HMS Hunter (D80)
HMS Hunter
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Block Island |
Namesake | Block Island Sound |
Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
Laid down | 15 May 1941, as Mormacpenn |
Launched | 22 May 1942 |
Commissioned | 9 January 1943 |
Out of service | Loaned to Royal Navy 1943-1945 |
Stricken | 17 January 1947 |
Fate | Sold into merchant service 1947, scrapped in Spain in 1965 |
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Hunter |
Commissioned | 11 January 1943 |
Decommissioned | 29 December 1945 |
Renamed | Initially HMS Trailer, before being named HMS Hunter, As merchant ship:Almdijk |
Fate | Returned to United States 29 December 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Attacker-class escort carrier |
Displacement | 14,400 tons |
Length | 491 ft 6 in (149.81 m) |
Beam | 105 ft (32 m) |
Draught | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Complement | 646 |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 20 |
USS Block Island (CVE-8) (originally AVG and then ACV) was an
The ship was laid down on 15 May 1941 as Mormacpenn under
The vessel was returned to United States' custody 29 December 1945 and sold into merchant service on 17 January 1947 as Almdijk. In October 1965 the ship was sold for scrapping in Spain.
Design and description
There were eight
The ships had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. 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, eighteen to a cabin which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.[2]
The ships dimensions were; an
Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the
References
Bibliography
- Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.
- Poolman, Kenneth (1972). Escort Carrier 1941–1945. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0273-8.