MV ''Alexia'' was one of nine

Royal Dutch/Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

oil tankers An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

converted to become a

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 ...

(MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the ''Rapana'' class. MV ''Alexia'' was built at

Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan AG was a prominent German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement. All together Bremer Vulkan built about 1100 s ...

and completed in April, 1935 as an oil tanker for the Anglo Saxon

line. She sustained severe damage in two separate U-boat attacks in 1940 and 1942. After the second attack was converted to a MAC ship, entering service in December 1943. As a MAC ship, she had no aircraft hangar, and continued to carry normal cargoes, although operating under Royal Navy control. Only her air crew and the necessary maintenance staff were naval personnel. At the end of the war, ''Alexia'' was reconverted to an oil tanker, and renamed ''Ianthina'' in 1951. She served in this capacity until broken up for scrap at Blyth in 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexia Oil tankers Rapana-class merchant aircraft carriers 1934 ships