HMS Archer (D78)

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Career

Laid down:	7 June 1939
Launched:	14 December 1939
Commissioned:	17 November 1941
Decommissioned:
Stricken:	26 February 1946
Fate:	Scrapped in New Orleans in 1962
General characteristics
Displacement:	15,700 tons
Length:	465 ft (141.7 m)
Beam:	69.5 ft (21.2 m)
Draft:	26.3 ft (8 m)
Speed:	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h)
Complement:	555 officers and men
Armament:	3 × 4 in (102 mm), 7 × 20 mm, 4 twin 20 mm guns
Aircraft:	15

The HMS Archer, originally designated BAVG-1, was a Long Island class escort aircraft carrier built by the US and operated by the Royal Navy during World War II.

She was laid down on 7 June 1939, as Mormacland, under Maritime Commission contract (Hull "Sun-46"), by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania, launched on 14 December 1939, and commissioned on 17 November 1941.

Archer had a rather troubled history and the trial period was very extensive. Her engines were a continual source of problems and had to undertake major repairs in 1943. Archer eventually entered service in May 1943, but after just two missions was 'reduced to care and maintenance' as new defects appeared and were deemed too great to be worth repairing. In 1943 she was used as a stores hulk at Gare Loch, then as an accommodation hulk after 16 March 1944. She was repaired again and transferred to Ministry of War Transport on 3 August 1944 as the aircraft ferry Empire Lagan.

The ship was finally turned back over to the United States Navy at Norfolk, Virginia on 8 January 1946. Later that year she was sold into merchant service as the Swedish Anna Saelen. In 1955 she became the Greek Tasmania and in 1961 the Taiwanese Union Reliance. She was scrapped at New Orleans in March 1962.

Archer was the first of thirty-eight US-built converted C3 Escort Carriers turned over to Great Britain during the period 1931-1944, and one of four Motorships (the remainder were powered by geared turbines. Archer was a sister of the USS Long Island (CVE-1). Like the Long Island, the Archer had no island structure, had one elevator aft, diesel vents to either side of the flight deck; 8,500 hp Sun-Doxford diesels, and one screw.