HMS Athene & HMS Engadine serving with USN Pacific 1943

[Andy H]

Hi

According to a War Cabinet document about Naval Air Op's between May-July'43, HMS Athene and her sister ship HMS Engadine, were on detached service with the USN in the Pacific. Does anyone have any further details of this service with the USN?

Regards

Andy H

[aghart]

Both ships were aircraft transport ships, likely to be carrying spare aircraft for HMS Victorious (USS Robin) during her short stay with the USN. The dates these ships were with the USN seem to coincide with HMS Victorious's stay in the Pacific. HMS Engadine according to Wiki went to the Pacific in November 1942.

[Andy H]

Both ships were aircraft transport ships, likely to be carrying spare aircraft for HMS Victorious (USS Robin) during her short stay with the USN. The dates these ships were with the USN seem to coincide with HMS Victorious's stay in the Pacific. HMS Engadine according to Wiki went to the Pacific in November 1942.

Hi Aghart

Giving myself a slap across the face for not remembering about HMS Vic's temp deployment
Seems like the obvious reason.

Thanks

Andy H

[Andy H]

Hi

From another website:-

They were used to ferry aircraft to US island bases

ATHENE did two trips to Noumea taking aircraft. She returned to San Diego in June and then returned UK via the Panama canal

ENGADINE was similarly engaged, she took US aircraft to Suva, and then returned UK via Panama

Regards

Andy H

[Neil Chandler]

The whereabouts of HMS Athene and Engadine are sparse as were the locations of many of the merchant ships in the war. It's not like they were well documented battleships of the era that have had volumes written about them such as HMS Ark Royal.

However in my research on HMS Athene (my grandfather served upon Her), I'd read that the Athene was the first ship into Pearl Harbour after the attacks of December 7th 1941.

I don't know how much of that is true and whether it was 'very first ship' or more likely 'first into the harbour apart from rescue vessels, life rafts and after a number of fires and wrecks were cleared'.

I do know Athene definitely sailed into Pearl at some point during WWII, as my grandfather's proclamation would prove

[EwenS]

From “Aircraft Carriers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies” by Hobbs (1996)

Athene
1/11/41 sailed from Greenock with 40 crated Hurricanes for Middle East.
8/11/41 In Gibraltar for defect repairs.
23/12/41 sailed from Gibraltar
8/1/42 Arrived Takoradi; disembarked Hurricanes, for assembly and flight to Egypt. Embarked aircraft intended for Bombay.
7/2/42 Diverted to Batavia where unloaded. Then employed as a ferry around Indian Ocean & Australia.
24/11/42 Allocated to US Pacific Fleet and used to ferry aircraft to the SWPA.
??/6/43 sailed from Cristobal (Panama Canal) to New York & reverted to RN control.
10/9/43 arrived U.K. then used to ferry aircraft from US to Britain, usually sailing independently.
3/3/44 sailed Clyde to India/Ceylon with replacement aircraft (probably Avengers). Then ferrying around IO.
??/7/44 returned to the Clyde
29/7/44 refit on Tyne
??/10/44 ferrying aircraft from USA to Cochin, India via Med.
??/12/44 returned to U.K. to be laid up at Loch Alsh in Jan 1945.

Engadine
8/12/41 convoy WS.11 from Clyde to Middle East via Cape
6/2/42 arrived Suez. Then used as ferry around IO.
??/8/42 repairs at Port Elizabeth South Africa
24/11/42 to Noumea via Australia in company with Athene. Allocated to US Pacific Fleet
19/12/42 arrived Fremantle
30/12/42 arrived Sydney
26/1/43 arrived Suva, Fiji
??/7/43 reverted to RN control
23/8/43 left New York for U.K.
19/9/43 arrived on Clyde and allocated as an aircraft ferry
11/10/43 sailed with convoy ON.206 for NY, returning with aircraft
??/11/43 refit on Clyde
3/3/44 sailed with Athene for India/Ceylon with Avengers of 832 and 845 squadrons
4/4/44 arrived Colombo
??/6/44 returned to U.K.
??/7/44 refit on Clyde
19/9/44 sailed for NY
6/11/44 arrived Cochin to discharge aircraft load
23/11/44 sailed for U.K.
17/12/44 arrived on Clyde
9/1/45 paid off into Reserve at Kyle of Lochalsh

Note that the date of their sailing for the Pacific (24/11/42) pre-dates the decision to send a British carrier to the Pacific. A request had been received from the USN at the beginning of Nov and was the subject of an Admiralty discussion document on 5/11/42. Churchill did not make a formal offer until 2/12/42 and it was not accepted until 5/12/42. Initially it was to be Illustrious and Victorious that were sent if Ranger could join the Home Fleet. FDR accepted the offer of Illustrious already in the IO. The plan was changed with Victorious sailing from Britain for Norfolk on 20/12/42.

So the question must arise as to whether the sailing of Athene and Engadine from the IO to the Pacific on 23-24/11/42 was in fact connected to the loan of Victorious to the US Pacific Fleet or not. It seems odd that if these ships had met in the Pacific area that it escaped note.

The March 1944 sailing from Britain to India/Ceylon was in response to a panic caused by the Japanese fleet relocating to Singapore to be near its oil supplies. At the time it was seen as a possible precursor to a sortie into the IO in support of the Japanese Army incursion into India. RN, French and RAF assets were redeployed into the theatre as a precaution including 10 Fleet Air Arm squadrons.

Edit. Later in 1944/45 Britain loaned a number of escort carriers to the US Pacific Fleet Carrier Transport Force. These were

Atheling - Jan-Aug 1945
Rajah - Dec 1944-Aug 1945
Ranee - Jan-May 1945
Patroller - Jan-April 1945
Tracker - Dec 1944-July 1945.

These deployments were unconnected to the arrival of the BPF in Australian waters in Feb 1945.

Other RN ships in the Pacific in WW2 include Force X from Aug 1944 (LSH Lothian and 6 LSI), which turned into a sorry tale, including mutiny, and the minelayer Ariadne, whose claim to fame was to be the only RN ship to participate in the Leyte landings in Oct 1944.