HMS Audacity was a British escort carrier of the Second World War and the first of her kind to serve in the Royal Navy. She was originally the German merchant ship Hannover, which the British captured in the West Indies in March 1940 and renamed Sinbad, then Empire Audacity. She was converted and commissioned as HMS Empire Audacity, then as HMS Audacity. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in late 1941. History Hannover Hannover was a 5,537 GRT cargo liner built by Bremer Vulkan Schiff- und Maschinenbau, Vegesack and launched on 29 March 1939. She was owned by Norddeutscher Lloyd and plied between Germany and the West Indies on the banana run. Hannovers port of registry was Bremen. When World War II began, Hannover sought refuge in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. In March 1940, Hannover attempted to return to Germany as a blockade runner. She was sighted between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico on the night of 7/8 March by the light cruiser and the Canadian destroyer . Hannover was ordered to stop, but ignored the order and tried to reach the neutral waters of the Dominican Republic. When Dunedin and Assiniboine intercepted Hannover, Captain Wahnschaff ordered the seacocks opened and the ship set on fire. A boarding party from Dunedin closed the sea cocks and Hannover was taken under tow. However, it took four days for the salvage crew to put out the fire. Hannover was then towed to Jamaica, arriving on 11 March. Acting Lieutenant A. W. Hughes of Dunedin was mentioned in despatches for his part in securing Hannover. Damage was mainly confined to her electrical system. Sinbad Hannover was renamed Sinbad, given a UK Official Number and assigned new Code Letters. Her port of registry was changed to Kingston, Jamaica, under the British flag. Her cargo included 29 barrels of pickled sheep pelts, which were offered for sale by tender in August 1940 as a result of being declared as prize. Empire Audacity Sinbad was renamed Empire Audacity as one of the Empire ships of the Ministry of War Transport and was commissioned as an "Ocean Boarding Vessel" on 11 November. Her port of registry was changed to London. She was placed under the management of Cunard White Star Line Ltd. On 22 January 1941, she was sent to Blyth Dry Docks & Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Blyth to be rebuilt as an escort carrier. Britain