HMS Archer (D78) - Design and Description

Design and Description

Mormacland was laid down as a type C3M cargo ship on 1 August 1939, under United States Maritime Commission contract (MC Hull 46), by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania as Yard number 184. She was launched on 14 December 1939 and completed on 24 April 1940.

HMS Archer was the only Long Island class escort carrier in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was converted from the American merchant ship Mormacland which was being built at the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. She was laid down on 1 August 1939, launched on 14 December 1939 and delivered on 24 April 1940.

She was converted to an escort aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Basin Iron Works at Brooklyn New York and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 6 May 1942, under the command of Captain Abel-Smith.

Archer had a complement of 555 men and an overall length of 492.25 feet (150.04 m), a beam of 66.25 feet (20.19 m) and a height of 23.25 ft (7.09 m). She displaced 8,200 long tons (8,300 t) at normal load and 9,000 long tons (9,100 t) at deep load. Propulsion was provided by four diesel engines connected to one shaft giving 8,500 brake horsepower (BHP), which could propel the ship at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).

Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side and above the 410 feet (120 m) long wooden flight deck, one aircraft lift 43 feet (13 m) by 34 feet (10 m), one aircraft catapult and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in the 190 feet (58 m) by 47 feet (14 m) half hangar below the flight deck. Armament comprised three single mounted 4 inch dual purpose anti-aircraft guns and fifteen 20 mm cannons on single or twin mounts. She had the capacity for fifteen aircraft which could be a mixture of Grumman Martlet or Hawker Sea Hurricane fighter aircraft and Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft.