Name Empire MacCallum Launched 12 October 1943 | Operator Hain Steam Ship Co Ltd Displacement 8,250 tons (gross) | |
Renamed Doris Clunies in 1947Sunrover in 1951Eudoxia in 1957Phorkyss in 1959 | ||
MV Empire MacCallum was a grain ship converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier or MAC ship.
History
MV Empire MacCallum was built at Lithgows shipyard, 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 and she was operated by Hain Steam Ship Co Ltd of St Ives. On 7 July 1944, a Fairey Swordfish aircraft torpedoed and sank the Free French submarine La Perle in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland. Amongst the aircraft that served on Empire MacCallum was Fairey Swordfish Mk II LS326 where it became part of 'K' flight. The aircraft had previously served on Rapana. As of November 2010, it is airworthy with the Royal Navy Historic Flight.
After the war, the ship was converted to a grain carrier, and eventually scrapped at Osaka in 1960.