Operation Collie
Operation Collie was a
Operational detail
Operation Collie was carried out under the direction of Rear Admiral Wilfrid Patterson,[1] by Ruler-class aircraft carriers HMS Ameer and HMS Emperor,[2] light cruiser HMS Nigeria,[1] destroyers HMS Roebuck, HMS Eskimo, and HMS Vigilant, and escort carriers HMS Stalker and HMS Empress,[2] and the 6th Minesweeping Flotilla.[1] The carriers transported Grumman F6F Hellcats of the 884 Naval Air Squadron, which flew 82 sorties.[1] Accounts of casualties vary, but one report indicates that two pilots were killed, one during take-off, one in action; and six aircraft were lost, three to enemy action;[1] while another indicated that seven aircraft were lost from the Ameer, with all pilots rescued.[4] Overall, the mission was a success, with one report noting that "three flotillas of minesweepers cleared 167 mines off the northwest coast of Malaya and from the waters around the Nicobars."[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g David Wragg, The Escort Carrier in the Second World War: Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable!, pages 157–169, 2005.
- ^ a b c d Jürgen Rohwer, Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two, page 423, 2005.
- ^ a b Malcolm H. Murfett, Naval Warfare 1919–45: An Operational History of the Volatile War at Sea, page 446, 2008.
- ^ HMS Ameer -1945.