Five ships were acquired and commissioned as Naval vessels early in the Second World War, and these were used to accompany convoys.
Both classes could launch a disposable fighter (usually a Hawker Hurricane) to fight off a threat, with the pilot expected to be rescued after either ditching the aircraft or bailing out close to the launching ship.
There were five fighter catapult ships, collectively known as the Pegasus class.
They were each equipped with a single Fairey Fulmar or "Hurricat" (an adapted Hawker Hurricane Mk.1A).
This article about a specific naval ship or boat of the United Kingdom is a stub.