View source for HMS Pursuer (D73)

{{short description|1943 Attacker-class escort carrier}}
{{other ships|USS St. George|HMS Pursuer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
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|Ship image=HMS Pursuer (D73) underway in March 1944.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Pursuer'' in March 1944. {{HMS|Furious|47|6}} can be seen in the background
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=USS ''St. George''
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|Ship builder=[[Ingalls Shipbuilding]]
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|Ship laid down= 31 July 1941
|Ship launched= 18 July 1942
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|Ship fate= Transferred to [[Royal Navy]]
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Pursuer''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship commissioned= 14 June 1943
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=12 February 1946
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|Ship struck=28 March 1946
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|Ship fate= Scrapped in 1946
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class={{sclass|Attacker|escort carrier}}
|Ship displacement= 14,400&nbsp;tons
|Ship length= {{convert|491|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|105|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draught= {{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=Steam turbines, one shaft, {{cvt|8,500|shp|lk=in}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|18|kn|lk=in}}
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|Ship complement=646 officers and ratings
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|Ship armament=*2 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|4"/50]], [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38]] or [[5"/51 caliber gun|5"/51]] guns
*8 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors]]
*35 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm Oerlikon]]
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|Ship aircraft=20
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{{Infobox service record
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|partof=[[Home Fleet]]
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|operations=*[[Operation Tungsten]]
*[[Invasion of Normandy]]
*[[Operation Dragoon]]
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'''USS ''St. George''''' (CVE-17) (originally AVG-17 then ACV-17) was laid down on 31 July 1941 as a C3-S-A2 by [[Ingalls Shipbuilding]], Hull 296 of [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]], under [[Maritime Commission]] contract as the (second) SS ''Mormacland'' for [[Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc.]],  (MC Hull 163). She was renamed ''St. George'' (AVG-17) by the [[United States Navy]] on 7 January 1942; and assigned to the [[United Kingdom]] under [[Lend-Lease]] as '''HMS ''Pursuer''''' on 24 February 1942. The vessel was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 18 July 1942, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Mary Ann S. Bartman. The escort carrier was reclassified ACV-17 on 20 August 1942, acquired by the US Navy and simultaneously transferred to Britain on 14 June 1943. She was reclassified CVE-17 on 15 July 1943.

==Design and description==
[[File:HMS Pursuer 1943.jpg|thumb|HMS ''Pursuer'' in the Mediterranean Sea in 1943]]
There were eight {{sclass|Attacker|escort carrier}}s in service with the [[Royal Navy during the Second World War]]. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by the Ingalls Shipbuilding and [[Western Pipe & Steel]] shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each.<ref name=co79>Cocker (2008), p.79.</ref>

The vessels had a complement of 646 officers and [[Naval rating|ratings]] and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate [[mess]]es no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the [[Galley (kitchen)|galley]] and served [[cafeteria]] style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop. The traditional [[hammock]]s were replaced by three tier bunk beds, eighteen to a cabin which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.<ref>Poolman (1972), pp.74–75.</ref>

The ships dimensions were; an [[Length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|492.25|ft}}, a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|69.5|ft}} and a height of {{Convert|23.25|ft|m|abbr=on}}. They had a [[Displacement (ship)|displacement]] of {{convert|11420|LT|t|lk=on}} at [[deep load]].<ref name=co80>Cocker (2008), p.80.</ref> Propulsion was provided by four [[diesel engine]]s connected to one [[Propeller|shaft]] giving {{convert|8,500|bhp|lk=on}}, which could propel the ship at {{convert|17|kn|lk=in}}.<ref>Cocker (2008), pp.80–81.</ref>

Aircraft facilities were a small combined [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]]–flight control on the [[starboard]] side above the {{convert|450|x|120|ft|adj=on}} [[flight deck]],<ref>Poolman (1972), p.57.</ref> two aircraft lifts {{convert|42|by|34|ft}}, and nine [[Arresting gear|arrestor wires]]. Aircraft could be housed in the {{convert|260|by|62|ft|adj=on}} [[hangar]] below the flight deck.<ref name=co80/> Armament comprised two [[4"/50 caliber gun|4"/50]], [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38]] or [[5"/51 caliber gun|5"/51]] in single mounts, eight [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s in twin mounts and twenty-one [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20&nbsp;mm anti-aircraft cannon]] in single or twin mounts.<ref name=co80/> The ships had the capacity for up to eighteen aircraft which could be a mixture of [[Grumman Martlet]], [[Hawker Sea Hurricane]], [[Vought F4U Corsair]] [[fighter aircraft|fighters]] and [[Fairey Swordfish]] or [[Grumman Avenger]] [[anti-submarine]] aircraft.<ref name=co80/>

==Operational history==
''Pursuer'' served in the Home Fleet during [[World War II]], primarily on convoy escort duty. However, on 3 April 1944, she provided fighter support for an air strike on the German battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} in [[Altenfjord]], [[Norway]]. On 26 April 1944 [[Grumman Wildcat]]s of [[882 Naval Air Squadron]] took part in the successful attack on a German convoy off Bodo, northern Norway. It consisted of four medium-sized supply ships and five escort craft. All four supply vessels and one of the escorts were hit with bombs and three of the supply ships were left on fire, the largest having run aground. While this attack was in progress other naval aircraft penetrated Bodo Harbour, where one large supply ship was hit by bombs and set on fire amidships. ''Pursuer'' suffered storm damage during this operation and repairs took a month to complete.

She served as an [[anti-submarine warfare]] vessel at the [[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]] and in August and September 1944 she was part of a British carrier group providing air cover for the landings in southern [[France]]. The carrier was returned to [[United States]] custody on 12 February 1946, struck from the [[Navy Register]] on 28 March 1946, and sold for scrapping on 14 May that year to the Patapsco Steel Scrap Co., [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania]].

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Cocker|first=Maurice|year=2008|title=Aircraft-Carrying Ships of the Royal Navy|publisher=The History Press|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|isbn=978-0-7524-4633-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Hobbs |first=David |title=Aircraft Carriers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies |year=1996 |location=London |publisher=Greenhill Books |isbn=1-85367-252-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Hobbs |first=David |title=British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories |year=2013 |location=Barnsley, UK |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=978-1-84832-138-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Poolman|first=Kenneth|year=1972|title=Escort Carrier 1941–1945|publisher=Ian Allan|location=London|isbn=0-7110-0273-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMS Pursuer (D73)}}

{{Bogue class escort carrier}}
{{Type C3-S-A2 ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pursuer (D73)}}
[[Category:Type C3-S-A2 ships of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Attacker-class escort carriers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom]]