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USS Matanikau (CVE-101)
Encyclopedia
USS Matanikau (CVE-101) was a Casablanca class
escort carrier of the United States Navy
.
Matanikau was laid down as Dolomoi Bay under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co., Inc. Vancouver, Washington
on 10 March 1944; renamed Matanikau 26 April 1944; launched on 22 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Robert A. Grant, delivered to the Navy on 24 June 1944, and commissioned at Astoria, Oregon
the same day, Captain
W. L. Erdmann in command.
, Matanikau steamed to San Diego on 25 July. After embarking 191 military passengers and loading 56 planes, she departed on 1 August on an extended shakedown and ferrying run to the South Pacific. She touched at Espiritu Santo
and Finschhafen
, reached Manus
in the Admiralty Islands
on 23 August, and after discharging men and planes, she carried 112 sailors and 41 damaged aircraft back to the west coast, arriving San Diego on 19 September.
Matanikaus run to the Admiralties and back marked her closest advance to the sea war in the Pacific. On 14 October, she embarked Composite Squadron 93 (VC-93) and began duty as qualification carrier for naval and marine aviators. Operating along the west coast out of San Diego, she trained hundreds of pilots during the closing months of World War II
. For more than 8 months, she conducted flight training and qualification landings. From January-June 1945, she qualified 1,332 aviators, and during these 6 months, pilots completed 12,762 landings on her flight deck. On 25 May alone, fighter and torpedo planes of Marine Air Groups CVS-454 and CVS-321 made 602 daylight landings, the greatest number on an aircraft carrier in one day.
Matanikau departed San Diego on 28 July and carried 65 planes and 158 troops to the Marshall Islands
. Operating under Carrier Transport Squadron, Pacific Fleet
, she reached Roi Island, Kwajalein
on 10 August, then returned to Pearl Harbor
on the 16th. On 31 August, she sailed for the western Pacific to support occupation operations in Japan. As a unit of Task Force 4 (TF 4), she reached Ominato, Honshū
on 11 September. For the next 2 weeks, she supported operations along the northern coast of Honshū, including landings by the 8th Army at Aomori on 25 September. After steaming to Yokosuka, she departed Tokyo Bay
30 September, touched at Guam
and Pearl Harbor, and arrived San Francisco 23 October.
Assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty from 3–19 November, Matanikau steamed to Saipan
, where she embarked more than 1,000 returning veterans. Departing for the west coast on the 21st, she reached San Pedro, California on 5 December. Six days later, she again sailed for the Marianas. She arrived Guam on 27 December, embarked 795 troops of the 3rd Marine Division, and departed the next day for China. Arriving Taku Forts
on 3 January 1946, Matanikau debarked the marines who were part of an American force supporting the Chinese Nationalists in their struggle against the Communists for control of China.
, where she remained during the next 8 months in an inactive status. She decommissioned on 11 October and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed at Tacoma, Matanikau was reclassified CVHE-101 on 15 June 1955, and again reclassified AKV-36 on 7 May 1959. Ordered disposed of in March 1960, Matanikau was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1960. She was sold to Jacq. Pierot, Jr. & Sons of New York on 27 July 1960.
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...
.
Matanikau was laid down as Dolomoi Bay under Maritime Commission contract by 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...
on 10 March 1944; renamed Matanikau 26 April 1944; launched on 22 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Robert A. Grant, delivered to the Navy on 24 June 1944, and commissioned at Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
the same day, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
W. L. Erdmann in command.
World War II
Following training in Puget SoundPuget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
, Matanikau steamed to San Diego on 25 July. After embarking 191 military passengers and loading 56 planes, she departed on 1 August on an extended shakedown and ferrying run to the South Pacific. She touched at 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....
and Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, reached Manus
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...
in the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
on 23 August, and after discharging men and planes, she carried 112 sailors and 41 damaged aircraft back to the west coast, arriving San Diego on 19 September.
Matanikaus run to the Admiralties and back marked her closest advance to the sea war in the Pacific. On 14 October, she embarked Composite Squadron 93 (VC-93) and began duty as qualification carrier for naval and marine aviators. Operating along the west coast out of San Diego, she trained hundreds of pilots during the closing months of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. For more than 8 months, she conducted flight training and qualification landings. From January-June 1945, she qualified 1,332 aviators, and during these 6 months, pilots completed 12,762 landings on her flight deck. On 25 May alone, fighter and torpedo planes of Marine Air Groups CVS-454 and CVS-321 made 602 daylight landings, the greatest number on an aircraft carrier in one day.
Matanikau departed San Diego on 28 July and carried 65 planes and 158 troops to the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. Operating under Carrier Transport Squadron, Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
, she reached Roi Island, Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
on 10 August, then returned to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on the 16th. On 31 August, she sailed for the western Pacific to support occupation operations in Japan. As a unit of Task Force 4 (TF 4), she reached Ominato, Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
on 11 September. For the next 2 weeks, she supported operations along the northern coast of Honshū, including landings by the 8th Army at Aomori on 25 September. After steaming to Yokosuka, she departed Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
30 September, touched at 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 Pearl Harbor, and arrived San Francisco 23 October.
Assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty from 3–19 November, Matanikau steamed to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, where she embarked more than 1,000 returning veterans. Departing for the west coast on the 21st, she reached San Pedro, California on 5 December. Six days later, she again sailed for the Marianas. She arrived Guam on 27 December, embarked 795 troops of the 3rd Marine Division, and departed the next day for China. Arriving Taku Forts
Taku Forts
The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...
on 3 January 1946, Matanikau debarked the marines who were part of an American force supporting the Chinese Nationalists in their struggle against the Communists for control of China.
Decommissioning
Matanikau sailed for the United States on 9 January and entered San Diego harbor on the 29th. From 1-5 February, she steamed to Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, 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...
, where she remained during the next 8 months in an inactive status. She decommissioned on 11 October and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed at Tacoma, Matanikau was reclassified CVHE-101 on 15 June 1955, and again reclassified AKV-36 on 7 May 1959. Ordered disposed of in March 1960, Matanikau was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1960. She was sold to Jacq. Pierot, Jr. & Sons of New York on 27 July 1960.
External links
- Photo gallery at navsource.org