MV Empire MacAlpine was a grain ship converted to become the first Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC ship).
MV Empire MacAlpine in dry dock at Messrs Cammell Lairds at Birkenhead.
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History | |
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Name | Empire MacAlpine |
Owner | Ministry of War Transport |
Builder | Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, Fife, Scotland |
Laid down | 11 August 1942 |
Launched | 23 December 1942 |
Renamed |
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Honours and awards | Atlantic (1943–45) |
Fate | Scrapped Hong Kong 1970 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 7,950 GRT |
Length | 412 ft 6 in (125.73 m) (p.p.) 433 ft 9 in (132.21 m) (o/a) |
Beam | 56 ft 9 in (17.30 m) |
Depth | 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m) |
Installed power | 3,300 hp (2,500 kW) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h) |
Complement | 107 |
Armament | 1 × 4 in (100 mm) dual-purpose gun, 2 × 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, 4 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons |
Aircraft carried | 4 |
The Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, Fife, Scotland, built her under order from the Ministry of War Transport and was delivered on 14 April 1943.[1] As a MAC ship, only her air crew and the necessary maintenance staff were naval personnel.[2] She was operated by William Thomson & Co (the Ben Line).[3]
After the war she was converted to a grain carrier. She was scrapped in Hong Kong in 1970.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Burntisland Shipyard - List of Ships Page 5". Burntisland.net. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
- ^ Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1973). Warships of World War II. Ian Allan Publishing. p. 296. ISBN 0-7110-0403-X.
- ^ a b "List and history of the Empire ships - M". Mariners. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
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