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60-455: The single catapult consisted of an eighty-five-foot rail, along which a trolley carrying a Hurricane (later Hurricats were used for this) would be propelled by a battery of three-inch rockets over a distance of sixty feet. Using thirty-degree wing flaps, a pilot could make a successful takeoff while losing minimal height. Most notable was the inability of the CAM ship to recover the aircraft, and as

120-979: A "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy , was a small and slower type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy , the United States Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II . They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers , more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes. Escort carriers were most often built upon

180-408: A commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their principal advantage as they could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable, and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVL) was a similar concept to

240-672: A completely enclosed hangar when operating in the North Atlantic and in support of the Arctic convoys . Of the U.S.-built escort carriers, Nabob and Puncher sailed on launch from Tacoma to the port of Vancouver , where they were lightly refitted to Royal Navy standard and then crewed by Royal Canadian Navy personnel. Both ships served in the North Atlantic while nominally under the British fleet and carrying aircraft of

300-426: A full-size fleet carrier. The aircraft hangar typically ran only 1 ⁄ 3 of the way under the flight deck and housed a combination of 24–30 fighters and bombers organized into one single "composite squadron". By comparison, a late Essex -class fleet carrier of the period could carry 103 aircraft organized into separate fighter, bomber and torpedo-bomber squadrons. The island (superstructure) on these ships

360-494: A limited period. Once all major aircraft were equipped with refueling probes, it became much easier to fly the aircraft directly to its base instead of shipping it. The last chapter in the history of escort carriers consisted of two conversions: as an experiment, USS  Thetis Bay was converted from an aircraft carrier into a pure helicopter carrier (CVHA-1) and used by the Marine Corps to carry assault helicopters for

420-641: A low potential survival rate unless picked up very soon after landing in the sea. Eventually CAM ships were replaced beginning in 1943 with the introduction into service of escort carriers . CAM fighters were credited with seven kills and their presence was rumoured to discourage the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor aircraft from pressing home attacks on convoys. This RAF article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Escort carriers The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called

480-401: A need for carriers to defend its trade routes in the 1930s. While designs had been prepared for "trade protection carriers" and five suitable liners identified for conversion, nothing further was done – mostly because there were insufficient aircraft for even the fleet carriers under construction at the time. However, by 1940 the need had become urgent and HMS  Audacity was converted from

540-410: A result launches out of reach of land were one way flights that required the pilot to bail out or ditch in the sea when the aircraft's fuel was exhausted. While every effort was made to pick up the pilot, operational factors such as the convoy being under U-boat attack could mean that a ship may not be detached to pick up the pilot. On the convoys to Russia the low sea temperatures meant that the pilot had

600-610: A result, construction between the World Wars had been insufficient to meet operational needs for aircraft carriers as World War II expanded from Europe. Too few fleet carriers were available to simultaneously transport aircraft to distant bases, support amphibious invasions, offer carrier landing training for replacement pilots, conduct anti-submarine patrols, and provide defensive air cover for deployed battleships and cruisers. The foregoing mission requirements limited use of fleet carriers' unique offensive strike capability demonstrated at

660-448: A single 5-inch (127 mm) dual-purpose gun mounted on the stern, but the pursuing Japanese cruisers closed to within range of these guns. One of the guns damaged the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Chōkai , and a subsequent bomb dropped by an aircraft hit the cruiser's forward machinery room, leaving her dead in the water. A kamikaze attack sank USS  St Lo ; kamikaze aircraft attacking other ships were shot down. Ultimately

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720-783: A year to less than 90 days, and proposed building a fleet of 50 small carriers in less than two years. The US naval authorities refused to approve construction of the Kaiser-built ships until Kaiser went directly to the President's advisers. The Allies were in desperate need of carriers to replace early war losses. Kaiser produced the small carriers as rapidly as planned and resistance to their value quickly disappeared as they proved their usefulness defending convoys, providing air support for amphibious operations , and allowing fleet carriers to focus on offensive air-strike missions. Unlike most other large warships since HMS  Dreadnought ,

780-600: The Blue Ridge class . Unlike almost all other major classes of ships and patrol boats from World War II, most of which can be found in a museum or port, no escort carrier or American light carrier has survived; all were destroyed during the war or broken up in the following decades. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships records that the last former escort carrier remaining in naval service—USS Annapolis —was sold for scrapping 19 December 1979. The last American light carrier (the escort carrier's faster sister type)

840-496: The Battle of Leyte Gulf . They lacked the speed and weapons to counter enemy fleets, relying on the protection of a Fast Carrier Task Force . However, at the Battle off Samar , one U.S. task force of escort carriers and destroyers managed to successfully defend itself against a much larger Japanese force of battleships and cruisers. The Japanese met a furious defense of carrier aircraft, screening destroyers, and destroyer escorts. Of

900-683: The Battle of Taranto and the Attack on Pearl Harbor . Conversion of existing ships (and hulls under construction for other purposes) provided additional aircraft carriers until new construction became available. Conversions of cruisers and passenger liners with speed similar to fleet carriers were identified by the U.S. as " light aircraft carriers " ( hull classification symbol CVL) able to operate at battle fleet speeds. Slower conversions were classified as "escort carriers" and were considered naval auxiliaries suitable for pilot training and transport of aircraft to distant bases. The Royal Navy had recognized

960-569: The Battle of the Atlantic , escort carriers were used to protect convoys against U-boats . Initially escort carriers accompanied the merchant ships and helped to fend off attacks from aircraft and submarines. As numbers increased later in the war, escort carriers also formed part of hunter-killer groups that sought out submarines instead of being attached to a particular convoy. In the Pacific theater, CVEs provided air support of ground troops in

1020-509: The Casablanca -class ships were equipped with uniflow reciprocating engines instead of steam turbines . This was done because of bottlenecks in the gear-cutting industry, but greatly limited their usefulness after the war. Although designated as convoy escort carriers, the Casablanca class was far more frequently used in large fleet amphibious operations, where speed was less important and their small airgroups could combine to provide

1080-596: The Fleet Air Arm . The attack on Pearl Harbor brought up an urgent need for aircraft carriers , so some T3 tankers were converted to escort carriers; USS  Suwannee is an example of how a T3 tanker hull , AO-33, was rebuilt to be an escort carrier. The T3 tanker size and speed made the T3 a useful escort carrier. There were two classes of T3 hull carriers: Sangamon class and Commencement Bay class. The U.S. discovered their own uses for escort carriers. In

1140-512: The helicopter and the jet fighter , and with this a complete rethinking of its strategies and ships' tasks. Although several of the latest Commencement Bay -class CVE were deployed as floating airfields during the Korean War , the main reasons for the development of the escort carrier had disappeared or could be dealt with better by newer weapons. The emergence of the helicopter meant that helicopter-deck equipped frigates could now take over

1200-429: The island-hopping campaign. In this role they provided air cover for the troopships and flew the first wave of attacks on beach fortifications in amphibious landing operations. On occasion, they even escorted the large carriers, serving as emergency airstrips and providing fighter cover for their larger sisters while these were busy readying or refueling their own planes. They also transported aircraft and spare parts from

1260-592: The 151 aircraft carriers built in the U.S. during World War II, 122 were escort carriers, though no examples survive. The Casablanca class was the most numerous class of aircraft carrier, with 50 launched. Second was the Bogue class , with 45 launched. In the early 1920s, the Washington Naval Treaty imposed limits on the maximum size and total tonnage of aircraft carriers for the five main naval powers. Later treaties largely kept these provisions. As

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1320-642: The British asked the U.S. to build on their behalf six carriers of an improved Audacity design, but the U.S. had already begun their own escort carrier. On 1 February 1941, the United States Chief of Naval Operations gave priority to construction of naval auxiliaries for aircraft transport. U.S. ships built to meet these needs were initially referred to as auxiliary aircraft escort vessels ( AVG ) in February 1942 and then auxiliary aircraft carrier ( ACV ) on 5 August 1942. The first U.S. example of

1380-594: The British, the first U.S. escort carriers were converted merchant vessels (or in the Sangamon class , converted military oilers). The Bogue -class carriers were based on the hull of the Type C3 cargo ship . The last 69 escort carriers of the Casablanca and Commencement Bay classes were purpose-designed and purpose-built carriers drawing on the experience gained with the previous classes. Originally developed at

1440-516: The CVE's role in a convoy while also performing their usual role as submarine hunters. Ship-mounted guided missile launchers took over much of the aircraft protection role, and in-flight refueling eliminated the need for floating stopover points for transport or patrol aircraft. Consequently, after the Commencement Bay class, no new escort carriers were designed, and with every downsizing of

1500-491: The CVEs were called "Kaiser coffins" in honor of Casablanca-class manufacturer Henry J. Kaiser . Magazine protection was minimal in comparison to fleet aircraft carriers. HMS  Avenger was sunk within minutes by a single torpedo, and HMS  Dasher exploded from undetermined causes with very heavy loss of life. Three escort carriers— USS  St. Lo , Ommaney Bay and Bismarck Sea —were destroyed by kamikazes ,

1560-475: The North Atlantic, they supplemented the escorting destroyers by providing air support for anti-submarine warfare. One of these escort carriers, USS  Guadalcanal , was instrumental in the capture of U-505 off North Africa in 1944. In the Pacific theater , escort carriers lacked the speed to sail with fast carrier attack groups, so were often tasked to escort the landing ships and troop carriers during

1620-449: The Royal Navy to provide air scouting, to ward off enemy long-range scouting aircraft and, increasingly, to spot and hunt submarines. Often additional escort carriers joined convoys, not as fighting ships but as transporters, ferrying aircraft from the U.S. to Britain; twice as many aircraft could be carried by storing aircraft on the flight deck as well as in the hangar. The ships sent to the Royal Navy were slightly modified, partly to suit

1680-554: The Sulu Sea en route to Lingayen Gulf. Sunk 21 February 1945. Kamikaze aerial attack off Iwo Jima . Damaged at Lingayen Gulf on 6 January 1945 after kamikaze with two 551-pound (250 kg) bombs hit her flight deck. She was repaired and put back in service. Some ships were retained postwar as aircraft transports, where their lack of speed was not a major drawback. Some units were reactivated as helicopter escort carriers (CVHE and T-CVHE) or utility carriers (CVU and T-CVU) after

1740-727: The U.S. to remote island airstrips. A battle in which escort carriers played a major role was the Battle off Samar in the Philippines on 25 October 1944. The Japanese lured Admiral William Halsey, Jr. into chasing a decoy fleet with his powerful 3rd Fleet . This left about 450 aircraft from 16 small and slow escort carriers in three task units ("Taffies"), armed primarily to bomb ground forces, and their protective screen of destroyers and slower destroyer escorts to protect undefended troop and supply ships in Leyte Gulf. No Japanese threat

1800-862: The US Navy's policy of naming escort carriers after bays and sounds, in this case the numerous inlets of the Alexander Archipelago that form the southeast coastline of Alaska , though several were subsequently renamed to carry on the US Navy's tradition of naming aircraft carriers after battles. Those ships that appear to be named after islands, seas, straits or cities actually commemorated battles fought at those locations. Several had their original "Bay" names changed to battle names while under construction, and two of them, Midway (CVE-63) and Coral Sea (CVE-57), lost their battle names mid-career to new Midway -class aircraft carriers , becoming USS  St. Lo and USS  Anzio respectively. Unlike

1860-623: The behest of the United Kingdom to operate as part of a North Atlantic convoy escort, rather than as part of a naval strike force, many of the escort carriers produced were assigned to the Royal Navy for the duration of the war under the Lend-Lease act. They supplemented and then replaced the converted merchant aircraft carriers that were put into service by the British and Dutch as an emergency measure until dedicated escort carriers became available. As convoy escorts, they were used by

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1920-407: The big carriers, and procedures for launch and recovery were the same as well. The crew size was less than 1 ⁄ 3 of that of a large carrier, but this was still a bigger complement than most naval vessels. U.S. escort carriers were large enough to have facilities such as a permanent canteen or snack bar, called a gedunk bar , in addition to the mess. The bar was open for longer hours than

1980-498: The brunt of the fight. The Taffy ships took dozens of hits, mostly from armor-piercing rounds that passed right through their thin, unarmored hulls without exploding. USS  Gambier Bay , sunk in this action, was the only U.S. carrier lost to enemy surface gunfire in the war; the Japanese concentration of fire on this one carrier assisted the escape of the others. The carriers' only substantial armament—aside from their aircraft—was

2040-550: The captured German merchant ship MV Hannover and commissioned in July 1941. For defense from German aircraft, convoys were supplied first with fighter catapult ships and CAM ships that could carry a single (disposable) fighter. In the interim, before escort carriers could be supplied, they also brought in merchant aircraft carriers that could operate four aircraft. In 1940, U.S. Admiral William Halsey recommended construction of naval auxiliaries for pilot training. In early 1941

2100-688: The effectiveness of a much larger ship. Their finest hour came in the Battle off Samar , when Taffy 3 , a task unit composed of six of these ships and their screen of three destroyers and four destroyer escorts gave battle against the Japanese main battle force ("Center Force"). Their desperate defense not only preserved most of their own ships, but succeeded in turning back the massive force with only their aircraft joined by aircraft from Taffy 1 and 2 comprised additional Casablanca -class carriers, machine guns, torpedoes, depth charges , high-explosive bombs, and their own 5-inch/38-caliber guns . Tasked with ground support and antisubmarine patrols, they lacked

2160-635: The escort carrier in most respects, but was fast enough to operate alongside fleet carriers. Escort carriers were too slow to keep up with the main forces consisting of fleet carriers, battleships, and cruisers. Instead, they were used to escort merchant ship convoys , defending them from enemy threats such as submarines and planes. In the invasions of mainland Europe and Pacific islands, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations . Escort carriers also served as backup aircraft transports for fleet carriers, and ferried aircraft of all military services to points of delivery. In

2220-505: The first wave of amphibious warfare operations. Later, Thetis Bay became a full amphibious assault ship (LHP-6). Although in service only from 1955 (the year of her conversion) to 1964, the experience gained in her training exercises greatly influenced the design of today's amphibious assault ships . In the second conversion, in 1961, USS  Gilbert Islands had all her aircraft handling equipment removed and four tall radio antennas installed on her long, flat deck. In lieu of aircraft,

2280-539: The hangar deck now had 24 military radio transmitter trucks bolted to its floor. Rechristened USS  Annapolis , the ship was used as a communication relay ship and served dutifully through the Vietnam War as a floating radio station, relaying transmissions between the forces on the ground and the command centers back home. Like Thetis Bay , the experience gained before Annapolis was stricken in 1976 helped develop today's purpose-built amphibious command ships of

2340-436: The larger Essex and Independence -class aircraft carriers , none were named to commemorate historical naval vessels. Although Essex -class aircraft carriers were completed in 20 months or less, 1941 projections on the basis of the 38-month average pre-war construction period estimated no new fleet carriers could be expected until 1944. Kaiser had reduced construction time of cargo ships ( Liberty ships ) from more than

2400-408: The largest ships to meet such a fate. Allied escort carriers were typically around 500 ft (150 m) long, not much more than half the length of the almost 900 ft (270 m) fleet carriers of the same era, but were less than 1 ⁄ 3 of the weight. A typical escort carrier displaced about 8,000 long tons (8,100  t ), as compared to almost 30,000 long tons (30,000 t) for

2460-447: The mess and sold several flavors of ice cream , along with cigarettes and other consumables. There were also several vending machines available on board. In all, 130 Allied escort carriers were launched or converted during the war. Of these, six were British conversions of merchant ships: HMS  Audacity , Nairana , Campania , Activity , Pretoria Castle and Vindex . The remaining escort carriers were U.S.-built. Like

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2520-581: The navy, the CVEs were the first to be mothballed. Several escort carriers were pressed back into service during the first years of the Vietnam War because of their ability to carry large numbers of aircraft. Redesignated AKV (air transport auxiliary), they were manned by a civilian crew and used to ferry whole aircraft and spare parts from the U.S. to Army, Air Force and Marine bases in South Vietnam . However, CVEs were useful in this role only for

2580-514: The only US aircraft carriers to ever record a hit on an enemy warship by its own guns. St. Lo hit a Japanese destroyer with a single round and Kalinin Bay damaged a Myōkō -class cruiser with two hits. In addition, the gun crew on USS  White Plains may have struck the cruiser Chōkai , with up to six 5-inch shells. One of these rounds may even have caused a large secondary explosion – probably from one of Chōkai ' s own torpedoes – on

2640-675: The only aircraft carrier in history to conduct flight operations with a captured enemy vessel in tow. Of the eleven United States aircraft carriers of all types lost during World War II, six were escort carriers, five of which were of the Kaiser-built Casablanca class: Sunk 24 November 1943. Submarine torpedo launched from IJN I-175 SW off Butaritari (Makin). Sunk 25 October 1944. Concentrated surface gunfire from IJN Center Force during Battle off Samar. Sunk 25 October 1944. Kamikaze aerial attack during Battle of Leyte Gulf. Sunk 4 January 1945. Kamikaze aerial attack in

2700-750: The other battles). Many escort carriers were Lend-Leased to the United Kingdom, this list specifies the breakdown in service to each navy. In addition, six escort carriers were converted from other types by the British during the war. The table below lists escort carriers and similar ships performing the same missions. The first four were built as early fleet aircraft carriers. Merchant aircraft carriers (MAC) carried trade cargo in addition to operating aircraft. Aircraft transports carried larger numbers of planes by eliminating accommodation for operating personnel and storage of fuel and ammunition. tons (standard) The years following World War II brought many revolutionary new technologies to naval aviation, most notably

2760-549: The remainder were scrapped. Casablanca was the first class designed from keel up as an escort carrier. It had a larger and more useful hangar deck than previous conversions. It also had a larger flight deck than the Bogue class . Unlike larger carriers which had extensive armor, protection was limited to splinter plating. Their small size made them useful for transporting assembled aircraft of various sizes, including ferrying many aircraft types that were unable to operate from their decks. However, aircraft that were operational on

2820-712: The ships were limited to smaller and lighter aircraft such as the Grumman F4F Wildcat . The hull numbers were assigned consecutively, from CVE-55 Casablanca to CVE-104 Munda . Casablanca -class carriers were built by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company 's Vancouver Yard on the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington . The Vancouver yard was expressly built in 1942 to construct Liberty ships , but exigencies of war soon saw

2880-401: The starboard side that proved fatal to the heavy cruiser. White Plains ' s gun crew claimed to have put all six 5-inch rounds into Chōkai from a range of 11,700 yards (10,700 m), near the maximum effective range for the 5-inch/38 gun. However, Japanese sources attributed the loss of Chōkai to bomb damage from an air attack. Another noteworthy achievement of the Casablanca class

2940-463: The superior Japanese surface force withdrew, believing they were confronted by a stronger force than was the case. Most of the damage to the Japanese fleet was inflicted by torpedoes fired by destroyers, and bombs from the carriers' aircraft. The U.S. Navy lost a similar number of ships and more men than in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway combined (though major fleet carriers were lost in

3000-558: The torpedoes and armor-piercing bombs to tackle a surface fleet alone. Taffy 3 was to be protected by Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet with carriers and battleships. But the Third Fleet had left the scene to pursue a decoy carrier fleet, inadvertently leaving Taffy 3 the only force between the massive Japanese fleet and undefended landing forces at Leyte Gulf. The lightly armed vessels each had only one 5-inch/38 cal gun mounted aft, yet two of their number, St. Lo and Kalinin Bay , became

3060-401: The traditions of that service. Among other things the ice-cream making machines were removed, since they were considered unnecessary luxuries on ships which provided a grog ration. The heavy duty washing machines of the laundry room were removed, since "all a British sailor needs to keep clean is a bucket and a bar of soap" (quoted from Warrilow). Other modifications were due to the need for

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3120-431: The type was USS  Long Island . Operation Torch and North Atlantic anti-submarine warfare proved these ships capable aircraft carriers for ship formations moving at the speed of trade or amphibious invasion convoys. U.S. classification revision to escort aircraft carrier ( CVE ) on 15 July 1943 reflected upgraded status from auxiliary to combatant. They were informally known as "Jeep carriers" or "baby flattops". It

3180-529: The war, but most were deactivated and placed in reserve once the war ended, stricken in 1958-9 and scrapped in 1959–61. One ship, USS  Thetis Bay , was heavily modified into an amphibious assault ship (LPH-6), but was scrapped in 1966. Originally, half of their number were to be transferred to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease , but instead they were retained in the US Navy and the Batch II Bogue -class escort carriers were transferred instead as

3240-528: The yard building LST landing craft and then escort carriers all before the end of the yard's first year in operation. The yard had twelve building ways and a 3,000-foot (910 m) outfitting dock along with a unique additional building slip originally intended to add prefabricated superstructures to Liberty ships. Their relatively small size and mass-production origins led their crews to refer to them as "jeep carriers" or "Kaiser Jeeps" with varying degrees of affection. The Casablanca class initially continued

3300-724: Was USS  Cabot , which was broken up in 2002 after a decade-long attempt to preserve the vessel. Later in the Cold War the U.S.-designed Sea Control Ship was intended to serve a similar role; while none were actually built, the Spanish aircraft carrier  Principe de Asturias and the Thai HTMS ; Chakri Naruebet are based on the concept. For complete lists see: [REDACTED] Media related to Escort carriers at Wikimedia Commons Casablanca-class escort carrier The Casablanca -class escort carrier

3360-487: Was a series of escort carriers constructed for the United States Navy during World War II . They are the most numerous class of aircraft carriers ever built. Fifty were laid down, launched and commissioned within the space of less than two years – 3 November 1942 through to 8 July 1944. Despite their numbers, and the preservation of more famous and larger carriers as museums, none of these modest ships survive today. Five were lost to enemy action during World War II and

3420-496: Was believed to be in the area, but a force of four battleships , including the formidable Yamato , eight cruisers , and 11 destroyers, appeared, sailing towards Leyte Gulf. Only the Taffies were in the way of the Japanese attack. The slow carriers could not outrun 30-knot (35 mph; 56 km/h) cruisers. They launched their aircraft and maneuvered to avoid shellfire, helped by smoke screens, for over an hour. "Taffy 3" bore

3480-406: Was quickly found that the escort carriers had better performance than light carriers, which tended to pitch badly in moderate to high seas. The Commencement Bay class was designed to incorporate the best features of American CVLs on a more stable hull with a less expensive propulsion system. Among their crews, CVE was sarcastically said to stand for "Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable", and

3540-408: Was small and cramped, and located well forward of the funnels (unlike on a normal-sized carrier, where the funnels were integrated into the island). Although the first escort carriers had only one aircraft elevator, having two elevators (one fore and one aft), along with the single aircraft catapult, quickly became standard. The carriers employed the same system of arresting cables and tail hooks as on

3600-508: Was when USS  Guadalcanal , under command of Captain Daniel V. Gallery , participated in the first capture-at-sea of a foreign warship by the US Navy since the War of 1812 when a crew of volunteers from USS  Pillsbury boarded U-505 after Gallery's Guadalcanal -centered hunter-killer group forced it to the surface with depth charges. Guadalcanal also earned the distinction of being

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