MV ''Macoma'' was one of nine Anglo Saxon

Royal Dutch/Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

oil tankers An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cr ...

converted to become a

Merchant Aircraft Carrier A merchant aircraft carrier (also known as a MAC ship, the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's official 'short name') was a limited-purpose aircraft carrier operated under British and Dutch civilian registry during World War II. MAC ships ...

(MAC ship). The group is sometimes collectively known as the Rapana Class. Macoma was launched on 31 December 1935 at Nederlandse Scheepsbouw Mij, Amsterdam as an oil tanker and entered service the following year. She was converted to a MAC ship from late 1943 to April 1944, and commissioned 1 April 1944. As a MAC ship, she had no aircraft hangar, and continued to carry normal cargoes, although operating under Royal Navy control. Only her air crew and aviation support staff were naval personnel. In the case of the ''Macoma'', these were provided by the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

including the Dutch Fleet Air Arm

860 __NOTOC__ Year 860 ( DCCCLX) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 18 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about 200 Rus' vessels sails into the Bosphorus, and starts ...

and

861 __NOTOC__ Year 861 ( DCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March – Robert the Strong is appointed margrave of Neustria by King Charles the Bald. He re-establishes the ...

squadrons. The Macoma and her sister were the first aircraft carrying vessels with a flight deck to be operated under the flag of the Netherlands. After the war, MV ''Macoma'' was reconverted and returned to merchant service as an oil tanker and served in that role until scrapped in Hong Kong in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macoma Oil tankers 1935 ships Ships built in Amsterdam Merchant ships of the Netherlands World War II merchant ships of the Netherlands World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom