Fighter_catapult_armed_auxiliary_ship

Fighter catapult ship

Fighter catapult ship

A type of war ship


Fighter catapult ships (FCS) also known as Catapult Armed Ships were an attempt by the Royal Navy to provide air cover at sea. Five ships were acquired and commissioned as Naval vessels early in the Second World War, and these were used to accompany convoys. The concept was extended to merchant ships which were also equipped with rocket-assisted launch systems and known as Catapult Aircraft Merchantmen (CAM ships). Both classes could launch a disposable fighter (usually a Hawker Hurricane) to fight off a threat, with the pilot expected to be rescued after either ditching the aircraft or bailing out close to the launching ship.

The ships

There were five fighter catapult ships, collectively known as the Pegasus class. Two, Patia and Springbank, were lost during the war. They were each equipped with a single Fairey Fulmar or "Hurricat" (an adapted Hawker Hurricane Mk.1A).

More information Ship, Launched ...

FCS combat launches

More information Date, Ship/convoy ...

See also


References

Citations

  1. "HMS Ariguani (F 105) (British Fighter catapult ship) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net.
  2. "HMS Ariguani". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 23 February 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "HMS Maplin". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 23 February 2001. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "804 Squadron". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 2001. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. Historic England. "Monument No. 1001497". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. Smith, Gordon (8 April 2009). "Major British Warship Losses in World War 2". naval-history.net. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  7. "HMS Patia". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 23 February 2001. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. "HMS Pegasus". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 23 February 2001. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. Payne, Alan (31 December 1975). "The Catapult Fighters". Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  10. "HMS Springbank". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 23 February 2001. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. Gregory, Mackenzie J (2009) [1984]. "The Development of the Catapult Armed Merchantman ( CAM Ships. ) - HMS Springbank". Ahoy - Mac's Web Log - Naval, Maritime, Australian History and more. The Naval Historical Society of Australia, Inc. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  12. Barker (2019) p.45
  13. "The first Condor shot down by a Hurricat". World War II Today. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2016.

Sources

  • Barker, Ralph (1978). The Hurricats. London: Pelham Books. ISBN 0-7207-0994-6.
  • Pauly, John; Truebe, Carl E.; Wilde, Doug & Wilterding, John H. (2012). "Question 14/48: Catapult Armed Merchant Ships". Warship International. XLIX (2): 160–170. ISSN 0043-0374.

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