HMS Arbiter

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For other ships with the same name, see
USS St. Simon
.

HMS Arbiter
History
United States
NameUSS St. Simon
NamesakeSt. Simons Sound in Georgia
BuilderSeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down26 April 1943
Launched9 September 1943
FateTransferred to Royal Navy
United Kingdom
NameHMS Arbiter
Commissioned31 December 1943
Decommissioned12 April 1946
IdentificationPennant number:D31
FateSold as merchant ship; scrapped 1972
General characteristics
Class and type
Displacement9,800 tons
Length492 ft (150 m)
Beam69 ft 6 in (21.18 m)
Draught26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
PropulsionSteam turbines, 1 shaft, 8,500 shp (6,300 kW)
Speed17 knots (31 km/h)
Complement890 officers and men
Armament
Aircraft carried18
Service record
Part of: British Pacific Fleet

USS St. Simon (CVE-51) (originally AVG-51 then later ACV-51), an

lend-lease
, on 31 December 1943.

Renamed HMS Arbiter (D31) (while being carried on the United States' Naval Vessel Register with the classification BCVE-51), the escort carrier served in the Royal Navy for the duration of World War II. She earned "battle honors" in the Atlantic during 1944, serving on the western approaches to the British Isles, and in 1945 served as one of seven similar ships engaged in operating as an aircraft ferry supporting the British Pacific Fleet's train, bringing up replacement aircraft or providing combat air patrol for replenishment ships.

Returned to

Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, on 30 January 1947. Converted to the cargo ship Coracero, the former escort carrier served under two more names, President Macapagal from 1965 to 1972 and Lucky Two in 1972 before she was scrapped in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
, in 1972.

Design and description

These ships were larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than all the preceding American-built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted merchant ships.[1] 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).[1] The ship displaced 11,200 long tons (11,400 t) standard and 15,390 long tons (15,640 t) full load.[2] Propulsion was provided by a General Electric geared steam turbinefed with steam by two Foster Wheeler boilers, and driving one shaft. The machinery was rated at 8,500 shaft horsepower (6,300 kW), giving a speed of 18–18.5 knots (20.7–21.3 mph; 33.3–34.3 km/h).[2][3]

Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge/flight control on the

anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts and 35 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon (14 twin and 7 single mounts). The ship could operate a maximum of 30 aircraft or carry as many as 90 in the ferry role.[2]

Twin 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun

Construction and service

The ship was

Lend Lease programme on 31 December 1943, commissioning as HMS Arbiter on the same day, with the Pennant number D31.[2][4][5][6]

Following commissioning, Arbiter underwent modification for Royal Navy service at

Grumman Avengers of 853 Naval Air Squadron and the Curtiss Helldivers of 1820 Naval Air Squadron, both recently formed in the United States, and crossed the Atlantic to Britain.[7] In September 1944, Arbiter entered refit at Belfast,[2] with changes including a modified fuel system incorporating the lessons on the loss of the carrier HMS Dasher from an internal explosion in 1943.[6]

At the end of January 1945, Arbiter was assigned to the

Prisoners of War from Hong Kong to Australia and the Great Britain.[11]

Arbiter was handed back to the US Navy on 3 March 1946 at Norfolk, Virginia and was struck from the US Navy on 30 April 1946. She was sold on 30 January 1947 and converted to the merchant ship Cocacero,[4] joining the shipping company Compania Argentina de Navegacion Dodero.[5] The ship was renamed President Macapagal in 1965 and Lucky Two in 1972, and was broken up at Kaohsiung, Taiwan from May 1972.[4][11]

Notes

  1. ^ In Vancouver according to Hobbs.[2]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Cocker (2008), p. 82
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hobbs (1996), p. 37
  3. ^ Chesneau (1998), p. 121
  4. ^ a b c d e "Arbiter". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  5. ^ a b "St. Simon". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Mason, Geoffrey B. (15 October 2010). "HMS Arbiter (D 31) - Ruler-class Escort Aircraft Carrier". Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2. Naval-history.net. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  7. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance (1994), pp. 288, 341
  8. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance (1994), p. 355
  9. ^ Hobbs (2017), pp. 260, 279–280
  10. ^ Hobbs (2017), pp. 220–221
  11. ^ a b Hobbs (1996), p. 38

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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