The USS Robin

Read a FASCINATING 113 page online account of the circumstances under which the HMS Victorious came to serve with the US Navy for 8 months in 1943 as the ersatz ‘USS Robin’ in the pacific, lots of interesting details about life aboard ship under the US Navy for the British crew (they even changed from British whites to Tropical US Navy issue Dungarees)…the US was most interested in the steel flight deck of the carrier and the Fighter Control center which was MUCH more advanced than anything the USN then had in service….the Brits seemed impressed with the extraordinarily capable aircraft of the Americans and the impressive array of screening vessels for the carriers…and they also liked the three ice cream machines and a Coke machine that were installed on board the Victorious for her American crewmembers, so much so that after the war steps were taken to put more creature comfort items on board British ships to make folks feel more at ease. All in all a very interesting read (wish I could remember where I found the link!), the ship never fired a shot in anger while sailing with the USS Saratoga but her very presence allowed the New Georgia campaign to go forward before she was returned to the British….Well done, Victorious!

Mark