HMS Puncher (D79)

HMS Puncher in April 1945
History
United States
Name	USS Willapa
Namesake	Willapa Bay in Washington
Builder	Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	21 May 1943
Launched	8 November 1943
Fate	Transferred to the Royal Navy
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Puncher
Commissioned	5 February 1944
Decommissioned	16 February 1946
Identification	Pennant number D79
Honours and awards	Atlantic 1944[1]
Fate	Returned to US, sold as a merchant ship 9 January 1947
Name	Muncaster Castle (1949–54) Bardic (1954–59) Ben Nevis (1959–73)
In service	1949
Out of service	1973
Fate	Scrapped in 1973
General characteristics
Class and type	Ruler-class escort carrier (UK)
Displacement	11,400 long tons (11,600 t) (standard) 15,390 long tons (15,640 t) (full)
Length	492 ft 3 in (150.0 m)
Beam	69 ft 6 in (21.2 m) wl 108 ft 6 in (33.1 m) max
Draught	25 ft 5 in (7.7 m)
Installed power	2 × Foster Wheeler boilers 8,500 shp (6,338 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbine 1 shaft
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h)
Range	27,500 nmi (50,930 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h) max
Endurance	3,160 long tons (3,210 t) fuel oil
Complement	646
Sensors and processing systems	SG surface search radar SK air search radar
Armament	2 × 5-inch (127 mm)/51 cal. guns 8 × twin 40 mm Bofors guns 14 × twin Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 7 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
Aircraft carried	18–24
Aviation facilities	450 ft × 80 ft (137 m × 24 m) flight deck 260 ft × 62 ft × 18 ft (79 m × 19 m × 5 m) hangar

USS Willapa (AVG-53/ACV-53/CVE-53) was a Bogue-class escort carrier (originally an auxiliary aircraft carrier) built during World War II for the United States Navy. Never seeing American service, the ship was transferred to the United Kingdom as part of Lend-Lease. The escort carrier was renamed HMS Puncher (D79) of the British Ruler class and crewed by the Royal Canadian Navy with aircrew from the Fleet Air Arm. Primarily used as an aircraft transport, Puncher took part in operations along the Norwegian coast towards the end of the war. Following the war the ship was converted for mercantile service and renamed Muncaster Castle, Bardic and Ben Nevis, before being broken up in 1973.