USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) was a 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...

. Named for Mission Bay, California

Mission Bay, California

Mission Bay is a saltwater bay or lagoon located south of the Pacific Beach community of San Diego, California. The bay is part of the recreational Mission Bay Park, which is the largest man-made aquatic park in the country, consisting of , approximately 46% land and 54% water...

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally scheduled to be built as AVG-59, USS Mission Bay (CVE-59) was redesignated ACV-59 on 20 August 1942 and laid down 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 28 December 1943; launched on 26 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. James McDonald; redesignated CVE-59 on 15 July 1943; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 13 September 1943; 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....

 William L. Rees in command.

Service history

After shakedown off California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Mission Bay departed San Diego on 15 November for the east coast via the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, arriving Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...

 on 5 December. Assigned to convoy and antisubmarine duty, she got underway for Europe the 26th, arriving Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...

, French Morocco

French Morocco

French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...

 (now Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

), 14 January 1944. Two days later the escort aircraft carrier sailed for the east coast, reaching Portsmouth 8 February.

On 20 February, Mission Bay steamed from New York with a load of Army planes and personnel for India, stopping at Recife

Recife

Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, and Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, Union of South Africa

Union of South Africa

The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...

, before arriving at Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

 on 29 March. By 12 May, she was back at Portsmouth. On the 28th, the carrier departed New York again on another trip to North Africa. Mission Bay arrived Casablanca on 6 June to steam for home 2 days later, entering the New York channel on the 17th. That same day she collided with a dredge and had to continue on to Portsmouth for repairs, mooring on 22 June. On 8 September, Mission Bay steamed from Portsmouth for the south Atlantic. After refueling at Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

, French West Africa

French West Africa

French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

 (now Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

) on 20 September, she conducted antisubmarine operations into November ending at Portsmouth on the 25th. Her next cruise from Portsmouth on 21 December took her to the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 for exercises between Mayport, Florida and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 into March 1945. In February, Mission Bay was ordered to sail in the direction of Gibraltar to meet on the 23rd, and escort the heavy cruiser returning in convoy from the Yalta Conference

Yalta Conference

The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...

 from 4–11 February, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 and party embarked. Mission Bay left the convoy en route to Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

, mooring at Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

 on the 27th before continuing on to Portsmouth to arrive 9 March.

After antisubmarine duty in the North Atlantic from 29 March-14 May during Operation Teardrop

Operation Teardrop

Operation Teardrop was a United States Navy operation of World War II conducted during April and May 1945 to sink German U-boats that were believed to be approaching the United States east coast armed with V-1 flying bombs. Two large U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare task forces succeeded in...

, Mission Bay cruised off the east coast, training pilots, until she sailed for Guantanamo Bay on 19 July. The escort carrier returned to Quonset Point

Quonset Point

Quonset Point, also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is contained entirely within the town of North Kingstown. "Quonset" is a Native American word likely meaning "small long place".Quonset Point was the location of Naval Air...

, R.I. on 2 August to continue training operations off the east coast through the Japanese surrender on 15 August into December.Navy Day, Oct 27th 1945 she was part of the celebration at Wilmington Del. that hosted Adm Bill Halsey. On 19 December, Mission Bay was assigned to the 16th Fleet, with Norfolk as her home yard, to serve in an incommission, in reserve status the next year. Placed in service in reserve on 21 February 1947, she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk to remain there until she joined the New York Group on 30 November 1949. On 12 June 1955, she was redesignated CVU-59. The utility aircraft carrier 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 September 1958, and sold to Hugo Neu Corp of New York, New York on 30 April 1959 where she was subsequently scrapped.