CAM ship

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The Hawker Sea Hurricane W9182 on the catapult of a CAM ship

CAM ships were

escort carriers became available. CAM ship is an acronym for catapult aircraft merchant ship.[1]

They were equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Hurricane, dubbed a "Hurricat" or "Catafighter" to destroy or drive away an attacking bomber. Normally the Hurricane fighter would be lost when the pilot then bailed out or ditched in the ocean near the convoy.[Note 1] CAM ships continued to carry their normal cargoes after conversion.

The concept was developed and tested by the five

Merchant Navy
.

Origin

A Hurricane IA before launch during trials at Greenock, in 1941

The

Fall of France, these aircraft could operate from western France against British merchant ships in the Atlantic. Flying from Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport, Fw 200s of I/KG40 could reach the convoy lanes west of Britain while staying outside the range of British land-based fighters. The Royal Navy had no aircraft carriers available to provide close air cover for the convoys. The Fw 200s could shadow convoys, directing U-boat attacks on them, or drop bombs on convoy ships, without opposition and to deadly effect.[1]

To counter this threat, the

Admiralty developed the fighter catapult ship – a converted freighter, crewed by naval sailors, carrying a single Hawker Hurricane fighter. When an enemy bomber was sighted, the fighter would be launched into the air with rockets, and fly up to destroy or drive away the bomber. Being large and slow, the Fw 200 became a rather vulnerable target. After the combat, the fighter pilot would bail out or ditch in the ocean near the convoy, and be picked up if all went well.[1]

The Admiralty had already experimented with this system. They ordered 50 rocket-propelled

Sea Hurricane IAs.[1]

The pilots for these aircraft were drawn from the Royal Air Force (RAF). The RAF formed the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit (MSFU) on 5 May 1941 in RAF Speke by the River Mersey in Liverpool.[1] Wing Commander E.S. Moulton-Barrett commanded the unit providing training for volunteer pilots, fighter direction officers (FDOs), and airmen. After training, MSFU crews were posted to Liverpool, Glasgow, or Avonmouth where they assisted in loading their Hurricanes onto the catapults. Each team consisted of one pilot for Atlantic runs (or two pilots for voyages to Russia, Gibraltar, or the Mediterranean Sea), with one fitter, one rigger, one radio-telephone operator, one FDO, and a seaman torpedoman who worked on the catapult as an electrician.[1]

MSFU crews signed ship's articles as civilian crew members under the authority of the civilian

first mate acted as catapult duty officer (CDO), responsible for firing the catapult when directed. The single Hurricane fighter was launched only when enemy aircraft were sighted and agreement was reached using hand and flag signals between the pilot, CDO, and ship's master.[1]

The first four or five ships were taken into Royal Navy service as "auxiliary fighter catapult ships", and later conversions were officially named CAMs and crewed by merchant sailors. The first CAM ship, Michael E, was sponsored by the Royal Navy while the RAF MSFUs were working up. After a trial launch off Belfast, Michael E sailed with convoy OB 327 on 28 May 1941. She was sunk by U-108 on 2 June.[2] The first RAF trial CAM launch was from Empire Rainbow, at Greenock on the River Clyde on 31 May 1941; the Hurricane landed at Abbotsinch. Six CAM ships joined convoys in June 1941. When a CAM ship arrived at its destination, the pilot usually launched and landed at a nearby airfield to get in as much flight time as possible before his return trip.[1] Pilots were rotated out of CAM assignments after two round-trip voyages to avoid the deterioration of flying skills from the lack of flying time during the assignment.[2]

CAM sailings were initially limited to North American convoys with aircraft maintenance performed by the

Archangelsk.[2]

CAM ships

Eight CAM ships were requisitioned from private owners, two of which were sunk:

Twenty-seven CAM ships were Ministry of War Transport–owned Empire ships, ten of which were sunk:

Take-off procedure

Test launch of a Hurricane at Greenock, Scotland, 31 May 1941

CAM combat launches

For the combat launches from Royal Navy fighter catapult ships, see Fighter catapult ship § FCS combat launches.
Date Ship/convoy Pilot Outcome
1 Nov 1941 SS Empire Foam / HX 156
FO
Varley 		Focke-Wulf Fw 200 chased off; pilot recovered by HMS Broke[1][4]
26 Apr 1942 SS Empire Morn / QP 12 FO JB Kendal
KG 30); Kendal died from injuries received while bailing out[1][4]
26 May 1942 SS Empire Lawrence / PQ 16
PO
Hay 		Two Heinkel He 111s shot down; Hurricane shot down, pilot wounded and recovered by HMS Volunteer[1][4]
14 Jun 1942 SS Empire Moon / HG 84 PO Sanders Focke-Wulf Fw 200 chased off; pilot recovered by HMS Stork[1][4]
18 Sep 1942 SS Empire Morn FO AH Burr Two Heinkel He 111s destroyed; pilot flew to the Russian Keg Ostrov (ru) aerodrome[1][4]
1 Nov 1942 SS Empire Heath / HG 91 FO N Taylor Focke-Wulf Fw 200 shot down; pilot nearly drowned before recovery[1][4]
28 Jul 1943 SS Empire Darwin / SL 133 FO JA Stewart Focke-Wulf Fw 200 destroyed; pilot recovered by HMS Leith[1][4]
28 Jul 1943 MV Empire Tide / SL 133 FO PJR Flynn Focke-Wulf Fw 200 destroyed; pilot recovered by HMS Enchantress[1][4]

In total, there were eight combat launches from CAM ships. Eight German aircraft were destroyed (three FW 200 Condors, four Heinkel He 111s and a Junkers Ju 88), one damaged and three chased away. Eight Hurricanes were ditched and one pilot lost.

Additionally, one Condor was destroyed in August 1941 by a Hurricane launched from a Royal Navy Fighter Catapult Ship. This was flown by Robert W. H. Everett.

Programme termination

As adequate numbers of escort carriers became available, CAM sailings on North American and Arctic Russian convoys were discontinued in August 1942. The aircraft maintenance unit was withdrawn from Archangelsk in September 1942. Catapults were removed from 10 of the 26 surviving CAM ships while the remaining 16 continued to sail with the Mediterranean and Freetown convoys.[2] Headquarters RAF Fighter Command ordered all MSFUs to be disbanded commencing 8 June 1943. The combat launches from homeward bound convoy SL 133 were from the last two operational CAM ships to sail; the last MSFU was disbanded on 7 September 1943. Twelve of the 35 CAM ships had been sunk while sailing on 170 round trip voyages.[1] Two more ships, Cape Clear and City of Johannesburg, were briefly fitted with dummy catapults and aircraft for deception purposes in late 1941.[4]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Although on several occasoions the pilot was close enough to an airfield to land there instead.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Wise, pp. 70–77
  2. ^ a b c d Hague, p. 78
  3. ^ a b Mitchell and Sawyer
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hague, p. 79

Bibliography

  • Barker, Ralph (2019). Hurricats: The Incredible True Story of Britain's 'Kamikaze' Pilots of World War Two. [Place of publication not identified]: SILVERTAIL Books.
    OCLC 1099529804
    .
  • Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 1-55750-019-3
    .
  • Mitchell, W. H.; Sawyer, L. A. (1990). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd.
    ISBN 1-85044-275-4
    .
  • Pauly, John; Truebe, Carl E.; Wilde, Doug & Wilterding, John H. (2012). "Question 14/48: Catapult Armed Merchant Ships". Warship International. XLIX (2): 160–170.
    ISSN 0043-0374
    .
  • Wise, James E. Jr. (September 1974). "Catapult Off—Parachute Back". United States Naval Institute Proceedings. 100 (9/859).

External links

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