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Commencement Bay-class escort carrier

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USS Commencement Bay
Class overview
BuildersSeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding, Washington
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byCasablanca class
Succeeded byNone
Built1943–1945
In service1944–1957
Planned35
Completed19
Cancelled16
Scrapped19
General characteristics
TypeEscort carrier
Displacement
  • 10,900 long tons (11,075 t) standard
  • 24,100 long tons (24,487 t) full load
Length
  • 525 ft (160 m) wl
  • 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) oa
  • 501 ft (153 m) (fd)
Beam
  • 75 ft (23 m)
  • 105 ft 2 in (32.05 m) flight deck
Draft30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
Installed power16,000 shp (11,931 kW)
Propulsion
Speed19 knots (22 mph; 35 km/h)
Complement1,066 officers and men
Armament
Aircraft carried34

The Commencement Bay-class escort aircraft carriers were the last class of escort carriers built for the US Navy in World War II.

The ships were based on the hull of the Maritime Commission type T3 tanker, which gave them a displacement of approximately 23,000 tons and a length of 557 feet (170 m). Unlike most earlier escort carrier classes, which were laid down as something else and converted to aircraft carriers mid-construction, the Commencement Bays were built as carriers from the keel up. Their general layout was similar to the Sangamon-class escort carriers, but some of the Sangamon's engineering shortcomings were addressed.

They entered service late in World War II – USS Commencement Bay launched on 9 May 1944 – so most of them saw little or no operational service. Thirty-five of them were ordered but many were cancelled prior to completion. Nineteen saw commissioned service in the US Navy, four were broken up on the ways at the end of the war, two were accepted from the builders but never commissioned, and the remainder were cancelled before being laid down.

After the war they were seen as potential helicopter, anti-submarine, or auxiliary (transport) carriers, and a number of ships served in these roles during the Korean War. The oncoming Jet Age ended their careers, as the ships were no longer large enough to safely carry the much larger jet aircraft of the late 1950s, and all units were out of service or reclassified by 1960.

Ships

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All of the Commencement Bay-class escort carriers that were laid down were built by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (a.k.a. Todd Pacific Shipyards) in the Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington yard, in addition to the planned (but unnamed) ships CVE-128 through CVE-131. Planned (but unnamed) ships CVE-132 through CVE-139 were to be built by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, in Vancouver, Washington, but were never laid down.

List of Commencement Bay-class escort carriers
Ship name Hull no. Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Commencement Bay (ex-St. Joseph Bay) CVE-105 23 September 1943 9 May 1944 27 November 1944 30 November 1946 Struck 1 April 1971; Sold for scrap 25 August 1972
Block Island (ex-Sunset Bay) CVE-106 25 October 1943 10 June 1944 30 December 1944 27 August 1954 Struck 1 July 1959; Sold for scrap 23 February 1960
Gilbert Islands (ex-St. Andrews Bay) CVE-107 29 November 1943 20 July 1944 5 February 1945 21 May 1946 Struck 15 October 1976; Sold for scrap 1 November 1979
5 February 1951 15 January 1955
Kula Gulf (ex-Vermillion Bay) CVE-108 16 December 1943 15 August 1944 12 May 1945 3 July 1946 Struck 15 September 1970; Sold for scrap 1971
15 February 1951 15 December 1955
Cape Gloucester (ex-Willapa Bay) CVE-109 10 January 1944 12 September 1944 5 March 1945 5 November 1946 Struck 1 April 1971; Sold for scrap
Salerno Bay (ex-Winjah Bay) CVE-110 7 February 1944 19 October 1944 19 May 1945 4 October 1947 Struck 1 June 1960; Sold for scrap 30 October 1961
20 June 1951 16 February 1954
Vella Gulf (ex-Totem Bay) CVE-111 7 March 1944 19 October 1944 9 April 1945 9 August 1946 Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap 22 October 1971
Siboney (ex-Frosty Bay) CVE-112 1 April 1944 9 November 1944 14 May 1945 6 December 1949 Struck 1 June 1970; Scrapped 1971
22 November 1950 31 July 1956
Puget Sound (ex-Hobart Bay) CVE-113 12 May 1944 20 September 1944 18 June 1945 18 October 1946 Struck 1 June 1960; Sold for scrap 10 January 1962
Rendova (ex-Mosser Bay) CVE-114 15 June 1944 29 December 1944 22 October 1945 27 January 1950 Struck 1 April 1971; Sold for scrap 1971
3 January 1951 30 June 1955
Bairoko (ex-Portage Bay) CVE-115 25 July 1944 25 January 1945 16 July 1945 14 April 1950 Struck 1 April 1960; Sold for scrap January 1961
12 September 1950 18 February 1955
Badoeng Strait (ex-San Alberto Bay) CVE-116 18 August 1944 15 February 1945 14 November 1945 20 April 1946 Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap 8 May 1972
6 January 1947 17 May 1957
Saidor (ex-Saltery Bay) CVE-117 29 September 1944 17 March 1945 4 September 1945 12 September 1947 Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap 22 October 1971
Sicily (ex-Sandy Bay) CVE-118 23 October 1944 14 April 1945 27 February 1946 4 October 1954 Struck 1 July 1960; Sold for scrap 31 October 1960
Point Cruz (ex-Trocadero Bay) CVE-119 4 December 1944 18 May 1945 16 October 1945 30 June 1947 Struck 15 September 1970; Sold for scrap 1971
26 July 1951 31 August 1956
Mindoro CVE-120 2 January 1945 27 June 1945 4 December 1945 4 August 1955 Struck 1 December 1959; Sold for scrap June 1960
Rabaul CVE-121 29 January 1945 14 July 1945 Never commissioned, straight to Reserve Fleet Struck 1 September 1971; Sold for scrap 25 August 1972
Palau CVE-122 19 February 1945 6 August 1945 15 January 1946 15 June 1954 Struck 1 April 1960; Sold for scrap 13 July 1960
Tinian CVE-123 20 March 1945 5 September 1945 Never commissioned, straight to Reserve Fleet Struck 1 June 1970; Sold for scrap 15 December 1971
Bastogne CVE-124 2 April 1945 Cancelled before launching, 12 August 1945
Eniwetok CVE-125 20 April 1945
Lingayen CVE-126 1 May 1945
Okinawa CVE-127 22 May 1945
Unnamed CVE-128 – CVE-139 Cancelled before being laid down, 12 August 1945[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "COMMENCEMENT BAY escort aircraft carriers (1944 - 1946)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
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