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NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive

VERMILLION (CVE-52)  /  HMS SMITER


CLASS - BOGUE
Displacement 7,800 Tons, Dimensions, 495' 8" (oa) x 69' 6" x 26' (Max)
Armament 2 x 5"/51 4 x 40mm, 10 x 20mm, 28 Aircraft.
Machinery, 8,500 SHP; Allis-Chambers, Geared Turbines, 1 screw
Speed, 17.5 Knots, Crew 890.
Fate: 1948: Converted to a cargo ship, renamed Artillero (Argentinian flag). 1965: Presidente García (Philippine flag). July 1967: Aground near Guernsey, Channel Islands. Heavily damaged. Refloated and towed to Rotterdam. December 1967: Scrapped at Hamburg, Germany.
Click On Image
For Full Size Image		 Size Image Description Contributed
By And/Or Copyright
Vermillion (CVE-52)/HMS Smiter
NS0305201		 40k

HMS Smiter. Date and place unknown.

 Haze Gray & Underway
Vermillion (CVE-52)/HMS Smiter
NS0305202		 99k

HMS Smiter, ex-Vermillion (CVE-52) tied-up to a buoy circa 1944, location unknown.

 Robert Hurst
Vermillion (CVE-52)/HMS Smiter
NS0305203		 789k

Crew of HMS Smiter (D55), date and location unknown.

Elaine Fairhurst, daughter of CPO C.D. Appleton, explains: "My dad was part of the crew which went to Seattle to collect the Aircraft Carrier and was also docked when the Japanese signed the treaty to surrender (VJ-day). They ferried POWs from Japan to Cyprus, giving up their bunks while the crew slept on the deck. They were in the Middle East on their way to Australia and were turned back when the war ended and went back to Hong Kong. Dad served in the RN Fleet Air Arm 1940–1945 and 1947–1952."

"He also served on HMS Victoria Castle (Iceland), HMS Pretoria Castle, HMS Daedalus, HMS Ocean and (I think!) HMS Fencer)."

 Elaine Fairhurst,
daughter of C D Appleton (CPO) (known as Doug or Douggie)

For more information and photos of this ship, see:
VERMILLION (CVE-52) / HMS SMITER History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)
Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Not Applicable To This Ship
Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway World Aircraft Carrier Pages by Andrew Toppan
HMS Smiter, Royal Navy Escort Carriers, by Tony Drury
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This page was created by Paul Yarnall and is maintained by Fabio Peña
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Last update: 29 November 2011