MV Empire MacRae

MV Empire MacRae was a grain ship converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier or MAC ship during the Second World War.

The MV Empire MacRae.
History
United Kingdom
Name	Empire MacRae
Owner	Ministry of War Transport
Operator	Hain Steam Ship Co Ltd
Builder	Lithgows, Glasgow, Scotland
Launched	21 June 1943
Renamed	Alpha Zambesi in 1947 Tobon in 1954 Depina in 1967
Fate	Scrapped Taiwan 1971
General characteristics
Tonnage	8,250 GRT
Length	425 ft (130 m) (pp) 444 ft 6 in (135.48 m) (oa)
Beam	57 ft 9 in (17.60 m)
Depth	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Propulsion	Diesel one shaft 3,300 bhp
Speed	12.5 knots (23.2 km/h)
Complement	107
Armament	1 × 4 in (100 mm) 2 × 40 mm 4 × 20 mm
Aircraft carried	Four Fairey Swordfish

She was built at Lithgows shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland, under order from the Ministry of War Transport. As a MAC ship, only her air crew and the necessary maintenance staff were naval personnel^[1] and she was operated by Hain Steam Ship Co Ltd of St Ives.^[2]

After the war, the ship was converted to a grain carrier and was eventually scrapped at Kaohsiung in 1971.^[2]

See also

• List of aircraft carriers