WW2 US Escort Carriers Named After Alaska Bays
During WW2 the US Navy built 50 Casablanca Class escort carriers. Thirteen of them were named as part of a tradition of escort carriers being named after bays or sounds in Alaska. One was also named after the Battle of Attu. The following is a list of those vessels and some of their history.
USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE-86) was named after Sitkoh Bay, located near Chichagof Island, of the Territory of Alaska. The ship was commissioned in March 1944, and served as a replenishment and transport carrier between California and various bases scattered throughout the Central and South Pacific, serving throughout the Philippines campaign, the invasion of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. She was decommissioned in November 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. With the outbreak of the Korean War, she was called back to service, to serve as a transport with the Military Sealift Command until 1954, when she was once again decommissioned, and mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped in January 1961.
USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56 was commissioned in August 1943. She was named for Liscome Bay near Dall Island in the Alexander Archipelago of Alaska. On 24 November 1943, her munitions were catastrophically detonated by a torpedo attack by the Japanese submarine I-175, while she was acting as the flagship of Carrier Division 24 supporting operations on Makin. She quickly sank with the loss of 702 officers and sailors. Her loss is the deadliest sinking of a carrier in the history of the United States Navy.
USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) was named after Gambier Bay on Admiralty Island in the Alaska Panhandle. She was commissioned on 28 December 1943, and originally classified as AVG-73, reclassified ACV-73 on 20 August 1942, and again reclassified CVE-73 on 15 July 1943. She was lost during a Battle off Samar, a part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, during a successful effort to turn back a much larger attacking Japanese surface force. Gambier Bay was sunk by naval gunfire, primarily from the battleship Yamato. She was the only American aircraft carrier sunk by enemy surface gunfire during World War II.
USS Shipley Bay (CVE-85) was named after Shipley Bay, which is located within Kosciusko Island. The bay was named after Ensign John H. Shipley, an officer on a ship surveying the Alexander Archipelago. Shipley Bay was commissioned in March 1944, and served in support of the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, which repatriated American troops back to the US. She was decommissioned in June 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold for scrap in October 1959.
USS Saginaw Bay (CVE-82) was named after Saginaw Bay, located within Kuiu Island. The bay was in turn named after USS Saginaw, a U.S. Navy sloop-of-war that spent 1868 and 1869 charting and exploring the Alaskan coast. Commissioned in March of 1944, she served in support of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Philippines campaign, the Invasion of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in April 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold for scrapping in November 1959.
USS Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) was named after Shamrock Bay, located near Baranof Island, in the Territory of Alaska. The ship was commissioned in March 1944, and served in support of the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, the Invasion of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in July 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped in November 1959
USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80) was named after Petrof Bay, which in turn was named in 1928 after Ivan Petroff, a Russian Alaskan who served as a special census agent for the 1880 United States census. The bay is located near Kuiu Island, which at the time was a part of the Territory of Alaska. The ship was commissioned in February 1944, and served in support of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Philippines campaign, including the Battle off Samar, the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. She was decommissioned in July 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was scrapped in September 1959.
USS Kasaan Bay (CVE-69) was named after Kasaan Bay, a name assigned to the bay by the local Haida Indians. The bay is located within Prince of Wales Island, which at the time was a part of the Territory of Alaska. She was commissioned in December of 1943, and served as a transport carrier in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, as well as taking part in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of occupied Southern France. Her aircraft provided air support and strategic bombing capabilities, disrupting German supply lines, and earning Kasaan Bay a battle star. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned on 1 March 1959. She was scrapped in March 1960.
USS Takanis Bay (CVE-89) was named after Takanis Bay on the west side of Yakobi Island in Alaska, near Sitka. She was commissioned in April 1944, and served as a carrier training vessel, operating off of San Diego. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. S he was decommissioned on 1 August 1959. She was scrapped in June 1960.
USS Thetis Bay (CVE-90) was named after Thetis Bay, located within Kuiu Island, after the US Revenue Service Cutter Thetis, which in turn was named after the sea nymph Thetis. She was commissioned in April 1944, and served as a transport carrier in the Pacific, and replenishment carrier supporting the bombardment of Tokyo and the Main Islands. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, before being decommissioned in August 1946, and mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was reactivated in July 1956, and converted to a helicopter transport carrier, serving in relief operations in Taiwan and Haiti. Ultimately, she was scrapped in 1966, the last Casablanca-class hull to be disposed of.
USS Nehenta Bay (CVE-74) was named after Nehenta Bay, located near Gravina Island. She was commissioned in January 1944, and served in support of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in May 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped in June 1960.
USS Rudyerd Bay (CVE-81) was named after Rudyerd Bay, within Ketchikan Gateway Borough, of the Territory of Alaska. Today, the bay lies within Misty Fjords National Monument. The ship was commissioned in February 1944, and served as a replenishment and transport carrier throughout the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, and the Philippines campaign. Later, she served as a frontline carrier, providing air cover and support for the invasion of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in June 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped in January 1960.
USS Sargent Bay (CVE-83) was named after Sargent Bay, located near Revillagigedo Island. She was commissioned in March 1944, and served in support of the Invasion of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in June 1946, and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped in July 1959.
USS Attu (CVE-102) was named after the Battle of Attu in the Aleutian Islands. She was commissioned in June 1944, and served as a transport carrier, ferrying aircraft, and as a replenishment carrier, supporting the Invasion of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in June 1946. After a failed acquisition attempt by a Jewish Agency, for use during the Exodus, she was scrapped in 1949.