Escort carrier


The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the United States Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, slower, carried fewer planes, and more-lightly armed and armored. Escort carriers were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their principal advantage as they could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable, and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier was a similar concept to escort carriers in most respects, but were capable of higher speeds to allow operation alongside fleet carriers.
Escort carriers were too slow to keep up with the main forces consisting of fleet carriers, battleships, and cruisers. Instead, they were used to escort convoys, defending them from enemy threats such as submarines and planes. In the invasions of mainland Europe and Pacific islands, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations. Escort carriers also served as backup aircraft transports for fleet carriers and ferried aircraft of all military services to points of delivery.
In the Battle of the Atlantic, escort carriers were used to protect convoys against U-boats. Initially escort carriers accompanied the merchant ships and helped to fend off attacks from aircraft and submarines. As numbers increased later in the war, escort carriers also formed part of hunter-killer groups that sought out submarines instead of being attached to a particular convoy.
In the Pacific theater, CVEs provided air support of ground troops in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. They lacked the speed and weapons to counter enemy fleets, relying on the protection of a Fast Carrier Task Force. However, at the Battle off Samar, one U.S. task force of escort carriers managed to successfully defend itself against a much larger Japanese force of battleships and cruisers. The Japanese met a furious defense of carrier aircraft, screening destroyers, and destroyer escorts, proving that CVEs could appear to have the same striking power as full CVs.
Of the 151 aircraft carriers built in the U.S. during World War II, 122 were escort carriers. Though no examples survive to this day, the was the most numerous class of aircraft carrier, with 50 launched. Second was the, with 45 launched.

Development

In the early 1920s, the Washington Naval Treaty imposed limits on the maximum size and total tonnage of aircraft carriers for the five main naval powers. Later treaties largely kept these provisions. As a result, construction between the World Wars had been insufficient to meet operational needs for aircraft carriers as World War II expanded from Europe. Too few fleet carriers were available to simultaneously transport aircraft to distant bases, support amphibious invasions, offer carrier landing training for replacement pilots, conduct anti-submarine patrols, and provide defensive air cover for deployed battleships and cruisers. The foregoing mission requirements limited use of fleet carriers′ unique offensive strike capability demonstrated at the Battle of Taranto and the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Conversion of existing ships provided additional aircraft carriers until new construction became available.
Conversions of cruisers and passenger liners with speed similar to fleet carriers were identified by the U.S. as "light aircraft carriers" able to operate at battle fleet speeds. Slower conversions were classified as "escort carriers" and were considered naval auxiliaries suitable for pilot training and transport of aircraft to distant bases.
The Royal Navy had recognized a need for carriers to defend its trade routes in the 1930s. While designs had been prepared for "trade protection carriers" and five suitable liners identified for conversion, nothing further was done mostly because there were insufficient aircraft for even the fleet carriers under construction at the time. However, by 1940 the need had become urgent and was converted from the captured German merchant ship MV Hannover and commissioned in July 1941. For defense from German aircraft, convoys were supplied first with fighter catapult ships and CAM ships that could carry a single fighter. In the interim, before escort carriers could be supplied, they also brought in merchant aircraft carriers that could operate four aircraft.
In 1940, Admiral William Halsey recommended construction of naval auxiliaries for pilot training. In early 1941 the British asked the US to build on their behalf six carriers of an improved Audacity design but the US had already begun their own escort carrier. On 1 February 1941, the United States Chief of Naval Operations gave priority to construction of naval auxiliaries for aircraft transport. U.S. ships built to meet these needs were initially referred to as auxiliary aircraft escort vessels in February 1942 and then auxiliary aircraft carrier on 5 August 1942. The first U.S. example of the type was. Operation Torch and North Atlantic anti-submarine warfare proved these ships capable aircraft carriers for ship formations moving at the speed of trade or amphibious invasion convoys. U.S. classification revision to escort aircraft carrier on 15 July 1943 reflected upgraded status from auxiliary to combatant. They were informally known as "Jeep carriers" or "baby flattops". It was quickly found that the escort carriers had better performance than light carriers, which tended to pitch badly in moderate to high seas. The was designed to incorporate the best features of American CVLs on a more stable hull with a less expensive propulsion system.
Among their crews, CVE was sarcastically said to stand for "Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable". Magazine protection was minimal in comparison to fleet aircraft carriers. was sunk within minutes by a single torpedo, and exploded from undetermined causes with very heavy loss of life. Three escort carriers—, and —were destroyed by kamikazes, the largest ships to meet such a fate.
Allied escort carriers were typically around long, not much more than half the length of the almost fleet carriers of the same era, but were less than of the weight. A typical escort carrier displaced about, as compared to almost for a full-size fleet carrier. The aircraft hangar typically ran only of the way under the flight deck and housed a combination of 24–30 fighters and bombers organized into one single "composite squadron". By comparison, a late Essex-class fleet carrier could carry a total of 103 aircraft organized into separate fighter, bomber and torpedo-bomber squadrons.
The island on these ships was small and cramped, and located well forward of the funnels. Although the first escort carriers had only one aircraft elevator, having two elevators, along with the single aircraft catapult, quickly became standard. The carriers employed the same system of arresting cables and tail hooks as on the big carriers, and procedures for launch and recovery were the same as well.
The crew size was less than of that of a large carrier, but this was still a bigger complement than most naval vessels. It was large enough to justify the existence of facilities such as a permanent canteen or snack bar, called a gedunk bar, in addition to the mess. The bar was open for longer hours than the mess and sold several flavors of ice cream, along with cigarettes and other consumables. There were also several vending machines available on board.
In all, 130 Allied escort carriers were launched or converted during the war. Of these, six were British conversions of merchant ships:,,,, and. The remaining escort carriers were U.S.-built. Like the British, the first U.S. escort carriers were converted merchant vessels. The Bogue-class carriers were based on the hull of the Type C3 cargo ship. The last 69 escort carriers of the and Commencement Bay classes were purpose-designed and purpose-built carriers drawing on the experience gained with the previous classes.

Royal Navy

Originally developed at the behest of the United Kingdom to operate as part of a North Atlantic convoy escort, rather than as part of a naval strike force, many of the escort carriers produced were assigned to the Royal Navy for the duration of the war under the Lend-Lease act. They supplemented and then replaced the converted merchant aircraft carriers that were put into service by the British and Dutch as an emergency measure until the escort carriers became available. As convoy escorts, they were used by the Royal Navy to provide air scouting, to ward off enemy long-range scouting aircraft and, increasingly, to spot and hunt submarines. Often additional escort carriers also joined convoys, not as fighting ships, but as transporters, ferrying aircraft from the U.S. to Britain. In this case, the aircraft cargo could be doubled by storing aircraft on the flight deck as well as in the hangar.
The ships sent to the Royal Navy were slightly modified, partly to suit the traditions of that service. Among other things the ice cream making machines were removed, since they were considered unnecessary luxuries on ships, which served grog and other alcoholic beverages. The heavy duty washing machines of the laundry room were also removed since "all a British sailor needs to keep clean is a bucket and a bar of soap".
Other modifications were due to the need for a completely enclosed hangar when operating in the North Atlantic and in support of the Arctic convoys.

U.S. Navy service

Meanwhile, the U.S. discovered their own use for the escort carriers. In the North Atlantic, they supplemented the escorting destroyers by providing air support for anti-submarine warfare. One of these escort carriers,, was instrumental in the capture of off North Africa in 1944.
In the Pacific theater, escort carriers lacked the speed to sail with fast carrier attack groups, so were often tasked to escort the landing ships and troop carriers during the island-hopping campaign. In this role they provided air cover for the troopships and flew the first wave of attacks on beach fortifications in amphibious landing operations. On occasion, they even escorted the large carriers, serving as emergency airstrips and providing fighter cover for their larger sisters while these were busy readying or refueling their own planes. They also transported aircraft and spare parts from the U.S. to remote island airstrips.
The attack on Pearl Harbor brought up an urgent need for aircraft carriers, so some T3 tankers were converted to escort carriers, is example of how a T3 tanker hull AO-33 was rebuilt to be an escort carrier. The T3 tanker size and speed made the T3 a useful escort carrier. There were two classes of T3 hull carriers: Sangamon class and Commencement Bay class.

Battle off Samar

A major battle for these escort carriers was the Battle off Samar in the Philippines on 25 October 1944. The Japanese lured Admiral William Halsey, Jr. into chasing a decoy fleet with his 3rd Fleet. This left aircraft from 16 small and slow escort carriers in three task groups armed primarily to bomb ground forces; along with their protective screen of destroyers and slower destroyer escorts, with "Taffy 3" bearing the brunt of the fight. They faced a Japanese force of four battleships, including the formidable, eight cruisers, and 11 destroyers. The American ships held off the Japanese.
The slow carriers could not outrun cruisers. They launched their aircraft and maneuvered to avoid shellfire for over an hour. They took dozens of hits, mostly from armor-piercing rounds that passed right through their thin, unarmored hulls without exploding., sunk in this action, was the only U.S. carrier lost to enemy surface gunfire in the war, and the Japanese concentration of fire on this one carrier assisted the escape of the others. The carriers′ only substantial armament—aside from their aircraft—was a single 5 in dual-purpose gun mounted on the stern, but the pursuing Japanese cruisers closed to within range of these guns. One of the guns caused critical damage to the burning Japanese heavy cruiser and a subsequent bomb dropped from one of the task force's aircraft hit the heavy cruiser's forward machinery room, leaving her dead in the water. Several kamikaze aircraft were shot down by carrier gunners, with only lost to air attack. The Americans lost a similar number of ships and men to the Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Midway combined.

The ships

Many escort carriers were Lend-Leased to the United Kingdom, this list specifies the breakdown in service to each navy.
In addition, six escort carriers were produced by the British during the war.
The table below lists escort carriers and similar ships performing the same missions. The first four were built as early fleet aircraft carriers. Merchant aircraft carriers carried trade cargo in addition to operating aircraft. Aircraft transports carried larger numbers of planes by eliminating accommodation for operating personnel and storage of fuel and ammunition.
NameDateNationDisplacementSpeedAircraftNotes
1918UK14,000 tons 20 knots18converted liner
1922United States11,500 tons15 knots30converted collier
1923Japan7,500 tons 25 knots12early fleet carrier
1924UK10,850 tons 25 knots12early fleet carrier
1941UK11,000 tons15 knots6merchant conversion
, 1941United States and UK9,000 tons17 knots15–21merchant conversions
,,, 1941United States and UK8,200 tons17 knots15–21merchant conversions
,, 1941Japan17,830 tons 21 knots27converted liners
1942UK11,800 tons 18 knots10–15merchant conversion
1942United States and UK9,800 tons18 knots15–2145 conversions of C-3 merchant hulls
,,, 1942United States11,400 tons 18 knots31converted oilers
, 1942Japan 11,800 tons 20 knots8liners converted to Hei-type landing craft carriers
1943UK12,400 tons 18 knots18merchant conversion
1943UK13,400 tons 16 knots15–20merchant conversion
1943UK14,000 tons 16 knots15–20merchant conversion
Rapana class 1943UK12,000 tons12 knots3tankers converted to merchant aircraft carriers
1943United States7,800 tons19 knots2850 built as escort aircraft carriers
1943Japan13,600 tons 23 knots24converted liner
1943UK17,400
tons 		18 knots21merchant conversion
,,,,, 1943UK8,000 tons 12 knots4grain carrying merchant aircraft carriers
,,, 1943UK9,000 tons 11 knots3tanker merchant aircraft carriers
1944United States10,900 tons19 knots3419 built as escort aircraft carriers
1944Japan17,500 tons22 knots33converted liner
1945Japan 16,119 tons 15 knots8converted tanker
1945Japan 8,258 tons 19 knots8–37Type M cargo ship converted to Hei-type landing craft carrier

Relative carrier sizes in World War II

Bogue-class escort carrier light carrier fleet carrier fleet carrier
Length:495 ft 625 ft 875 ft 740 ft
Beam:69 ft 72 ft 92 ft 95 ft
Displacement:9,800 t11,000 t27,100 t23,000 t
Armament1x 127 mm, light AAlight AA12x 127 mm, light AA16x 114 mm
Armor-50–125 mm150–200 mm75 mm deck
Aircraft:24339057
Speed:17 knots 31 knots 33 knots 30 knots
Crew:8501,5693,448817 + 390

Post-World War II

The years following World War II brought many revolutionary new technologies to the navy, most notably the helicopter and the jet fighter, and with this a complete rethinking of its strategies and ships′ tasks. Although several of the latest Commencement Bay-class CVE were deployed as floating airfields during the Korean War, the main reasons for the development of the escort carrier had disappeared or could be dealt with better by newer weapons. The emergence of the helicopter meant that helicopter-deck equipped frigates could now take over the CVE's role in a convoy while also performing their own traditional role as submarine hunters. Ship-mounted guided missile launchers took over much of the aircraft protection role, and in-flight refueling abolished the need for floating stopover points for transport or patrol aircraft. As a result, after the Commencement Bay class, no new escort carriers were designed, and with every downsizing of the navy, the CVEs were the first to be mothballed.
Several escort carriers were pressed back into service during the first years of the Vietnam War because of their ability to carry large numbers of aircraft. Redesignated AKV, they were manned by a civilian crew and used to ferry whole aircraft and spare parts from the U.S. to Army, Air Force and Marine bases in South Vietnam. However, CVEs were useful in this role only for a limited period. Once all major aircraft were equipped with refueling probes, it became much easier to fly the aircraft directly to its base instead of shipping it overseas.
The last chapter in the history of escort carriers consisted of two conversions: As an experiment, was converted from an aircraft carrier into a pure helicopter carrier and used by the Marine Corps to carry assault helicopters for the first wave of amphibious warfare operations. Later, Thetis Bay became a full amphibious assault ship. Although in service only from 1955 to 1964, the experience gained in her training exercises greatly influenced the design of today's amphibious assault ships.
In the second conversion, in 1961, had all her aircraft handling equipment removed and four tall radio antennas installed on her long, flat deck. In lieu of aircraft, the hangar deck now had no fewer than 24 military radio transmitter trucks bolted to its floor. Rechristened, the ship was used as a communication relay ship and served dutifully through the Vietnam War as a floating radio station, relaying transmissions between the forces on the ground and the command centers back home. Like Thetis Bay, the experience gained before Annapolis was stricken in 1976 helped develop today's purpose-built amphibious command ships of the.
Unlike almost all other major classes of ships and patrol boats from World War II, most of which can be found in a museum or port, no escort carrier or American light carrier has survived: all were destroyed during the war or broken up in the following decades. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships records that the last former escort carrier remaining in naval service — USS Annapolis — was sold for scrapping 19 December 1979. The last American light carrier was, which was broken up in 2002 after a decade-long attempt to preserve the vessel.
The U.S. designed the Sea Control Ship to serve a similar role; whilst none were actually built, the Spanish Principe de Asturias and the Thai Chakri Naruebet are based on the concept.