USS Makassar Strait
USS Makassar Strait at dock, 1951
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Makassar Strait |
Namesake | Battle of Makassar Strait |
Ordered | as a MCE hull 1128[1] |
Awarded | 18 June 1942 |
Builder | Kaiser Shipyards |
Laid down | 29 December 1943 |
Launched | 22 March 1944 |
Commissioned | 27 April 1944 |
Decommissioned | 9 August 1946 |
Stricken | 1 September 1958 |
Identification | Hull symbol: CVE-91 |
Honors and awards | 2 Battle stars |
Fate | Grounded and used as a target, April 1961 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Casablanca-class escort carrier |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam |
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Draft | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) (max) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Range | 10,240 nmi (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 27 |
Aviation facilities | |
Service record | |
Part of: |
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Operations: |
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USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91) was a
Design and description
Makassar Strait was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of
One
Construction
Her construction was awarded to
Service history
Upon being commissioned, Makassar Strait underwent a shakedown cruise down the West Coast to
For the next three months, until the new year, she served yet again as a training carrier in the waters surrounding Hawaii, hosting a dozen different air groups on her deck. Captain Herbert D. Riley assumed command on January 10, 1945. About 6,700 landings were made on her flight deck, as she conducted various types of exercises. After loading her permanent aircraft contingent, Composite Squadron 97 (VC-97), she departed Pearl Harbor on 29 January 1945, and was assigned to Task Group 50.8 (Logistics Support Group). She stopped at Enewetak Atoll, before assuming her role protecting convoys supporting the frontline Fast Carrier Task Force. She also provided air screens for the transfer of replacement aircraft to their carriers.[8][9]
She was assigned to a support carrier group on 8 April, and began conducting operations with the main strike group of Task Group 52.1. She consequently began combat operations over
After retiring from Okinawa, she arrived at
On 4 November, she left San Diego, and joined the "Magic Carpet" fleet, which repatriated U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. She sailed for Pearl Harbor, where she shipped troops to the Marshall Islands. She then stopped at Kwajalein, where she took on 1,092 veterans, and sailed back to the West Coast, arriving at San Diego on 29 November. On 4 December, she left for Guam, returning on 3 January 1946, repatriating a further 1,123 veterans back to the United States. She departed San Diego on 5 January, heading to Tacoma, Washington, making a stop at San Francisco. Upon arriving on 12 January, she was mothballed with the 19th Fleet, which would later become known as the Pacific Reserve Fleet.[8]
She was declassified and decommissioned on 9 August 1946. She was reclassified as CVU-91 on 12 June 1955. On 28 August 1958, she was authorized to be used as a target and destroyed, and she was struck from the
References
- ^ a b Kaiser Vancouver 2010.
- ^ a b c Chesneau & Gardiner 1980, p. 109
- ^ Y'Blood 2014, pp. 34–35
- ^ a b Hazegray 1998.
- ^ Y'Blood 2014, p. 350
- ^ Maksel 2012.
- ^ Stubblebine 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f DANFS 2016.
- ^ Y'Blood 2014, p. 328
- ^ Y'Blood 2014, p. 363
- ^ Grobmeier 2004
Sources
Online sources
- "Makassar Strait (CVE-91)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- "Kaiser Vancouver, Vancouver WA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 27 November 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- "World Aircraft Carriers List: US Escort Carriers, S4 Hulls". Hazegray.org. 14 December 1998. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- Maksel, Rebecca (14 August 2012). "How Do You Name an Aircraft Carrier?". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- Stubblebine, Daniel (June 2011). "Escort Carrier Makin Island (CVE-93)". ww2db.com. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Robert; Gardiner, Robert (1980), Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, ISBN 9780870219139
- Y'Blood, William (2014), The Little Giants: U.S. Escort Carriers Against Japan (ISBN 9781612512471
- Grobmeier, A. H. (2004). "Question 39/03: Loss of Makassar Strait (CVU-91)". Warship International. XLI (4): 339. ISSN 0043-0374.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91) at NavSource Naval History
- U.S.S. Makassar Strait Regimental History (1946)