HMS Avenger (D14) - Design and Description

Design and Description

The Avenger class escort carriers were converted American merchant ships of the C3 class. Their design was based on the U.S. Navy Long Island class escort carrier (AVG1). To differentiate between the two classes, the Royal Navy ships were prefixed with a 'B' (BAVG). HMS Avenger (BAVG2) was built by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Chester, Pennsylvania, south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. Originally named the Rio-Hudson, she was laid down on 28 November 1939 as a passenger cargo ship for the American Moore-McCormack line, and was launched on 27 November 1940. She was then purchased by the United States Navy and converted to an escort aircraft carrier in the Bethlehem Steel yards at Staten Island. Transferred to the Royal Navy on 31 July 1941, she was commissioned 2 March 1942 when the conversion was completed.

Avenger had a complement of 555 men (including aircrew) 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. This could propel the ship at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).

Aircraft facilities were composed of a small combined bridge-flight control on the starboard side above the 410-foot (120 m) long wooden flight deck, one 43 by 34 feet (13 m × 10 m) aircraft lift, one aircraft catapult, and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in the 190 by 47 feet (58 m × 14 m) half hangar below the flight deck. Her armament consisted of three single-mounted 4 inch dual purpose anti-aircraft guns—two forward and one aft—and fifteen 20 mm cannon 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 anti-submarine aircraft.