USS Sicily

	USS Sicily in April of 1954
History
United States
Name	USS Sicily
Builder	Todd Pacific Shipyards
Laid down	23 October 1944
Launched	14 April 1945
Commissioned	27 February 1946
Decommissioned	4 Oct 1954
Stricken	1 July 1960
Fate	Sold for scrap, 31 October 1960
General characteristics
Class and type	Commencement Bay-class escort carrier
Displacement	21,397 long tons (21,740 t)
Length	557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) loa
Beam	75 ft (23 m)
Draft	32 ft (9.8 m)
Installed power	16,000 shp (12,000 kW); 4 × boilers ;
Propulsion	2 × Steam turbines ; 2 × screw propellers ;
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	1,066
Armament	2 × 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns ; 36 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors AA guns ; 20 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns;
Aircraft carried	33
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults

Last updated April 28, 2024

USS Sicily (CVE-118) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier in the United States Navy. She was named in honor of the island of Sicily, which was the site of a major invasion during World War II. Sicily was laid down on 23 October 1944 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Tacoma, Washington, as Sandy Bay; launched on 14 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Julius Vanderwiele; renamed Sicily on 5 June 1945; and commissioned on 27 February 1946, Capt. B. W. Wright in command.

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]

Sicily 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.^[2]

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).^[2]

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.^[2]

Service history

Sicily fitted out at Portland, Oregon, loaded supplies at Seattle, and then sailed for San Diego where she held shakedown training during April and May. On 15 May, she was ordered to proceed to New York City, via the Panama Canal and Norfolk, Virginia. The carrier entered the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 6 June and remained there until 30 September when she sailed to NS Argentia, Newfoundland, to conduct cold weather training.

During the remainder of 1946 and until 3 April 1950, Sicily operated with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet out of her home port of Norfolk. At that time, she was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet with San Diego as her home port, arriving there on 28 April. The carrier was scheduled to conduct antisubmarine warfare exercises during the summer, but the invasion of South Korea by the North Koreans, on 25 June, caused a radical change in her operating plans. Sicily was notified on 2 July that she was needed in the Far East; and she sailed, two days later, for the first of three deployments to Korean waters. Sicily was designated flagship of Carrier Division (CarDiv) 15 and on 3 August launched aircraft of VMF-214 on their first air strike in support of Allied ground forces. During this tour, she supported ground operations at Pohang, the Inchon landing, the advance to Seoul, and the withdrawal of the marines from the Chosin Reservoir to Hungnam before returning to San Diego on 5 February 1951. On her second tour with the 7th Fleet, from 13 May to 12 October 1951, Sicily operated on both the east and west coast of Korea. Her last tour during the Korean War was from 8 May to 4 December 1952, and she served with the United Nations Escort and Blockading Force. Sicily was deployed to the Far East again from 14 July 1953 to 25 February 1954.

Honors and awards

Navy Unit Commendation
American Campaign Medal	World War II Victory Medal	National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal (6 battle stars)	United Nations Korean Medal	Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Decommissioning

Upon her return to the United States West Coast, Sicily was placed in reserve, out of commission, with the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1960 and sold to the Nicolai Joffe Corporation on 31 October 1960 for scrap.

Gallery

U.S. Navy Captain John S. Thach, commanding officer of Sicily, discusses a mission with two United States Marine Corps pilots from his ship while aboard Sicily off the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War.

Notes

↑ Friedman, pp. 107–111.
1 2 3 Friedman, p. 111.

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References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .

Friedman, Norman (1986). "United States of America". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 105–133. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
"Sicily (CVE-118)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

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[FOOTNOTEFriedman107–111-1] Friedman, pp. 107–111.

[FOOTNOTEFriedman111-2] 1 2 3 Friedman, p. 111.

[1]

[2]

v t e Commencement Bay-class escort carriers
Commencement Bay Block Island Gilbert Islands Kula Gulf Cape Gloucester Salerno Bay Vella Gulf Siboney Puget Sound Rendova Bairoko Badoeng Strait Saidor Sicily Point Cruz Mindoro Rabaul ^N Palau Tinian ^N Bastogne ^X Eniwetok ^X Lingayen ^X Okinawa ^X CVE-128 – CVE-139 (Unnamed)^X
Preceded by: Casablanca class Followed by: None
N Never commissioned X Cancelled
List of escort carriers of the United States Navy