MV Acavus
Encyclopedia
MV Acavus was one of nine Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell
tankers converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier
(MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the Rapana Class.
MV Acavus was built at Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd and completed in January, 1935 as an oil tanker for the Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell
line. She was converted at Falmouth to a MAC ship, entering service in October 1943.
As a MAC ship, she had no aircraft hangar, and continued to carry normal cargoes, although operating under Royal Navy control. Only her air crew and the necessary maintenance staff were naval personnel.
At the end of the war, Acavus was reconverted to an oil tanker, and renamed IACRA in 1963. She served in this capacity until broken up for scrap in Italy in 1963.
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
tankers converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier
Merchant aircraft carrier
Merchant aircraft carriers were bulk cargo ships with minimal aircraft handling facilities, used during World War II by Britain and the Netherlands as an interim measure to supplement British and United States-built escort carriers in providing an anti-submarine function for convoys...
(MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the Rapana Class.
MV Acavus was built at Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd and completed in January, 1935 as an oil tanker for the Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
line. She was converted at Falmouth to a MAC ship, entering service in October 1943.
As a MAC ship, she had no aircraft hangar, and continued to carry normal cargoes, although operating under Royal Navy control. Only her air crew and the necessary maintenance staff were naval personnel.
At the end of the war, Acavus was reconverted to an oil tanker, and renamed IACRA in 1963. She served in this capacity until broken up for scrap in Italy in 1963.