USS Roi (CVE-103), originally MC hull 1140 and later projected as an AVG and an ACV, was laid down as Alava Bay (CVE-103) on 22 March 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., 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...

; renamed Roi on 26 April 1944; launched on 2 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William Sinton; acquired from the Maritime Commission and commissioned on 6 July 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....

 P. H. Lyon in command.

World War II

Following shakedown off San Diego, Roi was assigned to the Carrier Transport Squadron which carried planes, equipment, and men to forward bases. On 13 August 1944, she steamed for 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 Manus Island

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...

, loaded with 287 passengers and 71 planes, returning to San Diego on 27 September. Underway again for Manus on 21 October, she returned to San Diego before departing on 2 December on a third voyage which took her to Eniwetok and 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...

.

Following overhaul at Alameda, California

Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...

, Roi made two round-trip voyages to bases in the Marshall

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...

 and Mariana Islands

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

 before returning 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...

 to begin carrier refresher operations in preparation for her new duty as a replenishment carrier for the fast carrier task force of the 3rd Fleet.

Loading 61 replacement aircraft in a 30-day combat ready state, Roi sailed to Guam, where she reported to Task Group 30.8 (TG 30.8). Her duties were now to furnish pilots, crewmen, planes, and aviation supplies to the carriers of Task Force 38 (TF 38) on rendezvous days following their attacks on the Japanese home islands. Roi got underway on 4 July with , and , and met TF 38 at sea on 12 July, 16 July, and 20 July, retiring to Guam on the 21st to reload. She got underway on the 27th with 61 more planes, and joined the fast carriers on the 31st. Returning to Guam, the ship reloaded and met the task force again on 14 August, just prior to the cessation of hostilities, then remained with the 3rd Fleet off Japan in preparation for the occupation.

Post-War

Following the end of the war, Roi was used in "Magic-Carpet" operations, returning veterans to the United States

United States

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

 for discharge.

Roi was decommissioned at Bremerton on 9 May 1946, 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 21 May, and sold on 31 December 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...

.

External links

• Photo gallery at navsource.org