| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Escort Carrier |
| Class | Ameer |
| Pennant | D 55 |
| Built by | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 10 May 1943 |
| Launched | 27 Sep 1943 |
| Commissioned | 20 Jan 1944 |
| End service | 6 Apr 1946 |
| History | Transferred to the Royal Navy under lend-lease. |
| Former name | USS Vermillion |
Commands listed for HMS Smiter (D 55)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | A/Capt. Llewelyn George Richardson, RN | Jan 1944 | Oct 1945 ? |
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Notable events involving Smiter include:
24 Jun 1944
Convoy UC 27.
This convoy was assembled west off Oversay on 24 June 1944.
It was made up of the following transports / tankers; Ball's Bluff (American (tanker), 10195 GRT, built 1943), Bulkfuel (American (tanker), 11016 GRT, built 1944), Bulklube (American (tanker), 11016 GRT, built 1943), Chiwawa (American (tanker), 10146 GRT, built 1942), Esperance Bay (British, 13837 GRT, built 1922), Exceller (American, 6597 GRT, built 1941), Fair Wind (American, 8258 GRT, built 1944), Fallen Timbers (American (tanker), 10448 GRT, built 1943), Flying Eagle (American, 8258 GRT, built 1944), Fort Fetterman (American (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1944), Frenchtown (American (tanker), 10297 GRT, built 1944), Gloucester (British, 8532 GRT, built 1941), Golden Fleece (American), 8258 GRT, built 1944), James Island (American (tanker), 10317 GRT, built 1944), Lightning (American, 8591 GRT, built 1942), Malvern Hill (American (tanker), 10296 GRT, built 1944), Musgrove Mills (American (tanker), 10297 GRT, built 1944), Robin Sherwood (American, 7101 GRT, built 1941), Sachem (American (tanker), 9910 GRT, built 1943), San Juan Hill (American (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1944), Santa Barbara (American, 6507 GRT, built 1943), Sweepstakes (American, 8258 GRT, built 1944), Tamaroa (British, 12405 GRT, built 1922), Wacosta (American, 6065 GRT, built 1944), Wagon Box (American (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1943) and Williamsburg (American (tanker), 10297 GRT, built 1944).
The damaged battleship HMS Nelson (Capt. A.H. Maxwell-Hyslop, AM, RN), escort carriers (in an aircraft ferry role) HMS Arbiter (Capt. R.C. Harry, RN), HMS Smiter (A/Capt. L.G. Richardson, RN) and the naval tankers USS Chiwawa (Lt.Cdr. J.P. Goza, USNR) and USS Winooski (Lt.Cdr. T.B. Christenson, USNR) were also part of this convoy.
From the assembly point onwards the convoy was escorted by the destroyer escorts USS Charles Lawrence (Lt. G.R. Seidlitz, USNR, with COMTASKGR 21.6, T/Capt. H.T. Chase, USN on board), USS Daniel T. Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J.A. Eastwood, USNR), USS Sims (Lt. F.M. Donahue, USNR), USS Hopping (Lt.Cdr. L.F. Loutrel, Jr., USNR), USS Reeves (Lt.Cdr. J.J. Durney, USNR) and USS Cates (Lt.Cdr. G.A. Prouse, USNR).
Around 0245O/28, in bad visibility, the Fort Fetterman collided with HMS Nelson but no much damage was sustained by neither ship.
On 1 July 1944, USS Chiwawa refuelled USS Sims and USS Charles Lawrence.
Around 0500P/3, HMS Arbiter, USS Chiwawa and USS Winooski parted company to proceed to Hampton Roads (Norfolk) escorted by USS Sims. They arrived at their destination in the morning of the 4th after which USS Sims set course for New York.
Around 0130Q/4, HMS Nelson and the tankers Fort Fetterman and Wagon Box were detached to proceed to Delaware Bay (Philadelphia) escorted by USS Cates. They arrived at their destination late that morning after which USS Cates set course for New York.
The remainder of the convoy arrived at New York in the morning of 4 July 1944.