USS ''Chatham'' (CVE-32) (originally designated AVG-32, then later ACV-32) was built at the Seattle-Tacoma S/Y, Hull #27, Seattle, Washington, and fitted-out in Portland, Oregon. She was transferred to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

11 August 1943 under

lend-lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

and renamed HMS ''Slinger'' (D26). Designated as a transport carrier, the ship was mined, off Lowestoft, on 5 February 1944 but returned to service on 17 October, and worked-up a new crew. In early-1945, she was sent to Sydney to join the Pacific Fleet as a replenishment vessel i.e. carrying spare planes for other carriers - attached to the

30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron The 30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron also called Thirtieth Aircraft Carrier Squadron was a military formation of Escort Aircraft Carriers of the Royal Navy that was part of the British Pacific Fleet from January to August 1945. History The 30th A ...

. The Slinger was accorded the battle honour ‘Okinawa’, though her participation was indirect. Returning to Sydney, she ferried aircraft to/from Brisbane, before being ear-marked for the force that was to invade Japan; in the event, she stood-by at Manus, Philippines, as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war. In August 1945, she was sent to Hong Kong as a support vessel, and in the autumn made at least two trips to Sydney, returning civilians who had been interned. She returned to UK via Colombo, Cairo and Gibraltar in late-1945 into early-1946. She was returned to United States custody on 27 February 1946, and was sold and converted by the Robin Line, and was re-launched on 21 November 1946 as ''Robin Mowbray''.

Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. The Moore-McCormack Lines was a series of companies operating as shipping lines, operated by the Moore-McCormack Company, Incorporated, later Moore-McCormack Lines, Incorporated, and simply Mooremack, founded in 1913 in New York City. It ceased tr ...

, purchased Robin Line in 1958. She was scrapped in Kaohsiung

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1969-1970.

Design and description

The were larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than preceding American built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

s. All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a draught of .Cocker (2008), p.82. Propulsion was provided by one shaft, two boilers and a steam turbine giving , which could propel the ship at .Cocker (2008), p.79. Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

side, two aircraft lifts by , one

aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to help fixed-wing aircraft gain enough airspeed and lift for takeoff from a limited distance, typically from the deck of a ship. They are usually used on aircraft carrier flight decks as a form of assist ...

and nine

arrestor wires An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

.Cocker (2008), p.82. Aircraft could be housed in the by hangar below the flight deck. Armament comprised: two 4"/50, 5"/38 or 5"/51 dual purpose guns in single mounts, sixteen 40 mm Bofors

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

s in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons in single mounts. They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of

Grumman Martlet The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atla ...

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...

Hawker Sea Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft. Some models were built in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry. British variants Hurricane Mk I Hurricane Mk I (Early producti ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

and

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a retired biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was a ...

Grumman Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

aircraft.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slinger (D26) Ruler-class escort carriers Ships built in Seattle 1943 ships