Ruler-class escort carrier
HMS Puncher
| |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Ruler class |
Builders | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
Operators | Royal Navy |
Preceded by | Attacker class |
Succeeded by | None |
Built | 1942–1943 |
Planned | 23 |
Completed | 23 |
Lost | 2 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Escort carrier |
Displacement | 11,420 long tons (11,600 t) |
Length | 492 ft 3 in (150.0 m) |
Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.2 m) |
Draught | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) |
Installed power | 9,350 shp (6,970 kW) |
Propulsion | 1 shaft geared steam turbines |
Speed | 17 kn (20 mph; 31 km/h) |
Complement | 646 |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 24 |
Aviation facilities |
|
Notes | Built in two groups of 8 and 15 |
The Ruler class of escort aircraft carriers served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. All twenty-three ships were built by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation in the United States as Bogue-class escort carriers, supplied under Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom.[1] They were the most numerous single class of aircraft carriers in service with the Royal Navy.[2]
As built they were intended for three types of operations, "Assault" or strike, convoy escort, or aircraft ferry.[3]
After the war some were scrapped while other had their flight deck removed and converted as merchant vessels (and all eventually scrapped by the 1970s).
Design and description[]
These ships were all larger and had greater aircraft capacity than all preceding American built escort carriers. They were laid down as escort carriers and were not converted merchant ships.[4] 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).[4] 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).[5]
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.[4] Aircraft could be housed in the 260 feet (79.2 m) by 62 feet (18.9 m) hangar below the flight deck.[4] Armament comprised: two 4 inch 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.[4] 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 torpedo bomber or Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft.[4]
Ships[]
First group[]
- HMS Patroller
- HMS Puncher (crewed by the Royal Canadian Navy)
- HMS Reaper
- HMS Slinger
- HMS Smiter X
- HMS Speaker XX
- HMS Trouncer
- HMS Trumpeter X
Second group[]
- HMS Arbiter
- HMS Ameer XX
- HMS Atheling X
- HMS Begum X
- HMS Emperor XX
- HMS Empress
- HMS Khedive X
- HMS Nabob X (crewed by the Royal Canadian Navy) (torpedoed 22 August 1944, by U-354 west of the North Cape)[6][7]
- HMS Premier X
- HMS Queen X
- HMS Rajah
- HMS Ranee
- HMS Ruler XX
- HMS Shah X
- HMS Thane (torpedoed 15 January 1945, by U-1172 in the Clyde estuary).[6][8]
- X = Fitted for anti-submarine warfare.[4]
- XX = Fitted for strike-operations.[4]
- All the others were mainly used for aircraft transport with an added strike capability.[4]
Notes[]
- ^ Cocker (2008), p.81
- ^ Cocker (2008), 74–84
- ^ Gordon Smith (ed.), "US-built escort aircraft carriers", Lt Cmdr G Mason - His Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 and Other Researches, naval-history.net
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cocker (2008), p.82.
- ^ Cocker (2008), p.79.
- ^ a b Cocker (2008), p.83.
- ^ "HMS Nabob (D 77) (British Escort carrier) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net".
- ^ "HMS Thane (D 83) (British Escort carrier) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net".
- Bibliography
- Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.
Commonscat[]
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- Escort aircraft carrier classes
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