Themes

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• Vulnerability of aircraft carriers

• Converting merchant ships

• New escort carriers

Converting merchant ships

With the fall of France in June 1940 more shipping lanes were vulnerable to air attack. At this time only a few ships had high angle (HA) anti-aircraft weapons. The best way to counter the aerial threat would be with fighters but no aircraft carriers were available. To plug this gap, military planners proposed using Catapult Aircraft Merchant ships (CAM ships). These were merchant ships fitted with a catapult that launched an aircraft to deter air attacks. Unfortunately once technicians had launched an aircraft from a CAM ship it would have to reach the shore or the pilot would have to parachute out and ditch the plane close to the ship. Only 35 CAM ships were completed.

High Angle (HA) Guns and barrage balloon were all important parts of a ship's defences (RNM)

In 1942 with the escalation of submarine warfare, a need to create a convoy escort vessel was heightening. Without men or resources to devote to creating a new escort aircraft carrier the Admiralty looked to ways of converting merchant ships without restricting their cargo capacity. The Admiralty ordered the design of the Merchant Aircraft Carrier or MAC ship late in 1942 and by mid 1943 they were serving in the Atlantic. With no hangar space, crewmen parked their Swordfish Mk II biplane at the aft end of the flight deck. The cramped flight deck and lack of hangar led to a lot of deck accidents. Unfortunately the delay between realising convoys needed air protection and the implementation of MAC ships saw the passing of the main threat from U-boat activity.

The CAM and MAC ships were not a long-term solution; the development of escort carriers was to address the lack of convoy air protection.