ACV-49 was assigned the name St. Andrews, 23 August 1942, for a bay on the gulf coast of Florida named by the Spanish to honor Saint Andrew, one of Christ's 12 Apostles and the brother of St. Peter (NS0304909, courtesy of Google Maps.)

Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease, 7 December 1943, and commissioned the same day as HMS Queen (D19) in the Royal Navy. A Queen is the female ruler of an independent state. (NS0304907, courtesy of Tommy Trampp.)

This ship is sometimes identified as HMS Queen, Lapointe Pier, Vancouver, January 1944, but it is not clear if this is correct (see The History of HMS Queen: A World War II Lend Lease Escort Aircraft Carrier, by David G. Weaver, CPM.

Operation Judgement, May 4, 1945, an attack on the U-boat base at Kilbotn, near Harstad, Norway. This proved to be the last offensive operation by the Home Fleet, as the war in Europe ended just a few days later.

The main targets of the attack are, in fact, hidden behind water columns and smoke in the center of the photo. They were the depot ship Black Watch and the Type VIIC submarine U-711 — they were both sunk. The ship visible in the center of the pic is in all probability the motor vessel Senja, also sunk in this attack but raised and repaired after the war. U-711 was the last U-boat sunk by the Fleet Air Arm in WW2. Note, on the lower left corner, part of the wing of an attacking aircraft; the ship visible just above and forward of the wing tip is the old Norwegian coastal defense ship Harald Hårfrage (commissioned in 1897), then in German hands and converted into a floating anti-aircraft battery — she was not considered a worthy target.

Operation Judgement was a repetition of Operation Newmarket (April 1945), intended to destroy the depot and store ships used to support the U-boat attacks on the convoys to North Russia, but cancelled because weather prevented aircraft from taking off. In May, however, the weather was perfect (as can be deduced from the photo) and the attack was carried out by Avenger torpedo-bombers and Wildcat fighters from Squadrons 846 (HMS Trumpeter, Capt. K. S. Colquhoun), 853 (HMS Queen, Capt. K. J. D'Arcy), and 882 (HMS Searcher, Capt. J. W. Grant).

John Pine explains: "I discovered this picture amongst family papers. It was in a big brown envelope addressed to "C in C H F" (Admiral [Sir Henry R.] Moore). My father was in charge of his staff. On the back of the photograph is typed 'Photographic Section H.M.S. Trumpeter'."

HMS Queen (D19), ex-St. Andrews (CVE-49), tied up to a mooring buoy at Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, Scotland, May 1945. Photo taken by an unknown Royal Navy official photographer. Imperial War Museums. Photo No:A 29177.

HMS Queen (D19) underway at speed in rough seas on 9 August 1945.

Source: Imperial War Museums American Ministry of Defense Foxhill Collection of Ships Photographs, Photo No. © IWM(FL 17806).

Port quarter view of HMS Queen (D19) underway on 9 August 1945.

Source: Imperial War Museums , Ministry of Defense Foxhill Collection of Ships Photographs, Photo No. © IWM(FL 17807).

"HMS Queen entering Portsmouth Harbour on the 23rd November 1945. By mid-November the conversion arrangements for trooping carried out at Barrow had been completed and one would have expected the hull to have received a repaint at the same time — it appears that this was not done. This photograph was originally in the hands of Wright & Logan of Portsmouth and notes indicate that it was taken at Portsmouth. The photograph provides a good illustration of the radar array. Those readers who have noticed the unusual pipe like fixings that slope along the hull should note that these form part of the de-gaussing system."

Quoted from The History of HMS Queen: A World War II Lend Lease Escort Aircraft Carrier, by David G. Weaver, CPM.