HMS Biter (D97)
Service
- as Biter6 May 1942 — 19451,215 days of the war
- as Dixmude9 April 1945 — 24 January 1951146 days of the war
- Name
- HMS Biter
- Pennant / hull number
- D97
- Builder
- Sun Shipbuilding
- Laid down
- 28 December 1939
- Launched
- 18 December 1940
- Commissioned
- 6 May 1942
- Decommissioned
- 24 January 1951
- Fate
- Sunk as target 10 June 1966 (1966)
- Status
- Wreck
Specifications
- Displacement, standard
- 8,200 long tons (8,332 t)
- Displacement, full load
- 9,000 long tons (9,144 t)
- Length
- 149.96 m (492 ft)
- Beam
- 20.12 m (66 ft)
- Speed
- 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h, 19 mph)
- Complement
- 555
- Main gun
- 102 mm (4 in)
HMS Biter was a Avenger-class escort carrier of the Royal Navy. She carried the pennant number D97. Her keel was laid at Sun Shipbuilding on 28 December 1939. She entered service on 6 May 1942, having been launched on 18 December 1940.
Three ships of the class were built. The class followed the Long Island-class escort carrier and was succeeded by the Attacker-class escort carrier (RN), Bogue-class escort carrier (USN).
She displaced 8,200 long tons standard and 9,000 long tons at full load. She measured 150.0 m (492 ft) long with a beam of 20.1 m (66 ft). Her designed speed was 16.5 knots, and she carried a complement of 555.
Her main battery was three 102 mm (4 in) guns. She carried 15 aircraft. Her machinery developed 8,500 hp.
She served with the Royal Navy as Biter until 1945. She then passed to the Marine Nationale, serving as Dixmude from 9 April 1945. She was in commission for 1,361 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 24 January 1951.
She was expended as a target on 10 June 1966. The wreck survives.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 4 × diesel engines
- 1 × shaft
- Power
- 8500 hp
- Armament
- 3 × 4 in guns
- 15 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons on single and twin mounts
- Aircraft
- 15–21; a mixture of
- Grumman Martlets
- Hawker Sea Hurricane
- Fairey Swordfish
- Grumman Avenger
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from HMS Biter (D97) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Lt. S.J. Beadell, Royal Navy official photographer; originally uploaded by Jim Sweeney on en:wikipedia, 1 October 2010. — This photograph FL 2164 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons