USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71)

	; USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71)
Overview
Type	Escort aircraft carrier, Casablanca class
Shipyard	Kaiser Shipyards
Keel laying	May 3, 1943
Launch	November 8, 1943
Commissioning	December 15, 1943
Decommissioning	April 19, 1946
Whereabouts	November 18, 1946, sold to be scrapped
Technical specifications
displacement	7800 ts (standard) ; 10,400 ts (application)
length	156.2 m
width	32.9 m
height	34.5 m (mast)
Draft	6.9 m
crew	860
drive	4 piston steam engines, 9000 HP on two propellers
speed	19 kn
Range	10,200 nm at 15 kn
Armament	1 × 127 mm gun; 8 × 40mm twins ; 20 × 20 mm MK ;
Planes	28

The USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) was an escort carrier of the Casablanca-class of the United States Navy . The carrier entered service with the US Navy in December 1943 and remained in service until April 1946. The greatest success of the ship was the use in the Battle of Samar during the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in October 1944. The ship was named after the Kitkun Bay on the southeast coast of the Prince of Wales Island (Alaska) .

technology

Detailed information on the technology can be found in the article Casablanca class .

The Kitkun Bay was 156.2 meters long and a maximum of 32.9 meters wide, the draft was 6.9 meters, the operational displacement was 10,400 tons . The drive from four piston steam engines acting on two shafts with a total output of 9,000 hp brought the ship to a top speed of 19 knots . The range was 10,200 nautical miles at 15 knots cruising speed . In addition to the barrel armament consisting of a 127 mm gun, eight 40 mm twin flaks and 20 20 mm automatic cannons, the carrier had a Carrier Air Wing with around 25 to 30 aircraft, mostly a "composite squadron" (Eng. "Combined Staffel ”) of fighter planes and torpedo bombers for anti-submarine missions .

history

Calls

A Japanese plane was shot down in the attack on USS Kitkun Bay in June 1944

From May 31, 1944, the ship took part in the Battle of the Mariana Islands as part of Task Group 52.17 . The ship fought enemy aircraft while protecting the attack fleet. On June 13, their planes shot down their first enemy plane. The next day, the bombing of enemy positions in the Mariana Islands began , first during the Battle of Saipan . The aircraft of the USS Kitkun Bay alternated between flying support missions for the Saipan landings and air protection for US ships east of this island. Eight enemy planes were shot down on June 17, and three more followed the next day. Early July brought a short break in Eniwetok . On July 14th, she resumed support operations in the Battle of Saipan. This was followed from August 4th operations at the Battle of Tinian and the Battle of Guam .

On the way west, their Task Group 52.17 accompanied an attack group to the Palau Islands from September 8 to September 21 .

During the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in October 1944, the carrier belonged to Task Force 77 of 16 escort aircraft carriers with 450 carrier aircraft. It belonged to Task Unit 77.4.3 (abbreviated to Taffy 3) with six of these carriers. On October 25, the battle of Samar with Japanese capital ships that wanted to attack the US Navy landing companies in the Philippines took place.

The Kitkun Bay was on the front of Taffy 3 and escaped as severe damage during the battle. At 10:13 a.m. the carrier launched five planes, four armed with torpedoes and one with bombs, to attack the retreating Japanese. These five aircraft, together with one of the USS St. Lo (CVE-63) , attacked the Yamato , with its sister ship the largest battleships in history, at 10:35 a.m. without result. The attack from a Kamikaze aircraft was successfully repelled at 11:08 a.m. by its own and the anti-aircraft guns of the USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) . The Kitkun Bay was the only carrier of 3 Taffy escaped undamaged.

On New Years Day 1945 the carrier belonged to Task Unit 77.4.3 , which was intended for the invasion of western Luzon . After crossing Surigao Strait, the convoy was subjected to a series of air strikes. The unit's air cover fighters shot down seven enemy planes. At 18:57 a Nakajima Ki-43 broke through the air raid protection of the fighters in a kamikaze attack and fell on the port side on the carrier. At almost the same time, a 5-inch Japanese shell hit her starboard side. The fires and floods resulting from the hits were brought under control, but 16 sailors were dead and 37 wounded. The next day the porter withdrew and drove in stages first to Leyte , Manus , Pearl Harbor and arrived on February 28 in San Pedro (Los Angeles) .

As part of Task Force 44 , the ship arrived in Honshu on September 7th . Until September 27, the ship was used in the supply and removal of American prisoners of war. During Operation Magic Carpet , the ship brought 554 soldiers to San Francisco. Where it arrived on October 19th. Further transport trips to Pearl Harbor and Okinawa ended on January 12, 1946 in San Pedro .

On February 18, 1946, the USS Kitkun Bay anchored in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . It was decommissioned on April 19, 1946. On November 18, 1946, the carrier was sold to Zidell Machinery & Supply of Portland . The ship was scrapped in early 1947.

Awards

Kitkun Bay received six Battle Stars for its use during World War II . All ships of Task Unit 77.4.3 were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation Badge for use during the Battle of Samar .

Additional information

literature

Daniel V. Gallery: Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea . Henry Regnery Company, Chicago 1956. (Reprinted: US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 2001, ISBN 1-55750-806-2 )

Web links

Commons : USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Naval History and Heritage Command : Kitkun Bay (CVE-71)

Individual evidence

↑ The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf

[1] The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf