Escort carrier
They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes.
In the invasions of mainland Europe and Pacific islands, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations.
As numbers increased later in the war, escort carriers also formed part of hunter-killer groups that sought out submarines instead of being attached to a particular convoy.
They lacked the speed and weapons to counter enemy fleets, relying on the protection of a Fast Carrier Task Force.
The foregoing mission requirements limited use of fleet carriers' unique offensive strike capability demonstrated at the Battle of Taranto and the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
Slower conversions were classified as "escort carriers" and were considered naval auxiliaries suitable for pilot training and transport of aircraft to distant bases.
U.S. classification revision to escort aircraft carrier (CVE) on 15 July 1943 reflected upgraded status from auxiliary to combatant.
The Commencement Bay class was designed to incorporate the best features of American CVLs on a more stable hull with a less expensive propulsion system.
[8] Among their crews, CVE was sarcastically said to stand for "Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable", and the CVEs were called "Kaiser coffins" in honor of Casablanca-class manufacturer Henry J.
The aircraft hangar typically ran only 1⁄3 of the way under the flight deck and housed a combination of 24–30 fighters and bombers organized into one single "composite squadron".
By comparison, a late Essex-class fleet carrier of the period could carry 103 aircraft organized into separate fighter, bomber and torpedo-bomber squadrons.
Of these, six were British conversions of merchant ships: HMS Audacity, Nairana, Campania, Activity, Pretoria Castle and Vindex.
Among other things the ice-cream making machines were removed, since they were considered unnecessary luxuries on ships which provided a grog ration.
The heavy duty washing machines of the laundry room were removed, since "all a British sailor needs to keep clean is a bucket and a bar of soap" (quoted from Warrilow).
In this role they provided air cover for the troopships and flew the first wave of attacks on beach fortifications in amphibious landing operations.
On occasion, they even escorted the large carriers, serving as emergency airstrips and providing fighter cover for their larger sisters while these were busy readying or refueling their own planes.
No Japanese threat was believed to be in the area, but a force of four battleships, including the formidable Yamato,[15] eight cruisers, and 11 destroyers, appeared, sailing towards Leyte Gulf.
Aircraft transports carried larger numbers of planes by eliminating accommodation for operating personnel and storage of fuel and ammunition.
tons (standard) The years following World War II brought many revolutionary new technologies to naval aviation, most notably the helicopter and the jet fighter, and with this a complete rethinking of its strategies and ships' tasks.
Although several of the latest Commencement Bay-class CVE were deployed as floating airfields during the Korean War, the main reasons for the development of the escort carrier had disappeared or could be dealt with better by newer weapons.
Several escort carriers were pressed back into service during the first years of the Vietnam War because of their ability to carry large numbers of aircraft.
Although in service only from 1955 (the year of her conversion) to 1964, the experience gained in her training exercises greatly influenced the design of today's amphibious assault ships.
In the second conversion, in 1961, USS Gilbert Islands had all her aircraft handling equipment removed and four tall radio antennas installed on her long, flat deck.
Like Thetis Bay, the experience gained before Annapolis was stricken in 1976 helped develop today's purpose-built amphibious command ships of the Blue Ridge class.
Later in the Cold War the U.S.-designed Sea Control Ship was intended to serve a similar role;[20] while none were actually built, the Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias and the Thai HTMS Chakri Naruebet are based on the concept.
