USS Shipley Bay (CVE-85) was an 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...

. She was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1122) on 22 November 1943 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...

; launched on 12 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. L. B. Richardson; and commissioned on 21 March 1944, 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....

 Edgar T. Neale in command.

Service history

Shipley Bay moved down the coast and operated in the San Diego-San Pedro area until 3 May when the carrier began her maiden voyage 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...

 and the South Pacific ferrying planes and pilots to advance bases. She shuttled between the west coast, Pearl Harbor, Majuro Atoll, Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

, and Tulagi

Tulagi

Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...

 until October. During this period, the carrier transported 496 aircraft.

Shipley Bay's next assignment was that of replenishment carrier, delivering pilots, aircraft, and ammunition to the fast carriers operating with Task Force (TF) 38. She rendezvoused with TF 38 for three resupply missions, delivering 100 planes. The first rendezvous was made from 17 October to 29 October, 150 miles east of Samar, P.I.; the second took place 450 miles east of Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 from 10 December to 24 December; and the last, from 26 December 1944 to 12 January 1945, occurred 350 miles northeast of Luzon. Shipley Bay returned to Pearl Harbor and operated as a training carrier for the next three months.

On 22 April, Shipley Bay stood out of Pearl Harbor en route to Okinawa, via 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...

, for her first combat operations. From 7 May to 16 May, planes from the carrier attacked enemy gun emplacements, supply dumps, radar installations, and caves, flying 352 missions. On the 16th, while taking on gasoline from Cache (AO-67), the aviation gasoline tanks were damaged, and she was forced to return to Guam for repairs.

Shipley Bay was back in action off Okinawa on 9 June with five other escort carriers. From 14 June to 16 June, strikes were launched against Miyako-jima

Miyako-jima

Miyakojima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It lies approximately 400 kilometres east of Taipei, Taiwan...

 and Ishigaki-jima

Ishigaki, Okinawa

Ishigaki is an island west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group. It is within the City of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture. The city functions as the business and transport center of the archipelago...

 to neutralize the airfields on those islands. Aircraft from Shipley Bay returned to pound the airfields again from 18 June to 22 June. On that day, the carrier departed the operating area. She was at the repair base in San Diego undergoing overhaul when the war ended.

On 26 September 1945, Shipley Bay sailed out of San Diego to participate in "Operation Magic Carpet"

Operation Magic Carpet (World War II)

Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II effort by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and CBI theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships, and troop transports began repatriating soldiers from...

, the return of American forces from overseas. The carrier shuttled from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, Okinawa, and 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...

, returning several thousand troops to the United States

United States

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

.

Shipley Bay sailed to Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

in February 1946 for deactivation and lay-up, arriving there on 9 March. On 28 June, the carrier was placed "out of commission, in reserve," with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Shipley Bay was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959 and sold for scrap on 2 October of that year.

External links

• Photo gallery at navsource.org
• USS Shipley Bay (CVE-85) Archives