HMS RAJAH at sea c.1944. ©IWM (FL 7059)

HMS RAJAH was was a ‘Ruler’ class escort carrier, her keel was laid down on December 17th1942, at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. Tacoma, Washington, a C3-S-A1 type freighter, Maritime Commission hull number 256, Seattle-Tacoma hull number 40; purchased by the US navy to be the USS McCLURE, AVG-45, a -Prince William- class escort carrier, but her name was changed to PRINCE on November 13th 1942. Whilst still under construction it had been decided that AVG 45 was to be transferred to the Admiralty on loan on her completion as an aircraft carrier. AVG-45 was launched on May 18th 1943 by her sponsor Mrs. J. L. McGuigan and was assigned to Willamette Iron & Steel, Portland, Oregon, for the completion of her construction as an escort carrier. Her US navy designation change d to CVE-45 on July 13th 1943. She was transferred to theUnited Kingdom under Lend-Lease on October 17th 1943. She was delivered on January 17th 1944, and commissioned into RN service as HMS RAJAH (D10), with Commander Philip Baker RN in command.
 

Modification and preparation to enter service

After completing her builder-s sea trials and Admiralty acceptance tests HMS RAJAH 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. RAJAH was the twelfth ship to be modified by Burrards, and she arrived at Vancouver at on February 1st and at 6 p.m. she was secured at No 7 berth, Lapointe Pier; at this time sister CVEs SPEAKER, QUEEN, RULER and ARBITER were in the hands of the Burrard' s yard and at various stages of modification,. Work commenced to de-store the ship before she was moved to number 3 berth on the 4th 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.

As work progressed RAJAH moved through the yards various berths; the yard could be working on six different ships at any time with separate aspects of the work carried out at different berths, the ships passing through like a production line, moving from one berth to another until complete. RAJAH moved to No 4 on February 20th, then to No 5 March 4th where her alterations were completed on March 17th having taken a total of 45 days.

RAJAH sailed for Esquimalt, Victoria, North Vancouver on March 19th to enter dry dock for the fitting of additional sea valves and other remedial work. She entered the berthing dock on the 20th, and was un-docked on the 22nd. She was to remain at Esquimalt, for a spell of defect rectification, to embark Confidential Books and more stores and to prepare for her post modification shakedown. Whilst moored in Esquimalt the ship was visited by two officers from No. 7 Radio Detachment RCAF, Patricia Bay, on April 11th; they were shown around the ship, and in particular the operations room.

Once the defect rectification period was completed RAJAH made a short round trip voyage to the US Naval Yard at Bremerton, Washington to ammunition the ship and then returned to the Straits of Georgia (between Vancouver Island and the mainland), for steaming, gunnery, radar and other trials and exercises.

HMS RAJAH: Starboard aft 40mm Bofors crew test fire their weapons during gunnery exercises in the Straits of Georgia, April 1944.

Maiden voyage: Ferry trip to UK, May 2nd - July 12th 1944

HMS RAJAH Left Esquimalt on May 2nd 1944 bound for the Panama Canal and on to Norfolk, Virginia. At the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk RAJAH was allocated to Western Approaches Command for ferry duties, and began embarking aircraft on the 29th of June 1944. The ferry load included the 12 Avengers of 857 Squadron and the 18 Corsairs of 1842 Squadron for transit to the UK. Also embarked were the aircrews and personnel of these two squadrons. After loading, RAJAH sailed for r New York were she joined the east bound convoy TCU 30 on July 2nd; this was mainly a troop ship convoy with a few merchant vessels. RAJAH arrived at Liverpool on July 12th where she unloaded stores and the aircraft of 1842 Squadron; the next day she proceeded to Belfast to disembark 857 Squadron and more stores. From Belfast RAJAH sailed for a short defect rectification period in a Clyde dockyard.
 

Deck Landing Training Duties: July 30th -  August 14rh 1944

After her repairs, RAJAH was transferred to the control of the Flag Officer Flying Training for a tour as the west coast Deck Landing Training Carrier. The ship's flight deck equipment was put through its paces by an Avenger (JZ106) from 778 Squadron Service Trials Unit and a Wildcat (JV342) from 768 Squadron on July 23rd; this involved several arrested landings and catapult-assisted take-offs by each aircraft.

 Her stint as the duty DLT Carrier began on July 30th, when Barracudas from 768 Deck Landing Training Squadron based at RNAS Ayr began flying out to the ship. The next two weeks put the various ship departments through their paces while training carrier pilots in the art of deck landing. Barracudas from RNAS East Haven on the east coast of Scotland also utilised the ship towards the end of her DLT duty; 769 Squadron began DLT on August 11th and 767 Squadron on the 12th; all DLT flying ended on the 14th.

In addition to the usual naval aviators attempting to gain their deck landing certification, the pilots under training included those of No. 618 Squadron, Royal Air Force; normally, they flew de Havilland Mosquitoes but carried out their DLTs in the Barracudas of No. 768 Squadron. The carrier deck landing training was intended to prepare them for the top-secret Operation OXTAIL in the Pacific theatre, where it was hoped they would be able to employ their “Highball” bouncing anti-ship mine, developed from the famous dam-busting bouncing bomb designed by Barnes Wallace, navalised Mosquitoes launching from a Fleet Carrier. It was originally planned for use in the war against Germany, but the war in Europe needed to be won before it could be deployed.

The training period started badly; one of the first aircraft to approach the ship, a Barracuda, suffered rudder damage and spiralled into the sea. The pilot, F/Lt Maclean, RAF, was picked up by a fishery vessel. Numerous minor flying accidents occurred during the two weeks of intensive activity; one was more spectacular. Barracuda LS643, flown by Pilot Officer J. R. Myles RCAF, suffered an undercarriage failure on August 13th, and the aircraft came to rest in the port walkway. Another unidentified Barracuda failed to stop on landing and ran over the front of the flight deck, coming to rest nose-first in the foc-sle.

 Left: August 14th 1944: This is possibly a Barracuda belonging to 768 Sqn based at RNAS Abbotsinch. The pilot overshot the mark when taxiing forward of the barrier after landing and crashed onto the fo'c'sle. He was unhurt.. Right: Recovering the wreckage of another barracuda that has crashed on landing.

Round trip ferry voyage to Ceylon: September 10th - November 11th 1944

Once her DLT duties were completed RAJAH was re allocated to Western Approaches Command for further ferry duties, proceeding to RNAMY Belfast to embark her next load. On September 9th she embarked the personnel and 12 Avenger aircraft of 849 squadron, the personnel and 21 Avengers of 857 squadron along with the personnel and 6 Photo recon Hellcat s of 888 squadron, for delivery to southern India and Ceylon.

RAJAH sailed on the 10th; she called at Gibraltar, Alexandria and Aden before reaching Cochin, S. India on October 9th. Here she disembarked 849 squadron to RNAS Cochin and 957 squadron for the RN Aircraft Repair Yard at Coimbatore. RAJAH continued on to Trincomalee, Ceylon, disembarking 888 squadron to the Naval Air Station at China Bay on the 11th. She spent the next week storing ship and embarking passengers in preparation for the return voyage to the UK.The passengers included the personnel of 822 Squadron, which was returning to the UK without its Barracudas; the aircraft type performed less than satisfactorily in the tropical climate and was withdrawn after only a month of operations. RAJAH sailed for home on October 17th; on this return voyage she carried the former Governor of Ceylon, Sir Andrew Caldecott, KCMG, CBE.

After calling at Port Suez and Port Said, she sailed from Gibraltar on November 7th in company with sister CVEs ATTACKER, HUNTER , and STALKER , which were returning to the UK for a short period of defect rectification after operations in the Aegean. All four carriers arrived in the UK on November 10th, with RAJAH anchoring on the Clyde after unloading; she entered a Clyde dockyard for defect rectification.
 

Loan to the US Navy as a Transport Carrier

In December the Admiralty agreed to loan HMS RAJAH to the US Navy for operations as a transport and aircraft ferry carrier with the US Pacific fleet She sailed with convoy UC49B which departed from Liverpool on December 20th 1944, and arrived at New York on December 31st. After passing through the Panama Canal in early January 1945 she arrived in San Diego, California to begin operations on January 15th.

1945 - HMS RAJAH somewhere in the Pacific, her decks laden with US F6f-3s destined for Guam.

RAJAH carried aircraft and personnel from San Diego to Guam in the Mariana Islands, via Pearl Harbour. On her return passage to San Diego, she carried passengers and evacuated injured US personnel. Her RN designation changed from D10 to R310 for service in the Pacific, but she may not have worn it. She was to operate in this role for six months and was returned to RN duties on July 7th 1945, when she sailed from San Diego for the Naval Operating Base at Norfolk. She reached Norfolk on July 23rd and embarked the personnel and 18 Corsair aircraft of 1853 squadron for passage to the UK. RAJAH sailed (probably not in convoy since the war in Europe was over) on July 28th bound for the Clyde, arriving there on August 5th.
 

Troop Ship Conversion : August - November 1945

HMS RAJAH was one of six RN CVEs (along with ATHELING, RANEE, QUEEN, PATROLLER and FENCER) selected for conversion for Naval Trooping, these ships were to be employed bringing military personnel from the Far East back to the UK and some commonwealth countries. Once her passengers and cargo were disembarked RAJAH went upstream to Meadowside Quay for her conversion to a troop ship; this work was undertaken by Messrs Alex Stevens Ltd. During this period almost all of the ship-s company were drafted off the ship and a scaled down complement arrived to man her. The work consisted of converting the hangar deck into accommodation spaces; about 600 bunks were installed along with additional mess decks and heads. When the work was completed on November 13th RAJAH left Meadowside Quay and moved downstream to X4 buoy off Rosneath Patch where she was to store ship, and carry out post conversion trials.

First trooping voyage: November 1945 - January 1946

After embarking passengers, RAJAH sailed for a round-trip voyage to Colombo and Bombay, departing on November 22nd. She reached Colombo on December 14th, where she embarked/disembarked passengers before sailing for Bombay on the 17th. She arrived at Bombay on December 20th and embarked a contingent of Combined Operations personnel for return to the UK; she was to spend two days here before sailing for Plymouth. Christmas Day was spent at sea in temperatures of over 90 degrees F - massed voices on the flight deck could be heard singing, “When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even”. RAJAH reached Plymouth on January 11th1946 and disembarked her first passengers before continuing on to Portsmouth and later Sheerness, arriving there on the 13th; she finally berthed at Chatham on the 14th. Leave was granted once the ship was secured.

Second trooping voyage: January - March 1946

After the ship's company returned from leave, the ship was ready for a second trooping voyage; this time she was to call at Singapore and Hong Kong. The primary purpose of this voyage was to transport the men, equipment and vehicles of 45 Commando Royal Marines, which was to become part of 3 Commando Brigade at Hong Kong. Embarkation was completed by late January, and RAJAH sailed from Chatham on January 31st. She arrived at Port Said on February 11th and, after calling at Aden, arrived in Colombo on February 23rd. The ship arrived in Singapore on March 1st and Kowloon, Hong Kong, on March 7th.

Late January 1946: The vehicles and trailers of 45 Commando RM secured on the flight deck of RAJAH at Chatham just prior to her sailing for Hong Kong. © IWM (A 31118).

On completion of disembarking 45 Commando Royal Marines and embarking stores and passengers, she sailed from Hong Kong on March 15th, called at Singapore on the 19th, and arrived in Colombo on the 23rd. Sailed Colombo on the 24th, arrived Aden on the 30th, sailed Aden on the 31st, arrived Port Suez on April 4th and transited the Canal to arrive at Port Said the same day. Sailed Port Said on April 5th, arrived Gibraltar on the 10th. Sailed for Plymouth on the 11th, calling there on the 14th, called at Portsmouth on the 15th and arrived at Sheerness on the 16th. Sailed on the 17th and arrived at Chatham later that day. Taken in hand by Chatham Dockyard for repairs on April 23rd.

Third trooping voyage: May – July 1946

RAJAH was next scheduled to sail for Ceylon on May 13th 1946. She departed Gibraltar on May 18th, arriving at Port Said on the 23rd. After passage through the Suez Canal, she departed from Port Suez at 08:00 on the 25th, calling at Aden on the 28th and sailing for Colombo on the 30th.

The planned schedule was now amended. She was joined by PATROLLER, and both vessels were ordered to Singapore, departing Colombo on June 6th and arriving on June 11th. From there, they were to transport a personnel lift for the Army back to the UK, sailing for Colombo on June 14th and arriving on the 19th. She sailed from Colombo at 16:00 on June 20th; she called at Aden on the 26th and arrived at Port Said at 1700 on July 1st, sailing for Gibraltar at 10:00 on the 2nd. Called at Gibraltar on July 7th and arrived back at Chatham on the 10th.

RAJAH entering Valletta harbour on one of her trooping voyages in 1946.

Fourth troop voyage: August - November 1946

RAJAH was again allocated to Rosyth Command for continued use as a troopship; she was to make a fourth and final trooping run to Ceylon in August, calling at Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Aden, Colombo and Singapore.

She sailed from Chatham on August 12th, calling at Gibraltar on the 18th and Malta on the 21st. She arrived at Port Said at 08:30 on the 26th, and sailing to transit the Canal was delayed until 07:00 on September 1st. The ship developed engine trouble in the Arabian Sea and was adrift for several days while her engineers fixed the problem. She arrived at Colombo on September 9th. She was to call at Singapore after leaving Colombo, but this was cancelled, and she made a 13-day stopover in Ceylon. While at Colombo, RAJAH embarked part of the ship's company of HMS GOULD, the BPF Headquarters, which had been housed at Chatham Camp, Colombo, to administer the winding down of the fleet after the closure of HMS GOLDEN HIND in Sydney. This included a Royal Marine Band, which provided much-welcomed entertainment on the voyage home. When she sailed from Colombo at 05:15 on September 24th, she had approximately 700 passengers on board.

On this return leg of her troop voyage, her speed was reduced, probably due to the ongoing mechanical problems, to 12½ knots instead of her usual 16 knots. She made an overnight stop at Aden to take on fuel on October 1st/2nd; she arrived at Port Suez on the 7th and transited the Canal, arriving at Port Said later that day. Sailing from Port Said on the 8th, she called at Gibraltar on the 15th, arriving in the UK on October 19th, when she called at Plymouth before continuing to Portsmouth, calling there on the 20th, and arriving at Sheerness on the 21st. Sailed on the 22nd and arrived at Chatham later that day.

RAJAH was now stood down from active duty, and work began de-storing her and removing Admiralty equipment in preparation for her return to the US Navy.
 

Disposal: Return to US Custody

RAJAH sailed on her final voyage from the UK on or around November 27th 1946 1, to Norfolk, Virginia, via Bermuda; she carried passengers, including GI Brides and their children, and a draft for HMS SHEFFIELD, which disembarked at Bermuda.

 She arrived at Norfolk on or around December 9th. On December 13th 1946, a US Navy Care & Maintenance party embarked to inspect the ship and take possession of CVE-45, which was returned to US Navy custody on that date, and HMS RAJAH officially paid off. On leaving the ship, RAJAH's crew transferred to the fleet carrier HMS INDEFATIGABLE for passage home.

CVE 45 was stricken for disposal on February 7th 1947, and was sold to the Waterman Steamship Corp. on July 7th 1947. She was moved to the Gulf Shipbuilding Corp shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, where she was extensively rebuilt between 1947 and 1948 into a general cargo freighter with accommodation for 12 passengers in 5 cabins.

On completion of her conversion for mercantile service, she was purchased by the Dutch government on November 1st 1948, operated by N.V. Royal Rotterdam Lloyd Line, and named “DRENTE”. She was sold on February 2nd 1966, to Compañía Naviera Odiseo S.A., Panama, renamed LAMBROS, and sold again in March 1969 to Atlas Enterprises Inc., Panama, and renamed ULYSSE. She changed ownership again in January 1971, when Comaran Africa Line purchased her, but she remained the S.S. ULYSSE. She arrived in Savona. Italy on June 23rd 1975, for breaking

The S.S. DRENTE underway after her conversion from a warship to a merchantman.

Last modified: 17 August 2026

Primary information sources
 

Additional sources:

Maritime-Historical Database Foundation Details of post-military use

Fold3.com various documents including;

Admiralty War Diaries

Norfolk Navy Yard War Diaries

Mew York Navy Yard War Diaries

Miscellaneous documents