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HMS Premier
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HMS Premier at war
HMS Premier at war
HMS Premier is an example of an escort carrier - large ships with merchant vessel hulls were converted into carriers with hangar and flightdeck. With British ports and factories at full stretch America provided a significant amount of these.
HMS Premier was commissioned in Seattle, America. With British ports and factories at full output Britain needed the assistance of American Industry.
After the entry of America into World War Two in 1941 Britain began to receive large amounts of materiel and ships from them. HMS Premier was originally laid down as USS Estero in October 1942.
When completed in 1943 she was then leased to Britain for the duration of the War. After the War the carrier was returned to America who sold her on as a merchant vessel.
The Rhodesia Star and Hong Kong Knight, as she was later renamed, continued to serve in that role until it was scrapped in 1974.
America was to lend/lease huge amounts of war supplies to Britain during the war, this assistance was one of the most important factors in the Allies victory.
The first task for HMS Premier’s crew, as it was for all new lend/lease carriers, was the conversion to Royal Navy standards.
The Royal Navy did not like the layout of the fuels system and also disapproved of using seawater as ballast for spent fuel.
The American system of using watertight bulkheads was also seen as below British standards. This delay in converting escort carriers frustrated Americans who saw the immediate benefits of convoy protection as paramount.
In 1944 once she had sailed to Liverpool she was then sent back again to America to pick up more lend/lease material, in this case aircrafts.
In this role she would not have a squadron or flight embarked, but instead ferried the aircraft on the flight deck and in her hangar space.
Ruler Class Escort carriers could embark up to 30 aircraft whilst being used on operations and could ferry up to 90 when not being used in that role.
The Royal Navy did not use HMS Premier as an aircraft carrier proper until the end of 1944 when she embarked 856 and 846 Naval Air Squadrons (NAS).
These squadrons flew Grumman Avengers, which were themselves a lend/lease aircraft from America. HMS Premier, operating out of Scapa Flow, helped to cover operations off the Norwegian coast as German forces were rolled back from occupied territories.
