CAM ships were World War II–era British merchant ships used in convoys as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient escort carriers became available. CAM ship is an acronym for catapult aircraft merchant ship.[1]
They were equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Hurricane, dubbed a "Hurricat" or "Catafighter" to destroy or drive away an attacking bomber. Normally the Hurricane fighter would be lost when the pilot then bailed out or ditched in the ocean near the convoy.[Note 1] CAM ships continued to carry their normal cargoes after conversion.
The concept was developed and tested by the five fighter catapult ships, commissioned as warships and commanded and crewed by the Royal Navy – but the CAM ships were merchant vessels, commanded and crewed by the Merchant Navy.
- ^ Wise, pp. 70–77
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