1
9 4 3
August
23rd
Transferred to RN
and named HMS KHEDIVE.
September
Carried
sea trials and shakedown.
Passage
to Esquimalt
to commenced modifications
by HM Canadian Dockyard to suit
Royal
Navy service
24th
Took passage to Norfolk,
Va
via Panama Canal.
October
Embarked
12 AVENGER and ten CORSAIR aircraft for
passage to UK
November
1st
Took passage to UK
16th
Arrived at Liverpool
Aircraft disembarked
and taken to Speke.
21st
Nominated for service in Western
Approaches Command and took
passage to Rosyth.
Taken in hand
for further modification by HM Dockyard
Rosyth to suit deployment as an
Assault Carrier.
December
Under conversion
1
9 4 4
January
Under
conversion
to
February
March
On
completion of dockyard work and post
refit trials took passage to Clyde
22nd
Sustained structural damage with
mercantile ss
Stuart Queen
April
Under
repair in Clyde shipyard
May
Passage to Scapa Flow on
completion.
15th
Carried out work-up at Scapa
Flow with 899 Squadron embarked.
June
On
completion of work-up deployed at Scapa Flow.
Nominated for service in Task Group
88 under overall US Navy command
during
planned landings in South France.
(Operation DRAGOON - formerly ANVIL).
July
Embarked
26 SEAFIRE aircraft and 808 Squadron
personnel.
15th
Passage to Malta
to join Task Group 88.1 with
HM Escort Carriers ATTACKER, EMPEROR,
SEARCHER
and PURSUER, screened by destroyers of
24th Destroyer Flotilla
(Note: HM
Cruiser ROYALIST flying the Flag of Rear
Admiral T
Troubridge
was in
command of TG88.1 which also included
HMS DELHI.
August
Took
part in joint exercises with US Navy
Carriers in preparation for planned
assault
landings.
12th
Sailed for Operation from Malta.
15th
Arrived in assault
area and provided support during
assault.
(For
details of landings see INVASION OF THE
SOUTH OF FRANCE (The
Naval Staff History), ENGAGE THE
ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by C. Barnett
and BRITISH
INVASION FLEETS by J de Winsert.
Retired from area
overnight.
16th
Carried out air attacks on shore targets
and reconnaissance flights as well as
providing
Combat
Air Patrols over landing area.
16th
Aircraft dive-bombed shore targets in Rhone
valley
17th
Aircraft attacked Port Cros
with those from HMS EMPEROR.
18th
Flying position shifted inshore for
attacks on targets in Rhone valley.
19th
Returned to Maddalena
to replenish and refuel..
21st
Resumed flying operations off beach
head with attacks on retreating enemy.
22nd
Air operations
against enemy troops and targets in
continuation.
to
Aircraft carried out attacks on road
transport in Rhone valley
23rd
24th
Returned to Maddalena.
(Note: 201
sorties were launched during DRAGOON.)
Nominated
for support of operations to re-occupy
eastern Mediterranean islands
with H M
Escort Carriers HUNTER, STALKER,
EMPEROR, ATTACKER,
27th
Task Group 88.1 released from DRAGOON.
Took
passage to rejoin Mediterranean Fleet in
Malta
for deployment with HMS
PURSUER
and HMS
SEARCHER in British Aegean
Force.
September
2nd
Arrived at Alexandria
and prepared for Aegean
operations.
Took
passage from Alexandria with ships of Force V
8th
Involved in
collision with mercantile ss
OCEAN MESSENGER.
9th
Carried out air attacks on shipping
and shore targets in Crete, Scarpanto and Rhodes.
with
SEARCHER, PURSUER and HUNTER.
(Operation
OUTING I)
10th
Provided Combat Air Patrols over fleet
units and made shipping strikes against
to
shipping
being used for evacuation of enemy
troops.
13th
14th
Provided air defence during minesweeping
operations in Kithera
Channel
15th
Deployed for
Combat Air Patrols for defence of
warships during OUTING operations.
16th
Provided Combat Air Patrols in
protection of 5th Minesweeping Flotilla
during operations
in Aegean
17th
Carried our air operations on Rhodes.
18th
Carried out
attacks on seaplanes in Suda
Bay, Crete.
19th
Carried out attacks on shipping in Rhodes
harbour.
20th.
Return passage to Alexandria.
Nominated for refit
in UK
to prepare
for service in Eastern Fleet.
(Note: East Indies Fleet formed on 22nd November when some ships of Eastern Fleet
transferred
to newly created British Pacific Fleet.)
Took
passage from Alexandria
October
Took
passage to Gibraltar.
8th
At Gibraltar
12th
Arrived at Belfast
Disembarked
aircraft.
20th
Passage to Thames
23rd
Taken in hand for repair and refit in
London
commercial
shipyard.
Passage to Thames.
November
Under
refit
to
Nominated
for service in 21st Aircraft Carrier
Squadron, East Indies Fleet.
December
1
9 4 5
January
Post
refit trials
and prepared for passage to Indian
Ocean.
Embarked 24 HELLCAT
aircraft and 808 Squadron personnel.
11th
Took passage to Trincomalee
24th
Transit of Suez
Canal
February
3rd
At Cochin
11th
At Trincomalee and
joined East Indies Fleet.
Deployed for
transport of aircraft between India
and Ceylon.
Prepared for
operations against shipping and shore
targets.
March
Transport
duties in continuation.
April
Prepared
for operational duties with Squadron.
Whilst
embarking aircraft from shore, HELLCAT
aircraft crashed into stern of ship and
burst into
flames killing the pilot.
8th
Sailed from
Trincomalee with ships of Eastern
Fleet as Group 2 of Force 63.
to carry out
bombardments and air operations
(Operation
SUNFISH - For details see OPERATION
PACIFIC by E. Gray and
THE FORGOTTEN FLEET
by J Winton and WAR WITH JAPAN
(HMSO).
East
Indies Fleet sailed on 8th.
(Note:
Other ships in Group 2 Group 2 included
HM Escort
Aircraft Carrier EMPEROR
HM Cruiser CUMBERLAND,
HM
Destroyers VENUS and VIRAGO.
Ships
in Group 1 comprised HM Battleship QUEEN
ELIZABETH, Free French
Battleship
RICHELIEU,
HM Cruiser LONDON, HM Destroyers
SAUMAREZ,
VERULAM and
VIGILANT.)
10th
HELLCAT aircraft missed arrester wires
on landing and crashed on deck causing
another
HELLCAT aircraft to
fall overboard. Four personnel
were
killed.
Planned
photo-reconnaissance flights cancelled
due to defective catapult in HMS
EMPEROR.
11th
Provided air cover
for Ships of Group 1 during
bombardments.
During
return from bombardment area ships came
under attack by 10 OSCAR aircraft
two enemy
aircraft was destroyed.
12th
Ships of Force 63 re-fuelled from RFA
EASEDALE of Force 70
(Note
Force 70 also included HM Frigate
LOSSIE)
14th
Carried out photo-reconnaissance flights
over Penang, Port Swettenham and Port Dickson)
(Note:
These were unsatisfactory due to weather
over target
area.
For
full details of SUNFISH see Naval Staff
History. and
WAR WITH JAPAN
(HMSO)
15th
Repeated
photo-reconnaissance flights.
Force came under air attack.
16th
Carried out further air attacks on Emmahaven
and Padang,
Sumatra.
20th
Returned to
Trincomalee with Group 2 ships.
23rd
Took passage with HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH,
FS RICHELIEU, HM Cruisers
CUMBERLAND,
SUFFOLK and CEYLON, Netherlands cruiser
TROMP and
ships of 21st
Aircraft Carrier Squadron screened by HM
Destroyers TARTAR
ROTHERHAM,
VERULAM,
NUBIAN and PENN.
(Note: 21st
Aircraft Carrier Squadron comprised HMS
ROYALIST
(Flag),
HM
Cruiser PHOEBE (Fighter Direction Ship),
HMS KHEDIVE,
HMS
HUNTER, HMS STALKER and EMPEROR screened
by HM
Destroyers SAUMAREZ,
VENUS, VIRAGO and VIGILANT).
30th
After calling at Akyab
provided air cover for assault convoys
on their passage
to Rangoon
(Operation DRACULA - see above
references).
Carried
out air strikes on shore targets
(Note:
WALRUS aircraft embarked for Rescue
duties.)
May
4th
On completion of air cover returned to
Trincomalee.
10th
Joined HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, FS
RICHELIEU, HMS ROYALIST,
HMS
HUNTER, SHAH, and EMPEROR, HMS
CUMBERLAND, Dutch
TROMP
and HM Destroyers SAUMAREZ, VENUS,
VERULAM, VIRAGO
VIGILANT, ROTHERHAM,
TARTAR
and NUBIAN in Force 61.
Sailed
from Trincomalee to intercept Japanese
craft carrying out evacuation
of troops
from Andamans
(Operation
DUKEDOM).
11th
Carried out air attacks on Car Nicobar
with ships of Squadron.
14th
Detached from
Force 61 with destroyers of 26th
Flotilla.
Carried out air
reconnaissance west of 6 Degree
Channel.
15th
Took part in search for Japanese cruiser
HAGURO and destroyer KAMIKAZE
(Note: Not
directly involved in the sinking of
HAGURO. See
above references
and SINK THE
HAGURO by J Winton).
16th
Carried out air attacks on Andaman
Islands with HMS HUNTER.
Under
sporadic Japanese air attacks.
19th
Returned to Trincomalee
June
Eastern Fleet deployment with Squadron
in
continuation.
18th
Carried out photo reconnaissance flights
with HMS STALKER and HMS
AMEER over southern
Malaya
and
provided air cover for ships of Force
63.
(Operation
BALSAM)
(Note:
Force 63 included HMS ROYALIST, HM
Cruiser SUFFOLK
and HM
Destroyers
ROTHERHAM,
RELENTLESS, REDOUBT,
ROEBUCK
and RACEHORSE
as screen).
20th
On completion of photo-reconnaissance
flights carried out offensive operations
against
airfields in Sumatra
and shipping in Malacca
Straits.
(See
above references).
July
Deployed
in Indian
Ocean.
(Note:
During this period extensive
minesweeping operations
were carried out
by East
Indies Fleet Ships and Squadron prepared
for
forthcoming landings
in Malaya (Operations JURIST and ZIPPER - Although planned for early
August
these was not immediately implemented
because of American insistence
and
administrative delays in service departments
in London
due to implementation
of release of
personnel under PYTHON scheme - See THE
FORGOTTEN FLEET
by J Winton
and Final Report of Supreme Commander SEAC
(HMSO)
August
Preparation for Operations JURIST and
ZIPPER in
continuation at Trincomalee.
10th
Sailed from Trincomalee for Penang
with Squadron.
20th
Off Great Nicobar
Islands with ships of Eastern Fleet.
28th
Arrived at Penang.
September
Deployed with HM Battleship NELSON,
FS RICHELIEU,
HMS ROYALIST,
HMS
NIGERIA,
HMS CLEOPATRA, HMS CEYLON,
H M Escort Carriers
HUNTER,
STALKER, ARCHER, EMPEROR and PURSUER to
cover the
landings in Malaya.
4th
Passage in Malacca Straits..
9th
Air operations carried out to cover
landings.
10th
Entered Singapore
with HM Escort Aircraft
Carriers EMPEROR, HUNTER and
STALKER of Squadron.
12th
Present at Singapore
during
formal surrender of Japanese forces.