HMS Atheling

HMS Atheling SLV, 18 December 1945

She was built by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (later Todd Pacific of Tacoma, Washington) under Maritime Commission Contract. She was launched 7 September 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Richard P. Luker, and commissioned on 12 July 1943 as USS Glacier AVG-33 under the command of Comdr. Ward C. Gilbert. Her designation was changed to CVE-33 on 15 July 1943. She was transferred on 31 July 1943 at Vancouver, British Columbia to the Royal Navy.

Following formal transfer the ship was sent to the Royal Canadian Navy dockyard at Esquimalt for conversion for British use. Following the work she was commissioned as Atheling on 28 October. She sailed via Panama and New York arriving in the UK in January 1944 and underwent further modification to operate fighter aircraft.

Atheling transferred to the Far East for operations there, one airgroup comprising 10 Wildcats plus 10 Seafires.

Atheling ferried the following RN squadrons to the Far East, April 1944:

1837: 14 Corsair II disembarked Ceylon April 13

1838: 10 Corsair II disembarked Ceylon April 13

822: 12 Barra II disembarked Madras April 11

823: 12 Barra II disembarked Madras April 12[1]

From November 1944 into 1945, she was engaged on aircraft ferry duties for British and US fleets. After the war she was used as troopship before return to the US.

From October 1945 to April 1946, her commanding officer was Capt. John Inglis, who was to become director of Naval Intelligence in July 1954.[2]

Atheling put into Norfolk, Virginia, 6 December 1946 for return to the United States. Her name was stricken from the Naval Register 7 February 1947 and she was sold to National Bulk Carriers as the merchant ship Roma 26 November 1947. She was scrapped in Italy in November 1967.

These ships were all larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than all the preceding American built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted merchant ships.[3] All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an overall length of 492 feet 3 inches (150.0 m), a beam of 69 feet 6 inches (21.2 m) and a draught of 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m).[3] Propulsion was provided a steam turbine, two boilers connected to one shaft giving 9,350 brake horsepower (SHP), which could propel the ship at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).[4]

Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side, two aircraft lifts 43 feet (13.1 m) by 34 feet (10.4 m), one aircraft catapult and nine arrestor wires.[3] Aircraft could be housed in the 260 feet (79.2 m) by 62 feet (18.9 m) hangar below the flight deck.[3] Armament comprised: two 4"/50, 5"/38 or 5"/51 Dual Purpose guns in single mounts, sixteen 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons in single mounts.[3] They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of Grumman Martlet, Vought F4U Corsair or Hawker Sea Hurricane fighter aircraft and Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft.[3]

• Cocker, Maurice (2008). Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4633-2.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Atheling (D51).

• HMS ATHELING (D 51) - Ruler-class Escort Aircraft Carrier