HMS Searcher (D40) was a Ruler‑class escort carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. Built by the Seattle‑Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation in the United States as a Bogue‑class escort carrier, she was transferred to the United Kingdom under the Lend‑Lease agreement and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 7 April 1943.
Design and description
The ship displaced 14,400 tons as built and measured 491 ft 6 in (149.8 m) in length with a beam of 69 ft 6 in (21.2 m) and a draught of 26 ft (7.9 m). Propulsion was provided by a single shaft driven by steam turbines delivering 8,500 shp, giving a maximum speed of about 18 knots. She carried a complement of 646 officers and ratings. Armament consisted of two dual‑purpose guns (either 4 in/50, 5 in/38 or 5 in/51), sixteen 40 mm Bofors anti‑aircraft guns in twin mounts and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon guns. The flight deck and hangar could accommodate up to twenty‑four aircraft, typically a mix of Grumman Martlet or Vought F4U Corsair fighters and Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers.
Wartime service
After commissioning, Searcher operated primarily as a fighter carrier around the United Kingdom. In late 1943 she escorted Atlantic convoys to the United States, arriving at Norfolk on 2 January 1944. She participated in Operation Tungsten (April 1944), providing fighter cover for the Home Fleet strike against the German battleship Tirpitz. In August 1944 she supported Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. On 4 May 1945 she took part in Operation Judgement, the final air attack of the European war, during which aircraft from Searcher, together with those from HMS Queen and HMS Trumpeter, sank the German submarine U‑711 in Kilbotn harbour, Norway. The carrier was subsequently ordered to the Far East as part of the British Pacific Fleet, but arrived after the Japanese surrender.
Post‑war disposition
Searcher was returned to the United States Navy on 29 November 1945 under the terms of Lend‑Lease and was listed for disposal on 7 February 1946. In 1952 the ship was sold to the Greek shipping firm J & A T Vatis and renamed Captain Theo. She was later sold in 1966 to the Chinese shipping magnate Tung Chao Yung, becoming Oriental Banker. The vessel was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, beginning on 21 April 1976.
Legacy
HMS Searcher is noted for her role in late‑war carrier operations, particularly the sinking of U‑711, which marked the final U‑boat loss inflicted by the Fleet Air Arm. Her subsequent civilian careers illustrate the common post‑war practice of converting surplus escort carriers to merchant service.