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.
