USS Salerno Bay

Last updated

USS Salerno Bay (CVE-110).jpg
USS Salerno Bay in the early 1950s
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Salerno Bay
Namesake Landings at Salerno, Italy
Builder Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down7 February 1944
Launched26 September 1944
Commissioned19 May 1945
Decommissioned16 February 1954
Stricken1 June 1961
FateScrapped, 1962
General characteristics
Class and type Commencement Bay-class escort carrier
Displacement21,397 long tons (21,740  t)
Length557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) loa
Beam75 ft (23 m)
Draft32 ft (9.8 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement1,066
Armament
Aircraft carried33
Aviation facilities2 × aircraft catapults

USS Salerno Bay (ex-Winjah Bay) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier built by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation for the United States Navy during World War II. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

Contents

Design

In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay class, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. [1] They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft. [2] [3]

Salerno Bay was 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) long overall, with a beam of 75 ft (23 m) at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft 2 in (32.05 m) at maximum. She displaced 21,397 long tons (21,740 t) at full load, of which 12,876 long tons (13,083 t) could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft 11 in (8.51 m). The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men. [4]

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16,000  shp (12,000 kW) for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23,900 nautical miles (44,300 km; 27,500 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [4]

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm (2 in) Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm (1 in) Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck. [4]

Service history

World War II

Salerno off New York City in May 1946 USS Salerno Bay (CVE-110) off New York in May 1946.jpg
Salerno off New York City in May 1946

The first fifteen ships of the Commencement Bay class were ordered on 23 January 1943, allocated to Fiscal Year 1944. [2] The ship, originally named Winjah Bay, was built at the Todd-Pacific Shipyards in Tacoma, Washington. She was laid down on 7 February 1944, and during construction, she was renamed Salerno Bay, after the invasion of Salerno in Sicily the previous year. Salerno Bay was launched on 26 September and three days later, was moved to the Commercial Iron Works of Portland, Oregon, to complete fitting out. The ship was commissioned into active service on 19 May 1945. Toward the end of June, Salerno Bay embarked Marine Carrier Group 5, which consisted of fighter squadron VMF-514 and torpedo bomber squadron VTMB-144. She then cruised off southern California for training exercises before deploying to combat theaters in the western Pacific. [5] [6]

On 17 August, two days after Japan announced it would surrender, Salerno Bay left California. Since the war was now over, she embarked the composite squadron VC-68 to transport it overseas. She stopped in Hawaii on the way, where she conducted training exercises for her marine aviators. She eventually arrived in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on 21 September, and later moved to Hagushi. In early October, an approaching typhoon forced her to go to sea to avoid bring driven ashore by the strong winds. She arrived back in Hagushi on 12 October, but departed two days later as part of the fleet covering the Chinese Nationalist force that moved to Formosa to take control of the island from the defeated Japanese. Salerno Bay then departed the western Pacific, bound for Saipan in the Mariana Islands, where she stayed for three weeks. She then moved to nearby Guam and embarked American service members to take them back to the United States. She sailed back to San Diego, by way of Pearl Harbor, arriving in early December. [6]

Atlantic Fleet service

A Piasecki HUP Retriever aboard Salerno Bay in 1952 Piasecki HUP Retriever of HU-2 aboard USS Salerno Bay (CVE-110), in 1952.jpg
A Piasecki HUP Retriever aboard Salerno Bay in 1952

In mid-December, Salerno Bay was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet; she departed for the East Coast of the United States soon thereafter, passed through the Panama Canal, and arrived in her new home port at Norfolk, Virginia, on 23 December. In her new assignment, she was tasked with training new carrier pilots and qualifying them for carrier operations. She spent 1946 and into 1947 cruising off the East Coast, as far south as the Caribbean Sea, performing her training duties. In early 1947, the Navy ordered Salerno Bay to be laid up in reserve; in June, she moved from Norfolk to Boston, where the work to preserve the ship for a lengthy period out of service was done. She was decommissioned on 4 October and allocated to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 20 June 1951, when she was recommissioned. [6]

After returning to active service, she conducted a shakedown cruise before joining Carrier Division 18 in October. She participated in training exercises with the rest of the division off the Virginia Capes and the Caribbean in November and December. She returned to Norfolk on 18 December for three weeks, before getting underway again on 7 January 1952 for another training period in the Caribbean. In early February, she returned to Norfolk, but her stay there was brief. By March, she had returned to the Caribbean and was patrolling off Puerto Rico. Another training period off the Virginia Capes followed from April to July. Salerno Bay departed the East Coast on 26 August for a voyage to Europe. She joined the ships of Task Force 173 on the way, and the squadron took part in joint training maneuvers off Norway with other vessels from NATO fleets in September. Salerno Bay sailed south to Gibraltar in early October and then cruised in the Mediterranean Sea with the Sixth Fleet for the next month. In late November, she passed back through the Strait of Gibraltar, arriving back in Norfolk on 7 December. She then resumed her normal routine of training exercises off the East Coast and in the Caribbean, which lasted into 1953. [6]

In early 1953, the Navy decided to return Salerno Bay to the reserve fleet. She returned to Boston on 8 June to be prepared for inactivation. She was decommissioned there again on 16 February 1954. [6] By this time, the Navy had begun replacing the Commencement Bay-class ships with much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers, since the former were too small to operate newer and more effective anti-submarine patrol planes. Proposals to radically rebuild the Commencement Bays either with an angled flight deck and various structural improvements or lengthen their hulls by 30 ft (9.1 m) and replace their propulsion machinery to increase speed came to nothing, as they were deemed to be too expensive. [7] In 1959, she was reclassified with the hull number AKV-10, but she remained out of service. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1961 and sold to the ship breaking firm Revalorizacion de Materiales, S.A., and handed over to be scrapped on 14 December. [6] Salerno Bay was broken up the following year in Bilbao, Spain. [8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Friedman 1986, pp. 107–111.
  2. 1 2 Friedman 1983, p. 199.
  3. ↑ Stille, p. 47.
  4. 1 2 3 Friedman 1986, p. 111.
  5. ↑ Silverstone 2012, p. 27.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DANFS.
  7. ↑ Friedman 1983, pp. 339–342.
  8. ↑ Silverstone 1965, p. 444.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Badoeng Strait</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Badoeng Strait was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy during the Korean War. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Bairoko</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Bairoko was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy in service from 1945 to 1955. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Rabaul</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Rabaul was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage. She was delivered on 30 August 1946, but never commissioned. After spending 26 years in reserve, she was scrapped in 1973.

USS <i>Tarawa</i> (CV-40) Essex-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy

USS Tarawa was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the bloody 1943 Battle of Tarawa. Tarawa was commissioned in December 1945, too late to serve in World War II. After serving a short time in the Far East, she was decommissioned in 1949. She was soon recommissioned after the Korean War began, serving in the Atlantic as a replacement for carriers sent to Korea. In the early 1950s, she was redesignated an attack carrier (CVA) and then an antisubmarine warfare carrier (CVS). Except for one tour in the Far East, she spent her entire second career operating in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Consequently, Tarawa was the only ship of her class to never see combat action.

USS <i>Palau</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Palau was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Tinian</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Tinian was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Mindoro</i> (CVE-120) Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Mindoro was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The ship was a converted oil tanker, and she had a capacity to carry up to thirty-three aircraft. She was built during World War II, but was completed too late to see action during the conflict. She nevertheless saw service with the 8th Fleet in the late 1940s and early 1950s in the Atlantic Ocean. She also made two deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, in 1950 and 1954, before being decommissioned in January 1955 and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was retained for just four years before being struck from the naval register in December 1959 and thereafter scrapped.

USS <i>Point Cruz</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Point Cruz was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Saidor</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Saidor was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Sicily</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Sicily was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier in the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Commencement Bay</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Commencement Bay (CVE-105), the lead ship of her class, was an escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage. Commencement Bay was employed as a training ship during the war, training new crews for the other members of her class as they were completed. She saw no active service after the war ended in 1945, instead being assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, and was eventually sold for scrap in 1972.

USS <i>Cape Gloucester</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Cape Gloucester was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy, in service from 5 March 1945 to 5 November 1946. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes, and due to their origin as tankers and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, had extensive fuel storage. After spending another 25 years in the reserve fleet, the ship was scrapped in 1971.

USS <i>Block Island</i> (CVE-106) Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Block Island was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Gilbert Islands</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Gilbert Islands was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Kula Gulf</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Kula Gulf was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was originally named Vermillion Bay, but was renamed during construction. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Siboney</i> (CVE-112) Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Siboney was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Rendova</i> Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Rendova was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Puget Sound</i> (CVE-113) Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Puget Sound was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Vella Gulf</i> (CVE-111) Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Vella Gulf was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy, originally named Totem Bay. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

USS <i>Springfield</i> (CL-66) US Navy light cruiser ship

USS Springfield was a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, which were built during World War II. The class was designed as a development of the earlier Brooklyn-class cruisers, the size of which had been limited by the First London Naval Treaty. The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the Clevelands used the same hull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier. The Clevelands carried a main battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four three-gun turrets, along with a secondary armament of twelve 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns. They had a top speed of 32.5 knots.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.