AVG-6 was named Altamaha, 7 January 1942, for a river and a sound in the state of Georgia. Altamaha was also the name of a town established in 1540 upon a site located in the present-day state of Georgia. Altamaha was mentioned in the journals of Hernando De Soto's expedition.

On 17 March 1942, however, the name Altamaha was cancelled and the ship was launched without a name.

On 31 October 1942 the carrier was simultaneously transferred to the United Kingdom, named HMS Battler and commissioned by the Royal Navy.

A "Battler" (from the medieval word "Batelur") is a fighter or warrior skilled in the art of combat. The design features the weapons that a medieval warrior used in combat: on a blue field, a mace (in gold), with thong and binding (red), and a battleaxe (gold) in saltire.

(Map courtesy of Google Maps.)

HMS Battler (D18) on her sea trials.

HMS Battler (D18, ex-Altamaha) underway just after commisisoning. Ministry of Defence (Navy) photo, courtesy of Ray Burt.

Photo and text from Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, by Roger Chesneau.

Undated overhead port quarter view of HMS Battler (D18) underway on patrol. The British escort carriers were called "Britain's Anti-U-Boat Pocket Carriers."

Imperial War Museums Admiralty Official Collection, Photo ©IWM, No. A 17708.

Standing next to a Supermarine Seafire F.Mk. IIC of No. 834 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, the Meteorological Officer taking a sight with a pilot balloon theodolite aboard the escort carrier HMS Battler (D18). The barrels and part of the breech of one of the twin 40 mm Bofors guns can be seen in the background. Photo by unknown Royal Navy official photographer.

Imperial War Museums photo No. A 21601. This image was created and released by the Imperial War Museums on the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

Two pilots of No. 834 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm standing by the nose of a Supermarine Seafire F.Mk.IIC on the flight deck of HMS Battler (D18) off the coast of Greenock, Scotland. The barrels and part of the breech of one of the twin 40 mm Bofors guns can be seen in the background.

Imperial War Museums photo No. A 21600. This image was created and released by the Imperial War Museums on the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

Men wearing just shorts and caps fitting rocket projectiles to a Fairey Swordfish aircraft of No.834 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm before it takes off on anti-submarine patrol from the escort carrier HMS Battler (D18). Unknown Royal Navy official photographer.

This photograph A 21614 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. This image was created and released by the Imperial War Museums on the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

A Fairey Swordfish of No.834 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm launching from HMS Battler (D18) on anti-submarine patrol. Date and location unknown. Photo by unknown Royal Navy official photographer.

This photograph A 21626 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. This image was created and released by the Imperial War Museums on the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

Personnel making final adjustments to a torpedo fitted to a Fairey Swordfish of No 835 Squadron Fleet Air Arm before take off aboard the American-built Auxiliary Carrier HMS Battler (D18) at Greenock, Scotland, date unknown. Two crew members are lying down holding the ropes attached to the chocks beneath the aircraft's wheels, whilst the pilot, wearing full flying gear, is chatting to the armourer working on the fuse of the torpedo.

Photo by Beadell, S J (Lt). Royal Navy official photographer.

This photograph A 16647 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. This image was created and released by the Imperial War Museums on the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

HMS Battler (D18) turning into the wind to begin aircraft landing operations in April 1943.

Source: Imperial War Museums Admiralty Official Collection, Photo ©IWM, No. A 23653. (Original photo was mirrored.)

Undated picture of the escort carrier HMS Battler (D18) underway in coastal waters, location unknown. Photo taken by unknown Royal Navy official photographer. Photo # FL 1588 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Escort carrier HMS Battler (D18) tied to a mooring buoy at Greenock, Scotland. Photo taken by Lt. S.J. Beadell, Royal Navy official photographer. Photo # A 16641 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

This photo is almost identical to NS0300617, above.

"Anchored in an English port, the British escort carrier Battler was built at the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and transferred to the Admiralty under the Lend-Lease program in 1943. Of all-welded, largely prefabricated construction, the hull was originally intended for merchant shipping, but was converted to combatant use by the U.S. Maritime Commission. The Battler displaced 11,420 tons, carried an air complement of eighteen planes, and featured a soda fountain and cafeteria, signs of her American birth. Her crew totalled seventy officers and four hundred fifty enlisted men. She was typical of a large number of escort carriers which helped to turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic."

From The Naval Air War, 1939–1945, by Nathan Miller.

HMS Battler, ex-Altamaha (CVE-6), tied up to a buoy in May 1943 at Greenock, Scotland. Photo taken by Lt. S.J. Beadell, Royal Navy official photographer. Photo # A 16643 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Note that, unlike her American counterparts, her US-built YE radio homing beacon is not fitted at the masthead.

Booklet of General Plans, "Auxiliary Aircraft Carriers, ACV-6, ACV-8, ACV-10, ACV-17," 25 January 1943.

Stern view of HMS Battler (D18) anchored at Greenock, Scotland, 13 May 1943.

Imperial War Museums Admiralty Official Collection, by Beadell, S.J. (Lt), Photo ©IWM, No. A 16644.

HMS Battler (D18) at Greenock, Scotland, 13 May 1943. Looking aft towards the island, a twin 40mm Bofors crew is at action stations.

Imperial War Museums Admiralty Official Collection, by Beadell, S.J. (Lt), Photo ©IWM, No. A 16645.

Flight-deck-edge twin 40mm Bofors crew is at action stations on HMS Battler (D18) at Greenock, Scotland, 13 May 1943. Some of the gun crew are wearing American-type steel helmets.

Imperial War Museums Admiralty Official Collection, by Beadell, S.J. (Lt), Photo ©IWM, No. A 16646.

Maintenance crew bringing a Fairey Swordfish MK.II torpedo-bomber of No. 835 Squadron, FAA, on to the flight deck of the escort carrier HMS Battler (D18) by hydraulic lift, 13 May 1943. The carrier's island can be seen in the background. Photo taken by Lt. S.J. Beadell, Royal Navy official photographer. Photo No. A 16649, from the Imperial War Museum collections.

A Fairey Swordfish Mk II of No. 835 Squadron serving on board HMS Battler in the torpedo-bomber role in 1943, being manhandled to its spotting position for take-off. The variety of helmets being worn include American styles. As usual, the wartime censor has blanked out the aircraft's strut-mounted radar antennae. Photo Imperial War Museums.

Photo and text from Swordfish: From the Cockpit, by Donald Payne.

The aftermath of a barrier encounter on board the escort carrier HMS Battler involving Swordfish Mk II (LS422) of 744 Squadron, the unit that provided training facilities for the aircrews embarking on merchant aircraft carriers. Photo courtesy Brian Lowe.

Photo and text from Swordfish: From the Cockpit, by Donald Payne.

HMS Battler underway, August 1943. Place unknown.

Photo P.A. Vicary.

Royal Navy battleship HMS Nelson (28) with the destroyer HMS Eclipse (H08) alongside, and the escort aircraft carrier HMS Battler (D18), at anchor in Valletta harbour, Malta, August 1943. Photo source unknown.

The Commander Flying and the Squadron Commander watching from the bridge as a Seafire takes off from HMS Battler (D18), December 1943.

Imperial War Museums, Admiralty Official Collection, photo ©A 21612.

A Fairey Swordfish landing aboard HMS Battler. Date and location unknown.

Aerial starboard view of HMS Battler (D18) underway on 30 December 1944, ferrying F4U Corsair fighters and TBF/TBM Avenger torpedo bombers. The ship is painted in G45 Admiralty Standard Camouflage Scheme with a B20 Panel. (Thanks to Mike Green.)

Photo taken from a Swordfish waiting for its turn to land.