HMS Patroller was an escort carrier in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Laid down in 1942 at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding company, she was originally named USS Keweenaw (CVE-44). USS Keweenaw (previously AVG-44 then later ACV-44) was an escort carrier laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding of Tacoma, Washington, 27 November 1942; launched 6 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. R. G. Risley; assigned to the United Kingdom 10 June 1943; reclassified CVE-44 on 15 July 1943; and transferred to the United Kingdom under lend-lease 22 October 1943.
 Ruler-class escort carrier
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Keweenaw |
| Builder | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down | 27 November 1942 |
| Launched | 6 May 1943 |
| Fate | Transferred to Royal Navy 22 October 1943 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Patroller |
| Commissioned | 25 October 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 7 February 1947 |
| Out of service | Returned to the US Navy 13 December 1946 |
| Identification | Pennant number:D07 |
| Fate | Sold as merchant ship; renamed Almkerk 1948 and Pacific Alliance 1969 sold for scrap 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type |
|
| Displacement | 9,800 tons |
| Length | 492 ft 3 in (150.0 m) |
| Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.2 m) |
| Draught | 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbines, 1 shaft, 9,350 shp |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Complement | 646 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 24 |
| Aviation facilities |
|
During the remainder of war, she served the Royal Navy as HMS Patroller and operated in the Atlantic on convoy escort and patrol duty, with brief stints as a transport carrier for both the Army and Navy. Arriving Norfolk, Virginia, 9 December 1946, she was returned to the United States Navy the same day. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry 7 February 1947 and she was sold to Waterman Steamship Corp., 26 August 1947 as Almkerk (later renamed Pacific Reliance). She was scrapped in Taiwan in 1974.
Design and description
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These ships were all larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than all the preceding American built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted merchant ships.[1] All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an overall length of 492 feet 3 inches (150.0 m), a beam of 69 feet 6 inches (21.2 m) and a draught of 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m).[1] Propulsion was provided by one shaft, two boilers and a steam turbine giving 9,350 shaft horsepower (SHP), which could propel the ship at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).[2]
Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side, two aircraft lifts 43 feet (13.1 m) by 34 feet (10.4 m), one aircraft catapult and nine arrestor wires.[1] Aircraft could be housed in the 260 feet (79.2 m) by 62 feet (18.9 m) hangar below the flight deck.[1] Armament comprised: two 4"/50, 5"/38 or 5"/51 Dual Purpose guns in single mounts, sixteen 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons in single mounts.[1] They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of Grumman Martlet, Vought F4U Corsair or Hawker Sea Hurricane fighter aircraft and Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft.[1]
Notes
editReferences
edit- Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.
External links
edit- Photo gallery at navsource.org