USS Liscome Bay (ACV/CVE-56) was the second of fifty Casablanca-classescort carriers built to serve the United States Navy during World War II. Launched in April 1943 and commissioned the following August, she was named for Liscome Bay in Dall Island in the Alexander Archipelago of Alaska. On 24 November 1943, her munitions were catastrophically detonated by a torpedo attack by the Japanese submarineI-175 while she was acting as the flagship of Carrier Division 24, which was 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.[3][4][note 1]
A profile of the design of Takanis Bay, which was shared with all Casablanca-class escort carriers.
Liscome Bay was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of aircraft carriers ever built,[6] and designed specifically to be mass-produced using prefabricated sections, in order to replace heavy early war losses. Standardized with her sister ships, she was 512ft 3in (156.13m)long overall, had a beam of 65ft 2in (19.86m), and a draft of 20ft 9in (6.32m). She displaced8,188 long tons (8,319t)standard, 10,902 long tons (11,077t) with a full load. She had a 257ft (78m) long hangar deck and a 477ft (145m) long flight deck. She was powered by two Uniflow reciprocating steam engines which drove two shafts, providing 9,000 horsepower (6,700kW) and enabling her to make 19 knots (35km/h; 22mph). The ship had a cruising range of 10,240 nautical miles (18,960km; 11,780mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28km/h; 17mph). Her compact size necessitated the installment of an aircraft catapult at her bow, and there were two aircraft elevators to facilitate movement of aircraft between the flight and hangar deck: one each fore and aft.[7][6][8]
After being commissioned, Liscome Bay proceeded southwards towards San Diego, California, picking up and ferrying 60 aircraft from San Francisco on the way, arriving on 22 September 1943.[12] For the next month, she engaged in training operations off the Southern California coast. On 11 October, she was designated as the flagship of Carrier Division 24, under the command of Rear AdmiralHenry M. Mullinnix.[13] On 14 October, she received her aircraft contingent, and on 21 October, she departed for Pearl Harbor, arriving a week later, on 27 October. She then conducted additional drills and training exercises off of Hawaii until early November, when she was assigned to the invasion fleet assembling for Operation Kourbash.[14] As a member of Carrier Division 24, she departed from Pearl Harbor on 10 November as part of Task Force 52 commanded by Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner, bound for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. It was to be her first and last mission.[10][15]
Liscome Bay was assigned to the naval forces supporting the invasion of Makin.[16] The invasion bombardment announcing the first major U.S. naval thrust into the central Pacific began on 20 November at 5 a.m. Just 76 hours later, Tarawa and Makin Islands were both captured. Liscome Bay's aircraft had played a vital role in the capture of Makin, providing close air support and bombing Japanese positions.[17] In total, 2,278 sorties were conducted by the carrier task group in support of Operation Galvanic, which neutralized enemy airbases, supported U.S. Army landings and ground operations with bombing and strafing missions, and intercepted enemy aircraft. With the islands secured, U.S. naval forces began retiring.[10] However, Liscome Bay stayed with the rest of her task force as Marines mopped up resistance on Butaritari Island.[18]
Sinking
The invasion of the Gilbert Islands had caught the Japanese command by surprise. Admiral Mineichi Koga, in desperation, issued orders to recall four Japanese submarines southwest of Hawaii and five submarines near Truk and Rabaul to converge on the Gilberts.[19] Of the nine Japanese submarines sent to sortie against the U.S. forces in the Gilberts, six were lost.[20]
On 23 November, however, the submarine I-175, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Sunao Tabata, arrived off Makin.[21] The U.S. task group, built around Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix's three escort carriers, was steaming 20mi (32km) southwest of Butaritari Island at 15 knots.[10] The task group was traveling in a circular formation, with seven destroyers, the cruiserBaltimore, the battleshipsPennsylvania, New Mexico, and Mississippi, and Liscome Bay's two sister ships, Corregidor and Coral Sea, surrounding her. Liscome Bay, as the guide for the group, was located dead center between the other ships. As collisions were deemed to be a greater risk to the ships than a potential submarine attack, the ships were not zig-zagging.[22]
At 04:30 on 24 November, reveille was sounded in Liscome Bay. On 04:34, the destroyer Franks left to investigate a signal beacon, likely dropped from a Japanese plane.[23] This resulted in a gap within Liscome Bay's screen. At 04:36, the radar operators on New Mexico spotted a short-lived blip, which may have represented I-175 diving into position.[23] Flight quarters was sounded at 04:50. The crew went to routine general quarters at 05:05, when flight crews prepared their planes for dawn launching. Thirteen planes, including one forward on the catapult, had been readied on the flight deck. These had all been fueled and armed. There were an additional seven planes in the hangar that were not fueled or armed. She had a large amount of munitions on board, stored below-decks.[24] Meanwhile, the task group executed a turn to the northeast, which brought Liscome Bay to a course presenting her side to I-175. The Japanese submarine fired a spread of at least three Type 95 torpedoes towards the task force.[25]
At about 05:10, a lookout on the starboard (right) side of Liscome Bay reported seeing a torpedo headed for the ship.[24] The torpedo struck behind the aft engine room,[10] as Liscome Bay was conducting its turn, and detonated the bomb magazine, causing a devastating explosion that engulfed the ship and sent shrapnel flying as far as 5,000 yards (4,600m) away.[26] Considerable debris fell on the battleship New Mexico about 1,500 yards (1,400m) off, while a sailor on board the escort carrier Coral Sea was reportedly hit by a fire extinguisher from Liscome Bay.[27] The entire task force was rocked by the explosion, but no other ships were significantly damaged. A mushroom cloud erupted, rising thousands of feet above the wreck of Liscome Bay.[28]
The detonation sheared off nearly the entire stern of the carrier, killing everyone behind the forward bulkhead of the aft engine room. Seawater quickly rushed into the gap, mixing with oil released from the hull.[29] Both the hangar and flight decks were heavily damaged. Parts of the superstructure, including the radar antenna, collapsed onto the deck. The forward part of the hangar was immediately engulfed in flames, igniting the few remaining planes on the flight deck. Planes fell off the carrier's deck. Steam, compressed air, and fire-main pressure were lost throughout the ship. Fires on the flight deck caused ammunition within the burning aircraft and anti-aircraft guns to detonate, further complicating matters.[30] The gasoline coated water surrounding Liscome Bay caught fire, hampering efforts by survivors to escape.[24][31]
It didn't look like a ship at all, we thought it was an ammunition dump... She just went whoom – an orange ball of flame.[26]
Lieutenant John Dix, communications officer on the destroyer Hoel
When Liscome Bay detonated, the rest of the task group immediately conducted evasive maneuvers, scattering from her wreck.[33] At 05:40, the destroyers Morris, Hughes and Hull arrived at the oil slick to rescue survivors, but many of the sailors hauled up were dead or dying. At 06:10, the destroyer Maury spotted two torpedo wakes, one just 15 yards (14m) from the destroyer's hull.[34] A radar operator on New Mexico detected an echo, and Hull was recalled to join Gridley in dropping depth charges. Macdonough took Hull's place in picking up survivors. At 08:00, the search operation was concluded.[35] Of the 916[note 2] crewmen aboard Liscome Bay, 644, including Wiltsie, Mullinnix, and Miller (Cook 3rd Class Doris Miller, see "Notable crew" below), went down with the ship, whilst 272 survived. Many of the survivors died of wounds soon afterwards for a total of 702 killed from Liscome Bay. Including those lost on Liscome Bay, U.S. casualties in the assault on Makin Island exceeded the strength of the entire Japanese garrison.[4]
Aftermath
Burial at sea aboard troopship Leonard Wood of two Liscome Bay sailors, victims of the submarine attack by I-175. In the foreground facing the ceremony are survivors of Liscome Bay.
The survivors were transferred at Makin Lagoon from the destroyers onto the attack transports Leonard Wood and Neville.[36] On Thanksgiving night, two of the survivors died, and were buried at sea.[37] On 2 December, the navy announced that Liscome Bay had been sunk off Makin Island.[38]
↑ The bomb strike on the fleet carrier Franklin was deadlier, with 807 killed, but she did not sink, and was later repaired.[5]
↑ The crew figures for Liscome Bay vary widely, owing to transferred crew and the ship's status as the flagship for Carrier Division 24. In the ship's official navy history, the crew count is listed as 911, whilst in Lieutenant Commander Oliver Ames's action report, the crew count is listed as 948. For the purposes of this article, the crew count is listed as 916, in correspondence with DANFS.
Chesneau, Robert; Gardiner, Robert (1980), Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, ISBN9780870219139
Hornfischer, J.D. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. p.67.
War Damage Report No. 45. U.S. Hydrographic Office. 10 March 1944. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
Y'Blood, William (2014), The Little Giants: U.S. Escort Carriers Against Japan, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, ISBN9781612512471
Further reading
Beasley, James C. "Get the hell off this ship!": Memoir of a USS Liscome Bay Survivor in World War II, Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2018. ISBN978-1-47663-236-0.
Fahey, James J. Pacific War Diary: 1942–1945, The Secret Diary of an American Sailor, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. ISBN0-395-64022-9.
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the United States Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes. Escort carriers were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. This was their principal advantage as they could be completed in greater numbers as a stop-gap when fleet carriers were scarce. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable, and several were sunk with great loss of life. The light carrier was a similar concept to the escort carrier in most respects, but was fast enough to operate alongside fleet carriers.
The Casablanca-class escort carrier was a series of escort carriers constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. They are the most numerous class of aircraft carriers ever built. Fifty were laid down, launched and commissioned within the space of less than two years – 3 November 1942 through to 8 July 1944. Despite their numbers, and the preservation of more famous and larger carriers as museums, none of these modest ships survive today. Five were lost to enemy action during World War II and the remainder were scrapped.
USS Casablanca (AVG/ACV/CVE-55) was the first of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after the Naval Battle of Casablanca, conducted as a part of the wider Operation Torch, which pitted the United States Navy against the remnants of the French Navy controlled by Vichy France. The American victory cleared the way for the seizure of the port of Casablanca as well as the Allied occupation of French Morocco. The ship was launched in April 1943, commissioned in July, and served as a training and transport carrier throughout the war. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. She was decommissioned in June 1946, when she was mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold for scrap in April 1947.
USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95) was the fortieth of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built to serve the United States Navy during World War II; she was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Completed in May 1944, she served in support of the Philippines campaign, and the landings on Iwo Jima. On 21 February 1945, she sank off of Iwo Jima due to two Japanese kamikaze attacks, killing 318 crewmen. Notably, she was the last aircraft carrier in U.S. service to sink due to enemy action.
USS Hollandia (CVE-97) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was named after the Battle of Hollandia, a successful amphibious operation during the New Guinea campaign. Launched in April 1944, and commissioned in June, she served in support of the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in January 1947, when she was mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrap in December 1960.
USS Makin Island (CVE-93) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. It was named for the 1942 Makin raid, an early diversionary raid designed to distract from the Guadalcanal campaign and the Tulagi campaign. Launched in April 1944, and commissioned in May, she served in support of 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 ultimately sold for scrapping in January 1947.
USS Salamaua (CVE-96) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was named after the invasion of Salamaua, a strategically important village in the New Guinea Theater during World War II, and one of the main targets of the Salamaua–Lae campaign. She served with distinction during the war, notably being damaged in early 1945 by a kamikaze aircraft during the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, killing 15 crewmen and injuring 88. Post war, the ship helped repatriate servicemen to the United States as part of Operation Magic Carpet before being decommissioned and struck in 1946, and ultimately being broken up in 1947.
USS St. Lo (AVG/ACV/CVE–63) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy during World War II. On 25 October 1944, St. Lo became the first major warship to sink as the result of a kamikaze attack. The attack occurred during the Battle off Samar, part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf.
USS Cape Esperance (CVE-88) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was named after the Battle of Cape Esperance, an inconclusive naval engagement in support of the Guadalcanal campaign. Built for service during World War II, the ship was launched in March 1944, and commissioned in April, and served as a replenishment carrier. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in August 1946, when she was mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. However, she was recommissioned in August 1950, and assigned to become an auxiliary vessel as a part of Military Sealift Command. She was decommissioned again in January 1959, and ultimately, she was sold for scrapping in May 1959.
USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was named after Fanshaw Bay, located within Cape Fanshaw, of the Alexander Archipelago in the Territory of Alaska. The cape was given its name by Charles Mitchell Thomas, who was mapping the area, in 1887. Built for service during World War II, the ship was launched in November 1943, and commissioned in December, and served in support of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Battle off Samar, and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in August 1946, when she was mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrapping in September 1959.
USS Hoggatt Bay (CVE-75) was the twenty-first of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Hoggatt Bay, which was named in 1895 by Lieutenant commander E. K. Moore after Wilford Bacon Hoggatt, an ensign serving in Moore's party at the time. The bay is located within Baranof Island, part of the Alexander Archipelago, which at the time was a part of the Territory of Alaska. She was launched in December 1943, commissioned in January 1944, and she served in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf as a part of the Philippines campaign, as well as the Battle of Okinawa. Post-war, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from around the Pacific. She was decommissioned in July 1946, being mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was broken up in 1960.
USS Ommaney Bay (CVE–79) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy, which served during World War II. It was named after Ommaney Bay, located at the south end of Baranof Island, Alaska. Launched in late 1943 and commissioned in early 1944, the ship took part in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign followed by several battles during the Philippines campaign in 1944 and early 1945. She was heavily damaged in a kamikaze attack and subsequently scuttled on 4 January 1945, with the loss of 95 men, including two men on board the destroyer escort Eichenberger who were killed by flying debris. She earned 2 battle stars whilst in service. In 2023, the Navy History and Heritage command announced that the wreck was located by "a combination of underwater survey and video information provided by Sea Scan Survey and DPT Scuba, two Australian diving firms, to positively identify the wreck."
USS Solomons (CVE-67) was the thirteenth of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first Navy vessel named after the Solomon Islands campaign, a lengthy operation that most famously included the Guadalcanal campaign, albeit she was not the first named Solomons. The ship was launched in October 1943, commissioned in November, and served in anti-submarine operations during the Battle of the Atlantic, as well as in other miscellaneous training and transport missions. Her frontline duty consisted of four anti-submarine patrols, with her third tour being the most notable, when her aircraft contingent sank the German submarine U-860 during her third combat patrol. She was decommissioned in August 1946, being mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was broken up in 1947.
USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE-86) was the thirty-second of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Sitkoh Bay, located within Chichagof Island, of the Territory of Alaska. The ship was launched in February 1944, commissioned in March, and served as a replenishment and transport carrier throughout the Philippines campaign, the Invasion of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. She was decommissioned in November 1946, when she was mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. With the outbreak of the Korean War, however, she was called back to service, continuing to serve as a transport and utility carrier with the Military Sealift Command until 1954, when she was once again decommissioned, and mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was broken up in January 1961.
USS Sargent Bay (CVE-83) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was named after Sargent Bay, located within Revillagigedo Island, and was built for service during World War II. Launched in January 1944, and commissioned in March 1944, she 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, when she was mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrapping in July 1959.
USS Savo Island (CVE-78) was the twenty-fourth of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named to memorialize the U.S. casualties of the Battle of Savo Island, which was fought as part of the Guadalcanal campaign. The ship was launched in December 1943, commissioned in February 1944, and served as a frontline carrier throughout the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and the Philippines campaign. During the Battle of Okinawa, she provided air cover for the replenishment carrier fleet. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. She was decommissioned in December 1946, when she was mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrapping in February 1960.
USS Hoel (DD-533) was a Fletcher-class destroyer built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Lieutenant Commander William R. Hoel. Commissioned in 1943, she was sunk in the Battle off Samar during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 25, 1944.
Henry Maston Mullinnix was a United States Navy aviator and admiral who served in World War I and World War II. Mullinnix was killed in action while commanding a Navy escort carrier division and task force group when his flagship, the escort carrier USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), was sunk by a Japanese submarine near the Gilbert Islands during World War II. He was the fourth of five US Navy admirals killed in battle during WWII, including: Isaac C. Kidd ; Norman Scott and Daniel J. Callaghan ; and Theodore E. Chandler.
Irving Day Wiltsie was a United States Navy captain who was killed in action in 1943 while commanding an escort carrier in the Gilbert Islands location, in the Central Pacific during World War II. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously, the second highest combat decoration for valor after the Medal of Honor.
I-75, later I-175, was an Imperial Japanese Navy Kaidai-type cruiser submarine of the KD6B sub-class commissioned in 1938. During World War II, she took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Aleutian Islands campaign, and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and operated off Australia, before she was sunk in 1944 during her tenth war patrol. She is best known for sinking the United States Navy escort carrier USS Liscome Bay on 24 November 1943.
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