HMS Fencer (D64)
 HMS Fencer c. 1945
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Croatan |
| Namesake | Croatan Sound, North Carolina |
| Ordered | as type (C3-S-A1) hull, MC hull 197[1] |
| Awarded | 30 September 1940 |
| Builder | Western Pipe and Steel Company, San Francisco, California |
| Cost | $7,992,456 |
| Yard number | 77 |
| Way number | 4 |
| Laid down | 5 September 1941 |
| Launched | 4 April 1942 |
| Commissioned | 20 February 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 27 February 1943 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Transferred to the Royal Navy, 27 February 1943 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Fencer |
| Namesake | One who participates in the sport of fencing |
| Acquired | 27 February 1943 |
| Commissioned | 1 March 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 11 December 1946 |
| Identification |
|
| Honours and awards |
|
| Fate | Returned to the US Navy, 11 December 1946 |
| United States | |
| Name | CVE-14 |
| Acquired | 11 December 1946 |
| Stricken | 28 January 1947 |
| Fate | Sold for commercial use, 30 December 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type |
|
| Displacement | Template:Attacker class displacement |
| Length | Template:Attacker class length |
| Beam | Template:Attacker class beam |
| Draught | Template:Attacker class draft |
| Installed power | Template:Attacker class power |
| Propulsion | Template:Attacker class propulsion |
| Speed | Template:Attacker class speed |
| Range | Template:Attacker class range |
| Capacity | Template:Attacker class capacity |
| Complement | 646 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 24 |
| Aviation facilities | Template:Attacker class aircraft facilities |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | British Pacific Fleet (1944–45) |
| Operations: |
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HMS Fencer (D64) was an Template:Sclass- escort aircraft carrier that served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Construction
She was commissioned by the United States Navy as USS Croatan (CVE-14) (originally AVG-14 then ACV-14), a Bogue-class escort carrier, but was transferred on 20 February 1943, under the Lend-Lease program to the United Kingdom and commissioned by the Royal Navy as HMS Fencer the same day.
Design and description
Fencer was the lead ship in what became the Royal Navy's Attacker-class of 11 ships; one of 38 escort carriers built in the United States for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.[3][4] The Western Pipe & Steel shipyards built three other ships in the class.[4] Once completed she was supplied under the terms of Lend-Lease agreement to the Royal Navy. There was a ships complement of 646 men, who lived in crew accommodation that was significantly different from the arrangements that were normal for the Royal Navy at the time. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop. The traditional hammocks were replaced by three-tier bunk-beds, 18 to a cabin, which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.[5]
Fencer had an overall length of 496 ft (151 m), a beam of 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) and a draught of 24 ft (7.3 m). She displaced 14,400 long tons (14,600 t) at full load. Power was provided by two boilers feeding steam to a turbine driving one shaft, giving 8,500 bhp (6,300 kW), which could propel the ship at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph).[6]
She had the capacity for up to 24 aircraft which could be a mixture of anti-submarine and fighter aircraft; the British Hawker Sea Hurricane and Supermarine Seafire naval fighters, Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber or the American-supplied Grumman Martlet and Vought F4U Corsair fighters or Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber could be carried.[7] The exact composition of the embarked squadrons depended upon the mission. Some squadrons were composite squadrons for convoy defence and would be equipped with both anti-submarine and fighter aircraft,[8] while other squadrons working in a strike carrier role would only be equipped with fighter aircraft.[9] Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side and above the 450 ft × 120 ft (137 m × 37 m) flight deck,[10] two aircraft lifts 42 ft × 34 ft (13 m × 10 m), and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in the 260 ft × 62 ft (79 m × 19 m) hangar below the flight deck.[7]
The ships armament concentrated on anti-aircraft (AA) defence and comprised two QF 4 in (100 mm) MK V dual purpose guns in single mounts, eight 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors guns in twin mounts and ten 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons in single and eight in twin mounts.[7]
Fencer was designed to accompany other ships forming the escort for convoys.[11] The anti-submarine aircraft employed were initially the Fairey Swordfish and later the Grumman Avenger, which could be armed with torpedoes, depth charges, 250 lb (110 kg) bombs or RP-3 rocket projectiles.[12] As well as carrying out their own attacks on U-Boats, these aircraft identified their locations for the convoy's escorts to mount an attack.[13] Typically anti-submarine patrols would be flown between dawn and dusk. One aircraft would fly about 10 mi (16 km) ahead of the convoy, while another patrolled astern. Patrols would last between two and three hours, using both radar and visual observation in their search for U-Boats.[14] Fencer also had a secondary role, providing oil and provisions for her accompanying destroyers. This could be a lengthy process and was done on the move. It took 40 minutes from firing a line across to the destroyer to start pumping oil, while it took another two hours to pump 98 tons of oil and a further 35 minutes to disconnect the hose pipe and secure the equipment.[15]
Service history
As an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier, Fencer escorted convoys in the North Atlantic and to Russia. She also participated in the Operation Tungsten strike on the German battleship Tirpitz where she provided ASW cover for the strike carriers before being transferred to the Pacific (during November and December 1944, she was in transit between Scotland and Australia ferrying Mosquito aircraft for use in the Far East Theatre).
Following World War II, she returned to the United States 21 December 1946, stricken for disposal on 28 January 1947, and sold into merchant service 30 December, as Sydney.
The ship went through a series of renamings, first to Roma in 1967, then Galaxy Queen in 1970, Lady Dina in 1972 and finally Caribia in 1973 before being scrapped in Spezia in September 1975.
References
- ^ Gerhardt.
- ^ Fleet Air Arm Officers Association.
- ^ Morison 2002, p. 344.
- ^ a b Cocker 2008, p. 79.
- ^ Poolman 1972, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Cocker 2008, pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b c Cocker 2008, p. 80.
- ^ Poolman 1972, p. 98.
- ^ Morison 2002, p. 342.
- ^ Poolman 1972, p. 57.
- ^ Poolman 1972, p. 155.
- ^ Poolman 1972, p. 135.
- ^ Cocker 2008, p. 147.
- ^ Poolman 1972, p. 79.
- ^ Poolman 1972, p. 102-103.
Bibliography
- Gerhardt, Frank A. "USS Croatan". United States Maritime Commission 1936 thru 1950. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- "Seaplane and Aircraft Carriers". Fleet Air Arm Officers Association. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- "A History of HMS Attacker". Royal Navy Research Archive. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- "Croatan". DANFS. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.
- Morison, Samuel (2002). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07062-4.
- Plowman, Peter (2006). Australian Migrant Ships 1946-1977. Kenthurst New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877058-40-0.
- Poolman, Kenneth (1972). Escort Carrier 1941–1945. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0273-8.
External links
 United States Navy | |||||
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 Royal Navy |
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