MV Alexia
Encyclopedia
MV Alexia was one of nine Royal Dutch/Shell
oil tankers converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier
(MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the Rapana class.
MV Alexia was built at Bremer Vulkan and completed in April, 1935 as an oil tanker for the Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell
line. She 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.
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
oil tankers converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier
Merchant aircraft carrier
Merchant aircraft carriers were bulk cargo ships with minimal aircraft handling facilities, used during World War II by Britain and the Netherlands as an interim measure to supplement British and United States-built escort carriers in providing an anti-submarine function for convoys...
(MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the Rapana class.
MV Alexia was built at Bremer Vulkan and completed in April, 1935 as an oil tanker for the Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
line. She 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.