View source for HMS Audacity

{{short description|British Royal Navy aircraft carrier during World War II}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Audacity (D10).jpg
|Ship image size = 300px
|Ship caption=HMS ''Audacity'', after her conversion to an [[escort carrier]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=*''Hannover'' (1939–40)
* ''Sinbad'' (1940)
* ''Empire Audacity'' (1940–41)
* HMS ''Empire Audacity'' (1941)
* HMS ''Audacity'' (1941)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=*Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen (1939–40)
* Ministry of War Transport (1940–41)
* Royal Navy (1941)
|Ship operator=*Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen (1939–40)
* Cunard White Star Line (1940–41)
* Royal Navy (1941)
|Ship registry=*{{Flagicon|Nazi Germany|civil}} Bremen (1939–40)
* {{Flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} Kingston, Jamaica (1940)
* {{Flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} London (1940–41)
* {{Flagicon|United Kingdom|naval}} Royal Navy (1941)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Bremer Vulkan]], [[Vegesack]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=29 March 1939
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=20 June 1941
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=*Code Letters DOVB (1939–40)
* {{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Oscar}}{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Bravo}}
* Code Letters GLZX (1940–41)
* {{ICS|Golf}}{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Zulu}}{{ICS|X-ray}}
* [[Pennant number]] D10 (1941)
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=Atlantic 1941
|Ship captured=7 March 1940
|Ship fate=Sunk 21 December 1941
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption
|Ship type=[[Escort carrier]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|5,537}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|11000|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length=*{{convert|441|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} (''Hannover'')
* {{convert|467|ft|3|in|abbr=on}} (HMS ''Audacity'')
|Ship beam={{convert|56|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=*{{convert|23|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}} (''Hannover'')
* {{convert|27|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (HMS ''Audacity'')
|Ship power={{convert|5200|hp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*1 × 7-cylinder MAN [[diesel engine]]
* 1 × screw
|Ship speed={{convert|15|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement='''As HMS ''Audacity''''': 480<ref name="Ford, Roger 2001 pg. 362">Ford, Roger (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of Ships'', pg. 362. Amber Books, London. {{ISBN|978-1-905704-43-9}}</ref>
|Ship sensors=Type 79B air warning radar
|Ship armament=*'''As HMS ''Audacity'':'''
* 1 × [[4-inch gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|0}} gun]]
* 1 × [[6-pounder gun|6-pounder ({{convert|57|mm|in|2|abbr=on}}) gun]]
* 4 × [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft guns]]
* 4 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft]] [[Autocannon|cannons]]
|Ship aircraft=*'''Operational Use:''' 6<ref name="Ford, Roger 2001 pg. 362"/>
* '''Storage:''' 8
|Ship aircraft facilities=None; aircraft stored on flight deck<ref name="Ford, Roger 2001 pg. 362"/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Audacity''''' was a British [[escort carrier]] of the [[Second World War]] and the first of her kind to serve in the [[Royal Navy]]. She was originally the German merchant ship '''''Hannover''''', which the British captured in the [[West Indies]] in March 1940 and renamed '''''Sinbad''''', then '''''Empire Audacity'''''. She was converted and commissioned as '''HMS ''Empire Audacity''''', then as '''HMS ''Audacity'''''. She was [[torpedo]]ed and sunk by a [[Kriegsmarine|German]] [[U-boat]] in late 1941.

==History==

===''Hannover''===
[[File:SS Hannover PA-104055.jpg|thumb|left|MV ''Hannover'' listing before her capture on 6 March 1940]]
''Hannover'' was a 5,537&nbsp;[[Gross register tonnage|GRT]] [[cargo liner]] built by [[Bremer Vulkan|Bremer Vulkan Schiff- und Maschinenbau]], [[Bremen-Vegesack|Vegesack]] and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 29 March 1939.<ref name= HMSAudacity>{{cite web|url=http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Audacity.html|title=HMS AUDACITY|publisher=Fleet Air Arm Archive|access-date=20 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204035612/http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Audacity.html|archive-date=4 February 2012|url-status=usurped}}</ref> She was owned by [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]] and plied between Germany and the [[West Indies]] on the [[banana]] run.<ref name=Ships>{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=W. H. |last2=Sawyer |first2=L. A. |year=1990 |title=The Empire Ships |pages=243, 432 |publisher=Lloyd's of London Press |location=London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong |isbn=1-85044-275-4}}</ref> ''Hannover''{{'}}s [[port of registry]] was [[Bremen]].<ref name= Hannover>{{Cite web|url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/39/39b0376.pdf|title=LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS|publisher=Plimsoll Ship Data|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> When [[World War II]] began, ''Hannover'' sought refuge in [[Curaçao]], [[Netherlands Antilles]]. In March 1940,<ref name=Ships/> ''Hannover'' attempted to return to Germany as a [[blockade runner]]. She was sighted between [[Hispaniola]] and [[Puerto Rico]] on the night of 7/8 March by the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Dunedin|D93|2}} and the [[Royal Canadian Navy|Canadian]] [[destroyer]] {{HMCS|Assiniboine|I18|6}}. ''Hannover'' was ordered to stop, but ignored the order and tried to reach the neutral waters of the [[Dominican Republic]]. When ''Dunedin'' and ''Assiniboine'' intercepted ''Hannover'', Captain Wahnschaffe ordered the [[seacock]]s opened and the ship set on fire. A boarding party from ''Dunedin'' closed the sea cocks and ''Hannover'' was taken under tow. However, it took four days for the salvage crew to put out the fire.<ref name=Capture/> ''Hannover'' was then towed to [[Jamaica]], arriving on 11 March.<ref name=Ships/> [[Acting (rank)|Acting]] [[Lieutenant (naval)|Lieutenant]] A. W. Hughes of ''Dunedin'' was [[Mentioned in Dispatches#United Kingdom, British Empire, and Commonwealth of Nations|mentioned in despatches]] for his part in securing ''Hannover''. Damage was mainly confined to her electrical system.<ref name=Capture/>

===''Sinbad''===
''Hannover'' was renamed '''''Sinbad''''', given a UK Official Number and assigned new [[Code Letters]]. Her port of registry was changed to [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], Jamaica, under the British flag.<ref name=Sinbad>{{Cite web|url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/40/40a1109.pdf|title=LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS|publisher=Plimsoll Ship Data|access-date=20 January 2009}} First three letters appear to be VPL, fourth is illegible.</ref> Her cargo included 29 barrels of pickled sheep pelts, which were offered for sale by tender in August 1940 as a result of being declared as [[Prize (law)|prize]].<ref name=Capture>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/audacity.html|title=HMS Audacity alias the MV Hannover|publisher=Mike Kemble|access-date=20 January 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126161845/http://mikekemble.com/ww2/audacity.html|archive-date=26 January 2009}}</ref>

===''Empire Audacity''===
''Sinbad'' was renamed '''''Empire Audacity''''' as one of the [[Empire ship]]s of the [[Ministry of War Transport]] and was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] as an "[[Ocean Boarding Vessel]]"<ref name=Ships/> on 11 November. Her port of registry was changed to London. She was placed under the management of [[Cunard Line|Cunard White Star Line Ltd]].<ref name=Audacity/> On 22 January 1941,<ref name=HMSAudacity/> she was sent to [[Blyth Shipbuilding Company|Blyth Dry Docks & Shipbuilding Co Ltd]], [[Blyth, Northumberland|Blyth]] to be rebuilt as an escort carrier. Britain did not have enough aircraft carriers and shipping was vulnerable to attacks by [[U-boat]]s in the [[Mid-Atlantic Gap]], where there was no air cover. The [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] decided that small carriers were part of the solution and had a number of merchantmen, including ''Empire Audacity'', converted. ''Empire Audacity'' was the largest ship handled at Blyth, which was more used to ships of {{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}} length. The townsfolk of Blyth wondered why the [[superstructure]] of a perfectly good ship was being [[Ship breaking|scrapped]] at a time when Britain was desperately short of ships.<ref name=Ships/> ''Empire Audacity'' was commissioned on 17 June 1941.<ref name=Carrier/> She was the Royal Navy's first escort carrier.<ref name=Ships/>

===HMS ''Empire Audacity''===
HMS ''Empire Audacity'' worked up in the [[River Clyde|Clyde]]. The first deck landing was by a [[Grumman Martlet]] of [[802 Naval Air Squadron]] ([[Fleet Air Arm|FAA]]) on 10 July. A detachment of aircraft were based on ''Empire Audacity'' from 19 to 21 July. All her aircraft had to be stored on the flight deck, as the hasty conversion into an escort carrier did not include a [[hangar]] deck.<ref name=Carrier/> The Admiralty disliked her merchant name,<ref name= Ships/> and HMS ''Empire Audacity'' was renamed '''HMS ''Audacity''''' on 31 July 1941.<ref name= Carrier>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/ESCORT/AUDACITY.htm|title=A History of HMS AUDACITY|publisher=Royal Navy Research Archive|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref>

===HMS ''Audacity''===
''Audacity'' was put into full service, embarking eight [[Grumman Martlet|Martlet]]s of No. 802 Squadron FAA. The use of only fighters was a major departure from later practice, where the main component was [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] patrol aircraft, but she was used to support [[Gibraltar]] [[convoy]]s and the only perceived threat was the German long-range [[Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor]] reconnaissance/[[bomber]] aircraft.<ref name= Carrier/>

''Audacity'' participated in four convoys during her short career.

;OG 74
Convoy OG 74 sailed from Britain on 13 September 1941. A week later on 21 September the convoy was attacked by a German Condor bomber, whose bombs struck the [[convoy rescue ship]] {{MV|Walmer Castle|1936|2}}. A fighter from ''Audacity'' was able to shoot down the bomber. The damage to ''Walmer Castle'' was extensive, and she had to be sunk by an escorting [[corvette]].<ref name=Carrier/>

;HG 74
Convoy HG 74 sailed from Gibraltar on 2 October and arrived at the Clyde on 17 October. The trip was uneventful.<ref name=Carrier/>

;OG 76
Convoy OG 76 sailed on 28 October bound for Gibraltar. During the voyage, Martlets from ''Audacity'' shot down four Condors, one being the first aerial victory for [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric "Winkle" Brown]]. One Martlet was lost.<ref name=Carrier/>

;HG 76
[[Convoy HG 76]] sailed from Gibraltar on 14 December. ''Audacity'' had only four Martlet aircraft serviceable. The convoy came under attack from 12 U-boats. Martlets from ''Audacity'' shot down two Condors; {{GS|U-131|1941|2}} was attacked on 17 December.<ref name=Carrier/> ''U-131'' shot down a Martlet, but was unable to dive after the attack, and was scuttled by her crew, who were taken prisoner.<ref name=HG76/>

As ''Audacity'' left the convoy on the night of 21 December,<ref name=Date>Stated as 23 December in The Empire Ships</ref> one of the merchantmen fired a [[Flare|"snowflake" flare]] which revealed her in silhouette to the German U-boats. The submarines had been given specific orders to sink her as she had caused a lot of trouble for the Germans both at sea and in the air.<ref name=Ships/> The first torpedo fired by {{GS|U-751||2}} under ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' [[Gerhard Bigalk]]<ref name=HG76>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/ops/convoys/hg-76.htm |title= HG-76 |publisher=u-boat.net|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> hit her in the engine room and she began to settle by the stern. The next two torpedoes caused an explosion of the [[aviation fuel]]<ref name=HMSAudacity2>{{Cite web|url=https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-05CVE-Audacity.htm| title=H.M.S. AUDACITY (D10)|publisher=Naval History|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> blowing off her [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]]. ''Audacity'' sank some {{convert|500|mi|nmi km|abbr=on}} west of [[Cape Finisterre]] at {{coord|43|45|N|19|54|W}}.<ref name=Ships/> She sank in 70 minutes. 73 of her crew were killed.<ref>Don Kindell, ''Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies, World War 2.'' [https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1941-12DEC2.htm#audacitylost 15th – 31st DECEMBER 1941]</ref> Her survivors were picked up by the [[Flower-class corvette|corvettes]] {{HMS|Convolvulus|K45|2}}, {{HMS|Marigold|K87|2}} and {{HMS|Pentstemon|K61|2}},<ref name=Rescue>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3246.html|title=HMS Audacity (D 10)| publisher=u-boat.net|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> one of the survivors being pilot [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric Brown]].<ref name=Gaz060342>{{London Gazette|issue=35481 |supp=y|page=1106|date=6 March 1942}}</ref> The German commander had confused her with a {{convert|23000|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} {{sclass|Illustrious|aircraft carrier|2}}, the sinking of which was announced by Nazi [[propaganda]] sources.<ref>Blair 2000, pp. 416–417</ref>
{{location map|North Atlantic|width=180
|long=-19.54
|lat=43.75
|caption=Location of the sinking of HMS ''Audacity''
}}

''Audacity'' had been operating outside the convoy, a procedure that was later prohibited by the Admiralty as too risky.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

==Official number and code letters==
Official Numbers were a forerunner to [[IMO ship identification number|IMO Numbers]]. ''Sinbad''<ref name=Sinbad/> and ''Empire Audacity'' had the UK Official Number 156145.<ref name= Audacity>{{Cite web|url=https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/44/44b0307.pdf|title= LLOYD'S REGISTER, STEAMERS & MOTORSHIPS|publisher=Plimsoll Ship Data|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> ''Hannover'' used the Code Letters DOBV.<ref name=Hannover/> ''Empire Audacity'' used the Code Letters GLXZ.<ref name=Audacity/>

==Model==
[[File:Model of the HMS Audacity, 1941.jpg|thumb|right|Model of ''Audacity'' in the Merseyside Maritime Museum.]]
A model of HMS ''Audacity'' is displayed in the [[Merseyside Maritime Museum]].<ref name=Model>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/hg76.html|title=Convoy HG-76 December 1941|publisher=Mike Kemble|access-date=20 January 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121225438/http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/hg76.html|archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Merchant aircraft carrier]] – other British conversions of cargo ships to escort aircraft carriers

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{commons category|HMS Audacity (ship, 1939)}}
* {{cite book |last=Blair |first=Clay |author-link=Clay Blair |title=Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942 |year=2000 |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co. |isbn=0-304-35260-8}}
* ''The Encyclopedia of Warships, From World War II to the Present Day'', General Editor Robert Jackson, San Diego, CA. Thunder Bay Press, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-59223-627-5}}.
* Hewson, Robert ''The World War II Warships Guide'', 2000 {{ISBN|1-85605-569-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ford |first1=Roger |last2=Gibbons |first2=Tony |last3=Hewson |first3=Rob |last4=Jackson |first4=Bob |last5=Ross |first5=David |year=2001 |title=The Encyclopedia of Ships |page=362 |publisher=Amber Books |location=London |isbn= 978-1-905704-43-9}}

{{coord|43|45|N|19|54|W|display=title}}

{{Norddeutscher Lloyd ships}}
{{WWII British ships}}
{{Empire ships}}
{{Cunard ships}}
{{December 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Audacity (D10)}}
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Germany]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)]]
[[Category:1939 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Cunard Line]]
[[Category:Ministry of War Transport ships]]
[[Category:Escort carriers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in December 1941]]