USS Siboney (CVE-112)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Siboney.

USS Siboney (CVE-112)
History
United States
Namesake	Siboney, Cuba
Builder	Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Tacoma, Washington
Laid down	1 April 1944
Launched	9 November 1944
Commissioned	14 May 1945
Decommissioned	31 July 1956
Stricken	1 June 1970
Fate	Scrapped 1971
General characteristics
Class and type	Commencement Bay-class escort carrier
Displacement	21,397 long tons (21,740 t)
Length	557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) loa
Beam	75 ft (23 m)
Draft	32 ft (9.8 m)
Installed power	16,000 shp (12,000 kW) 4 × boilers
Propulsion	2 × Steam turbines 2 × screw propellers
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	1,066
Armament	2 × 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns 36 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors AA guns 20 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns
Aircraft carried	33
Aviation facilities	2 × aircraft catapults

USS Siboney (CVE-112/AKV-12) (ex-Frosty Bay) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for Siboney, Cuba, the Cuban Village near which troops of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders fought during the Spanish–American War.

Design

Main article: Commencement Bay-class escort carrier

Siboney in her original configuration

In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay class, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Siboney was 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) long overall, with a beam of 75 ft (23 m) at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft 2 in (32.05 m) at maximum. She displaced 21,397 long tons (21,740 t) at full load, of which 12,876 long tons (13,083 t) could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft 11 in (8.51 m). The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16,000 shp (12,000 kW) for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23,900 nautical miles (44,300 km; 27,500 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm (2 in) Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm (1 in) Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Service history

TBM-3 Avengers aboard Siboney in 1949

Siboney was laid down as Frosty Bay on 1 April 1944 by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards at Tacoma, Washington; renamed Siboney on 26 April 1944; launched on 9 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Charles F. Greber; and commissioned on 14 May 1945, Captain Stanhope Cotton Ring in command.

Siboney completed fitting out on 23 May 1945 in the Seattle area, and on 31 May 1945, sailed for San Diego. She held shakedown operations in the Bay Area until 3 August. The carrier then loaded bombs, aircraft, and personnel from Air Group 36, and on 8 August departed for Pearl Harbor. Hostilities with Japan ceased the day before Siboney arrived, on 15 August, to discharge her cargo. She was in Hawaiian waters until early September when she sailed for Okinawa, via the Marshall, Caroline, and Philippine Islands.

On 5 October, she stood out of Buckner Bay for Honshū, Japan. En route, the carrier conducted air search operations in an attempt to locate Rear Admiral William Dodge Sample and his PBM Mariner, which had been missing since 2 October. Siboney called at Honshū from 8–11 October, and then continued the search for the missing Mariner, with negative results. The ship operated in the Tokyo Bay area from 24 October until 16 November 1945, when she was ordered to return to the United States. After port calls at Saipan, Manila, Hong Kong, Guam, and Pearl Harbor, she arrived at San Diego on 23 January 1946. The carrier deployed to the western Pacific again from 15 February – 7 May.

Siboney stood out of San Diego on 9 June 1947, en route to Norfolk, Virginia. The carrier arrived on 26 June and operated between there and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba until November, when she was inactivated. In March 1948, Siboney was returned to active duty, and, in May, ferried former United States Air Force planes to Yesilkoy, Turkey. She returned to Norfolk for a month and made another voyage to the Near East before entering the Boston Naval Shipyard in October 1948 for a three-month overhaul.

Siboney stood out of Boston in January 1949 for Guantanamo Bay and refresher training. The carrier operated with the Atlantic Fleet until 6 December 1949, when she was placed in the inactive fleet at Philadelphia.

Siboney operating helicopters in the mid-1950s

The outbreak of war in Korea in June 1950 brought a need for more combat ships, and Siboney was returned to an active status on 22 November 1950. The carrier put to sea on 2 February 1951 and was assigned to Norfolk. From 27 February – 10 April, she carried out extensive training exercises in the Guantanamo Bay area.

She operated in Canadian waters in July and, from September to 14 November, in the Mediterranean with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) units. Siboney participated in evaluation tests and carrier qualifications of A-1 Skyraiders and F4U Corsairs in January 1952. She also tested the new concept of vertical landings, using Marine helicopters. The ship was modernized at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and rejoined the fleet on 20 January 1953. After training in the Caribbean, she operated in the Atlantic with a hunter-killer group until August. From 16 September-1 December, Siboney was again deployed with the 6th Fleet.

1954–1955 were spent in fleet operations along the east coast, from New England to the Caribbean and in midshipman cruises to Spain during the summers. Siboney was overhauled at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 28 September 1954 – 22 January 1955. She operated along the east coast until 4 October, when she was ordered to load as many supplies as possible and sail for Mexican waters in the Gulf. Until 19 October, helicopters from the carrier flew relief missions and transported supplies to the inhabitants of Tampico which had been devastated by a hurricane and subsequent flooding.

1956 was Siboney's last year of active service with the fleet. She operated along the east coast from January–May, and then made a final cruise with the 6th Fleet from 26 May – 6 July. The carrier sailed to Philadelphia on 27 July and, four days later, was placed in reserve, out of commission, with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Siboney was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1970, and sold to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation a year later for scrap.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• Friedman, Norman (1986). "United States of America". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 105–133. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
• Friedman, Norman (1983). U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-739-5.
• "Siboney II (CVE-112)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (2012). The Navy of World War II, 1922–1947. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-86472-9.

External links

• Photo gallery of Siboney at NavSource Naval History