USS Mindoro (CVE-120)
_underway_in_April_1952.jpg) USS Mindoro (CVE-120) underway in April 1952
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Mindoro |
| Namesake | Mindoro |
| Builder | Todd Pacific Shipyards |
| Laid down | 2 January 1945 |
| Launched | 27 June 1945 |
| Commissioned | 4 December 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 4 August 1955 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1959 |
| Fate | Sold June 1960, and scrapped in Hong Kong |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Commencement Bay-class escort carrier |
| Displacement | 11,373 long tons (11,556 t) |
| Length | 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) |
| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 1,066 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 33 |
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2019) |
USS Mindoro (CVE-120) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier launched during World War II, but was completed too late to see active service. After service in the Caribbean, Atlantic and the Mediterranean during the early Cold War, the carrier was stricken from the Navy List on 1 December 1959 and scrapped.
Design
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.[1]
Mindoro 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). She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.[2]
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).[2]
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.[2]
Service history
_c1950.jpg)
The keel for Mindoro was laid down at the Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., in Tacoma, Washington, on 2 January 1945. The completed hull was launched on 27 June 1945. She was commissioned at Tacoma on 4 December 1945, too late to have seen action during the war.[2] Following her completion, she embarked on a shakedown cruise to test the ship along the West Coast of the United States, that lasted into January 1946; later that month, she departed for the East Coast of the United States, arriving in Norfolk, Virginia, on 15 February. Despite the fact that the United States was demobilizing much of the armed forces that had been assembled during the war, the newly completed Mindoro would be kept in active service.[3]
Mindoro was assigned to Carrier Division 14, which she soon joined for training exercises to practice carrier operations. In May, she sailed to the West Indies, where she took part in large scale maneuvers with ships from 8th Fleet. She spent the rest of the year cruising along the East Coast and as far south as Cuba; during this period, she conducted routine training exercises for her pilots and anti-submarine warfare exercises.[3]
Mindoro continued to carry out a busy schedule of training and readiness operations. During the next nine years she operated out of Norfolk. Her numerous type training and fleet exercises sent her the length of the eastern coast of North America from Davis Strait to the Caribbean, and across the Atlantic to the British Isles and the Mediterranean. In 1950 and again in 1954, she deployed to the Mediterranean where she bolstered the forces of the 6th Fleet.[4]
After completing exercises off the Virginia Capes, Mindoro steamed to Boston on 17 January 1955. She decommissioned at Boston on 4 August 1955 and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. While berthed at Boston, she was reclassified as AKV‑20 on 7 May 1959. Later that year, she was authorized for disposal, and her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 December. Subsequently, she was disposed of in June 1960 and scrapped at Hong Kong later that year.[4]
Notes
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.
- "Mindoro III (CVE-120)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
External links
- Photo gallery at navsource.org