CAM ship CAM ships were World War II - era British merchant ships used in convoys as an emergency stop - gap until sufficient escort carrier s became available . " CAM ship " is an acronym for " catapult aircraft merchant ship " . A CAM ship was equipped with a rocket - propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Hurricane , dubbed a " Hurricat " or " Catafighter " . CAM ships continued to carry their normal cargoes after conversion . Origin . After the Fall of France in June 1940 , long range German Focke - Wulf Fw 200 reconnaissance aircraft of I / KG40 shadowed and bombed merchant shipping from the French airfield at Bordeaux - Merignac . The Admiralty had already experimented with fighter catapult ship s - converted freighters , equipped with a single rocket - launched fighter , manned by naval crews . They ordered 50 more rocket - propelled catapult s for fitting aboard merchant ships . These were equipped with fifty Hawker Hurricane Mark I aircraft , converted to Sea Hurricane IAs as a temporary measure to provide fighter protection beyond the range of bases on the British Isles . The ship was not fitted for aircraft recovery , so , unless close to land , the pilot would bail out or ditch in the sea at the end of the flight and the plane would be lost . The RAF formed the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit ( MSFU ) on 5 May 1941 in RAF Speke by the River Mersey in Liverpool . Wing Commander E . S . Moulton - Barrett commanded the unit providing training for volunteer pilots , Fighter Direction Officers ( FDOs ) and airmen . After training , MSFU crews were posted to Liverpool , Glasgow or Avonmouth where they assisted in loading their Hurricanes onto the catapults . Each team consisted of one pilot for Atlantic runs ( or two pilots for voyages to Russia , Gibraltar or the Mediterranean Sea ) with one fitter , one rigger , one radio - telephone operator , one FDO and a seaman torpedoman who worked on the catapult as an electrician . MSFU crews signed ships articles as civilian crew members under the authority of the civilian ship ' s master . The ship ' s chief engineer became responsible for the catapult and the first mate acted as Catapult Duty Officer ( CDO ) responsible for firing the catapult when directed . The single Hurricane fighter was launched only when enemy aircraft were sighted and agreement was reached via hand and flag signals between the pilot , CDO and ship ' s master . The first CAM ship , " Michael E " , was sponsored by the Royal Navy while the RAF MSFUs were working up . After a trial launch off Belfast , " Michael E " sailed with convoy OB 327 on 28 May 1941 . She was sunk by " U - 108 " on 2 June . The first RAF trial CAM launch was from " Empire Rainbow " at Greenock on the River Clyde on 31 May 1941 , the Hurricane landed at Abbotsinch . Six CAM ships joined convoys in June 1941 . When a CAM ship arrived at its destination , the pilot usually launched and landed at a nearby airfield to get in as much flight time as possible before his return trip . Pilots were rotated out of CAM assignments after two round - trip voyages to avoid the deterioration of flying skills from the lack of flying time during the assignment . CAM sailings were initially limited to North American convoys with aircraft maintenance performed by the Royal Canadian Air Force at Dartmouth , Nova Scotia . CAM ships sailed on Gibraltar and Freetown convoys beginning in September , 1941 , after an aircraft maintenance unit was established at the RAF base at North Front , Gibraltar . No CAM aircraft were provided during January and February 1942 after it proved impossible to maintain the catapult - mounted aircraft in flying order during the North Atlantic winter . CAM sailings resumed on 6 March 1942 on North Atlantic convoys and in April on the Arctic Russian convoys with a RAF aircraft maintenance unit in Archangelsk . CAM ships . Eight CAM ships were requisitioned from private owners , two of which were sunk : " Daghestan " , " Daltonhall " , " Eastern City " , " Helencrest " , " Kafiristan " , " Michael E " ( sunk ) , " Novelist " , " Primrose Hill " ( sunk ) . 27 CAM ships were Ministry of War Transport owned Empire ship s , ten of which were sunk : " Empire Burton " ( sunk ) , " Empire Clive " , " Empire Darwin " , " Empire Day " , " Empire Dell " ( sunk ) , " Empire Eve " ( sunk ) , " Empire Faith " , " Empire Flame " , " Empire Foam " , " Empire Franklin " , " Empire Gale " , " Empire Heath " , " Empire Hudson " ( sunk ) , " Empire Lawrence " ( sunk ) , " Empire Moon " , " Empire Morn " , " Empire Ocean " , " Empire Rainbow " ( sunk ) , " Empire Ray " , " Empire Rowan " ( sunk ) , " Empire Shackleton " ( sunk ) , " Empire Spray " , " Empire Spring " ( sunk ) , " Empire Stanley " , " Empire Sun " , " Empire Tide " , " Empire Wave " ( sunk ) . CAM combat launches . In total , there were nine combat launches , eight aircraft and one pilot were lost for eight German aircraft destroyed and one damaged . Programme termination . As adequate numbers of escort carrier s became available , CAM sailings on North American and Arctic Russian convoys were discontinued in August 1942 . The aircraft maintenance unit was withdrawn from Archangel in September 1942 . Catapults were removed from ten of the 26 surviving CAM ships while the remaining 16 continued to sail with the Mediterranean and Freetown convoys . Headquarters RAF Fighter Command ordered all MSFUs to be disbanded commencing 8 June 1943 . The combat launches from homeward bound convoy SL 133 were from the last two operational CAM ships to sail , the last MSFU was disbanded 7 September 1943 . Twelve of the 35 CAM ships had been sunk while sailing on 170 round trip voyages . Two more ships , " Cape Clear " and " City of Johannesburg " , were briefly fitted with dummy catapults and aircraft for deception purposes in late 1941 .