USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) was an 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...

 during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

.

She was named after the Badung Strait

Badung Strait

Badung Strait is a strait between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Nusa Penida. It is about 60 km long and 20 km wide.In February 1942, the battle of Badung Strait was fought here....

, located between the Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

n islands of Bali

Bali

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

 and Nusa Besar, which was the site of a 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...

 battle

Battle of Badung Strait

The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command and the Imperial Japanese Navy...

 in February 1942, between American

United States

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

–Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese naval forces.

San Alberto Bay was renamed Badoeng Strait on 6 November 1943; launched 15 February 1945 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., 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...

; sponsored by Mrs. T. H. Binford, wife of Captain Binford; commissioned 14 November 1945, Captain Thomas A. Turner, Jr. in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.

Operational history

Badoeng Strait operated out of San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

 until March 1946, when she made a brief cruise to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. On 20 April 1946 she was placed out of commission. The ship was recommissioned 6 January 1947.
Between February 1947 and June 1950 Badoeng Strait operated in the Pacific, testing new anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

 equipment, training her personnel, and participating in numerous anti-submarine warfare exercises. At various intervals she served as flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of Carrier Divisions 17 and 15.

From July 1950 until February 1953 Badoeng Strait completed three tours off Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 (29 July 1950-23 January 1951, 2 October 1951-14 February 1952, and 6 October 1952-11 February 1953), as a unit of TF's 95 and 77. During these tours she operated on anti-submarine warfare duty and as a part of the blockade-escort force. Her aircraft provided invaluable close ground support during the early period of the action, particularly during the defense of the Pusan Perimeter

Battle of Pusan Perimeter

The Battle of Pusan Perimeter was a large-scale battle between United Nations and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 – September 18, 1950. It was one of the first major engagements of the Korean War...

 (6 August–12 September 1950), Inchon landing (15 September), and Hŭngnam evacuation

Battle of Chosin Reservoir

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...

 (9–24 December 1950).

After 1953 the ship underwent modernization (April to September 1953); continued extensive experimental work in anti-submarine warfare with new naval aircraft and helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s, participated in various Pacific Fleet training exercises, and carried out extensive exercises with Marine assault helicopters. She has also completed another tour of the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 and participated in Operation Redwing

Operation Redwing

Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls. The entire operation followed Operation Wigwam and preceded Operation Plumbbob. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation...

 in the Pacific Proving Grounds

Pacific Proving Grounds

The Pacific Proving Grounds was the name used to describe a number of sites in the Marshall Islands and a few other sites in the Pacific Ocean, used by the United States to conduct nuclear testing at various times between 1946 and 1962...

 during February–July 1956.

Decommissioning

On 14 January 1957 Badoeng Strait sailed for Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...

, for inactivation. She went out of commission in reserve 17 May 1957 and was scrapped in 1972.

Badoeng Strait received the Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

 and six battle stars for her services during the Korean action.

As of 2011, no other U.S. Navy ship has been named Badoeng Strait.

In Pop Culture

Badoeng Strait and its role in the early days of the Korean War was a featured setting in the novel Retreat, Hell by W.E.B. Griffin, book ten of The Corps series.

Just before being scrapped in 1972, Badoeng Strait was used in filming the final scenes of the movie Magnum Force

Magnum Force

Magnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...

.