USS Kwajalein (CVE-98), formerly Bucareli Bay, was a Casablanca class

Casablanca class escort carrier

The Casablanca class escort aircraft carriers were the greatest number of not only escort carriers, but also any size aircraft carrier ever built to a like-design by any nation at any time. Fifty were laid down, launched and commissioned within the space of less than two years - 3 November 1942...

 escort carrier of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

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It was launched on 4 May 1944, by the Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...

, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Rudolf L. Johnson; acquired by the Navy on 7 June 1944, and commissioned the same day, Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 R. C. Warrack in command.

Service history

After shakedown along the West Coast, Kwajalein cleared San Pedro, California on 19 July 1944, bound for Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....

 with passengers and a cargo of fuel and planes. Arriving on 3 August, she sailed 4 days later to transport aircraft to Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 and pick up salvaged Japanese equipment for intelligence studies in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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Following repairs at San Diego, Kwajalein got underway on 7 October for operations as replenishment carrier. She loaded combat-ready aircraft at Manus Island

Manus Island

Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...

 and sailed for Eniwetok on 5 November to replenish the carriers of Task Force 38 (TF 38) as they prepared for raids on Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 and the Visayas

Visayas

The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...

. Continuing operations from Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

, Kwajalein furnished the big carriers with the planes needed to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. In January 1945, replacement aircraft roared from her decks to TF 38 flat tops for strikes on enemy air bases on Formosa

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 and the China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 coast. Kwajalein returned San Diego on 23 February for overhaul and additional aircraft before resuming operations on 9 March.

From March-August Kwajalein carried aircraft on three cruises from Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific keeping carrier-based air groups at full strength for the massive carrier raids on the Japanese home islands. With the cessation of hostilities on 14 August 1945, the carrier was assigned the task of returning Pacific veterans to the United States. She made four cruises to the Pacific Islands before arriving San Pedro on 2 February 1946, from her final "Magic-Carpet" mission. On 23 April, Kwajalein cleared San Pablo Bay

San Pablo Bay

San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...

 for Mukilteo, Wash., arriving there 3 days later. She decommissioned at Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

 on 16 August, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

on 1 April 1960, and she was scrapped in Japan the following year.