Escort Carriers
During World War II, the U.S. Navy built escort carriers in large numbers for patrol work, and scouting and escorting convoys. Escort carriers, based on merchant ship hulls, were smaller than aircraft carriers; escort carrier crews referred to the ships as "Jeep carriers", the press called them "baby flat tops". The escort carriers had lighter armor than aircraft carriers, were slower, had less defensive armament, and fewer aircraft. This smaller variant of carriers was designated "CVE"; a common joke amongst crews was "CVE" meant "Combustible, Vulnerable and Expendable".
Early in the war, German submarines and aircraft were interfering with shipping. The worst losses occurred far at sea—out of the reach of land-based air forces—leading the Royal Navy to experiment with catapult-launching fighter aircraft from merchant ships, a somewhat successful approach. However, the number of planes was still limited, so the United Kingdom appealed to the United States for help.
Before World War II started, the U.S. Navy had contemplated converting merchant ships to small aircraft carriers for this purpose, so the quick solution was to build escort carriers on merchant ship hulls. The first escort carrier, the USS Long Island, was converted from a freighter. A shortage of merchant ship hulls caused four escort carriers—USS Sangamon, USS Suwanee, USS Chenango, and USS Santee—to be built on oil tanker hulls. In total, 78 escort carriers were built and launched from June 1941 to April 1945.
| Designation | Class | Ships | Description | Lead Ship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-1 | Long Island | 2 | 1 in USN service (USS Long Island), and HMS Archer. | |
| CVE-9 | Bogue | 45 | 11 in Royal Navy service, rest in U.S. Navy. British service as HMS Attacker class (first batch) and HMS Ameer class (second batch). | |
| CVE-26 | Sangamon | 4 | All in USN service. Built on oil tanker hulls rather than merchant ship hulls. | |
| CVE-30 | Charger | 4 | 1 (USS Charger) mainly in USN service, 3 in British service as Avenger class. | |
| CVE-55 | Casablanca | 50 | All in USN service. | |
| CVE-105 | Commencement Bay | 19 | All in USN service. Includes two units which were accepted but not commissioned and laid up for many years after the war. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Aircraft Carrier Classes Of The United States Navy
Famous quotes containing the words escort and/or carriers:
“When you escort someone, escort him all the way to his destination; if you help someone, help him thoroughly.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Now, the wry Rosenbloom is dead
And his finical carriers tread,
On a hundred legs, the tread
Of the dead.
Rosenbloom is dead.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)