.jpg) HMSAudacity, after her conversion to anescort carrier | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | Bremer Vulkan,Vegesack |
| Launched | 29 March 1939 |
| Commissioned | 20 June 1941 |
| Identification |
|
| Honours and awards | Atlantic 1941 |
| Captured | 7 March 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk 21 December 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Escort carrier |
| Tonnage | 5,537 GRT |
| Displacement | 11,000 long tons (11,177 t) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 56 ft 3 in (17.15 m) |
| Draught |
|
| Installed power | 5,200 hp (3,900 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | As HMSAudacity: 480[1] |
| Sensors & processing systems | Type 79B air warning radar |
| Armament | |
| Aircraft carried |
|
| Aviation facilities | None; aircraft stored on flight deck[1] |
HMSAudacity was a Britishescort carrier of theSecond World War and the first of her kind to serve in theRoyal Navy. She was originally the German merchant shipHannover, which the British captured in theWest Indies in March 1940 and renamedSinbad, thenEmpire Audacity. She was converted and commissioned asHMSEmpire Audacity, then asHMSAudacity. She wastorpedoed and sunk by aGermanU-boat in late 1941.
Hannover was a 5,537 GRTcargo liner built byBremer Vulkan Schiff- und Maschinenbau,Vegesack andlaunched on 29 March 1939.[2] She was owned byNorddeutscher Lloyd and plied between Germany and theWest Indies on thebanana run.[3]Hannover'sport of registry wasBremen.[4] WhenWorld War II began,Hannover sought refuge inCuraçao,Netherlands Antilles. In March 1940,[3]Hannover attempted to return to Germany as ablockade runner. She was sighted betweenHispaniola andPuerto Rico on the night of 7/8 March by thelight cruiserDunedin and theCanadiandestroyerHMCS Assiniboine.Hannover was ordered to stop, but ignored the order and tried to reach the neutral waters of theDominican Republic. WhenDunedin andAssiniboine interceptedHannover, Captain Wahnschaffe ordered theseacocks opened and the ship set on fire. A boarding party fromDunedin closed the sea cocks andHannover was taken under tow. However, it took four days for the salvage crew to put out the fire.[5]Hannover was then towed toJamaica, arriving on 11 March.[3]ActingLieutenant A. W. Hughes ofDunedin wasmentioned in despatches for his part in securingHannover. Damage was mainly confined to her electrical system.[5]
Hannover was renamedSinbad, given a UK Official Number and assigned newCode Letters. Her port of registry was changed toKingston, Jamaica, under the British flag.[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 asprize.[5]
Sinbad was renamedEmpire Audacity as one of theEmpire ships of theMinistry of War Transport and wascommissioned as an "Ocean Boarding Vessel"[3] on 11 November. Her port of registry was changed to London. She was placed under the management ofCunard White Star Line Ltd.[7] On 22 January 1941,[2] she was sent toBlyth Dry Docks & Shipbuilding Co Ltd,Blyth to be rebuilt as an escort carrier. Britain did not have enough aircraft carriers and shipping was vulnerable to attacks byU-boats in theMid-Atlantic Gap, where there was no air cover. TheAdmiralty decided that small carriers were part of the solution and had a number of merchantmen, includingEmpire Audacity, converted.Empire Audacity was the largest ship handled at Blyth, which was more used to ships of 300 ft (91 m) length. The townsfolk of Blyth wondered why thesuperstructure of a perfectly good ship was beingscrapped at a time when Britain was desperately short of ships.[3]Empire Audacity was commissioned on 17 June 1941.[8] She was the Royal Navy's first escort carrier.[3]
HMSEmpire Audacity worked up in theClyde. The first deck landing was by aGrumman Martlet of802 Naval Air Squadron (FAA) on 10 July. A detachment of aircraft were based onEmpire Audacity from 19 to 21 July. All her aircraft had to be stored on the flight deck, as the hasty conversion into an escort carrier did not include ahangar deck.[8] The Admiralty disliked her merchant name,[3] and HMSEmpire Audacity was renamedHMSAudacity on 31 July 1941.[8]
Audacity was put into full service, embarking eightMartlets of No. 802 Squadron FAA. The use of only fighters was a major departure from later practice, where the main component wasanti-submarine patrol aircraft, but she was used to supportGibraltarconvoys and the only perceived threat was the German long-rangeFocke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor reconnaissance/bomber aircraft.[8]
Audacity participated in four convoys during her short career.
Convoy OG 74 sailed from Britain on 13 September 1941. A week later on 21 September the convoy was attacked by a German Condor bomber, whose bombs struck theconvoy rescue shipWalmer Castle. A fighter fromAudacity was able to shoot down the bomber. The damage toWalmer Castle was extensive, and she had to be sunk by an escortingcorvette.[8]
Convoy HG 74 sailed from Gibraltar on 2 October and arrived at the Clyde on 17 October. The trip was uneventful.[8]
Convoy OG 76 sailed on 28 October bound for Gibraltar. During the voyage, Martlets fromAudacity shot down four Condors, one being the first aerial victory forEric "Winkle" Brown. One Martlet was lost.[8]
Convoy HG 76 sailed from Gibraltar on 14 December.Audacity had only four Martlet aircraft serviceable. The convoy came under attack from 12 U-boats. Martlets fromAudacity shot down two Condors;U-131 was attacked on 17 December.[8]U-131 shot down a Martlet, but was unable to dive after the attack, and was scuttled by her crew, who were taken prisoner.[9]
AsAudacity 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 byU-751 underKapitänleutnantGerhard Bigalk[9] hit her in the engine room and she began to settle by the stern. The next two torpedoes caused an explosion of theaviation fuel[11] blowing off herbow.Audacity sank some 500 mi (430 nmi; 800 km) west ofCape Finisterre at43°45′N19°54′W / 43.750°N 19.900°W /43.750; -19.900.[3] She sank in 70 minutes. 73 of her crew were killed.[12] Her survivors were picked up by thecorvettesConvolvulus,Marigold andPentstemon,[13] one of the survivors being pilotEric Brown.[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 Nazipropaganda sources.[15]
Audacity had been operating outside the convoy, a procedure that was later prohibited by the Admiralty as too risky.[citation needed]
Official Numbers were a forerunner toIMO Numbers.Sinbad[6] andEmpire Audacity had the UK Official Number 156145.[7]Hannover used the Code Letters DOBV.[4]Empire Audacity used the Code Letters GLXZ.[7]
A model of HMSAudacity is displayed in theMerseyside Maritime Museum.[16]
43°45′N19°54′W / 43.750°N 19.900°W /43.750; -19.900
