HMS Audacity was a British escort carrier of the Second World War and the first of her kind to serve in the Royal Navy.

She was originally the German merchant ship Hannover, which the British captured in the West Indies in March 1940 and renamed Sinbad, then Empire Audacity.

Hannover was a 5,537 GRT cargo liner built by Bremer Vulkan Schiff- und Maschinenbau, Vegesack and launched on 29 March 1939.

She was sighted between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico on the night of 7/8 March by the light cruiser Dunedin and the Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine.

When Dunedin and Assiniboine intercepted Hannover, Captain Wahnschaffe ordered the seacocks opened and the ship set on fire.

[6] Her cargo included 29 barrels of pickled sheep pelts, which were offered for sale by tender in August 1940 as a result of being declared as prize.

Britain did not have enough aircraft carriers and shipping was vulnerable to attacks by U-boats in the Mid-Atlantic Gap, where there was no air cover.

The Admiralty decided that small carriers were part of the solution and had a number of merchantmen, including Empire Audacity, converted.

During the voyage, Martlets from Audacity shot down four Condors, one being the first aerial victory for Eric "Winkle" Brown.

[9] As Audacity left the convoy on the night of 21 December,[10] one of the merchantmen fired a "snowflake" flare which revealed her in silhouette to the German U-boats.

The submarines had been given specific orders to sink her as she had caused a lot of trouble for the Germans both at sea and in the air.

[3] The first torpedo fired by U-751 under Kapitänleutnant Gerhard Bigalk[9] hit her in the engine room and she began to settle by the stern.

[14] The German commander had confused her with a 23,000 long tons (23,369 t) Illustrious-class aircraft carrier, the sinking of which was announced by Nazi propaganda sources.