA McCartney RNZN and the Telegraphist Air Gunner Leading
Airman A Kane escaped. At the end of July SHAH was allocated
to join Task Force 66, a trade protection force for operations in
the northern Indian Ocean. TF66 comprised of CVEs SHAH and
BEGUM, Frigates
FINDHORN, INVER, LOSSIE and PARRET, Indian Sloops
GODAVERI, and
SUTLEJ.
During their last sweep in early August TF66 was looking for a
U-Boat, U-198, that had been attacking shipping of the East African
coast; on August 6th the MV EMPIRE CITY, a 7,295-ton cargo
vessel was torpedoed and sunk east of Mocimboa, Portuguese East
Africa. The following day the MV EMPIRE DAY a 7,242 ton cargo
vessel was torpedoed and sunk about 200 miles east of Dar es Salaam.
Both vessels were en route from Lourenco Marques, Mozambique, to
Aden & Port Said with a cargo of coal sailing with convoy DKA-21
which scattered dispersed after the initial attack. On August 10th
Avengers from SHAH spotted German submarine U-198 near the
Seychelles; one of 851 squadrons aircraft Avenger JZ123 stalled and
ditched alongside SHAH, the crew was rescued by the plane
guard. On the 12th Avengers from SHAH's 851 and BEGUM's
832 squadrons attacked U-198 but reported no damage seen. They then
directed the frigate HMS FINDHORN and the Indian sloop HMIS
GODAVARI to its location, the U-Boat was later sunk by
'hedgehog' attacks.
Following this action TF66 proceeded to Kilindini, Kenya on the 18th
to fuel and store ship in preparation for escorting a convoy between
Kilindini and Aden which sailed on the 27th. After a short stay SHAH
made the return voyage to Kilindini departing Aden on September
15th. Upon arriving at Kilindini 10 of 851 squadron's aircraft were
disembarked to R.N. Air Sect. Port Reitz on September 21st. The
squadron remained ashore until October 5th shortly after this time
HMS SHAH put to sea bound for Cochin, continuing
anti-submarine operations in the Indian Ocean en route to Cochin On
passage she flew off her squadron to RNAS Ratmalana, Ceylon on the
19th; it is not clear what duties took her to Cochin but SHAH
did not return to Colombo until November 26th and did not re-embark
her aircraft again until January 10th 1945 when she proceeded to
Trincomalee. Flying practice was carried out on passage to
Trincomalee and three of 851's Avengers were involved in accidents,
two being damaged in the same incident on the 13th. On the 23rd 861
flew ashore to RNAS Trincomalee to regroup in preparation for a
further period of A/S sweeps in February.
Refitting in South Africa: February -April 1945
HMS
SHAH re-embarked her squadron on February 8th 1945 and sailed
for Durban, South Africa, conducting trade protection operations
between Trincomalee and Diego Suarez before continuing on to Durban
for a refit. On arrival off Durban on February 23rd 851 disembarked
to RN Air Sect. Stamford Hill and SHAH was taken in hand by
the dockyard; the work took six weeks to complete, SHAH
re-embarked her quadroon to begin a post refit shakedown on April
5th. On completion of her shakedown SHAH sailed for Kilindini on the
8th. After a three day stop at Kilindini, during which time four
Aircraft operated ashore at RN Air Sect. Port Reitz, SHAH
proceeded to Trincomalee via Colombo to prepare for her next
assignment.
On
April 25th a detachment of four Hellcats from 804 squadron were
embarked from HMS EMPRESS, also embarking on that day were
the 6 photo reconnaissance Hellcats of 888 squadron for SHAH's
participation in Operation "BISHOP", a strike on the Nicobar and
Andaman Islands.
Operation "BISHOP": April 27th -May 7th 1945
For
this operation SHAH joined Force 63 on April 27th for
Operation "Bishop", a covering operation for 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), cruisers RICHELIEU, CUMBERLAND
(flag of CS 5),
SUFFOLK, CEYLON and TROMP, CVEs EMPRESS and
SHAH, destroyers
ROTHERHAM, TARTAR, VERULAM, NUBIAN and PENN. Logistic
support Force 69 RFA oiler OLWEN escorted by PALADIN
provided refuelling at sea. For this operation SHAH carried
19 Avengers of 851 and a detachment of 4 Hellcats from 804 NAS. 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.
The
operation concluded on May 7th with a final strike on Car Nicobar
airfield; during the 12 days of the operation only one aircraft was
lost and there was no enemy opposition from the air. On May 8th all
the ships in the force celebrated Victory in Europe Day by "Splicing
the Main brace", the issue of an extra tot of rum, and holding
services of thanksgiving The task force arrived at Trincomalee on
the 9th and 888 squadron were flown off to RNAS Colombo Racecourse,
while the detachment from 804 returned to EMPRESS. The
celebrations which continued ashore in Trincomalee were curtailed by
the news that the Japanese cruiser HAGURO, one of the last
surviving major Japanese warships, with the destroyer KAMIKAZE,
were attempting to evacuate troops from the Nicobar and Andaman
Islands to Singapore. A sighting by the submarine SUBTLE had
reported a cruiser and destroyer to the north of the Malacca Strait
and based on this intelligence the fleet was ordered to prepare for
sea to intercept them.
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HMS SHAH moored in the channel at Cochin on one of her
ferry runs with the East Indies Fleet. |
Operation "DUKEDOM": Sinking of the HAGURO -May 10th -16th
1945
On May 10th the CVEs 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 Japanese cruiser HAGURO; this action was codenamed Operation "DUKEDOM". She left Singapore, escorted by the destroyer KAMIKAZE, to re-supply the Port Blair garrison on the Andaman Islands and to evacuate the troops in Port Blair back to Singapore. However Japanese intelligence 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.
At 0500 on the 11th SHAH had to slow down due to what was believed to be fuel contamination, NUBIAN was detailed to stand by her. Later in the morning further difficulties arose due to the lack of wind which required the carriers to constantly change course to operate their aircraft. By 1430 hours Vice Admiral Walker had decided that since SHAH, could not launch a fully loaded Avenger, her accelerator had now failed, she should attempt to fly off 851 squadron’s Avengers to operate from EMPEROR while eight Hellcats from 800 squadron were accepted by SHAH in addition to the four from 804 squadron detachment already embarked. One of the Hellcats JX797 of 800 Squadron had a deck landing accident that was to cause damage to 6 aircraft; the arrestor hook had caught on the metal frame of the after lift and the hook pulled out, the aircraft careered through both barriers into Hellcats JV260, JV322, JW777, JW886 & JW890 parked forward.
HMS
EMPEROR was the only carrier to engage the HAGURO; on
May 15th a flight of four Avengers from 851 squadron, armed with
bombs located and attacked the Japanese cruiser and her escort, one
Avenger, JZ137. was shot down by heavy AA fire, killing the air
gunner Petty Officer Murley; The rest of the crew, Sub Lt. Burns and
Sub Lt. Robinson were able to take to their dinghy and were taken
prisoner. This attack had no success so a second strike of four
Avengers was launched from EMPEROR but one returned to the
ship with engine trouble. The remaining flight of three failed
locate the target but two of them did find a group of five ships
that they could not identify -this turned out to be 26th Destroyer
Flotilla which had been despatched to help in the hunt; having
loitered for thirty-five minutes trying to identify them, the
Avengers were short of fuel and had to break off and head for
EMPEROR.
The
third Avenger, flown by the squadron CO Lt. Cdr Fuller was searching
for the dinghy carrying the downed aircrew from the first strike.
After jettisoning his bombs to increase his range, he never found
the dinghy but did spot another pair of ships, a Japanese supply
vessel KURISHOYO MARU, escorted by a submarine chaser which
had successfully evacuated the garrison on the Nicobar Islands and
was on her way to Singapore. A while later he spotted the HAGURO
and reported her position to the fleet at 11:50pm; he shadowed the
two ships until 12:50am before having to break off and return to the
ship. Although at extreme range from the HAGURO's position
EMPEROR launched a third strike of three Avengers which flew
straight to the target and attacked; they achieved one direct hit on
the HAGURO and one near miss, all three aircraft ran low on
fuel on the return flight and had to ditch 30 miles from the fleet.
All three crews were rescued.
The
two ships were next engaged by the 26th Destroyer Flotilla in a
battle that saw the HAGURO sunk by gun fire and torpedo
strikes; the 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.
A ferry trip and squadron work up duties: May 19th -August 26th
1945
The
Hellcat detachments from 800 and 804 squadrons were returned to
their carriers on May 19th as the fleet returned to Trincomalee to
regroup, rearm and store ship. The aircraft of 851 squadron did not
re0embark on SHAH but were put ashore to RNAS Katukurunda.
After effecting repairs SHAH left Trincomalee and proceeded
to Bombay, arriving there on May 24th. The purpose of this trip is
not clear, but the ship spent the next 15 days in Bombay, sailing
for the return voyage to Trincomalee on June 9th.
On
her return to Ceylon SHAH began a period of flying training;
she carrying out DLP for the Avengers of 845 squadron on June 15th
before embarking 8 Hellcats from EMPEROR's 800 squadron on
the 24th. These were followed by the Avengers of 851 and a
detachment of four from 845 squadron embarking from RNAS Colombo
Racecourse on the 27th for anti-submarine duties. The Hellcats of
800 squadron returned to
EMPEROR at the beginning of July when SHAH returned to
Trincomalee. Disembarking her own squadron to RNAS Trincomalee on
July 6th SHAH
was tasked with flying training working up squadrons.
One
visitor during this period, Corsair III JS640 of the station flight
at RNAS Trincomalee, crashed on deck after Floating over all the
arrestor wires and taking Nos.2 & 3 barriers on July 11th, the pilot
was OK. Six days later the 845 detachment were joined by the
squadron's remaining 8 aircraft to work up for the intended landings
on the West Coast of the Malay Peninsula, Operation "ZIPPER", set for
September 1945. At the beginning of the second week of August
SHAH embarked 5 more Avengers from 851 and a single Walrus
from 1700 squadron for search and rescue duties.
Stand down: August 1945
Following the dropping of the Atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima, August 6th 1945, and Nagasaki three days later the
Japanese surrendered on August 15th bringing the war in the Far East
to an end. Operation "ZIPPER" was still mounted but in a revised
form that had no role for HMS SHAH; she returned to
Trincomalee by the 26th of August, unloading damaged airframes and
was ordered to prepare to sail for the UK. She sailed for Colombo
the following day where she disembarked the Walrus of 1700 squadron
to RNAS Colombo. On September 1st she disembarked her remaining
aircraft to RNAS Katukurunda.
At
Colombo HMS SHAH began embarking passengers and stores, on
September 3rd the personnel of 851 squadron re-embarked, their
aircraft remained in Ceylon. They were joined on the 8th by the
personnel of 845 squadron, also without aircraft. She departed
Colombo on September 12th bound for the Clyde via Aden, the Suez
Canal and Gibraltar. She arrived at Gourock on the Clyde October 7th
1945, the first time she had been to the UK; this marked the end of
her operational service, and work began to de-store her in
preparation for her return to US Custody. Upon their arrival back in
the Uk both 851 and 845 naval air squadrons were disbanded.
Disposal: Return to US custody December 1945
On
completion of de-storing and equipment removal HMS SHAH
sailed for Norfolk, Virginia on November 11th 1945, arriving there
on the 26th and decommissioned. CVE 43 was returned to the US Navy
custody at Norfolk Navy Yard on December 6th 1945 and put up for
disposal. She was sold to Rio De La Plata, S.A. on June 20th 1947
for conversion into passenger ship. the conversion work was carried
out by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry-dock Company were she was
Hull No. 472.
On completion of her conversion, on April 4th 1949, she was sold to
Compania Argentina De Navegacion Dodero S.A. for operation as an
Immigrant ship and transferred to Argentine Flag and Registry
bearing the name "SALTA"Â. She began operating on the Dodero lines
Genoa-Buenos Aires service in 1951. In 1955, the Dodero Line ceased
operations and the management of the ships passed to Flota Argentina
de Navegacin de Ultramar ("FANU"). Later, in 1962, FANU merged with
the state-owned Flota Mercante Del Estado to form Empresa Lineas
Maritimas Argentinas ("ELMA"). She was withdrawn from operations in
December 1964 after suffering boiler damage and was laid up in
Buenos Aires until she was sold in June 1966 to local ship breakers
for scrap.
Content revised:
31 October 2021
Sources used in compiling this account:
Click here for a list of
Primary sources
Additional sources:
Fold3.com various documents including;
Admiralty War Diaries
Norfolk Navy Yard War Diaries
Mew York Navy Yard War Diaries
Miscellaneous documents
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Comments (2)
My old grandfather was on board this ship, I still have his discharge book with dates...his name was Ernest Dixey