HMS Fencer (D64/R308) was an American-built that served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Acquired by the United States Navy for conversion to a ; she was transferred to the Royal Navy and commissioned as Fencer on 1 March 1943, under the Lend-Lease agreement. She spent most of her career escorting convoys in the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean, she transferred to the British East Indies Fleet in October 1944.
Construction
Fencer was laid down 5 September 1941, as a C3-S-A1 freighter, under Maritime Commission contract, MC hull #197, by Western Pipe and Steel Company, in San Francisco, California. The hull was purchased by the US Navy to be converted to a and named Croatan (AVG-14). While under construction she was transferred to the Admiralty under the Lend-Lease agreement, with a Royal Navy commissioning crew arriving in May 1942, under the command of Commander C.N. Lentaigne, RN. She was launched on 4 April 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Powers Symington. She was redesignated as ACV-14, on 20 Aug 1942. She was commissioned into the US Navy on 20 February 1943, as Croatan, and decommissioned and transferred to the RN, on 27 February 1943. She was commissioned into the RN, on 1 March 1943, as HMS Fencer (D64), with Captain E.W. Anstice, RN in command.
Design and description
Fencer was the fourth ship in what became the Royal Navy's of 11 ships; one of 38 escort carriers built in the United States for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. The Western Pipe & Steel shipyards built three other ships in the class. Once completed she was supplied under the terms of Lend-Lease agreement to the Royal Navy. There was a ships complement of 646 men, who lived in crew accommodation that was significantly different from the arrangements that were normal for the Royal Navy at the time. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop. The traditional hammocks were replaced by three-tier bunk-beds, 18 to a cabin, which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.
Fencer had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She displaced at full load. Power was provided by two boilers feeding steam to a turbine driving one shaft, giving , which could propel the ship at .
She had the capacity for up to 24 aircraft which could be a mixture of anti-submarine and fighter aircraft; the British Hawker Sea Hurricane and Supermarine Seafire naval fighters, Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber or the American-supplied Grumman Martlet and Vought F4U Corsair fighters or Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber could be carried. The exact composition of the embarked squadrons depended upon the mission. Some squadrons were composite squadrons for convoy defence and would be equipped with both anti-submarine and fighter aircraft, while other squadrons working in a strike carrier role would only be equipped with fighter aircraft. Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side and above the flight deck, two aircraft lifts , and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in the hangar below the flight deck.
thumb|left|A typical twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun mounting on the Attacker-class.]]
The ships armament concentrated on anti-aircraft (AA) defence and comprised two QF MK V dual purpose guns in single mounts, eight Bofors guns in twin mounts and ten Oerlikon cannons in single and eight in twin mounts.
Fencer was designed to accompany other ships forming the escort for convoys. The anti-submarine aircraft employed were initially the Fairey Swordfish and later the Grumman Avenger, which could be armed with torpedoes, depth charges, bombs or RP-3 rocket projectiles. As well as carrying out their own attacks on U-Boats, these aircraft identified their locations for the convoy's escorts to mount an attack. Typically anti-submarine patrols would be flown between dawn and dusk. One aircraft would fly about ahead of the convoy, while another patrolled astern. Patrols would last between two and three hours, using both radar and visual observation in their search for U-Boats.
Fencer also had a secondary role, providing oil and provisions for her accompanying destroyers. This could be a lengthy process and was done on the move. It took 40 minutes from firing a line across to the destroyer to start pumping oil, while it took another two hours to pump 98 tons of oil and a further 35 minutes to disconnect the hose pipe and secure the equipment.
Service history
As an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier, Fencer escorted convoys in the North Atlantic and to
Russia.
On 10 February 1944, while escorting Convoy ON 223 in the North Atlantic west of Ireland, one of her Fairey Swordfish from 842 squadron, sank