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BOGUE CLASS

The Bogue class were a class of escort carriers built in the United States for service with the U.S. Navy and (under lend-lease) the Royal Navy during World War II. Following the war, ten Bogue-class ships were kept in service by the U.S. Navy and were used for helicopter and aircraft transport operations.
The ships operated by the Royal Navy were renamed and grouped as the Attacker class and the Ruler class; the latter all having names of "Ruler"s. Following the war, those ships that served with the Royal Navy were returned to the United States and were either scrapped or converted for mercantile use.

Development
The Bogue-class escort carriers were based on the Maritime Commission's Type C3 cargo ship hull. Most were built by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, but some of the early examples were produced by Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi and by the Western Pipe and Steel Company of San Francisco, California. They all were named for sounds, and were equipped with derricks for retrieving seaplanes and loading and unloading aircraft.

These vessels were equipped with a variety of weapons, including one or two main guns of 4"/50 caliber, 5"/38 caliber or 5"/51 caliber. Plus 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikons. The type of main gun and number of smaller guns changed over the course of the war. They could carry as many as 28 aircraft operationally, or more if operating as an aircraft transport with additional aircraft secured to the flight deck.

The 10 remaining Bogue-class escort carriers in US service were re-designated as "helicopter escort carriers" (CVHE) in 1955 and five of these were re-designated as "utility escort carriers" (CVU) in 1958, then aircraft ferry (AKV) in 1958 and operating under US Maritime Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) during the Vietnam War.

Transfer to the Royal Navy
Most of the ships of the class were transferred to the Royal Navy under the provisions of the Lend-Lease program; they were given new names for their RN service and returned to the U.S. Navy after the war. The first group to be transferred were known by the RN as the Attacker class; in their place replacements were constructed with the same names for the American fleet. A second group of ships were built and sent almost in its entirety to the Royal Navy, known as the Ameer or "Ruler" class in British service, and sometimes as the Prince William class in the U.S. Navy.

As delivered, these carriers required modifications to conform to Royal Naval standards and, for some ships, the initial works were done by Burrard Dry Dock at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. These included extending the flight deck, fitting redesigned flying controls and fighter direction layout, modifications to the hangar, accommodation and store rooms, extra safety measures, oiling at sea arrangements, gunnery and other internal communications, extra wireless and radio facilities, ship black-out arrangements and other items deemed necessary for British service.

The consequential delays in getting these ships into active service caused critical comments from some in the U.S. Navy.

General Specifications
Type: Escort carrier
Number Built: 45
Displacement: 16,620 long tons (16,890 t)
Complement: 646, excluding air group

Length:
• Overall: 496 ft (151 m);
• Flight deck: 439 ft (134 m)

Beam:
• Overall: 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m);
• Flight deck: 70 ft (21 m)

Draught: 26 ft (7.9 m)
Aviation facilities: 2 × elevators

Installed power: 8,500 shp (6,300 kW)
Propulsion:
• 2 × geared steam turbines
• 2 × boilers
• 1 × shaft
Speed: 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h)

Armament:
• 2 × 4"/50, 5"/38 or 5"/51 (1 × 2)
• 8 × 40 mm anti-aircraft guns (4 × 2)
• 10-35 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons

Aircraft carried: 19-24
• 12 × fighters (Grumman F4F Wildcats or Supermarine Seafires)
• 9 × torpedo bombers (Grumman TBF Avengers or Fairey Swordfish)

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