Merchant aircraft carriers (MAC) were minimal aircraft carriers used during World War II by Great Britain and Holland as an emergency measure until the United States-built escort carriers became available. They were bulk grain carriers or tankers built with flight decks and small islands, but no catapult or other aircraft support facilities. They operated with civilian crews, under merchant colors, and carried their regular cargo while serving as aircraft carriers. Their fighter planes were primarily intended to attack long-range reconnaissance aircraft such as the Fw 200 Condor and the Junkers Ju 290 to prevent tracking of convoys.
The scale of the conversion was small, hence it could be completed in a short time, five months is quoted as being typical.
The tanker conversions had no hangar, the grain ships did but it was small (four Fairey Swordfish was the limit). Flight decks were around 460 feet long on the tankers and between 413 and 424 for the grain ships, width was 62 feet in all cases.
Work on the first two (Empire MacAlpine and Empire MacAndrew) was started in June 1942. By October of that year a decision had been made in favour of ten more (four tankers, six grainers) and a total of 32 was eventually planned although only the nineteen below actually were completed.
The 'Air Party' consisted of an Air Staff Officer (Lt-Commander), the aircrew, a doctor, a batsman (landing control officer), ten ship's gunners, four signalmen, and three or four AB seamen. The Merchant Navy part of the crew might have an extra mate and/or wireless operator but was otherwise unchanged.
Several escort carriers were pressed back into service during the first years of the Vietnam war because of their ability to carry large numbers of aircraft.
The last chapter in the saga of the escort carriers consisted out of two conversions: As an experiment, the USS Thetis Bay (CVE-90) was converted from an aircraftcarrier into a pure helicopter carrier (CVHA-1) and used by the Marine Corps to carry assault helicopters for the first wave of amphibious landing operations.
The last light carrier, USS Cabot, would be broken up in 2002 after a decade-long fight to preserve her, and the legacy of the fleet of "baby flattops" and "jeep carriers" that had fought long and hard for their country during the Second World War.
Merchantaircraftcarriers (MAC) were minimal aircraftcarriers used during World War II by Britain and the Netherlands as an emergency measure until United States-built escort carriers became available in useful numbers.
Their fighter planes were primarily intended to attack long-range reconnaissance aircraft such as the Fw 200 Condor and the Junkers Ju 290 to prevent tracking of convoys.
The Merchant Navy part of the crew might have an extra mate and/or wireless operator but was otherwise unchanged.
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