No. 811 Naval Air Squadron on board left the Clyde to join the westbound convoy ON 207 which arrived at Argentia untroubled on 5 November. They left Argentia on 7 November to support convoy HX 265. Biter was the lead ship in the 5th Support Group, with the destroyers , Opportune and Obdurate. They, together with the 7th Escort Group, were tasked to sail and respectively ahead of the convoy. The intention was they would detect the two large concentrations of U-boats, that were known to be waiting for the next eastbound convoy. Aircraft from Biter made several U-boat sightings but did not sink any; one was reported as probably being damaged on 10 November. On 16 November a Swordfish coming into land crashed into the sea behind Biter. The force of the crash released the plane's homing torpedo which detonated on the carrier's rudder. The explosion damaged the steering, rudder assembly and some hull plates below the waterline. Once she reached Britain, it took four weeks to repair the damage. French service Biter was returned to the US Navy on 9 April 1945. She underwent a refit and was lent to the French Navy, where she was renamed Dixmude. The Flotille 3FB equipped with Douglas Dauntless dive bombers served on the ship between 1945 and 1949 during several campaigns in French Indochina. On 24 January 1951 she was removed from the US Navy register and disarmed during her next refit between 1951–1953. She then became an accommodation ship until 1965, when she was returned to the US Navy, who sank her as a target ship on 10 June 1966. Notes Citations Bibliography Further reading Avenger-class escort carriers 1940 ships Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom Aircraft carriers of the French Navy World War II aircraft carriers of France Maritime incidents in 1966 Ships sunk as targets