USS Makin Island (CVE-93)

USS Makin Island
Overview
Keel laying	January 12, 1944
Launch	April 5, 1944
Commissioning	May 9, 1944
Decommissioning	April 19, 1946
Whereabouts	scrapped
Technical specifications
displacement	7800  ts (standard) 10,400 ts (application)
length	156.1 m
width	32.9 m
Draft	6.9 m
crew	860 + approx. 50 flight crews
drive	4 piston steam engines, 9000 HP on two propellers
speed	19 kn
Range	10,200 nm (~ 19,000 km) at 15 kn
Armament	1 × 127 mm gun 16 × 40 mm twins 20 × 20 mm MK
Planes	28

The USS Makin Iceland (CVE-93) was an escort carrier of the Casablanca-class and stood from 1944 to 1946 in service with the US Navy . The ship, named after the Atoll Butaritari in the Gilbert Islands , called Makin Island by the US troops , was used in the Pacific theater of war and received five Battle Stars for its service .

history

The construction of the Makin Island was approved on June 18, 1942, the keel was laid on January 12, 1944 at Kaiser Shipbuilding in Vancouver , Washington . After being christened by Mrs. BB Nichol, the carrier was launched on April 5, 1944, and entered service a month later, on May 9, under the command of Commander WB Whaley in Astoria .

After initial test drives off the US west coast, the Makin Island left San Diego on June 19, 1944 to transport aircraft and personnel to Pearl Harbor , Majuro and Kwajalein . On July 24th, the ship arrived back in California, where it spent the following months maneuvering. On October 16, the Makin Island ran out for its first combat mission, via Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok to Ulithi , where it arrived on November 5. On November 10, the carrier ran into the sea area off Leyte , where it provided air support for the invading forces. On November 22nd, the course was set for Manus , where preparations for the invasion of the main Philippine island of Luzon began.

As the flagship of Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin , the commander of Task Group 77.4, the Makin Island left Manus on December 27th to meet the invasion fleet in the Strait of Surigao . On the way to the Gulf of Lingayen , the association came under heavy Japanese air strikes, in which the sister ship of Makin Island , the USS Ommaney Bay, was sunk and several ships were damaged. Despite the attacks, the Makin Island found unscathed on January 6, 1945 on the invasion beaches, where they provided air support for the troops that had landed for the next eleven days. She then returned to Ulithi.

During the invasion of Iwo Jima , the Makin Island was again Admiral Durgin's flagship. The carrier arrived off the island on February 16, where its aircraft provided close air support until March 8. Despite renewed heavy Japanese attacks, the Makin Island remained undamaged. After supplies had been bunkered in Ulithi Atoll, Task Group 52.2 ran with Makin Island as its flagship to Okinawa , where the unit arrived on March 25th. For the next 67 days, the carrier's air group provided almost uninterrupted fire support to US troops, who fought fierce resistance from Japanese forces on the island. On June 1, Makin Island was relieved of its position and ran to Guam , where it arrived on June 5.

Another deployment followed on July 11th, this time the Makin Island was assigned as a security for attacks and mine clearance operations in the South China Sea. Various Japanese targets in mainland China were bombed during the mission. On August 13, the porter arrived in Buckner Bay , Okinawa, where it remained until early September. On September 9, the Makin Island ran to Honshū , where it entered Wakanoura Wan. Her tasks included air security for the evacuation of American prisoners of war. On October 18, a course was set for the US west coast, where the carrier entered San Francisco on November 5 . After a Magic Carpet trip to Shanghai, Makin Island anchored in Seattle on December 30, 1945 .

The Makin Island was decommissioned on April 19, 1946 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , after being removed from the Naval Vessel Register on July 11, it was sold for scrapping on January 1, 1947.

Web links

Commons : USS Makin Island (CVE-93)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• History of Makin Iceland in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
• Makin Iceland in the Naval Historical Center (Engl.)
• Pictures of the Makin Island at navsource.org (engl.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ makin-island.navy.mil: USS MAKIN ISLAND (CVE 93) WAR HISTORY  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of April 20, 2009