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USS ''Block Island'' (CVE-8) (originally AVG and then ACV) was an ''Attacker''-class escort aircraft carrier that served during World War II. She was laid down on 15 May 1941 as ''Mormacpenn'' under Maritime Commission contract at Pascagoula, Mississippi by Ingalls Shipbuilding, acquired by the United States Navy on 9 January 1943 and simultaneously transferred via the Lend-Lease program to the United Kingdom as ''Trailer''. On 11 January 1943, the ship was renamed HMS ''Hunter'' (D80) and commissioned by the Royal Navy. She participated in Operation Zipper and Operation Tiderace in August 1945, the reoccupation of Malaya and Singapore from the Japanese. The vessel was returned to United States' custody 29 December 1945 and sold into merchant service on 17 January 1947 as ''Almdijk''. In October 1965 the ship was sold for scrapping in Spain. ==Design and description== There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each.〔Cocker (2008), p.79.〕 The ships had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop. The traditional hammocks were replaced by three tier bunk beds, eighteen to a cabin which were hinged and could be tied up to provide extra space when not in use.〔Poolman (1972), pp.74–75.〕 The ships dimensions were; an overall length of , a beam of and a height of . They had a displacement of at deep load.〔Cocker (2008), p.80.〕 Propulsion was provided by four diesel engines connected to one shaft giving 8,500 brake horsepower (BHP), which could propel the ship at .〔Cocker (2008), pp.80–81.〕 Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side and above the x flight deck,〔Poolman (1972), p.57.〕 two aircraft lifts by , and nine arrestor wires. Aircraft could be housed in the by hangar below the flight deck.〔 Armament comprised two 4 inch DP,AA guns in single mounts, eight 40 mm anti-aircraft gun in twin mounts and twenty-one 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons in single or twin mounts.〔 They had the capacity for up to eighteen aircraft which could be a mixture of Grumman Martlet, Hawker Sea Hurricane, Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft and Fairey Swordfish or Grumman Avenger anti-submarine aircraft.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Hunter (D80)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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