Nairana-class escort carrier
![]() HMS Nairana
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Class overview | |
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Name | Nairana class escort carrier |
Builders |
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Operators | |
Preceded by | HMS Activity |
Succeeded by | Long Island-class escort carrier |
Built | 1941–1944 |
In service | 1943–1955 |
Planned | 3 |
Completed | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Escort carrier |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Draught |
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Installed power | 11,000 bhp (8,200 kW) |
Propulsion | 2 shaft diesel engines |
Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 15–20 |
The Nairana-class escort carrier (/naɪˈrɑːnə/) was a British-built class of three escort carriers. They were constructed one each in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to the same basic design during the Second World War for service with the Royal Navy.
Converted from
Once completed the first carrier did not take part in active service until January 1944, but all three served as convoy escorts during the final year of the war. They had some success during their patrols, and
Design and description
The Nairana-class escort carriers were a class of three
Nairana built by John Brown was launched on 20 May 1943 and completed on 12 December 1943.[4] She had a complement of 728 men and displaced 14,050 long tons (14,280 t). Her other dimensions were a length of 528 ft 6 in (161.09 m), a beam of 68 ft 6 in (20.88 m) and a draught of 21 ft (6.4 m).[5] Her aircraft facilities included a 495 ft (151 m) flight deck,[6] a hangar 231 ft (70 m) by 61 ft (19 m), eight arrestor wires and an aircraft lift 45 ft (14 m) by 34 ft (10 m).[5]
Vindex built by Swan Hunter was launched on 4 May 1943 and completed on 3 December 1943.[4] She had a complement of 700 men and displaced 13,455 long tons (13,671 t). Her other dimensions were a length of 524 ft (160 m), a beam of 68 ft 6 in (20.88 m) and a draught of 21 ft (6.4 m).[5] Her aircraft and her aircraft facilities included a 495 ft (151 m) flight deck,[6] a hangar 231 ft (70 m) by 61 ft (19 m), six arrestor wires and an aircraft lift 45 ft (14 m) by 34 ft (10 m).[5]
Campania built by Harland and Wolff was launched on 17 June 1943 and completed on 9 February 1944.[4] She had a complement of 700 men and displaced 12,450 long tons (12,650 t). Her other dimensions were a length of 540 ft (160 m), a beam of 70 ft (21 m) and a draught of 19 ft (5.8 m).[5][7] Her aircraft and her aircraft facilities included a 495 ft (151 m) flight deck,[6] a hangar 198 ft (60 m) by 61 ft 6 in (18.75 m), six arrestor wires and an aircraft lift 45 ft (14 m) by 34 ft (10 m).[7]
Common to all three ships was a traditional
Service history
HMS Nairana
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Three_rocket_projectile_Fairey_Swordfish.jpg/220px-Three_rocket_projectile_Fairey_Swordfish.jpg)
Vindex and Nairana were both commissioned within days of each other in December 1943, and moved to
By this stage of the war the Royal Navy had enough escort carriers available not only to double them up on a convoy escort but to permanently detach one to work with a "hunter killer group" operating outside the convoy system. The 2nd Escort Group still under the command of Walker was the group chosen with Vindex as the carrier. As she would not be supported by another carrier Vindex's air group was formed from the experienced 825 Naval Air Squadron, with a complement of 12 Fairey Swordfish Mk IIs and six Sea Hurricanes IICs. Even though there were 12 Swordfish on board they had only eight crews so the Sea Hurricanes carried out some of the daylight anti-submarine patrols. The Sea Hurricanes had been fitted with four racks for the same RP-3 rockets used by the Swordfish to attack submarines.[13]
Leaving
Weather conditions were still not perfect for flying and in the following days, one Swordfish returning from a night patrol landed in the sea alongside the carrier, the crew were reported missing believed killed. A pitching deck caused one Swordfish to crash into the sea on take-off and another Swordfish crashed into the sea on take-off when its engine failed. One Swordfish taking off clipped the island superstructure losing 4 feet (1.2 m) off both wing tips. The pilot managed to get the aircraft into the air circled around jettisoning his depth charges and landed again without mishap. Landing on the heaving deck was just as dangerous, two Sea Hurricanes and two Swordfish missed the arrestor wires and ended up crashing into the safety barriers.[15] On 24 March 1944 a Swordfish with its engine shot up and crew injured attempted to land back on Vindex. It crash landed onto the flight deck coming to a stop 8 feet (2.4 m) from the end of the flight deck. Leaking petrol set the wreckage on fire, the crew were rescued but the fire exploded one of two depth charges stuck on their racks. A hole 8 feet (2.4 m) by 4 feet (1.2 m) was blown in the flight deck. After 16 days at sea Vindex returned to port. With two days flying lost because of the weather conditions, the Swordfish had amassed a creditable 275 flying hours and 122 deck landings by day and night. The Sea Hurricanes contributed another 47 hours flying and 39 deck landings.[16]
At the end of May 1944 Nairana sailed with the 15th Escort Group. On board was 835 Naval Air Squadron equipped with nine Swordfish and six Sea Hurricanes. The Swordfish patrolled day and night and some contacts were made on the ASV. All the contact come to nothing, it is now known the older model ASV in Nairana's Swordfish could be detected by receivers on board U-boats. In May they escorted convoys SL 157 (Freetown to United Kingdom) with MKS 48 (Mediterranean to United Kingdom) and the next group SL 158 with MKS 49. From 25 May the convoys were located by German Junkers Ju 290 reconnaissance aircraft. On the 25 and the morning of 26 May they were driven off undamaged but one Sea Hurricane failed to pull out of a dive killing the pilot. Later the same day another two Ju 290s appeared one was shot down and the other was probably shot down. From 1946 to 1948, the ship was in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy as the HNLMS Karel Doorman (QH1).[17]
HMS Vindex
With Vindex damaged and needing a refit and Campania still not commissioned, Nairana was the only ship of her class fit for sea on 1 April 1944. She left in the first week of April with the outbound convoys OS 72 (West Africa) and KMS 46 (Gibraltar).
Flying became dangerous in the heavy seas and poor visibility. One Sea Hurricane was damaged beyond repair after a serious crash into the safety barrier and another crashed into the sea with the loss of the pilot. The Swordfish crews fared little better. Three aircraft and one crew were lost during the same period. On 9 May Vindex's aircraft lift broke down with a burnt out motor. The crew had to resort to manually cranking the lift up and down, taking an hour to go each way. They eventually repaired the lift by moving the
On 15 August 1944, Vindex and
Russian convoy JW 61 which sailed on 20 October had for the first time three escort carriers, Vindex, Nairana and
The return convoy RA 61 was equally successful, with only one frigate damaged by a torpedo just after leaving Kola. Vindex had to take avoiding action after detecting a torpedo coming towards her.[24] Vindex's inexperienced squadron lost a Wildcat pilot when his plane crashed into the sea attempting to land back on board. A Swordfish crashed into the sea following a rocket-assisted takeoff, with the loss of the two man crew. Another Swordfish crashed on landing, with the aircraft initially hung over the ship's side from its tail hook. When the hook gave way, it crashed into the sea and only the pilot was rescued. The squadron in total lost or so severely damaged eight Swordfish and two Wildcats that they could not fly again.[25]
HMS Campania
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/HMS_Campania.jpg/220px-HMS_Campania.jpg)
Campania was commissioned in February 1944, her delay in construction meant she was the first British carrier to be fitted with Action Information Organisation (AIO) and a
The normal Arctic convoys restarted at the end of November, Campania and Nairana were paired as part of the escort. Both ships still had their established squadrons on board 813 and 835, with Swordfish IIIs and Wildcat VIs. The first convoy JW and RA 62 were subjected to the first joint U-boat and torpedo bomber attacks since convoy PQ 18 two years previously. No ships in the convoy were lost but they did sink U-365 and shot down two Junkers Ju 88s and one Blohm and Voss 138. Two Swordfish and one Wildcat with the pilot were lost.[25]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Fairey_Fulmar_Mk_I_%28M4062%29.jpg/220px-Fairey_Fulmar_Mk_I_%28M4062%29.jpg)
On 6 February 1945, Campania, Nairana, the cruiser HMS Bellona and eight fleet destroyers joined 26 merchant ships in convoy JW64. This time the squadrons had spare aircrews for their aircraft and Campania's squadron included a Fairey Fulmar fitted with a Royal Air Force AI air-to-air interception radar, for use as a dedicated night fighter.[26] Shortly after the escorts and convoy came together Campania's radar operator reported a target approaching. Both carriers scrambled two Wildcats, to intercept the intruder. Campania's Wildcats got there first and shot down a Junkers Ju 88, one of the Wildcats was also shot down with the loss of the pilot. The next morning as 07:45 Campania's radar detected aircraft approaching. Two groups of Junkers Ju 88 torpedo bombers appeared and the convoys escorts opened fire. The ships manoeuvred to avoid the torpedo attack and Nairana's Wildcats were airborne by 08:10. No ships were hit during the attacks and the bombers evaded the fighters in the heavy cloud cover. Campania's Swordfish were flying the daylight anti-submarine patrols, with a mixed armament of four RP-3 rockets and two depth charges. On 7 November 835 Squadron claimed a Junkers Ju 88 damaged.[27] The long Arctic night with only four hours of light a day together with heavy seas and low visibility hampered any operations by the Wildcats. During darkness the ships could hear the engines of the shadowing German aircraft closing in. Campania's night fighting Fulmar took off at 17:30, but its electrics failed as it was approaching the German aircraft and it was forced to return to the carrier. The Fulmar landed off centre crashed into the safety barrier putting itself and the carrier out of action. On 10 November a Swordfish on anti-submarine patrol reported 30 Junkers Ju 88s approaching the convoy. The Wildcats took off to intercept the torpedo bombers and the escorts opened fire on them. The combined fire from the escorts and the Wildcats shot down four Ju 88s, two more were claimed as probably shot down by the Wildcats and another was severely damaged. Those Ju 88s that did release their torpedoes failed to hit any of the ships and a number of the torpedoes were seen to detonate in the ships wakes, as they turned away from the attack. Two of the Wildcats were also shot down by the barrage from the escorts.[28] The combined losses had reduced the escorts fighter cover three aircraft, one on Campania and two on Nairana at 11:30 another group of Junkers Ju 88 torpedo bombers were discovered approaching. Nairana's Wildcats took off and shot one down the others under fire from the escorts dropped their torpedoes too soon and they all missed.[29] The return convoy RA 64 left Kola Inlet on the morning of 17 February, one of the escorts and a merchant ship were torpedoed almost immediately. Another merchant ship was torpedoed that afternoon. Terrible weather conditions kept all aircraft grounded until 20 November, when it began to clear the Luftwaffe also appeared and the Wildcats were scrambled to intercept them. Two Ju 88s were shot down by the fighters another two by the escorts and three were damaged.[30] The convoys had lost to enemy action two fighters, two escorts and two merchant ships. In return they claimed 15 aircraft destroyed, seven aircraft probably destroyed and one U-boat sunk.[31] Campania did one more Russian convoy JW 65 in March 1945, which had two merchant ships torpedoed and sunk on their approach to Kola Inlet. These were the last losses on a Russian convoy.[31]
Later careers
With the war over there was no further need for escort carriers. HMS Nairana was transferred to the
See also
- List of ship classes of the Second World War
Notes
- ^ Cocker (2008), pp.76–78
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.155.
- ^ a b c Poolman (1972), p.111.
- ^ a b c Poolman (1972), pp.111–112.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cocker (2008), p.77.
- ^ a b c d Poolman (1972), p.112.
- ^ a b Cocker (2008), p.76.
- ^ Cocker (2008), p.80.
- ^ Poolman(1972), p.98.
- ^ Morison (2002), p.342.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.114.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.115.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.120.
- ^ Poolman (1972), pp.120–121.
- ^ a b Poolman (1972). p.121.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.122.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.141–142.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.137.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.138.
- ^ Poolman (1972), pp.139–140.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.140.
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.143.
- ^ a b Poolman (1972), p.144.
- ^ a b Poolman (1972), p.145.
- ^ a b c Poolman (1972), p.146
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.147.
- ^ Poolman (1972), pp.147–148.
- ^ Poolman (1972), pp.148–149
- ^ Poolman (1972), p.149.
- ^ Poolman (1972), pp.151–152.
- ^ a b Poolman (1972), p.154.
- ^ Poolman (1972), pp.155–156.
- ^ "HMS Campania". Fleet Air Arm Archives. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
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References
- Brown, David (1973). Fairey Fulmar Mks I & II, Aircraft. London: Hylton Lacy Publishers.
- Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.
- Friedman, Norman (1988). British Carrier Aviation: the Evolution of the Ships and their Aircraft. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-488-6.
- Morison, Samuel (2002). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07062-4.
- Poolman, Kenneth (1972). Escort Carrier 1941–1945. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0273-8.
- Speller, Ian (2004). The Royal Navy and Maritime Power in the Twentieth Century. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-35004-4.
- Thomas, Andrew (2007). Royal Navy Aces of World War 2. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-178-6.