USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) was a US Navy Casablanca class escort carrier

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...

 launched on 8 November 1943.

Originally designated as an AVG, was classified as ACV-71 on 20 August 1942 and reclassified as CVE-71 on 15 July 1943. Laid down 3 May 1943 she was launched 8 November 1943 by Kaiser Company, 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. Edward A. Cruise; and commissioned 15 December 1943, Captain J. P. Whitney in command.

Commissioning and maiden voyage

After commissioning along the Pacific coast, Kitkun Bay departed San Diego 28 January 1944 on a replenishment voyage to the New Hebrides

New Hebrides

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

 bases. After loading passengers, planes, and other cargo, she sailed for home 18 February via 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 arrived San Diego 6 March. Upon her return, the planes of VC-5 were brought aboard for training and assignment. With Rear Admiral Harold B. Salada, Commander, Carrier Division 26 embarked, she sailed 1 May for Pearl Harbor and the completion of her training exercises.

Operational missions

On 31 May her task unit sortied forth to escort the bombardment and transports units of Task Group 52.17 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...

. On 13 June her planes shot down their first enemy aircraft and the next day "began the bombing and strafing of enemy positions in the Marianas. Kitkun Bay's planes alternated flying support missions for the Saipan landings and air cover for ships east of this island. Eight enemy planes were splashed in attacks on her formation on the 17th and her own guns downed three more the next day. Early July brought a brief respite at Eniwetok but 14 July she resumed support sorties at Saipan, Tinian

Tinian

Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....

, and from 2 August to 4 August 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...

.

Withdrawn, she steamed to 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....

, New Hebrides, for upkeep before sailing to the Solomons for additional practice in support of amphibious operations. Heading westward on 8 September her task unit escorted an assault force to Peleliu

Peleliu

Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....

 and Angaur

Angaur

Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...

 Islands in the Palaus group and provided cover from the 15th to 21st. Withdrawn to Manus, Admiralty Islands, she made preparations for the invasion of Leyte, P.I., and her finest hour.

Departing 12 October she soon joined Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague

Clifton Sprague

Vice Admiral Clifton Albert Frederick Sprague was a World War II-era officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:...

's task unit "Taffy 3" composed of six CVE's and their screen of escorts. On 20 October Kitkun Bay began launching strikes against Leyte. These operations conducted from a position east of Samar Island continued until early in the morning of the 25th when Japanese warships were sighted on the northwest horizon. Admiral Kurita's powerful Center Force had passed through the San Bernardino Strait

San Bernardino Strait

The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...

 unnoticed, hoping to destroy the supply ships off Leyte. Not designed to exchange gunfire with surface warships "Taffy 3" launched what planes were ready and turned southward behind a smoke screen. In the ensuing 2½-hour running battle, the courageous maneuvers and skillful action of its screen, the diverting attacks by its planes, the astute orders of its command officers averted annihilation. In the forefront of the circular formation Kitkun Bay escaped any direct hits as the shells splashed ever closer until 0925 when the enemy suddenly broke off the engagement and retired. The less fortunate and three escort ships went down fighting valiantly; while suffering some gunfire damage, the Center Force lost three cruisers as a result of the attacks of the aircraft of "Taffies 2 and 3."

The final phase of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf

Battle of Leyte Gulf

The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...

 was the retaliatory air strikes by both sides. Before the "Forenoon" watch had expired, Kitkun Bay had splashed a suicidal Mitsubishi G4M

Mitsubishi G4M

The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...

 "Betty" but had also been crashed by a A6M Zero

A6M Zero

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...

 "Zeke" which struck the port catwalk killing one man and wounding 16. The losses for the day also included two planes and their crews. The next day she sailed for 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...

 for replenishment and repairs.

Arrived 1 November, she departed Manus the 7th for Pearl Harbor where VC-5 was replaced by VC-91. Despite a submarine attack en route, Kitkun Bay returned safely to Manus 17 December. New Year's Day 1945 dawned with CVE-71 steaming as part of Task Unit 77.4.3 (Lingayen Transport Cover Group) bound for the invasion of western 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...

. After passing through Surigao Strait

Surigao Strait

Surigao Strait is a body of water in the Philippines located between the islands of Mindanao and Leyte. This strait connects the Bohol Sea with Leyte Gulf and is regularly crossed by ferries that transport goods and people between Visayas and Mindanao...

s, the convoy underwent a series of air attacks. Air cover destroyed seven enemy planes but at 1857 an Nakajima Ki-43

Nakajima Ki-43

The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa was a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II...

 "Oscar" got through and crashed Kitkun Bay's portside amidships at the waterline. Almost simultaneously a 5 inch shell struck her starboard side. The resultant fires and flooding were brought under control, but 16 were dead and 37 wounded. The following day with a list and only one engine operating she withdrew and proceeded by stages first to Leyte, Manus, Pearl Harbor and arrived San Pedro, California, 28 February.

Two months later she sailed again for the Western Pacific. After a training period in the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

, she departed 15 June for 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...

 and duty with the 3rd Fleet. On 3 July Kitkun Bay sortied forth with other escorts and ships of the "train" for support of the fast carriers operating off the coast of Japan. Mid-August she was reassigned to Task Force 44 gathering at Adak

Adak Island

Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...

, Alaska, to escort Admiral F. J. Fletcher

Frank Jack Fletcher

Frank Jack Fletcher was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher was the operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway. He was the nephew of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher.-Early life and early Navy career:Fletcher was born in Marshalltown, Iowa...

, COMNORPAC, who had been designated to receive the formal surrender of the Japanese in northern 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...

 and Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

. Arrived off Honshū 7 September, she remained in the area until the 27th, seeing to the feeding and transportation of American prisoners of war. Detached to participate in Operation "Magic Carpet," she first debarked 554 troops at San Francisco 19 October. Additional voyages to Pearl Harbor and Okinawa concluded 12 January 1946 at San Pedro, Calif.

Kitkun Bay entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...

, Bremerton, 18 February and decommissioned 19 April. Sold 18 November 1946 to Zidell Machinery & Supply of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, she was scrapped early in 1947.

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation Kitkun Bay earned six battle stars during World War II.

External links

• The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf by Robert Jon Cox