HMS Chaser (D32)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see USS Breton.

HMS Chaser in 1945
History
United States
Name
  • Mormacgulf
  • Mormacdove
  • Breton
Namesake
OperatorMoore-McCormack Lines, Inc. (intended)
Orderedas a C3-S-A1 hull MC-162[1]
Awarded9 September 1940
BuilderIngalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Cost$7,412,192
Yard number295
Way number3
Laid down28 June 1941
Launched19 June 1942
Acquired27 March 1943
RenamedBreton, 26 December 1941
Reclassified
  • ACV, 20 Aug 1942
  • CVE, 15 July 1943
Identification
FateTransferred to the Royal Navy, 9 April 1943
United Kingdom
NameChaser
NamesakeOne that chases or purses another
Acquired9 April 1943
Commissioned9 April 1943
Identification
FateReturned to USN, 12 May 1946
United States
NameCVE-10
Acquired12 May 1946
Stricken3 August 1946
FateSold for merchant use, 20 Dec 1946
General characteristics
Class and type
Displacement
Length
  • 465 ft (142 m) (wl)
  • 495 ft 8 in (151.08 m) (oa)
  • 440 ft (130 m) (fd)
Beam
  • 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) wl
  • 82 ft (25 m) (fd)
  • 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m) (extreme width)
Draught
  • 23 ft 3 in (7.09 m) (mean)
  • 26 ft (7.9 m) (max)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement646
Armament
Aircraft carried24
Aviation facilities
Service record
Operations: Battle of the Atlantic, Arctic convoys (1943–45)
Victories: Sank U-472, U-366, U-973 (1944)

HMS Chaser (D32/R306/A727) was an American-built

Second World War
.

Acquired by the

convoys in Arctic, she transferred to the British Pacific Fleet
in March 1945.

Construction

Chaser was laid down on 28 June 1941, under a

US Navy, she was renamed Breton and designated AVG-10. On 20 August 1942, she was reclassified ACV-10. On 9 April, she was again reclassified, now CVE-10, and transferred to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease program and commissioned as HMS Chaser.[2]

Design and description

There were eleven Attacker-class in service with the Royal Navy during the

Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States.[3]

The ship had complement of 646 men, who lived in crew accommodation that was significantly different from the arrangements that were normal for the Royal Navy at the time. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop. The traditional hammocks were replaced by three-tier bunk-beds, 18 to a cabin, which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.[4]

Chaser had an

kW), which could propel the ship at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph).[5]

She had the operating capacity for up to 24 aircraft, which could be a mixture of

starboard side and above the 450 ft × 120 ft (137 m × 37 m) flight deck,[9] two aircraft lifts 42 ft × 34 ft (13 m × 10 m), and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in the 260 ft × 62 ft (79 m × 19 m) hangar below the flight deck.[6] When employed as an aircraft transport she could carry 90 aircraft.[10]

anti-aircraft gun
mounting on the Attacker-class.

The ships armament concentrated on

4 inch (102 mm)/50 caliber Mk 9 guns.[10]

Chaser was designed to accompany other ships forming the escort for convoys.[11] The anti-submarine aircraft employed were initially the Fairey Swordfish and later the Grumman Avenger, which could be armed with torpedoes, depth charges, 250 lb (110 kg) bombs or RP-3 rocket projectiles.[12] As well as carrying out their own attacks on U-boats, these aircraft identified their locations for the convoy's escorts to mount an attack.[13] Typically anti-submarine patrols would be flown between dawn and dusk. One aircraft would fly about 10 mi (16 km) ahead of the convoy, while another patrolled astern. Patrols would last between two and three hours, using both radar and visual observation in their search for U-boats.[14]

Chaser also had a secondary role, providing oil and provisions for her accompanying destroyers. This could be a lengthy process and was done on the move. It took 40 minutes from firing a line across to the destroyer to start pumping oil, while it took another two hours to pump 98 tons of oil and a further 35 minutes to disconnect the hose pipe and secure the equipment.[15]

Service history

After workup in the

Atlantic. She crossed the Atlantic in company with Convoy HX 245, arriving at the Clyde on 6 July 1943.[16][17]

On 7 July 1943, there was an explosion in Chaser's boiler room. She was repaired at

Grumman Wildcats, and sailed for Scapa Flow.[17]

Arctic duty

On 22 January 1944, Chaser joined

Kola Inlet. She was the first escort carrier assigned to provide protection for large convoys as they steamed to Russia.[18] Chaser's Wildcats helped to drive off German aircraft shadowing the convoy, while her Swordfish made several unsuccessful attacks against German submarines.[19] On 24 February, one of Chaser' Swordfishes spotted the submarine U-713 on the surface and called up the destroyer Keppel which sank the U-boat with depth charges.[20] A second submarine U-601 was sunk by a shore based flying boat, while one escorting destroyer, Mahratta was sunk by a U-boat. None of the 43 merchant ships comprising the convoy was hit by the 14 U-boats deployed in two patrol lines against the convoy.[19][21]

Chaser joined the return convoy, RA 57 of 33 merchant ships, on 2 March.[22] On 4 March, one of Chaser's Swordfish caught U-472 on the surface. U-472 was unable to defend itself as its anti-aircraft guns were iced up, and the Swordfish attacked with bombs and rockets, damaging the submarine, and then called up the destroyer Onslaught which finished off the submarine with gunfire.[23][24][25] The next day, a Swordfish from Chaser attacked and sunk U-366 with rockets, at 72°10′N 14°44′E / 72.167°N 14.733°E / 72.167; 14.733 in the Arctic, northwest of Hammerfest, Norway.[23][25][26] On 6 March, radio signals from a submarine were detected by HF/DF and a Swordfish was sent to investigate. The Swordfish spotted the submarine and attacked with rockets, sinking U973 at 70°04′N 5°48′E / 70.067°N 5.800°E / 70.067; 5.800 in the Norwegian Sea, northwest of Narvik, Norway.[25][26] One merchant ship was sunk.[22]

After returning to Loch Ewe on 10 March, Chaser dragged her anchor and ran aground on 13 March, being towed off the next day. She had her hull repaired and was refitted at Rosyth and was then modified for service as a ferry carrier with the Pacific Fleet at Belfast.[16][27]

Pacific duty

On 14 February 1945, Chaser left Britain on the first part of the journey to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving in Sydney in May 1945,[27] where she was attached to the 30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron.[28] She was designated as a replenishment carrier, tasked with ferrying replacement aircraft to the forward areas where they could be transferred to the operational carriers.[27] Chaser ferried aircraft to support British Pacific fleet operations during the invasion of Okinawa and operations off Japan in July–August 1945.[27] Owing to a shortage to dedicated tankers, Chaser was also used to refuel other ships.[27]

Following the

Japanese surrender in August 1945, she transported Allied prisoners of war homeward.[2]

Decommissioning

The escort carrier was returned to the United States Navy at

Waterman Steamship Co. on 20 December 1946 and later resold to the Netherlands.[2]

Merchant service

She was renamed Aagtekerk in civilian service and was later renamed E Yung. The ship foundered on 4 December 1972, and was salvaged and then scrapped in Taiwan.[16]

FAA squadrons

Fleet Air Arm Squadrons stationed on Chaser[29]
Squadron Dates Aircraft type
835 November 1943 – December 1943
Hawker Sea Hurricane
816 April 1943 - September 1943 Fairey Swordfish Mks.II/Grumman Wildcat Mk.V
899 August 1943 - October 1943 Supermarine Seafire L.III

References

  1. ^ a b MARCOM.
  2. ^ a b c d e DANFS - Breton.
  3. ^ Cocker 2008, p. 79.
  4. ^ Poolman 1972, pp. 74–75.
  5. ^ Cocker 2008, pp. 80–81.
  6. ^ a b c Cocker 2008, p. 80.
  7. ^ Poolman 1972, p. 98.
  8. ^ Morison 2002, p. 342.
  9. ^ Poolman 1972, p. 57.
  10. ^ a b Hobbs 1996, p. 73.
  11. ^ Poolman 1972, p. 155.
  12. ^ Poolman 1972, p. 135.
  13. ^ Cocker 2008, p. 147.
  14. ^ Poolman 1972, p. 79.
  15. ^ Poolman 1972, p. 102-103.
  16. ^ a b c d Hobbs 1996, p. 74.
  17. ^ a b c Hobbs 2013, p. 141.
  18. ^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 61.
  19. ^ a b Roskill 1960, pp. 270–271.
  20. ^ Kemp 1997, pp. 171–172.
  21. ^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, pp. 61–62.
  22. ^ a b Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 62.
  23. ^ a b Blair 2000, p. 515.
  24. ^ Kemp 1997, pp. 173–174.
  25. ^ a b c Helgason.
  26. ^ a b Kemp 1997, p. 174.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Hobbs 2013, p. 142.
  28. ^ Hobbs 2017, pp. 166, 253.
  29. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 395.

Bibliography

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