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In US service, they were initially referred to as auxiliary aircraft escort vessels and then auxiliary aircraft carrier before the Navy settled on escort aircraft carrier. They were informally known as Jeep carriers and baby flat tops. Escort carriers were given the US Navy hull classification symbol CVE — this was said by their crews to stand for Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable.
Escort carriers were typically around 500 ft (150 m) long, not much more than half the length of the almost 900 ft (300 m) fleet carriers of the same era, but actually less than one-third of the size: a typical escort carrier displaced about 8,000 tons, as compared to almost 30,000 tons for a full-size fleet carrier. They had a single hydraulic catapult instead of the 2 present on medium and large carriers, but the system of tail hook and arresting cable was the same. The aircraft hangar ran only a third of the way under the flight deck and there was only one aircraft elevator. Procedures for launch and recovery were the same as on the big carriers.
The crew size was less than a third of that of a large carrier, but this was still a bigger complement than most naval vessels. It was large enough to justify the existence of facilities such as a permanent canteen or snack bar, called a gedunk bar, in addition to the mess. The bar was open at longer hours than the mess and sold several flavors of ice cream, along with cigarettes and other consumables. There were also several vending machines, which made a "gedunk" sound when operated.
They were developed at the behest of the United Kingdom to operate as part of a North Atlantic convoy escort rather than as part of a naval strike force, and many of the ships produced were assigned to the Royal Navy for the duration of the war under the Lend-lease act. In practice they were also used to ferry aircraft, hunt submarines, and for patrols and scouting.
The ships sent to the Royal Navy were slightly modified, partly to suit the traditions of that service. Among other things the ice cream making machines were removed, since they were considered unnecessary luxuries. The heavy duty washing machines of the laundry room were also removed since "all a British sailor needs to keep clean is a bucket and a bar of soapThis article is about a common cleaning mixture. For other uses of the word Soap, see Soap (disambiguation). Soap is a surfactant cleaning mixture used for personal or minor cleaning. It usually comes in solid moulded form. In the developed world, synthet" (quoted from Warrilow).
Other modifications were due to the need for an enclosed hangar when operating in the North Atlantic and in support of the Russian Convoys .
Over 100 escort carriers were launched or converted during the war. Of these six ( HMS Nairana , HMS CampaniaThere were two ships of the name HMS Campania, named after the region Campania in Italy. HMS Campania was a passenger liner converted to a seaplane tender HMS Campania was one of the British conversions to an escort carrier. Campania., HMS Activity , HMS Pretoria Castle , HMS Vindex , and HMS Audacity ) were British conversions of merchant ships, the rest being new construction in the USA.
Following the war, this class of ship was retired, primarily because as the navies were reduced in size it was better to keep the larger and more useful fleet carriers in preference to them.
| Escort carrier | Fleet carrier | |
|---|---|---|
| Length: | 150 m | 260 m |
| Beam: | 20 m | 28 m |
| Displacement: | 7500 t | 25,000 t |
| Aircraft: | 30 or fewer | over 80 |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Crew: | 850 | 3000 and over |
Perhaps the finest moment for the escort carriers was the Battle of Leyte GulfThe Battle of Leyte Gulf was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, fought in the seas around the island of Leyte in the Philippines from 23 October to 26 October 1944. The Japanese intended to repel or destroy the Allied invasion of Leyt's Battle off Samar, where three escort carrier groups fended off the battleships of the Japanese Combined FleetThe Combined Fleet Rengo Kantai) was the name of the Japanese Navy, during World War II. See also: Military History of Japan Fleets., allowing General Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur GCB ( January 26, 1880— April 5, 1964) was an American military leader. He served in the U. Army his entire life, taking part in three major wars ( World War I, World War II, Korean War) and rising to the rank of General of the Army, one's Army to complete the liberation of Leyte. The hero of the battle was Clifton Sprague.
Just about every important class of ship or patrol boat from World War II can be found in a museum or in a port, somewhere in the United States, except for the escort carrier and the light carrier. There are no survivors from either type of ship: all were destroyed during the war or broken up in the decades following it. The last escort carrier, USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107) was broken up for scrap starting in 1976.
See list of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy for a complete list.
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