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NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive

(BAVG-2) / HMS AVENGER (D14)

Battle Honours

Arctic 1942 — North Africa 1942

Ordered	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned
*Archer (similar to US Long Island) Class Escort Carrier*
-	28 Nov 1939	27 Nov 1940	2 Mar 1942
Builder: Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pa.

Built as the US mercantile Rio Hudson, under a Maritime Commission contract (hull number 59).
Acquired by the USN, 20 May 1941, for conversion into the second escort carrier destined for the RN under Lend/Lease arrangements.
Converted and completed by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Staten Island, NY.

Fate: Torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-155, west of Gibraltar, 15 November 1942. A single torpedo hit Avenger abreast the bomb room, which exploded, causing the carrier to break up and sink in under 5 minutes, with heavy loss of life.

Specifications
(As converted, 1942)
Displacement: 8,200 tons standard; 15,700 tons full load
Dimensions (wl): 465' x 69.5' x 26.33' / 141.7 x 21.2 x 8 meters
Dimensions (max.): 492' x 102' / 150 x 31.1 meters
Armor: None
Power plant: 2 Doxford diesels (6-cylinder); 1 shaft; 8,500 bhp
Speed: 16 knots
Endurance: 14,550 nautical miles @ 10 knots
Armament: 3 single 4"/50 gun mounts; 4(?) twin and 7(?) single 20-mm/70-cal gun mounts
Aircraft: 15
Aviation facilities: 1 elevator; 1 hydraulic catapult (H 2); 9 arresting wires and 3 barriers
Crew: 555

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
NS030100304	53k	*Rio Hudson, Rio Parana* and Rio de la Plata just prior to conversion.	Hazegray & Underway
NS030100201	93k	Undated, *Avenger* and Biter (D97, BAVG-3) are seen here in heavy weather in the North Sea. Note Biter has been fitted with an island structure, while her sister *Avenger* still shows her configuration as transferred.	IWM
NS030100202	30k	Good view of the port side, the enclosed area is the hangar.	Hazegray & Underway
NS030100203	61k	HMS *Avenger* underway, date and place unknown.	Robert Hurst
NS030100204	193k	HMS *Avenger* (ex-mercantile *Rio Hudson) underway in rough seas, date and location unknown. Note the unusual camouflage scheme on her flight deck. Six Sea Hurricane* IIC fighters are lined-up on the centre line. Imperial War Museum photo #FL1268, from "Naval Camouflage 1914–1945, A Complete Visual Reference," by David Williams.	Robert Hurst
NS030100206	107k	Undated pic of RN ratings taking a meal aboard HMS *Avenger. The photo clearly shows the cafeteria messing, marking the change from the old practice of eating and sleeping in the same quarters. Photo Imperial War Museum No: A10960. Photo and text from The Fleet Air Arm Handbook*, by David Wragg.	Robert Hurst
NS030100205	216k	Crewmen on board the escort carrier HMS *Avenger* (D14) watch as a merchant ship blows up during convoy PQ-18, September 1942. Photo taken from "The War at Sea 1939–1945, Chapter XII" by S.W.Roskill.	Robert Hurst

BAVG-2 / HMS Avenger (D14) History
This vessel was not listed in DANFS.
To read another vessel's entry visit DANFS Online History Project
(Located on the Hazegray & Underway Web Site)

Crew Contact and Reunion Information

Not applicable to this ship

Related Links

Hazegray & Underway World Aircraft Carrier Pages By Andrew Toppan.

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Last update: 8 September 2011