USS Natoma Bay
USS Natoma Bay in April, 1944
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Natoma Bay |
Namesake | Natoma Bay in Alaska |
Builder | Kaiser Shipyards |
Laid down | 17 January 1943 |
Launched | 20 July 1943 |
Commissioned | 14 October 1943 |
Decommissioned | 20 May 1946 |
Stricken | 1 September 1958 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 30 July 1959 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Casablanca-class escort carrier |
Displacement | 7,800 tons |
Length | 512 ft (156 m) overall |
Beam | 65 ft (20 m) |
Draft | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
Range | 10,240 nmi (18,960 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 27 |
Service record | |
Part of: |
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Commanders: | Rear Admiral Felix Stump |
Operations: |
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Awards: |
7 Battle stars |
USS Natoma Bay (CVE–62) was a
.Construction and career
She was laid down as Begum (MC hull 1099), on 17 January 1943, by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Inc.,
1943–1944
After her
Departing Majuro on 7 March, Natoma Bay reached
On 19 April she rendezvoused with TF 78 and then steamed toward New Guinea where her planes pounded enemy positions in support of a three pronged attack by Allied land and naval forces against Aitape, Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura), and Tanahmerah Bay, 22 April. During and after the landings, Natoma Bay launched protective air patrols and sent fighters and bombers to destroy Japanese installations in the Aitape area. Returning to Manus for engine repairs, 28 April, she sailed 7 May for Pearl Harbor, arriving 18 May.
After loading 37
There the formation came under enemy air attack. Four
Natoma Bay returned to Eniwetok, 27 June, embarked casualties, and sailed for San Diego, arriving 16 July for availability, logistics and ferry duty. Between 5 September and 14 September she conducted qualification and training exercises for VC-81 (Composite Squadron 81) off Pearl Harbor, and on the 15th, got under way for Manus as a unit of the 3rd Fleet. On 3 October she reached Seeadler Harbor and began final preparations for the invasion of the Philippines.
Assigned to the Escort Carrier Group (TG 77.4), Natoma Bay departed the Admiralties, 12 October, for waters east of the Philippines. After weathering stormy seas, 14–17 October, she commenced offensive flight operations on the 18th. Prior to the invasion, her planes bombed Japanese positions and conducted strafing runs against enemy vehicles and small craft on and around
On 25 October, as Natoma Bay, flagship of Rear Admiral Stump, CTU 77.4.2 ("Taffy 2"), cruised off the eastern entrance to Leyte Gulf, the Japanese launched a tri-force offensive to drive the Allies from Leyte, and from the Philippines. During the early morning hours, the enemy's Southern Force was soundly defeated in Surigao Strait. Surviving Japanese ships retreated into the Mindanao Sea pursued by destroyers, PT boats, and after sunrise, by carrier based aircraft.
At 06:58, "
In a running battle which ensued, the determination of self-sacrificing destroyers and destroyer escorts of "Taffy 3" and fighters and bombers of the three Taffies resulted in an almost unbelievable, but necessary, victory in the Battle off Samar.
Ordered not to concentrate on any particular ship, but to cripple as many as possible, planes from Natoma Bay conducted two strikes against the enemy within an hour and a half. At 09:26 a third strike, with 500 pound SAP bombs in lieu of torpedoes, was launched. At 11:18, a fourth strike was sent off to push the maneuvering enemy away from Leyte Gulf, but with neither torpedoes nor armor-piercing bombs aboard, the planes took off carrying only general-purpose bombs and depth charges. At noon, Natoma Bay's fighters, launched previously for CAP, were landed, rearmed and sent up again. At 12:56 and at 15:08, the 5th and 6th strikes were launched to further pursue the enemy as it retreated toward San Bernardino Strait. Fighter planes, armed with 250-pound (113 kg) general-purpose bombs, were among those dispatched with the last strike.
At the end of that fateful day's operations, TG 77.4, with "Taffy 3" bearing the brunt of the damage, had turned back the Japanese Force. Praise for the escort carrier group was unbounded. They had "...accomplished a task that only a large carrier task force should be expected to undertake..." Natoma Bay's contribution to the earning of this praise included one heavy cruiser sunk, one torpedo plane shot down, and hits on one battleship, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and one destroyer.
The following morning, 26 October, Natoma Bay's planes, continuing to pound the enemy, assisted in the sinking of a light cruiser and her accompanying destroyer in the Visayan Sea and then resumed support of ground forces on Leyte. On the 27th, her fighters strafed Japanese vessels in Ormoc Bay and then swung over Samar where they downed a Kawasaki Ki-61 "Tony". A Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" was bagged on the 28th, and on 30 October the CVE sailed for Seeadler Harbor, arriving 4 November.
Natoma Bay got underway for
During and after the Mindoro landings, 15 December, Natoma Bay provided air cover and ground support, protecting screening vessels from kamikazes and strafing Japanese positions. After recovering her planes on the 16th, she retired to Kossol Roads, thence to Manus, returning to the
1945
On 1 January 1945, Natoma Bay, reassigned to CARDIV 25, sortied once again with ships of an attack force, the target this time, Luzon. There, after battling enemy nuisance and suicide raiders en route, she, with five other CVEs, provided air cover for the Bombardment and Fire Support Group prior to the landings, and direct air support ahead of the amphibious troops after the assault in the San Fabian area. Between the 10th and the 17th her continuous direct air support missions resulted in the damage and destruction of bridges, fuel and ammunition dumps, barracks, roads and vehicles.
After replenishment at Mindoro, Natoma Bay cruised west of Mindoro until the 29th. She then moved into position to support amphibious landings on the west coast of Zambales Province and at Subic Bay, remaining there until 1 February. Her task group, 77.4, then retired, reaching Ulithi on the 5th.
She sortied 10 February with TU 52.2.1, to provide air cover en route to and during the Iwo Jima assault. Between the 16th and the 19th, her planes flew 123 sorties to prepare the way for the assault marines. On D-day, 19 February, 36 sorties provided direct support, while another 16 provided CAP cover. After the 19th, Natoma Bay expanded her duties to include antisubmarine and air coordinator missions, and in March, to anti-shipping assignments.
Natoma Bay departed the Volcano-Bonin area 8 March, entering Ulithi Lagoon on the 11th. There squadron
At 06:35, 7 June, after having maneuvered through typhoon weather, Natoma Bay was closed by a Zero, broad on the port quarter and low on the water. Changing course, it came in over the stern, fired incendiary ammunition at the bridge, and on reaching the island structure, nosed over and crashed the flight deck. The engine, propeller and a bomb tore a hole in the flight deck, 12 by 20 feet (3.7 by 6.1 m), while the explosion of the bomb damaged the deck of the forecastle and the anchor windlass beyond repair and ignited a nearby fighter. Three of Natoma Bay's crew and one officer of VC–9 were wounded. One ship's officer was killed. A second Zero was splashed by the ship's port batteries. The damage control party immediately extinguished the blaze and set about emergency repairs. The next strike was cancelled, but the following one, against Miayako Shima, took place as scheduled at 10:30.
Post-war activities
On 20 June the escort carrier headed for Guam for partial repairs, then continued on to the United States. By 19 August, when she arrived in San Diego, the war was over. During September and October she underwent repairs, alterations and general overhaul, after which she reported for duty as a "Magic Carpet" transport. During November and early December she carried servicemen from the Philippines to California, then after detachment, 29 December, she was transferred to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Decommissioning and disposal
Reporting 20 February 1946, she decommissioned 20 May, berthing at Norfolk. In October 1949, she was reassigned to the Boston Reserve Group. Reclassified CVU–62 on 12 June 1955, she was declared unfit for further service in 1958 and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 September. She was sold on 30 July 1959 for scrap to the Japanese.
Awards
Natoma Bay earned seven
References
- ^ USGS Board of Geographic Names, Natoma Bay
- ^ "Natoma Bay".
- ^ Notice of Separation from US Naval Service, #1712, serial 607-82-16
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Natoma Bay at NavSource Naval History
- Natoma Bay Logbook Project