Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships

Defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) was an Admiralty Trade Division programme established in June 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft. The acronym DEMS was used to describe the ships carrying the guns, the guns aboard the ships, the military personnel manning the guns, and the shore establishment supporting the system. This followed a similar World War I program of defensively armed merchant ships (DAMS). The program was distinct from armed merchant cruiser program, which were warships converted from civilian vessels, operated by the Royal Navy itself.