USS ''Cordova'' (CVE-39) (originally AVG-39 then later ACV-39) was an

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

launched 27 December 1942 by

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (also operating as Todd Pacific) was an American corporation which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II i ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

; sponsored by Mrs. A. E. Mitchell. Reclassified CVE-39 on 15 July 1943, ''Cordova'' was transferred to 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 ...

on 25 August 1943, as HMS ''Khedive'' (D62) ''Khedive'' served as the command ship for the South of France invasion in August 1944.former officers HMS ''Khedive'' From April to August 1945 was with the

East Indies Fleet The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a Naval fleet, fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952. In 1904, the British First Sea Lord, Admiral John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, Sir John Fisher, ordered that in ...

as part of the

21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron The 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron also called Twenty First Aircraft Carrier Squadron was a Royal Navy aircraft carrier formation from March 1945 to December 1945. During its existence the squadron's usual composition varied depending on its op ...

. ''Khedive'' was to take part in the invasion of Singapore in September 1945, codenamed

Operation Tiderace Operation Tiderace was the codename of the British plan to retake Singapore following the Surrender of Japan, Japanese surrender in 1945. The liberation force was led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia Comman ...

. But with the Japanese surrender, she was merely deployed to the island for security. She was returned to United States custody on 26 January 1946 and sold into merchant service 23 January 1947 as ''Rempang'' (later ''Daphne''). She was sold for scrap in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1975.

Design and description

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 ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

s. All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of .Cocker (2008), p.82. Propulsion was provided by a steam turbine, two boilers connected to one shaft giving , which could propel the ship at .Cocker (2008), p.79. Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

side, two aircraft lifts by , one

aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...

and nine

arrestor wires An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

.Cocker (2008), p.82. Aircraft could be housed in the by hangar below the flight deck. Armament comprised: two 4"/50, 5"/38 or 5"/51 Dual Purpose guns in single mounts, sixteen 40 mm Bofors

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

s in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons in single mounts. They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of Hellcat,

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...

Hawker Sea Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some versions were built in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd British variants Hurricane Mk I ; Hurricane Mk I ( ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

and or

Grumman Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

aircraft.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khedive (D62) Ruler-class escort carriers Ships built in Tacoma, Washington 1943 ships