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| The bow-mounted catapult on a CAM ship with a Sea Hurricane loaded. |
CAM ships were World War II-era British merchant ships used
in convoys as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient escort carriers became
available. CAM ship is an acronym for catapult aircraft merchant ship. A CAM
ship was equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker
Hurricane, dubbed a "Hurricat" or "Catafighter." CAM ships
continued to carry their normal cargoes after conversion.
The German Luftwaffe had Focke-Wulf Fw 200
"Kondor" aircraft with a range of nearly 2,000 nautical miles. After
the Fall of France, these aircraft could operate from western France against
British merchant ships in the Atlantic. Flying from Bordeaux - Mérignac Airport,
Fw 200s of I/KG40 could reach the convoy lanes west of Britain while staying
outside the range of British land-based fighters. The Royal Navy had no
aircraft carriers available to provide close air cover for the convoys. The Fw
200s could shadow convoys, directing U-boat attacks on them, or drop bombs on
convoy ships, without opposition and to deadly effect.
To counter this threat, the Admiralty developed the fighter
catapult ship - a converted freighter, manned by a naval crew, carrying a
single Hawker Hurricane fighter. When an enemy bomber was sighted, the fighter
would be launched into the air with rockets, and fly up to destroy or drive
away the bomber. (The Fw 200 was actually a rather vulnerable aircraft.) After
the combat, the fighter pilot would bail out or ditch in the ocean near the
convoy, and be picked up if all went well.
The Admiralty had already experimented with this system.
They ordered 50 rocket-propelled aircraft catapults to be fitted to merchant
ships. The planes were Hurricane Mark Is, converted to Sea Hurricane IAs.
The pilots for these aircraft were drawn from the Royal Air
Force (RAF). The RAF formed the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit (MSFU) on 5 May 1941
in RAF Speke by the River Mersey in Liverpool. Wing Commander E.S. Moulton-Barrett
commanded the unit providing training for volunteer pilots, Fighter Direction
Officers (FDOs), and airmen. After training, MSFU crews were posted to
Liverpool, Glasgow, or Avonmouth where they assisted in loading their
Hurricanes onto the catapults. Each team consisted of one pilot for Atlantic
runs (or two pilots for voyages to Russia, Gibraltar, or the Mediterranean
Sea), with one fitter, one rigger, one radio-telephone operator, one FDO, and a
seaman torpedoman who worked on the catapult as an electrician.
MSFU crews signed ship's articles as civilian crew members
under the authority of the civilian ship's master. The ship's chief engineer
became responsible for the catapult, and the first mate acted as Catapult Duty
Officer (CDO), responsible for firing the catapult when directed. The single
Hurricane fighter was launched only when enemy aircraft were sighted and
agreement was reached via hand and flag signals between the pilot, CDO, and
ship's master.
The first four or five ships were taken into Royal Navy
service as "Auxiliary Fighter Catapult Ships," and later conversions
were officially named CAMs manned by merchant crews. The first CAM ship,
Michael E, was sponsored by the Royal Navy while the RAF MSFUs were working up.
After a trial launch off Belfast, Michael E sailed with convoy OB 327 on 28 May
1941. She was sunk by U-108 on 2 June. The first RAF trial CAM launch was from
Empire Rainbow, at Greenock on the River Clyde on 31 May 1941; the Hurricane
landed at Abbotsinch. Six CAM ships joined convoys in June 1941. When a CAM
ship arrived at its destination, the pilot usually launched and landed at a
nearby airfield to get in as much flight time as possible before his return
trip. Pilots were rotated out of CAM assignments after two round-trip voyages
to avoid the deterioration of flying skills from the lack of flying time during
the assignment.
CAM sailings were initially limited to North American
convoys with aircraft maintenance performed by the Royal Canadian Air Force at
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. CAM ships sailed on Gibraltar and Freetown convoys
beginning in September, 1941, after an aircraft maintenance unit was
established at the RAF base at North Front, Gibraltar. No CAM aircraft were
provided during January and February 1942 after it proved impossible to
maintain the catapult-mounted aircraft in flying order during the North
Atlantic winter. CAM sailings resumed on 6 March 1942 on North Atlantic convoys
and in April on the Arctic Russian convoys with a RAF aircraft maintenance unit
in Archangelsk.
Eight CAM ships were requisitioned from private owners, two
of which were sunk: Daghestan, Daltonhall, Eastern City, Helencrest,
Kafiristan, Michael E (sunk), Novelist, Primrose Hill (sunk).
27 CAM ships were Ministry of War Transport owned Empire
ships, ten of which were sunk: Empire Burton (sunk), Empire Clive, Empire
Darwin, Empire Day, Empire Dell (sunk), Empire Eve (sunk), Empire Faith, Empire
Flame, Empire Foam, Empire Franklin, Empire Gale, Empire Heath, Empire Hudson
(sunk), Empire Lawrence (sunk), Empire Moon, Empire Morn, Empire Ocean, Empire
Rainbow (sunk), Empire Ray, Empire Rowan (sunk), Empire Shackleton (sunk),
Empire Spray, Empire Spring (sunk), Empire Stanley, Empire Sun, Empire Tide,
Empire Wave (sunk).
Take-off Procedure
The trolley receiving
bar was removed at dawn.
The airmen
started the aircraft and warmed up the engine at intervals.
The pilot
climbed into the aircraft when enemy aircraft were reported.
The ship hoisted the international flag code F when the
decision was made to launch. (CAM ships were usually stationed at the head of
the outboard port column of a convoy so they could maneuver into the wind for
launch.)
An airman
removed the pins, showed them to the pilot, and took them to the CDO.
The pilot
applied 30 degree flaps and 1/3 right rudder.
The CDO raised
a blue flag above his head to inform the ship's master of his readiness to
launch.
The ship's master maneuvered the ship into the wind and
raised a blue flag above his head to authorize the launch. (The ship's master
stood on the starboard bridge wing to avoid the catapult rocket blast which
sometimes damaged the port side of the bridge.)
The CDO waved his blue flag indicating he was ready to
launch upon a signal from the pilot.
The pilot opened full throttle, tightened the throttle
friction nut, pressed his head back into the head-rest, pressed his right elbow
tightly against his hip, and lowered his left hand as a signal to launch.
The CDO counted to three, waited for the bow to rise from
the trough of a swell, and moved the switch to fire the catapult rockets.
