USS Saginaw Bay (CVE-82) was a of the United States Navy. It was named after Saginaw Bay, located within Kuiu Island. The bay was in turn named after , a U.S. Navy sloop-of-war that spent 1868 and 1869 charting and exploring the Alaskan coast. Launched in January 1944, and commissioned in March, she served in support of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, 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, when she was mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrapping in November 1959.
Design and description
Saginaw Bay was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of aircraft carriers ever built, 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 long overall, had a beam of , and a draft of . She displaced standard, with a full load. She had a long hangar deck and a long flight deck. She was powered with two Uniflow reciprocating steam engines, which drove two shafts, providing , thus enabling her to make . The ship had a cruising range of at a speed of . 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.
One /38 caliber dual-purpose gun was mounted on the stern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by eight Bofors anti-aircraft guns in single mounts, as well as twelve Oerlikon cannons, which were mounted around the perimeter of the deck. By the end of the war, Casablanca-class carriers had been modified to carry thirty 20–mm cannons, and the amount of 40–mm guns had been doubled to sixteen, by putting them into twin mounts. These modifications were in response to increasing casualties due to kamikaze attacks. Casablanca-class escort carriers were designed to carry 27 aircraft, but Saginaw Bay sometimes went over or under this number. For example, during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, she carried 18 FM-2 fighters, and 12 TBM-1C torpedo bombers, for a total of 30 aircraft. However, during the Philippines campaign, she carried 20 FM-2 fighters and 12 TBM-3 torpedo bombers, for a total of 32 aircraft. During the Invasion of Iwo Jima, she carried 20 FM-2 fighters and 12 TBM-3 torpedo bombers, for a total of 32 aircraft. During the Battle of Okinawa, she carried 19 FM-2 fighters, 11 TBM-3 torpedo bombers, and a TBM-3P reconnaissance aircraft, for a total of 31 aircraft.
Construction
A contract for fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers was made on 18 June 1942, with the construction being awarded to the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington. All fifty were commissioned in the span of a single year. Saginaw Bay was laid down on 1 November 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 1119, by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington. She was launched on 19 January 1944, and was sponsored by Mrs. Howard L. Vickery. After construction was completed, the ship was transferred to the United States Navy and commissioned on 2 March. Upon commissioning, Saginaw Bay was under the command of Captain Frank Carlin Sutton Jr.
Service history
World War II
Upon being commissioned, she underwent a shakedown cruise off of San Diego. On 15 April 1944, Saginaw Bay loaded aircraft and their pilots from Terminal Island for transport to Hawaii. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 April, where she unloaded her cargo in exchange for damaged planes, before returning to Alameda, California. She proceeded to conduct pilot qualifications off the coast of San Diego throughout May and early June, during which an FM-2 fighter crashed into the sea, killing its pilot. After completing her exercises, she underwent a second replenishment aircraft ferry mission, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 5 July.
After taking on a load of aircraft, she proceeded westward to Enewetak Atoll and Majuro before returning to San Diego. On 13 August, she left, bound for the Solomon Islands, where she would act as the flagship for Carrier Division 28, commanded by Rear Admiral George R. Henderson. There, she prepared for the invasion of the Palaus. From 15 September to 9 October, her task group provided air cover over Peleliu and Anguar.