Attacker class escort carrier
Encyclopedia
Attacker class escort carriers were a type of aircraft carrier in service with the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during the Second World War. There were eight ships in the class, all constructed in the United States and supplied under the terms of Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
to the Royal Navy.
The ships served in two different roles: as convoy escort carriers, equipped with both anti-submarine and fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, and as strike carriers
Strike fighter
In a current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate primarily in the air-to-surface attack role while also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers...
, equipped with just fighter aircraft. When used as convoy escorts, the ships' aircraft were successful in deterring German submarines from attacking Allied convoys. They were able to claim some success, with a number of German submarines and aircraft destroyed or damaged by the aircraft. Those carriers operating in the strike role took part in two major landings in the Mediterranean and an operation against the German battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
in Norwegian waters. Seven of the ships ended the war in the Far East in the campaigns against the Japanese Empire and were then used to transport home prisoners of war.
All eight ships survived the war and were eventually returned to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, which sold five of them for conversion into merchant ships. The other three ships were scrapped.
Design and description
The Attacker class comprised eight ships built in the United States for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were all built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
or Western Pipe & Steel shipyards; both companies completed four ships. They were then supplied under the terms of Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
to the Royal Navy for their use. The ships had a complement of 646 men. Crew accommodations were significantly different from the normal for the Royal Navy at the time. Instead of food being prepared by separate mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
es, it was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
-style in a central dining area. Unlike British-built ships, they were equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop. The traditional hammock
Hammock
A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts....
s were replaced by three-tier bunk beds, 18 to a cabin, which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.
The ships had an overall length of 492.25 feet (150 m), a beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 69.5 feet (21.2 m), and a height of 23.25 ft (7.1 m). They displaced 11420 LT (11,603.3 t) at deep load. Propulsion was provided by two steam turbine engines connected to one shaft, giving 8,500 brake horsepower (BHP), which could propel the ship at 17 knots (9.3 m/s).
All the escort carriers had the capacity for up to 24 anti-submarine or fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
aircraft, which could be a mixture of the British Hawker Sea Hurricane, Supermarine Seafire
Supermarine Seafire
The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.-Origins of the Seafire:...
, and Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
, and the American Grumman Wildcat, Vought F4U Corsair and Grumman Avenger. The exact composition of the embarked squadrons depended upon the mission. Some squadrons were composite squadrons for convoy defence, and would be equipped with anti-submarine and fighter aircraft, while other squadrons working in a strike-carrier role would only be equipped with fighter aircraft. Aircraft facilities consisted of a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side above the 450 by flight deck, two aircraft lifts measuring 42 by, and nine arrestor wires
Arresting gear
Arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is the name used for mechanical systems designed 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 STOBAR aircraft carriers. Similar systems...
. Aircraft could be housed in the 260 by hangar below the flight deck.
The ships' armament concentrated on anti-aircraft (AA) defence and comprised two 4-inch AA guns in single mounts, eight Bofors 40 mm
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
AA guns in twin mounts, and 21 Oerlikon 20 mm
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
AA cannons in single or twin mounts as the standard fit. In practice all the ships had slightly different weapons mounted. Attacker, Chaser, and Hunter only had four single 20 mm AA cannons, the rest being double mounts. Of the other ships, Battler had two, Stalker had six, and Fencer had seven single 20 mm cannons. Pursuer had four extra 40 mm AA guns, and Striker had six extra in place of twin 20 mm mounts.
Before any of these ships entered service with the Royal Navy, they went to Burrards
Burrard Dry Dock
Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd...
shipbuilders in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
for some modifications. These modifications, 150 of them in total, were paid for by the Canadian government. Further modifications to turn the escort carriers into assault carriers were undertaken by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company
Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company
The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company based in Dundee on the east coast of Scotland.-History:...
in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland. This included installing over 100 telephones in a shipboard network. A new briefing room with an army plot
Plot (radar)
In naval terminology a Plot is a graphic display that shows all collated data from a ship's on-board sensors i.e. radar, sonar and EW systems. They also displayed information from external sources ie other vessel or aircraft reports. There are four different types of plot, each with varying...
for operations ashore was installed and extra cabins were built, providing an additional 140 bunks. The carriers were also fitted for a secondary role of providing oil and provisions for their accompanying destroyers. Fueling could be a lengthy process and was done on the move. It took 40 minutes—from firing a line across to starting to pump oil, two hours to pump 96 LT (97.5 t) of oil, and a further 35 minutes to disconnect the hose and secure the equipment.
Service history
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Pipe Western Pipe and Steel Company The Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S... , San Francisco, California |
17 April 1941 | 27 September 1941 | 10 October 1942 | Returned 5 January 1946, later SS Castel Forte | |
| Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries... , Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census... |
15 April 1941 | 4 April 1942 | 15 November 1942 | Scrapped 1946–48 | |
| Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi | 28 June 1941 | 15 January 1942 | 9 April 1943 | Returned 12 May 1946, SS Aagtekerk | |
| Western Pipe, San Francisco, California | 5 September 1941 | 4 April 1942 | 20 February 1943 | Returned 11 December 1946, SS Sydney | |
| Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi | 15 May 1941 | 22 May 1942 | 11 January 1943 | Returned 29 December 1946, SS Almdijk | |
| Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi | 31 July 1941 | 18 July 1942 | 14 June 1943 | Scrapped 1946–48 | |
| Western Pipe, San Francisco, California | 6 October 1941 | 5 March 1942 | 30 December 1943 | Returned 29 December 1945, SS Riouw | |
| Western Pipe, San Francisco, California | 15 December 1941 | 7 May 1942 | 29 April 1943 | Scrapped 1946–48 |
Convoy escorts
Escort carriers were designed to accompany other ships, forming the escort for convoyConvoy
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, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s. The anti-submarine aircraft employed were initially Fairey Swordfish and later Grumman Avengers, which could be armed with torpedoes, depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s, 250 pounds (113.4 kg) bombs, or the RP-3
RP-3
The RP-3 , was a British rocket used in the Second World War. Though primarily an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. Its 60 lb warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60 lb rocket"; the 25 lb solid-shot armour piercing variant was referred to as the "25 lb rocket"...
rocket projectile. As well as carrying out their own attacks on U-Boats, these aircraft identified target locations for the convoy's escorts to attack. Typically anti-submarine patrols would be flown between dawn and dusk. One aircraft would fly about 10 miles (16.1 km) ahead of the convoy, while another patrolled astern. Patrols would last between two and three hours, using both radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and visual observation in their search for U-boats. By 1944, it was usual to have two escort carriers working as a pair on convoy escort. Experience had shown it was best to have two composite squadrons. One squadron included fighters and the by then obsolete Fairey Swordfish equipped with air-to-surface vessel (ASV) radar for night patrols. The other squadron would be equipped with fighters and the Grumman Avenger for long-range day patrols, as they could not be fitted with the ASV radar.
The Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
squadrons flying off the Attacker class escort carriers did have some successes of their own. The first of six confirmed U-boats destroyed by aircraft flying off Attacker class ships was on 10 February 1944, when two Fairey Swordfish from the 842 Naval Air Squadron on board sank west of Iceland. On 4 March, while on Arctic convoy patrol
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
, Fairey Swordfish from 816 Naval Air Squadron on board so severely damaged with a salvo of RP-3 rockets that she could not submerge and was sunk by . For the rest of the day Chasers Fairey Swordfish kept the U-boats at bay by identifying their locations to her escorts. They also damaged two other U-boats themselves. The was sunk by RP-3 rockets fired from a Fairey Swordfish on 5 March, and the on 6 March. Three other U-boats sighted managed to evade an attack in foggy conditions.
Operating from Fencer, 842 Squadron sank their second submarine, , on 1 May, and sunk and on 2 May 1944.
The carriers' aircraft could also claim some success against the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
's long-range bombers. On 1 December 1943, two Grumman Wildcats from 842 Naval Air Squadron on board Fencer shot down a Focke-Wulf Fw 200
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
that was spying on Convoy OS 60. The next confirmed air-to-air success came on 24 February 1944, when four Grumman Wildcats from 881 Naval Air Squadron on board Pursuer were scrambled after the ship's radar had identified at least three aircraft approaching. The approaching bombers comprised a mixed force of seven Focke-Wulf Fw 200 and Heinkel He 177
Heinkel He 177
The Heinkel He 177 Greif was the only operational long-range bomber to be operated by the Luftwaffe. Starting its existence as Germany's first purpose-built heavy bomber just before the war, and built in large numbers during World War II, it was also mistakenly tasked, right from its beginnings,...
s carrying glider bombs. One Fw 200 and one He 1777 were shot down by Grumman Wildcats. The rest of the Germans kept their distance due to the combined efforts of the fighters and the ships' anti-aircraft fire. Off Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
in March 1944, Grumman Wildcat fighters from Pursuer shot down a Heinkel He 177 and a Focke-Wulf Fw 200, and damaged a Fw 200.
In August 1944, the Arctic convoys had started again, the first one being escorted by Striker and , a British-built escort carrier. On board Striker was 824 Naval Air Squadron
824 Naval Air Squadron
824 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron first formed on 3 April 1933, disbanding and reforming several times before assuming its current role at RNAS Culdrose as a training squadron....
with twelve Fairey Swordfish IIs, ten Grumman Wildcat Vs, and two spares. The Grumman Wildcats shot down a Blohm & Voss BV 138 on 22 August. For Operation Neptune
Operation Neptune
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...
from 5 June 1944 to the middle of the month, five all-fighter escort carriers, including Fencer, provided air cover to protect the anti-submarine groups on the flanks of the Normandy invasion fleet.
Strike operations
During the Salerno landings, Force V, commanded by Admiral Philip VianPhilip Vian
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars was a British naval officer who served in both World Wars....
and consisting of , , , and , along with the light fleet carrier , provided air cover. The five carriers were expected to keep a fighter aircraft force of 22 Supermarine Seafire
Supermarine Seafire
The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.-Origins of the Seafire:...
s over the landing area until the ground forces had seized an Italian airfield for use by ground-based aircraft. On the first day, 9 September 1943, they flew 265 sorties. They had expected to be relieved by 10 September, but a suitable airfield was not captured until 12 September. Of the carriers' 105 fighters, ten were lost in action and 33 written off in accidents. In exchange, they claimed two German aircraft destroyed and four others probably destroyed. For the landings in the south of France
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
on 15 August 1944, Attacker, Stalker, and Hunter, each equipped with 24 Supermarine Seafires and Pursuer, with 24 Grumman Wildcats, formed part of the aircraft carrier force dubbed Task Force 88
Task Force 88 (Operation Dragoon)
Task Force 88 was the escort carrier force, commanded by Rear-Admiral T H Troubridge, that supported Operation Dragoon, the allied invasion of southern France. It was activated in August 1944, and dispersed on 29 August when the carrier force departed to operate in the Aegean.The TF88 was a mixed...
.
The success of the Allied navies against U-Boats in the Atlantic forced the Germans to move some of them into the Indian Ocean. To counter this threat, a task force was formed with HMS Battler, the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and , and the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and . Their objective was to locate and destroy the U-boats and their supply ships and protect the shipping lanes between India, Aden, and South Africa. In March 1944, one of Battlers planes sighted the German supply ship Brake and three surfaced U-boats. They guided the Roebuck to the supply ship, which was scuttled by her captain. The three U-boats submerged before the start of the action.
In April 1944, aircraft from Fencer and took part in Operation Tungsten
Operation Tungsten
Operation Tungsten was a British naval operation during World War II. it was one of a number of aerial attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz while she was in Norwegian waters...
: the attack on the German battleship Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
in the Kaafjord
Kåfjord, Alta
Kåfjord is a fjord in northern Norway, an arm of the Altafjord, in the county of Finnmark, and a village located on the fjord. The village is in the municipality of Alta, 18 km west of the town of Alta on the European route E6....
and at Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
. Fairey Barracuda
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...
bombers from were escorted by Supermarine Seafires, Vought Corsairs, Grumman Hellcats, and from the two escort carriers, Grumman Wildcats. The Hellcats carried out attacks on the anti-aircraft defences and the Wildcats attacked the Tirpitz with machine gun fire, just prior to the Fairey Barracudas bombing run. Tirpitz was hit multiple times during the attack, killing over 100, and wounding over 300, of her crew. There was some damage to her superstructure but no bombs pierced the armoured deck.
On 26 April 1944, Pursuers aircraft successfully attacked a German convoy off Bodo
Bodo
- Locations :* Bodø, A city in Norway*Bodo, Alberta, a hamlet in Central Alberta, Canada, close to the Saskatchewan border.*Bodo , a town and commune in Côte d'Ivoire*BoDo, a district of Boise, ID; the name of which stems from Boise Downtown....
in northern Norway. The convoy consisted of four merchant ships and five escorts; of these, all the merchant ships and one of the escorts were bombed and three of the merchant ships were set on fire. At the same time, other aircraft bombed and set on fire a large merchant ship at Bodo Harbour. On 6 May 1944, while on an anti-shipping sweep in the same area, Grumman Wildcats of 882 Naval Air Squadron from Searcher shot down two Blohm & Voss BV 138 seaplanes.
Early in 1944, the trend was for the strike carrier to move eastwards. Firstly Attacker, Hunter, and Pursuer were sent to the Aegean sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
to conduct operations against Axis garrisons in the area. They then moved to the Indian Ocean, joining Fencer and Stalker in supporting the Allied armies in Burma. Here they supported the Fourteenth Army amphibious landings and interdicted Japanese shipping in the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
and the Straits of Malacca. As the war in the east progressed, the British and U.S. Pacific fleets combined. Two more Attacker-class ships arrived in the area, Chaser and Striker. These were used to ferry replacement aircraft for the other carriers, and after the Japanese surrender were given another role: repatriating prisoners of war.
When the war was over, the surviving Lend-Lease ships were returned to the U.S. Navy, which now had a surplus of these ships, so some were sold into merchant service. HMS Attacker became Costel Forte, HMS Chaser Aagtekerk, HMS Fencer Sydney, HMS Stalker Rionw, and HMS Hunter Almdijk. The other three Attacker-class ships, HMS Battler, HMS Pursuer, and HMS Striker, were not sold into merchant service; all three were scrapped between 1946 and 1948.
Battle honours
All eight ships were awarded battle honours by the Royal Navy.- HMS Attacker: Atlantic 1943–1944, Salerno 1943, South France 1944, Aegean 1944
- HMS Battler: Atlantic 1942–1945, Salerno 1943
- HMS Chaser: Atlantic 1943, Arctic 1944, Okinawa 1945
- HMS Fencer: Atlantic 1943–1944, Norway 1944, Arctic 1944
- HMS Hunter: Atlantic 1942–1944, Salerno 1943, South France 1944, Aegean 1944, Burma 1945, Malaya 1945
- HMS Pursuer: Atlantic 1943–1945, Norway 1944, Normandy 1944, South France 1944, Aegean 1944, Atlantic 1944, Norway 1945, Arctic 1945
- HMS Stalker: Atlantic 1943–1944, Salerno 1943, South France 1944, Aegean 1944, Burma 1945
- HMS Striker: Atlantic 1943–1944, Arctic 1944, Norway 1944, Okinawa 1945