HMS Slinger (D26)
Template:Short description Template:Other ships Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox ship USS Chatham (CVE-32) (originally designated AVG-32, then later ACV-32) was built at the Seattle-Tacoma S/Y, Hull #27, Seattle, Washington, and fitted-out in Portland, Oregon. She was transferred to the United Kingdom 11 August 1943 under lend-lease and renamed HMS Slinger (D26). Designated as a transport carrier, the ship was mined, off Lowestoft, on 5 February 1944 but returned to service on 17 October, and worked-up a new crew.
In early-1945, she was sent to Sydney to join the Pacific Fleet as a replenishment vessel i.e. carrying spare planes for other carriers - attached to the 30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron. The Slinger was accorded the battle honour ‘Okinawa’, though her participation was indirect. Returning to Sydney, she ferried aircraft to/from Brisbane, before being ear-marked for the force that was to invade Japan; in the event, she stood-by at Manus, Philippines, as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war.
In August 1945, she was sent to Hong Kong as a support vessel, and in the autumn made at least two trips to Sydney, returning civilians who had been interned. She returned to UK via Colombo, Cairo and Gibraltar in late-1945 into early-1946.
She was returned to United States custody on 27 February 1946, and was sold and converted by the Robin Line, and was re-launched on 21 November 1946 as Robin Mowbray. Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., purchased Robin Line in 1958. She was scrapped in Kaohsiung Taiwan in 1969-1970.
Design and description
Template:Stack The Template:Sclass were larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than preceding American built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted merchant ships.<ref name=co82/> All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an overall length of Template:Convert, a beam of Template:Convert and a draught of Template:Convert.<ref name=co82>Cocker (2008), p.82.</ref> Propulsion was provided by one shaft, two boilers and a steam turbine giving Template:Convert, which could propel the ship at Template:Convert.<ref name=co79>Cocker (2008), p.79.</ref>
Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side, two aircraft lifts Template:Convert by Template:Convert, one aircraft catapult and nine arrestor wires.<ref name=co82>Cocker (2008), p.82.</ref> Aircraft could be housed in the Template:Convert by Template:Convert hangar below the flight deck.<ref name=co82/> Armament comprised: two 4"/50, 5"/38 or 5"/51 dual purpose guns in single mounts, sixteen 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons in single mounts.<ref name=co82/> They had a maximum aircraft capacity of twenty-four aircraft which could be a mixture of Grumman Martlet, Vought F4U Corsair or Hawker Sea Hurricane fighter aircraft and Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft.<ref name=co82/>