Built as USS Willapa a Bogue-class escort carrier, the ship was transferred to the United Kingdom as part of Lend-Lease and renamed HMS Puncher (D79) of the British Ruler class. 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.
Photographs of HMS Puncher
Air Operations
Fairey Barracuda
A Barracuda nosed into HMS Puncher’s flight deckHaving snapped its tail hook, this Barracuda was flipped onto its nose by the barrierFollowing a crash on HMS Puncher’s deck during night operations, this Barracuda was jettisoned over the carrier’s side. Note the artworkEleven of the twelve Barracuda’s from HMS Puncher’s 821 Squadron sit ready for take-off in Jan 1945Barracudas of 821 Squadron ranged on HMS Puncher off Norwegian coast with Force 2, during Operation Shred, February 21, 1945Crashed Barracuda is secured to HMS Puncher’s deck following a crashBarracuda’s returned to HMS Puncher following a minelaying operation in Haugesund Fjord, Norway on 22 February, 1945An Avenger and a Barracuda from 778 Service Trails Unit from RN Air Station Arbroath is ready to take off from HMS PuncherA Barracuda of No.821 naval air squadron about to be struck down into the hanger
Fairey Firefly
Grumman Avenger
An Avenger and a Barracuda from 778 Service Trails Unit from RN Air Station Arbroath is ready to take off from HMS Puncher
Grumman Wildcat
Like this:
LikeLoading…
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
