Fighter catapult ships also known as Catapult Armed Ships were an attempt by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
to provide air cover at sea. Five ships were acquired and commissioned as Naval vessels early in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and these were used to accompany
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s.
The concept was extended to merchant ships which were also equipped with rocket assisted launch systems and known as Catapult Aircraft Merchantmen (
CAM ships). Both classes could launch a disposable fighter (usually a
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
) to fight off a threat, with the pilot expected to be rescued after either ditching the aircraft or bailing out close to the launching ship.
The ships
There were five fighter catapult ships, collectively known as the ''Pegasus'' class. Two, ''Patia'' and ''Springbank'', were lost during the war. They were each equipped with a single
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar is a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter aircraft which was developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fairey Aviation. It was named after the northern fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles. The F ...
or "Hurricat" (an adapted
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
Mk.1A).
See also
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List of ships of the Second World War
This list of ships of the Second World War contains major military vessels of the war, arranged alphabetically and by type. The list includes armed vessels that served during the war and in the immediate aftermath, inclusive of localized ongoing ...
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List of aircraft carriers of the Second World War
This is a list of aircraft carriers of the Second World War.
Aircraft carriers serve as a seagoing airbases, equipped with a flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying and recovering aircraft. Typically, they are the capital shi ...
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Merchant aircraft carrier
A merchant aircraft carrier (also known as a MAC ship, the Admiralty's official 'short name') was a limited-purpose aircraft carrier operated under British and Dutch civilian registry during World War II. MAC ships were adapted by adding a flig ...
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Aircraft cruiser
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CAM ship
References
Citations
Sources
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Ship types
Merchant aircraft carriers
North Atlantic convoys of World War II
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