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USS Robin: It’s the US aircraft carrier that never was.


ploughman

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Found this yesterday.

 

It’s also the closest the USN really got to the mythical “Project Rainbow”, where experimentation with teleportation was supposed to have made ships 'vanish into thin air' before reappearing somewhere else.

So, what’s in a name?

At first glance it seems to be what it claims. It was a ship under US command. Its aircraft bore the USN white star. Its crew wore USN clothing. Its radio operators spoke with US accents. Many of its aircrew also had those distinctive twangs.

But the name didn’t match that in the USN inventory: USS Robin was supposed to be a minesweeper / ocean-going tug.

 

http://www.armouredcarriers.com/uss-robin-hms-victorious

Edited by ploughman
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With a plea from the USN for an extra aircraft carrier to replace the USS Hornet and damaged Enterprise HAS Victorious was temporarily assigned to the US Navy under the codename of "USS Robin"

HMS Victorious , sailed to Pearl Harbour in March 1943 , where she was converted so Wildcats and Avengers could operate from her deck. She also was fitted with 45 20mm and 21 40 mm guns .In May she and USS Saratoga joined Group 36.3 in operations against Japanese  shipping.. The Victorious also took part in Operation Cartwheel, the invasion of New Georgia, Solomon's in August but by mid -October she had returned to Scapa Flow.

A sort of lend/ lease in reverse !

Edited by Scoobie4942
Forgot to add foot note
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