HMS Smiter (D55): Difference between revisions

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{{short description|1943 Bogue-class auxiliary aircraft carrier}}
{{otherships2|USS Vermillion|HMS Smiter}}
{{other ships|USS Vermillion|HMS Smiter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMS Smiter.jpg|300px|HMS Smiter]]
|Ship image=HMS Smiter.jpg
|Ship caption=
|Ship caption=HMS ''Smiter''
}}
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Hide header=
|Ship country=USA
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=USS ''Vermillion''
|Ship name=USS ''Vermillion''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship namesake=[[Vermilion Bay (Louisiana)|Vermillion Bay]] in Louisiana
|Ship operator=
|Ship operator=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship ordered=
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|Ship homeport=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship fate= Transferred to [[Royal Navy]]
|Ship fate= Transferred to [[Royal Navy]]
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
|Ship badge=
}}
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=UK
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Smiter''
|Ship name=HMS ''Smiter''
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|Ship reinstated=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]:D55
|Ship motto=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship nickname=
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|Ship captured=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate= Sold as merchant ship SS ''Artillero''; wrecked 1967
|Ship fate= Sold as merchant ship SS ''Artillero''; wrecked 1967
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
|Ship badge=
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|Hide header=
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= [[Bogue class escort carrier]]
|Ship class=*{{sclass|Bogue|escort carrier}} (US)
*{{sclass|Ruler|escort carrier}} (UK)
|Ship type=
|Ship type=
|Ship displacement= 7,800 tons
|Ship displacement= 7,800 tons
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|Ship sensors=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=2 × 5&nbsp;in (127&nbsp;mm) guns<br />4 x twin [[Bofors 40 mm gun|40 mm Bofors]]<br />10 x single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm Oerlikon]]
|Ship armament=*2 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|4"/50]], [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38]] or [[5"/51 caliber gun|5"/51]] guns
*4 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors]]
*10 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm Oerlikon]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft=28
|Ship aircraft=28
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}}
}}
|}
|}
The '''USS ''Vermillion'' (CVE-52)''' (previously '''AVG-52''' then later '''ACV-52''') was laid down on 10 May 1943 by the [[Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation]] as a [[Bogue class escort carrier|''Bogue''-class]] auxiliary aircraft carrier; redesignated an [[escort aircraft carrier]], CVE-52, on 10 June 1943; assigned to the [[United Kingdom]] under [[Lend-Lease]] on 23 June 1943; launched on 27 September 1943; and accepted by Britain on 20 January 1944.
'''USS ''Vermillion'' (CVE-52)''' (previously '''AVG-52''' then later '''ACV-52''') was laid down on 10 May 1943 by the [[Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation]] as a {{sclass|Bogue|escort carrier|0}} auxiliary aircraft carrier; redesignated an [[escort aircraft carrier]], on 10 June 1943; assigned to the [[United Kingdom]] under [[Lend-Lease]] on 23 June 1943; launched on 27 September 1943; and accepted by Britain on 20 January 1944.


==Service history==
==Service history==
Commissioned in the [[Royal Navy]] as '''HMS ''Smiter'' (D55)''' (pronounced "smite·er"), a ''Ruler''-class escort carrier, she served the British throughout the remainder of [[World War II]]. She returned to the [[United States]] at [[Norfolk Naval Base]], [[Virginia]] on 20 March 1946 and was officially transferred back to the [[United States Navy]] on 6 April 1946. She was immediately determined to be surplus to the needs of the Navy and was designated for sale. Her name was struck from the [[Navy Registry]] on 6 May 1946.
Commissioned in the [[Royal Navy]] as '''HMS ''Smiter'' (D55)''' (pronounced "smite·er"), designated a {{sclass|Ruler|escort carrier|2}}, she served the British throughout the remainder of [[World War II]]. She returned to the [[United States]] at [[Norfolk Naval Base]], [[Virginia]] on 20 March 1946 and was officially transferred back to the [[United States Navy]] on 6 April 1946. She was immediately determined to be surplus to the needs of the Navy and was designated for sale. Her name was struck from the [[Navy Registry]] on 6 May 1946.


On 28 January 1947, she was sold to the [[Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]], Norfolk, Va., for conversion to mercantile service. She was subsequently resold to Compania Argentina de Navigacion Dodero, S.A., and entered mercantile service in 1948 at [[Buenos Aires]] as the SS ''Artillero'' (renamed ''President Garcia'' in 1965). She was wrecked off [[Guernsey]] in July 1967, deemed a total loss and was scrapped at [[Hamburg]] in November of the same year.
On 28 January 1947, she was sold to the [[Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]], Norfolk, Virginia, for conversion to mercantile service. She was subsequently resold to Compania Argentina de Navigacion Dodero, S.A., and entered mercantile service in 1948 at [[Buenos Aires]] as SS ''Artillero'' (renamed ''President Garcia'' in 1965). She was wrecked off [[Guernsey]] in July 1967, deemed a total loss and was scrapped at [[Hamburg]] in November of the same year.


==Design and description==
==Design and description==
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 ship]]s.<ref name=co82/> All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an [[Length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|492|ft|3|in|1}}, a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|69|ft|6|in|1}} and a draught of {{Convert|25|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name=co82>Cocker (2008), p.82.</ref> Propulsion was provided by one shaft, two boilers and a steam turbine giving 9,350 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shaft horsepower]] (SHP), which could propel the ship at {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=co79>Cocker (2008), p.79.</ref>
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 ship]]s.<ref name=co82/> All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an [[Length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|492|ft|3|in|1}}, a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|69|ft|6|in|1}} and a draught of {{Convert|25|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name=co82>Cocker (2008), p.82.</ref> Propulsion was provided by one shaft, two boilers and a steam turbine giving 9,350 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shaft horsepower]] (SHP), which could propel the ship at {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=co79>Cocker (2008), p.79.</ref>


Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the [[starboard]] side, two aircraft lifts {{convert|43|ft|1}} by {{convert|34|ft|1}}, one [[aircraft catapult]] and nine [[Arresting gear|arrestor wires]].<ref name=co82>Cocker (2008), p.82.</ref> Aircraft could be housed in the {{convert|260|ft|1}} by {{convert|62|ft|1}} hangar below the flight deck.<ref name=co82/> Armament comprised: two [[4"/50 caliber gun|4&nbsp;inch]] [[Dual purpose gun|Dual Purpose]] guns in single mounts, sixteen [[Bofors 40 mm gun|40&nbsp;mm Bofors]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s in twin mounts and twenty [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon]] anti-aircraft cannons in single mounts.<ref name=co82/> They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of [[Grumman Martlet]], [[Vought F4U Corsair]] or [[Hawker_Hurricane_variants#Sea_Hurricanes|Hawker Sea Hurricane]] [[fighter aircraft|fighter]] aircraft and [[Fairey Swordfish]] or [[Grumman Avenger]] [[anti-submarine]] aircraft.<ref name=co82/>
Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the [[starboard]] side, two aircraft lifts {{convert|43|ft|1}} by {{convert|34|ft|1}}, one [[aircraft catapult]] and nine [[Arresting gear|arrestor wires]].<ref name=co82>Cocker (2008), p.82.</ref> Aircraft could be housed in the {{convert|260|ft|1}} by {{convert|62|ft|1}} hangar below the flight deck.<ref name=co82/> Armament comprised: two [[4"/50 caliber gun|4"/50]], [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38]] or [[5"/51 caliber gun|5"/51]] [[Dual purpose gun|Dual Purpose]] guns in single mounts, sixteen [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s in twin mounts and twenty [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon]] anti-aircraft cannon in single mounts.<ref name=co82/> They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of [[Grumman Martlet]], [[Vought F4U Corsair]] or [[Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes|Hawker Sea Hurricane]] [[fighter aircraft]] and [[Fairey Swordfish]] or [[Grumman Avenger]] [[anti-submarine]] aircraft.<ref name=co82/>


[[File:Twin 40mm bofors gun on escort carrier.jpg|thumb|Twin [[Bofors 40 mm gun|40&nbsp;mm Bofors]] [[anti-aircraft gun]].]]
[[File:Twin 40mm bofors gun on escort carrier.jpg|thumb|Twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors]] [[anti-aircraft gun]].]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/v2/vermillion.htm history.navy.mil: USS ''Vermillion'']
* [https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/smiter.html history.navy.mil: HMS Smiter]
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/052.htm navsource.org: USS ''Vermillion'' (CVE-52) / HMS ''Smiter'']
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/052.htm navsource.org: USS ''Vermillion'' (CVE-52) / HMS ''Smiter'']
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cve52.txt hazegray.org: USS ''Vermillion'']
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cve52.txt hazegray.org: USS ''Vermillion'']


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{{Bogue class escort carrier}}
{{Bogue class escort carrier}}
{{Type C3-S-A1 ships}}
{{Type C3-S-A1 ships}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiter (D55)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiter (D55)}}
[[Category:Ruler class escort carriers]]
[[Category:Ruler-class escort carriers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Ships built in Tacoma, Washington]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom| ]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]

[[ja:スマイター (護衛空母)]]
[[vi:HMS Smiter (D55)]]

Latest revision as of 01:13, 30 April 2024

For other ships with the same name, see USS Vermillion and HMS Smiter.

HMS Smiter
History
United States
NameUSS Vermillion
NamesakeVermillion Bay in Louisiana
BuilderSeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down10 May 1943
Launched27 September 1943
FateTransferred to Royal Navy
United Kingdom
NameHMS Smiter
Commissioned20 January 1944
Decommissioned6 May 1946
IdentificationPennant number:D55
FateSold as merchant ship SS Artillero; wrecked 1967
General characteristics
Class and type
Displacement7,800 tons
Length495 ft 8 in (151.08 m)
Beam69 ft 6 in (21.18 m)
Draught26 ft (7.9 m)
PropulsionSteam turbines, 1 shaft, 8,500 shp (6.3 MW)
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h)
Complement890 officers and men
Armament
Aircraft carried28

USS Vermillion (CVE-52) (previously AVG-52 then later ACV-52) was laid down on 10 May 1943 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation as a Bogue-class auxiliary aircraft carrier; redesignated an escort aircraft carrier, on 10 June 1943; assigned to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 23 June 1943; launched on 27 September 1943; and accepted by Britain on 20 January 1944.

Service history[edit]

Commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Smiter (D55) (pronounced "smite·er"), designated a Ruler-class escort carrier, she served the British throughout the remainder of World War II. She returned to the United States at Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia on 20 March 1946 and was officially transferred back to the United States Navy on 6 April 1946. She was immediately determined to be surplus to the needs of the Navy and was designated for sale. Her name was struck from the Navy Registry on 6 May 1946.

On 28 January 1947, she was sold to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Norfolk, Virginia, for conversion to mercantile service. She was subsequently resold to Compania Argentina de Navigacion Dodero, S.A., and entered mercantile service in 1948 at Buenos Aires as SS Artillero (renamed President Garcia in 1965). She was wrecked off Guernsey in July 1967, deemed a total loss and was scrapped at Hamburg in November of the same year.

Design and description[edit]

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 cannon 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]

Twin 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cocker (2008), p.82.
  2. ^ Cocker (2008), p.79.

References[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]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Smiter_(D55)&oldid=1221453735"