519:
52:
1312:
604:
engine failure caused the crash of another
Swordfish. One Swordfish clipped the island superstructure, losing 4 ft (1.2 m) off both wing tips when taking off. The pilot managed to get the aircraft into the air, circled around while jettisoning his depth charges, and landed again without mishap. Landing on the heaving deck was just as dangerous as taking off: two Sea Hurricanes and two Swordfish missed the arrestor wires and ended up crashing into the safety barriers.
1354:
739:
824:
620:
611:. It crash landed on the flight deck, coming to a stop 8 ft (2.4 m) from the end of the flight deck. Leaking petrol set the wreckage on fire, the crew were rescued, but the fire exploded one of two depth charges stuck on their racks, blowing a 8 ft × 4 ft (2.4 m × 1.2 m) hole in the flight deck. After 16 days at sea,
31:
846:
s inexperienced squadron lost a
Wildcat pilot when his plane crashed into the sea attempting to land back on board. A Swordfish crashed into the sea following a rocket-assisted takeoff, with the loss of the two-man crew. Another Swordfish crashed on landing, with the aircraft initially hung over the
655:
to the surface. Despite anti-aircraft fire from the U-boat, the
Swordfish dropped two of its depth charges which broke the submarine in half. Flying became dangerous in the heavy seas and poor visibility. One Sea Hurricane was damaged beyond repair after a serious crash into the safety barrier and
603:
was sunk. Weather conditions were still not good for flying, and in the following days a
Swordfish returning from a night patrol landed in the sea alongside the carrier and the crew were reported missing, believed killed. A pitching deck caused one Swordfish to crash into the sea on take-off and
588:
were dropped that failed to explode (believed to be caused by faulty safety clips) and during the attack the rear gunner in the
Swordfish was killed by the U-boats anti-aircraft guns. The depth charges were dropped short on a second attack and failed to explode on a third attack during the same
448:
of 68 ft 6 in (20.88 m) and a draught of 21 ft (6.4 m). Her aircraft and her aircraft facilities included a 495 ft (151 m) flight deck, a 231 ft × 61 ft (70 m × 19 m) hangar, six arrestor wires, and a 45 ft × 34 ft
568:, with a complement of 12 Fairey Swordfish Mk IIs and six Sea Hurricanes IICs. Even though there were 12 Swordfish on board they had only eight crews so the Sea Hurricanes carried out some of the daylight anti-submarine patrols. The Sea Hurricanes had been fitted with four racks for the same
714:
system (RATOG) and a new ASV radar in a dome on the underside of the aircraft. The extra weight reduced the crew to two, doing away with the
Telegraphist-Air-Gunner. There was a full complement of 12 Swordfish and eight Sea Hurricanes (two unassembled spares) on board. The larger
847:
ship's side from its tail hook. When the hook gave way it crashed into the sea and only the pilot was rescued. The squadron in total lost or so severely damaged eight
Swordfish and two Wildcats that they could not fly again. From March to August 1945 the ship was part of the
671:
her aircraft had flown over 400 sorties in 13 days, but the strain on the aircrews began to show and only 35 per cent of the original
Swordfish crews were still with the ship when they returned to port. It was during this second deployment that one of the ships officers,
804:
and six
Wildcats. The short Arctic days meant that most flying would be at night. The three carriers worked a system eight hour watches, one would be the duty carrier with its aircraft aloft, the second would be on standby with its aircraft arranged on deck ready to
583:
on 9 March 1944, the 2nd Escort Group moved to the area believed to hold the highest concentration of U-boats. On the night of 12 March, Swordfish on patrol had 28 contacts on their air to surface vessel radar (ASV). Their first attack was unsuccessful: two
615:
returned to port. With two days flying lost because of the weather conditions, the
Swordfish had amassed a creditable 275 flying hours and 122 deck landings by day and night. The Sea Hurricanes contributed another 47 hours flying and 39 deck landings.
541:
for working up. By this stage of the war, the Royal Navy had enough escort carriers available not only to double them up on a convoy escort but to permanently detach one to work with a "hunter killer group" operating outside the convoy system. The
676:
J.M. Morrison invented a blind landing system soon to be used on all the Royal Navy carriers. He modified an ASV radar set which was placed on the flight deck. The system employed the Air Directing Officer guiding aircraft to within
881:
keeping part of her name to honour her wartime service and converted into a refrigerated cargo ship on the United Kingdom to Australia route. At the end of her merchant career, she was scrapped in August 1971 at
443:
was launched on 4 May 1943 and completed on 3 December 1943. She had a complement of 700 men and displaced 13,455 long tons (13,671 t). Her other dimensions were a length of 524 ft (160 m), a
399:
built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Escort carriers were designed to protect convoys of merchant ships from U-boat and aircraft attack. Following the successful conversion and operation of
436:. The prototype was built by John Brown who supplied the other two companies with copies of the plans. The three ships were supposed to be identical but in reality they were all slightly different.
1417:
663:
s aircraft lift broke down with a burnt out motor, the crew had to resort to manually cranking the lift up or down taking an hour to go each way. They eventually repaired the lift by moving the
816:
s Avengers worked the daylight hours. The strength of the convoys escort may have deterred the Germans and no U-boats or reconnaissance aircraft were detected, until the convoy approached the
873:. She was used to repatriate prisoners of war from Hong Kong back to Australia and Britain. On her return to Britain, she was placed in reserve and bought by her original owners the
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1381:
656:
another crashed into the sea with the loss of the pilot. The Swordfish crews fared little better three aircraft and one crew were lost during the same period. On 9 May,
1282:
735:
on 24 August. Her rocket armed Sea Hurricanes also claimed a U-boat damaged. Neither convoy JW 59 or the returning RA 59A lost any ships.
412:
while they were still under construction and convert them into escort carriers. The three ships chosen were being built at three different shipyards
589:
night. On the night of 15 March, two Swordfish got an ASV contact ahead of the escort group. Unable to see anything in the darkness, they dropped
1407:
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and the third resting. The two Swordfish equipped squadrons because of their better night flying equipment shared the night time hours while
1422:
1223:
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689:) of the ship. They could then be picked up on the ASV and brought in astern of the carrier at a height of 75 ft (23 m).
710:
still had 825 Naval Air Squadron on board but they were now equipped with the Swordfish Mk III. This version of the biplane had a
913:
835:
The return convoy RA 61 was equally as successful, with only one frigate damaged by a torpedo just after leaving Kola, and
460:
hull, steel flight decks and a closed hangar. Propulsion provided by diesel engines connected to two shafts giving 11,000
852:
703:
346:
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had 835 Naval Air Squadron with 14 Swordfish IIIs and six Wildcat VIs on board for what would be their first Arctic convoy.
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773:
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306:
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reporting they were in contact with a submerged U-boat. The frigates carried out a depth charge attack and forced
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Russian convoy JW 61 which sailed on 20 October had for the first time three escort carriers,
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and sea markers over the location. When the escort group arrived they picked up a contact on their
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On 24 March, with its engine shot up and crew injured, a Swordfish attempted to land on
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820:, even then the heavy escort prevented any attack and the convoy reached port safely.
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218:
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during her service. She survived the war, and immediately afterwards served in the
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motor through holes burned into the bulkheads. During the second deployment by
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had to take avoiding action after detecting a torpedo coming towards her.
769:. This was a large convoy of 62 merchant ships with a large escort group.
916:. Fleet Air Arm Archives. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012
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645:. On 6 May, a patrolling Swordfish was contacted by two of the escort
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723:. The Swordfish claimed their first success on 22 August, sinking
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365:. In 1947, she was decommissioned and sold for commercial use, to
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1103:"The Type VIIC U-boat U-344 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net"
858:
With the war over there was no further need for escort carriers.
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as the carrier. As she would not be supported by another carrier
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341:
operated escorting convoys and doing anti-submarine work in the
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with the same aircraft types and numbers. The third carrier—
468:(20 mph; 31 km/h). Her armaments concentrated on
331:. When construction started in 1942 she was intended as a
490:
on four quadruple mounts. Aircraft assigned were either
464:(8,200 kW), which could propel the ship at 17
1418:
World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom
572:
rockets used by the Swordfish to attack submarines.
1350:
1308:
16:
1943 Nairana-class escort carrier of the Royal Navy
1382:List of escort aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
498:aircraft, which could be made up of a mixture of
537:was commissioned in December 1943, and moved to
1180:. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press.
353:aircraft were involved in the sinking of four
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8:
564:s air group was formed from the experienced
1290:
1276:
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361:transporting men and material to and from
1199:. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
1178:Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy
1132:
1130:
1052:
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908:
906:
904:
902:
900:
898:
19:For other ships with the same name, see
1004:
1002:
967:
965:
963:
894:
277:20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft
992:
990:
988:
986:
927:
25:
48:
7:
702:joined convoy JW 59 the first
187:68 ft 6 in (20.88 m)
14:
486:on eight twin mounts and sixteen
1352:
1310:
408:decided to take over three more
171:13,455 long tons (13,671 t)
50:
29:
472:(AA) defence and comprised two
373:. In 1971, she was scrapped in
138:2 October 1947 and scrapped at
1249:"World Aircraft Carrier Lists"
853:30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron
134:Sold into merchant service as
1:
1408:Ships built on the River Tyne
1403:Nairana-class escort carriers
449:(14 m × 10 m)
774:Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton
319:that saw service during the
1197:Stanley: Behind Barbed Wire
1163:Poolman (1972), pp.155–156.
1083:Poolman (1972), pp.139–140.
1044:Poolman (1972), pp.120–121.
980:Poolman (1972), pp.111–112.
546:still under the command of
237:(20 mph; 31 km/h)
1439:
1423:Ships built by Swan Hunter
637:At the end of April 1944,
553:was the group chosen with
18:
1379:
1214:Poolman, Kenneth (1972).
934:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
481:20 mm (0.79 in)
479:on a twin mount, sixteen
146:
43:
28:
1216:Escort Carrier 1941–1945
1176:Cocker, Maurice (2008).
871:Angus Cunninghame Graham
719:had 12 Swordfish and 12
712:Rocket-assisted take off
488:2-pounder "Pom Pom" guns
430:John Brown & Company
179:524 ft (160 m)
948:Cocker (2008), pp.76–78
704:Arctic convoy to Russia
474:4 in (100 mm)
257:4 in (100 mm)
195:21 ft (6.4 m)
147:General characteristics
1360:Royal Netherlands Navy
1195:Gittins, Jean (1982).
1136:Poolman (1972), p.145.
1124:Poolman (1972), p.144.
1115:Poolman (1972), p.143.
1092:Poolman (1972), p.140.
1074:Poolman (1972), p.138.
1065:Poolman (1972), p.122.
1056:Poolman (1972). p.121.
1035:Poolman (1972), p.120.
1026:Poolman (1972), p.114.
1008:Poolman (1972), p.112.
971:Poolman (1972), p.111.
957:Poolman (1972), p.155.
832:
794:811 Naval Air Squadron
750:
634:
624:825 Naval Air Squadron
566:825 Naval Air Squadron
531:
456:She had a traditional
395:were a class of three
381:Design and description
1302:-class escort carrier
1218:. London: Ian Allan.
1145:Poolman (1972), p.146
849:British Pacific Fleet
826:
776:was in command, with
741:
622:
521:
500:Hawker Sea Hurricanes
1154:Gittins, pp.160–161.
1017:Cocker (2008), p.80.
996:Cocker (2008), p.77.
866:as the flagship for
862:was sent out to the
551:Frederic John Walker
877:. They renamed her
629:takes off from HMS
329:Newcastle upon Tyne
323:. She was built at
267:2-pounder "Pom Pom"
833:
751:
635:
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270:anti-aircraft guns
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1187:978-0-7524-4633-2
875:Port Line company
477:dual purpose guns
414:Harland and Wolff
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260:dual purpose guns
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1358:
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1259:. Archived from
1257:"The Red Duster"
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851:attached to the
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831:in December 1945
815:
802:Grumman Avengers
792:had a re-formed
721:Grumman Wildcats
662:
643:5th Escort Group
581:Northern Ireland
563:
544:2nd Escort Group
524:Fairey Swordfish
508:Fairey Swordfish
504:Grumman Martlets
418:Northern Ireland
321:Second World War
289:Aircraft carried
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747:Grumman Wildcat
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397:escort carriers
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207:(8,200 kW)
200:Installed power
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100:3 December 1943
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1234:External links
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674:Sub-Lieutenant
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918:. Retrieved
914:"HMS Vindex"
878:
868:Rear Admiral
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771:Vice-Admiral
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759:
754:
752:
731:
725:
716:
707:
698:
693:
691:
668:
657:
651:
638:
636:
630:
612:
608:
606:
599:
574:
558:
554:
534:
533:
455:
440:
438:
402:HMS Activity
387:
384:
370:
338:
337:
307:
300:
298:
297:
203:11,000
168:Displacement
156:
135:
122:
117:
112:
97:Commissioned
66:
36:
1241:"uboat.net"
886:in Taiwan.
879:Port Vindex
685:; 8.0
641:joined the
577:Lough Foyle
526:armed with
484:autocannons
422:Swan Hunter
371:Port Vindex
325:Swan Hunter
280:autocannons
142:August 1971
136:Port Vindex
105:Honours and
84:1 July 1942
76:Swan Hunter
1413:1943 ships
1397:Categories
1318:Royal Navy
1170:References
920:13 October
818:Kola Inlet
681:(4.3
317:Royal Navy
242:Complement
212:Propulsion
92:4 May 1943
21:HMS Vindex
884:Kaohsiung
406:Admiralty
367:Port Line
351:Swordfish
140:Kaohsiung
81:Laid down
1341:Campania
930:cite web
864:Far East
807:scramble
800:—had 10
782:flagship
647:frigates
597:and the
575:Leaving
530:rockets.
458:rivetted
434:Scotland
359:Far East
343:Atlantic
250:Armament
233:17
113:Atlantic
89:Launched
1372:Nairana
1327:Nairana
1300:Nairana
811:Tracker
798:Tracker
786:Nairana
780:as his
766:Tracker
760:Nairana
717:Striker
699:Striker
677:5
665:capstan
548:Captain
539:Gourock
496:fighter
426:England
388:Nairana
355:U-boats
315:of the
308:Nairana
192:Draught
157:Nairana
123:Pacific
73:Builder
44:History
1357:
1334:Vindex
1315:
1222:
1203:
1184:
860:Vindex
841:Vindex
837:Vindex
829:Vindex
790:Vindex
778:Vindex
755:Vindex
708:Vindex
694:Vindex
669:Vindex
658:Vindex
639:Vindex
631:Vindex
613:Vindex
609:Vindex
591:flares
559:Vindex
555:Vindex
535:Vindex
522:Three
441:Vindex
404:, the
390:-class
375:Taiwan
347:Arctic
339:Vindex
310:-class
305:was a
301:Vindex
176:Length
159:-class
118:Arctic
107:awards
67:Vindex
37:Vindex
890:Notes
844:'
814:'
732:U-354
726:U-344
661:'
652:U-765
600:U-653
595:ASDIC
562:'
363:Japan
303:(D15)
292:15–20
282:(8x2)
275:16 ×
272:(4x4)
265:16 ×
262:(1x2)
230:Speed
1370:(ex-
1220:ISBN
1201:ISBN
1182:ISBN
936:link
922:2010
827:HMS
763:and
696:and
570:RP-3
528:RP-3
446:beam
439:HMS
428:and
385:The
345:and
299:HMS
255:2 ×
217:2 ×
184:Beam
131:Fate
63:Name
35:HMS
683:nmi
579:in
506:or
494:or
432:in
424:in
416:in
245:700
1399::
1129:^
1049:^
1001:^
985:^
962:^
932:}}
928:{{
897:^
855:.
784:.
757:,
742:A
687:km
679:mi
510:.
502:,
466:kn
462:hp
453:.
420:,
377:.
235:kn
205:hp
1374:)
1291:e
1284:t
1277:v
1251:.
1243:.
1228:.
1209:.
1190:.
1105:.
938:)
924:.
749:.
633:.
23:.
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