Bogue-class carriers were redesigned from C3 cargo hulls

Were Bogue-class escort carriers converted C3 cargo ships?

They were based on the C3 merchant hull, but were built from the outset to a carrier-modified design rather than taken over as completed cargo ships.

Bogue-class ships show the difference between physical conversion and design conversion. They retained merchant-hull standards and features derived from the C3 cargo type. Their aviation arrangements were incorporated while the ships were being built rather than added after a completed merchant career. This approach offered some of the economy and repeatability of merchant construction without accepting every compromise of a late conversion. It also provides an Allied comparison with Japan's mixture of planned and improvised auxiliary carriers.