Allied Warships

HMS Ravager (D 70)

Escort Carrier of the Attacker class


HMS Ravager while transporting aircraft.

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeEscort Carrier
ClassAttacker 
PennantD 70 
Built bySeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down11 Apr 1942 
Launched16 Jul 1942 
Commissioned25 Apr 1943 
End service26 Feb 1946 
History

Transferred to the Royal Navy under lend-lease.
Returned to the United States Navy on 26 February 1946.
Stricken by the United States Navy on 12 April 1946.
Sold into merchantile service being renamed Robin Trent in 1946.
Renamed Trent in 1971.
Scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1973.

 

Commands listed for HMS Ravager (D 70)

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.

CommanderFromTo
1A/Capt. Alec Anderson Murray, RN28 Dec 194216 May 1944
2A/Capt. George Vivian Barnett Faulkner, RN16 May 194423 Oct 1945
3Capt. Charles Richard Vernon Pugh, RN23 Oct 1945???

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Notable events involving Ravager include:


21 Jun 1944

Convoy MKF 32.

This convoy departed Port Said on 21 June 1944 and arrived in U.K. waters on 4 July 1944.

It was made up of the following transport vessels; Antenor (British, 11174 GRT, built 1925), Nieuw Holland (British, 11066 GRT, built 1927), Orduna (British, 15507 GRT, built 1914), Orion (British, 23371 GRT, built 1935), Ormonde (British, 14982 GRT, built 1917), Ranchi (British, 16738 GRT, built 1925), Stratheden (British, 23722 GRT, built 1937) and Strathmore (British, 23428 GRT, built 1935).

On departure from Port Said the convoy was escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Chiddingfold (Lt. T.M. Dorrien-Smith, RN), HMS Croome (T/A/Lt.Cdr. J.S. Lawrence, DSC, RNVR), HMS Exmoor (Lt. D.D. Howson, RN), HMS Tetcott (Lt. H.J. Watkins, RN) and HMS Wheatland (Lt. H.A. Corbett, DSC, RN).

Later on 21 June 1944 the damaged light cruiser HMS Birmingham (Capt. H.W. Williams, RN) joined the convoy for passage to Gibraltar. She came from Alexandria together with the netlayer HMS Guardian (Capt.(Retd.) H.A.C. Lane, OBE, RN) which also joined the convoy for passage westwards to Djidjelli, Algeria [now called Jijel].

In the eastern Mediterranean the escort destroyer Quantock was also with the convoy for a while. [Further details currently unkown.]

Around noon on 25 June 1944 convoy SNF 25 coming from Naples merged with the convoy. Convoy SNF 25 had departed Naples on 24 June 1944 and was made up of the transports Hai Lee (Norwegian, 3616 GRT, built 1934), Orontes (British, 20097 GRT, built 1929) and Samaria (British, 19597 GRT, built 1921).

On departure from Naples this convoy was escorted by the escort carrier HMS Attacker (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, DSO, MVO, RAN), frigates HMS Bazely (Lt.Cdr. J.V. Brock, RCNVR), HMS Bentinck (Cdr. E.H. Chavasse, DSO, DSC, RN), HMS Byard (A/Lt.Cdr. J.I. Jones, DSO, DSC, RNR), HMS Calder (T/A/Lt.Cdr. E. Playne, RNVR), HMS Drury (Lt.Cdr. N.J. Parker, RN), HMS Pasley (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Wright, RD, RNR) and the destroyer escort USS Frederick C. Davcis (Lt.Cdr. O.W. Goepner, USNR). This last ship served as jammer escort against German radio guided bombs.

The transport Hai Lee proceeded to Bizerta while the other two transports joined convoy MKF 32.

On 26 June, off Djidjelli, HMS Guardian was detached and later off Algiers the transport Champollion (French, 12263 GRT, built 1925) joined the convoy while HMS Attacker was detached.

On 27 June, off Oran the transport Monarch of Bermuda (British, 22424 GRT, built 1931) and the escort carrier HMS Hunter (Capt. H.H. McWilliam, RN) joined the convoy. They were escort from Oran to the rendezvous with convoy MKF 32 by the destroyers USS Knight (T/Cdr. J.C. Ford, Jr., USN) and USS Doran (T/Cdr. N.E. Smith, USN). USS Frederick C. Davis was detached to Mers-el-Kebir.

On 28 June, off Gibraltar the escort carrier HMS Hunter was detached as were the escort destroyers HMS Chiddingfold, HMS Croome, HMS Exmoor, HMS Tetcott and HMS Wheatland.

Also off Gibraltar the transports Felix Roussell (French, 17083 GRT, built 1930) and Tai Shan (Norwegian, 6962 GRT, built 1929) joined the convoy as did the escort carriers HMS Nairana (Capt. R.M.T. Taylor, RN), HMS Ravager (A/Capt. G.V.B. Faulkner, RN) and the AA ship HMCS Prince Robert (Cdr. A.M. Hope, RCN).

The convoy arrived in U.K. waters on 4 July 1944.

2 Jan 1945
Around 2000A/2, the escort carriers HMS Ranee (A/Capt. A.A. Murray, RN), HMS Ravager (A/Capt. G.V.B. Faulkner, RN) and repair ship HMS Deer Sound (A/Capt. R.H. Johnson, DSC, RN) departed Rosyth for the Clyde. They were escorted by the destroyers HMS Cavendish (Cdr. R.H. Maurice, DSO, RN), HMS Zodiac (Lt.Cdr. H.R. Rycroft, DSC, RN) and the frigate HMS Loch Katrine (T/A/Lt.Cdr. R.A. Cherry, RNR).

Around 0135A/3, the destroyer HMS Virago (Lt.Cdr. A.J.R. White, RN) joined.

Around 0200A/4, HMS Loch Katrine parted company and proceeded to Tobermory where she was to work up.

Around 1300A/4, the three destroyers parted company off the entrance to the Clyde. They arrived at Scapa Flow later the same day.

The two escort carriers and the repair ship then entered the Clyde. (1)

5 Feb 1945
HMS Totem (A/Lt.Cdr. M.B. St. John, DSC, RN) conducted attack exercises in the Clyde area during which HMS Ravager (A/Capt. G.V.B. Faulkner, RN) served as the target. (2)

25 May 1945
HMS Safari (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) conducted attack exercises for the C.O.Q.C. (Commanding Officers Qualifying Course) in the Clyde area during which HMS Ravager (A/Capt. G.V.B. Faulkner, RN), HMS Westcott (A/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Reade, DSC, RN) and HMS Shikari (Lt. E.A. Tyrer, DSC, RN) served as targets. (3)

31 May 1945
HMS Scotsman (Lt. A.H.B. Anderson, DSC, RNR) conducted attack exercises in the Clyde area during which HMS Ravager (A/Capt. G.V.B. Faulkner, RN), HMS Sardonyx (Lt.Cdr. L.F.L. Hill, RNR) and HMS Sportsman (Lt. P.L. Langley-Smith, RN) served as the targets.

[As no log is available for June 1945, no further details of her work-up programme can be given before HMS Scotsman's departure to the Far East.] (4)

3 Jun 1945
HMS Surf (T/Lt. T.D. Wood, RNVR) conducted attack exercises in the Clyde area during which HMS Sardonyx (Lt.Cdr. L.F.L. Hill, RNR) and HMS Ravager (A/Capt. G.V.B. Faulkner, RN) served as the targets. (5)

Sources

  1. ADM 53/121183 + ADM 53/122094 + ADM 53/122099
  2. ADM 173/19949
  3. ADM 173/19532
  4. ADM 173/19582
  5. ADM 173/19788

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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