The former Hannover passed through several names and administrative roles before being rebuilt and commissioned as HMS Audacity in June 1941. She had no hangar, normally operated six of her eight Martlets, and was optimized to protect the Gibraltar convoy route from Condors. Blyth converted the captured merchantman in only a few months, making her the first operational British escort carrier. Her fighter-only air group shows that the immediate task was breaking German aerial reconnaissance rather than hunting submarines directly.
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From captured merchantman to HMS Audacity
A captured German merchant ship became the first operational British escort carrier after a rapid conversion at Blyth.