Sangamon class
The Sangamon class was a series of four American escort aircraft carriers from World War II.
The ships were originally built as oil tankers of the commercial MARAD type T3-S2-A1 in the years 1939 to 1940. However, they were acquired by the US Navy and put into service as Cimarron-class naval tankers . Due to the lack of other freighter hulls that could be converted into escort aircraft carriers of the Bogue class , the US Navy decided to convert four of the Cimmaron class tankers. They were given the identification numbers CVE-26 through CVE-29. Although the ships of the Sangamon class performed better than the freighter conversions, no further tankers were converted, as the need for tankers for the Navy was also a high priority. However, the design of the Sangamon class served as a development basis for the escort aircraft carrier of the Commencement Bay class, which was planned as such from the start .
From the end of 1942, all four ships were in service. They served in the Pacific , Atlantic and Mediterranean , among others . Three of the ships were damaged by Japanese kamikaze attacks in the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte , but all ships survived the war.
Some of the carriers were converted into helicopter carriers (CVHE) after the war , and in early 1960 all of them were scrapped.
Ships of the class
- USS Sangamon (CVE-26) (ex AO-28)
- USS Suwannee (CVE-27) (ex AO-33)
- USS Chenango (CVE-28) (ex AO-31)
- USS Santee (CVE-29) (ex AO-29)
Originally, the tanker USS Chemung (AO-30) was to be converted as CVE-29, but was replaced by the USS Santee (AO-29) before work began .
Web links
Footnotes
- ^ A b Karl Jack Bauer, Stephen S. Roberts: Register of ships of the US Navy, 1775-1990: major combatants , p. 126, ISBN 0313262020
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