HMS Searcher (D40)
.jpg) |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | USS AVG-22 |
| Builder: | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down: | 20 February 1942 |
| Launched: | 20 June 1942 |
| Fate: | Transferred to the Royal Navy |
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | HMS Searcher |
| Commissioned: | 7 April 1943 |
| Fate: |
|
 Greece
|
|
| Name: | SS Captain Theo |
| Owner: | J & A T Vatis |
| Acquired: | 1952 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 6116575 |
| Fate: | Sold to Tung Chao Yung in 1966 |
 Taiwan
|
|
| Name: | SS Oriental Banker |
| Owner: | Tung Chao Yung |
| Acquired: | 1966 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 6116575 |
| Fate: | Scrapped on 21 April 1976 in Taiwan |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: |
|
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 491 ft 6 in (149.81 m) |
| Beam: | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Installed power: | 8,500 shp (6.3 MW) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, 1 shaft |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 646 officers and men |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | 20 |
HMS Searcher was a Ruler-class escort carrier of the Royal Navy. Built in Seattle in the United States (as a Bogue-class), she was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease. Launched in 1942 she served until 29 November 1945. She was sold into merchant service and renamed Captain Theo. In 1966 she was renamed again to Oriental Banker and was finally scrapped in Taiwan in 1976.
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. 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). Propulsion was provided by one shaft, two boilers and a steam turbine giving 9,350 shaft horsepower, which could propel the ship at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).
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. Aircraft could be housed in the 260 feet (79.2 m) by 62 feet (18.9 m) hangar below the flight deck. Her armament consisted of two 4 inch Dual Purpose guns in single mounts, sixteen 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns in single mounts. 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.
...
Wikipedia