- USS Shipley Bay (CVE-85)
USS "Shipley Bay" (CVE-85) was an "Casablanca" class
escort carrier of theUnited States Navy . She was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1122) on22 November 1943 by Kaiser Co., Inc.,Vancouver, Washington ; launched on12 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. L. B. Richardson; and commissioned on21 March 1944 , Capt. Edgar T. Neale in command."Shipley Bay" moved down the coast and operated in the
San Diego -San Pedro area until3 May when the carrier began her maiden voyage toPearl Harbor and the South Pacific ferrying planes and pilots to advance bases. She shuttled between the west coast, Pearl Harbor,Majuro Atoll ,Guadalcanal , andTulagi until October. During this period, the carrier transported 496 aircraft."Shipley Bay's" next assignment was that of replenishment carrier, delivering pilots, aircraft, and ammunition to the fast carriers operating with Task Force (TF) 38. She rendezvoused with TF 38 for three resupply missions, delivering 100 planes. The first rendezvous was made from
17 October to29 October , 150 miles east of Samar, P.I.; the second took place 450 miles east ofLuzon from10 December to24 December ; and the last, from26 December 1944 to12 January 1945 , occurred 350 miles northeast of Luzon. "Shipley Bay" returned to Pearl Harbor and operated as a training carrier for the next three months.On
22 April , "Shipley Bay" stood out of Pearl Harbor en route toOkinawa , viaGuam , for her first combat operations. From7 May to16 May , planes from the carrier attacked enemy gun emplacements, supply dumps, radar installations, and caves, flying 352 missions. On the 16th, while taking on gasoline from "Cache" (AO-67), the aviation gasoline tanks were damaged, and she was forced to return to Guam for repairs."Shipley Bay" was back in action off Okinawa on
9 June with five other escort carriers. From14 June to16 June , strikes were launched againstMiyako Shima andIshigaki Shima to neutralize the airfields on those islands. Aircraft from "Shipley Bay" returned to pound the airfields again from18 June to22 June . On that day, the carrier departed the operating area. She was at the repair base in San Diego undergoing overhaul when the war ended.On
26 September 1945 , "Shipley Bay" sailed out of San Diego to participate in Operation “Magic Carpet,” the return of American forces from overseas. The carrier shuttled from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, Okinawa, andKwajalein , returning several thousand troops to theUnited States ."Shipley Bay" sailed to
Boston in February 1946 for deactivation and lay-up, arriving there on9 March . On28 June , the carrier was placed "out of commission, in reserve," with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. "Shipley Bay" was struck from the Navy list on1 March 1959 and sold for scrap on2 October of that year."Shipley Bay" received two
battle star s forWorld War II service.References
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