Royal Navy fighter catapult ships were conversions of conversions

Royal Navy fighter catapult ships performed a similar one-launch air-defense role but followed a different administrative path from civilian CAM ships. HMS Maplin launched Lieutenant Robert Everett twice in 1941: during the first sortie shipboard anti-aircraft fire destroyed the Condor before he could attack, while on the second he shot down the aircraft and was rescued by a destroyer. Everett had also won the 1929 Grand National as a jockey. The small group included Ariguani, Patia, Pegasus, and Springbank. Pegasus was the renamed HMS Ark Royal, a purpose-built First World War seaplane carrier later used for training before conversion to the catapult role. The other vessels had already become ocean boarding ships under naval control, so fitting catapults converted an existing naval auxiliary rather than taking a fresh merchant hull from trade. Springbank was torpedoed by U-201 and finished by HMS Jasmine, while Patia foundered after a bombing attack. These improvised platforms still faced the hazards of convoy war.