_in_San_Pedro_Bay%2c_8_May_1944.jpg) Marcus Island inSan Pedro Bay, 8 May 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Ordered | as aType S4-S2-BB3 hull,MC hull 1114 |
| Awarded | 18 June 1942 |
| Builder | Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington, US |
| Cost | $7,368,661[1] |
| Laid down | 15 September 1943 |
| Launched | 16 December 1943 |
| Commissioned | 26 January 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 12 December 1946 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Stricken | 1 September 1959 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors and awards | 4Battle stars |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 29 February 1960 |
| General characteristics[2] | |
| Class & type | Casablanca-class escort carrier |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam |
|
| Draft | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) (max) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 19knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Range | 10,240 nmi (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | Ship's Crew: 860 officers and men |
| Sensors & processing systems | 1 ×SG radar, 1 ×SK radar |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 27 |
| Aviation facilities | |
| Service record | |
| Part of |
|
| Operations | |
USSMarcus Island (CVE-77) was the twenty-third of fiftyCasablanca-class escort carriers built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was named after an engagement on 31 August 1943 overMinami-Tori-shima, labelled on U.S. maps as Marcus Island. In September 1943, she waslaid down inVancouver, Washington by theKaiser Shipbuilding Company under the nameKanalku Bay. She was renamedMarcus Island in November 1943,launched in December, andcommissioned in January 1944.
She served in theMariana and Palau Islands campaign, thePhilippines campaign, and theBattle of Okinawa. She acted as theflagship for various escort carrier formations, serving as the headquarters forRear AdmiralsWilliam D. Sample andFelix Stump. During the Philippines campaign, she participated in theBattle off Samar and theBattle of Mindoro, surviving multiple near-brushes with Japanesekamikazes. Post-war, she participated inOperation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. She was decommissioned in December 1946, beingmothballed in theAtlantic Reserve Fleet. She was ultimately sold forscrap in 1960.
Marcus Island was aCasablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type ofaircraft carriers ever built, and designed specifically to be mass-produced using prefabricated sections. Standardized with hersister ships, she was 512 ft 3 in (156.13 m)long overall, had abeam of 65 ft 2 in (19.86 m), and adraft of 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m). Shedisplaced 8,188long tons (8,319 t)standard, 10,902 long tons (11,077 t) with afull load. She had a 257 ft (78 m) longhangar deck and a 477 ft (145 m) longflight deck. She was powered by twoSkinner Unaflow reciprocating steam engines, which drove two shafts, providing 9,000 hp (6,700 kW), thus enabling her to make 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 10,240 nmi (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at a speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). Her compact size necessitated the installation of anaircraft catapult at her bow, and there were twoaircraft elevators to facilitate movement of aircraft between the flight and hangar deck: one each fore and aft.[2][3][4]
One5 in (127 mm)/38 caliberdual-purpose gun was mounted on the stern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by eightBofors 40 mm (1.6 in) anti-aircraft guns in single mounts and twelveOerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons mounted around the perimeter of the deck. By the end of the war,Casablanca-class carriers had been modified to carry thirty Oerlikon cannons[5] and sixteen Bofors guns; the doubling of the latter having been accomplished by putting them into twin mounts. Sensors onboard consisted of aSG surface-search radar and aSK air-search radar. AlthoughCasablanca-class escort carriers were intended to operate with a crew of 860 and an embarked squadron of 50 to 56, the exigencies of wartime often necessitated the inflation of the crew count. They were designed to carry 27 aircraft, but the hangar deck could accommodate more during transport or training missions.[2][6][7]
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Her construction was awarded toKaiser Shipbuilding Company,Vancouver, Washington, under aMaritime Commission contract on 18 June 1942. She waslaid down on 15 September 1943 as MCE hull 1114,[1] the twenty-third of a series of fiftyCasablanca-class escort carriers under the nameKanalku Bay. She was renamed toMarcus Island on 6 November andlaunched on 16 December;sponsored by Louise LaHache, the widow ofCaptain Samuel LaHache.[8] She was transferred to the Navy and commissioned on 26 January 1944.[9]
After commissioning,Marcus Islandfitted out atNaval Station Tongue Point inAstoria, Oregon, starting on 17 February ashakedown cruise down the West Coast, which ended inSan Diego, California on 1 March. On 8 March, she was sent out to ferry aircraft toPearl Harbor, returning to San Diego on 27 March. She then ferried a load of aircraft fromNaval Air Station Alameda to San Diego, finishing on 4 April. There, Composite Squadron (VC) 21 was taken on board for a period of training that lasted until 13 April,[10] after which her crew began a period of post-shakedown availability. She steamed northwards on 9 May for Alameda, whereupon she conducted a ferry mission to theSolomon Islands. Back at San Diego on 1 July, she entereddrydock to repaint her hull.[9][11]
Marcus Island embarked VC-21 again on 12 July for a period of further training. On 20 July, she stood out from San Diego, with VC-21, VC-80, and a cargo of aircraft on board. She unloaded VC-80 and her load of planes at Pearl Harbor on 26 July. There, she joined hersister shipsKadashan Bay,Savo Island, andOmmaney Bay to form Carrier Division 27. On 11 August,Rear AdmiralWilliam D. Sample madeMarcus Island hisflagship, and the following day, she left Hawaiian waters for the Solomon Islands, arriving inTulagi on 24 August.[9][12]
At Tulagi,Marcus Island's division was assigned to support theMarines participating in thelandings onPeleliu andAngaur.[13] She departed Tulagi on 1 September, commenced pre-invasion strikes on 12 September, and beganclose air support operations on 15 September, the day of the landings on Peleliu. She continued providing air cover and launching strikes until 2 October, when she retired toManus of theAdmiralty Islands, arriving on 4 October.[9]
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At Manus, Carrier Division 27 became part of Task Unit 77.4.2, otherwise known as Taffy 2. Joined by the seventeen other escort carriers in Task Group 77.4, she steamed on 12 October forLeyte Gulf to support thelandings onLeyte.[14] Arriving off the island on 18 October, her aircraft carried out preparatory airstrikes and conductedcombat air patrols. On 20 October, the day of the landings, Rear Admiral Sample had insisted on accompanying one of herAvengers as it conducted a close air support mission. Sample's Avenger, loaded with eight rockets, took off at 07:45 to strike positions on Catmon Hill overlooking the landing beaches. As his Avenger circled at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) altitude following a rocket run, a shell hit his Avenger 12 in (30 cm) above the trailing edge of its right wing. Passing through the upper fuselage, the shell detonated just above the root of the left wing, tearing a large hole in the Avenger's flank. Sample was peppered with shrapnel that lacerated his head, right shoulder, and right arm. Nonetheless, the Avenger was able to make it back to the carrier, although the plane was written off due to damage.[9][15][16]
On 23 October, theBattle of Leyte Gulf began. The bulk of the Japanese fleet had been concentrated to repel the Americans from the Philippines, the seizure of which would have cut the vital oil supply lines from Southeast Asia.[17]AdmiralWilliam Halsey Jr., commander of theThird Fleet, had detached his surface ships to engage the diversionary Northern Force.[18] This left theSan Bernardino Strait undefended, and on the early morning of 25 October,Vice AdmiralTakeo Kurita's Center Force passed through unopposed. Within the Center Force's sights was Taffy 3, 20 mi (32 km) north ofMarcus Island, which had been caught completely by surprise.[9][19]
With Taffy 3 helplessly overmatched, Taffy 2 received permission at 07:08 from AdmiralThomas C. Kinkaid to divert the entirety of their aircraft to join in the defense.[20][21]Marcus Island only had two Avengers at hand, as at 05:45 she had sent out ten Avengers to airdrop supplies to the96th Division.[22] Nonetheless, she finished launching all her available aircraft at 08:08, dispatching two Avengers, each loaded with aMark 13 torpedo, and fifteenWildcats.[23] One of her Avengers reported a hit on the portside aft of aheavy cruiser,[note 1] likely theTone-class cruiserChikuma, "which appeared to go out of control".[24][25][note 2] Meanwhile, her fighters harassed the advancing Japanese ships and contested the airspace above the battle, shooting down threeAichi E13A seaplanes[29] and twoMitsubishi A6M Zero fighters.[30]
During the battle,Marcus Island took onboard seven Avengers from the menaced Taffy 3, rearming them with torpedoes.[31] At 10:30, the Taffy 3 Avengers were joined by her own Avengers, returning from their resupply mission. By this time, the Center Force had already turned around.[22] Of her returning Avengers, seven were each loaded with four 500 lb (230 kg) semi-armor piercing bombs and another was allocated the one remaining torpedo. At 11:20, these eight of her Avengers and six of the Taffy 3 Avengers were launched to pursue the Japanese. At 12:42, they attacked thelight cruiserNoshiro,[note 3] missing with two of their bombs just off her aft port, rupturing her No.2 and No.4 fuel tanks and damaging her port outboard shaft.[35][34][36]
While the American forces had been distracted with the Battle off Samar and its immediate aftermath, Vice AdmiralNaomasa Sakonju's transport unit, which consisted of theNagara-class cruiserlight cruiserKinu, theFubuki-class destroyerUranami, and four transports, were unloading approximately 2,500 troops inOrmoc Bay, on the Western coast of Leyte. The transport unit had finished unloading on the morning of 26 October, but the Japanese ships were sighted by American aircraft as they withdrew. A strike group of twenty-three Avengers and twenty-nine fighters, to whichMarcus Island contributed twelve aircraft, was assembled to strike the transport unit. The strike group made contact at 10:00, bombing, rocketing, and strafing the transport unit. The two transport vessels that the Japanese ships were escorting were quickly sunk, andUranami was sunk as she attempted to charge the wreckage of a downed Wildcat.Kinu proved to be more resilient, sinking in the aftermath of the attack at 17:30, southwest ofMasbate Island.[37] Early on 30 October,Marcus Island withdrew from Leyte for Manus.[9][38][39]
Marcus Island enteredSeeadler Harbor on 3 November, and replenished until 19 November, when Carrier Division 27 was assigned to Task Unit 77.4.6.[40] Until 27 November, she provided air cover for convoys traveling near the eastern Philippines, which were being harassed by Japanese planes based onMindanao.[41] She resupplied atNaval Base Kossol Roads, and on 10 December, she steamed forMindoro, providing air screening for the scheduledlandings.[9][42]
On 15 December, on the morning of the Mindoro landings,Marcus Island's task unit came under intensekamikaze attack. At 04:30, about 40 Japanese aircraft, divided in half between kamikazes and escorts, had taken off fromClark Field andDavao. At 08:00, the escort carriers turned back towards Leyte, having been relieved of their duties by land-basedArmy Air Forces aircraft, but they were pursued by the kamikazes.[9][43]
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_Impacts.jpg)
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At 08:12, the Japanese planes made first contact, with a kamikaze shot down as it dove upon theBagley-class destroyerRalph Talbot. At 08:22, three kamikaze Zeros were spotted approachedMarcus Island from the port quarter, at about 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in altitude. One Zero disappeared into a cloud, while the other two reoriented themselves towards her. Of the pair, one made a steep bank to remain at her port, completed achandelle, and then dove from astern, aiming for a painted dummyaircraft elevator midway between her forward aircraft elevator and her bow. Hits were recorded 1,000 ft (300 m) out, which may have incapacitated the pilot, as the kamikaze skimmed just over her flight deck. As it passed, its wingtip clipped a lookout platform, decapitating one lookout and injuring another. It then crashed 20 ft (6.1 m) off her starboard bow and exploded underwater, sending a column of water into the air.[44]
The other Zero had passed overMarcus Island to approach her from the starboard quarter, and as it dived, it also set its sights on the painted aircraft elevator. Buffeted by anti-aircraft fire, the kamikaze made a sudden 90° roll to port 500 ft (150 m) short of the carrier and careened into the water 30 ft (9.1 m) off her port bow. The kamikaze detonated upon impact, spraying shrapnel across the flight deck and injuring six of the carrier's crew. The two kamikaze attacks had occurred only ten seconds apart from each other. A few minutes later, aYokosuka D4Y dive bomber made a run against her, but its bomb missed astern, and the bomber was shot down shortly afterwards.[45] On 18 December, she retired from operations, entering Kossol Roads on 19 December.[9]
Marcus Island was back at Manus on 23 December, replenishing until 29 December,[46] when she set off forLuzon to participate in theInvasion of Lingayen Gulf. Carrier Division 27 had been assigned to Task Unit 77.4.4, tasked with covering the convoys of theSixth Army.[47] For this mission, her division consisted of only two carriers, withSavo Island andOmmaney Bay having been transferred to the main escort carrier group.[9][48]
On the afternoon of 5 January 1945, as the convoys passed through the Surigao Strait, theFletcher-class destroyerTaylor sighted two torpedo wakes running towards the formation. Responding to the alarm, a plane fromMarcus Island spotted a periscope above the water. A depth charge was dropped 60 ft (18 m) from themidget submarine, leaving it listing. It was finished off by theTaylor, which rammed it.[9][49]
Marcus Island arrived inLingayen Gulf on 6 January, where she provided an air screen to fend off kamikazes.[50] The Lingayen operation was to be a costly one for the escort carriers. Miscommunication between Halsey's Third Fleet, Kinkaid'sSeventh Fleet, andDouglas MacArthur's land-basedFar East Air Forces meant that there was disagreement as to whose responsibility it was to neutralize the airfields on Luzon. This confusion allowed the Japanese to mount more kamikaze attacks than would otherwise be possible.[51]
During the early morning of 8 January,Marcus Island launched two divisions of fighters for combat air patrol. At 07:16, a large group of Japanese aircraft was detected approaching from the east, which separated into three distinct groups. Although her air contingent shot down four planes in a series of short engagements, a kamikaze managed to dive down and damageKadashan Bay, the other escort carrier in TU 77.4.4. Although the damage was not crippling,Kadashan Bay was still forced to transfer her entire stock of aircraft toMarcus Island on 10 January and withdraw.[52] As a result,Marcus Island joinedPetrof Bay andSaginaw Bay to form Task Unit 77.4.6, the Close Covering Carrier Group.[53][54]
Later, on the night of 8 January,Kitkun Bay was also damaged by a kamikaze, obliging her to withdraw. Combined with the earlier sinking ofOmmaney Bay on 4 January, extra work was put onto the remaining escort carriers. On 8 January,Marcus Island recorded ninety-four planes launched and ninety-nine planes[note 4] recovered during operational hours, averaging a launching or landing every 3.8 minutes, setting a record for an escort carrier in combat.[55]
On 9 January, the day of the landings, aircraft fromMarcus Island sank two small Japanese coastal ships on the north shore of Luzon. On 17 January, land-based aircraft of theUnited States Army Air Forces took responsibility for operations over Luzon, relieving the escort carriers of Task Group 77.4.[56] Of the eighteen escort carriers brought to the Lingayen landings, nine had come under kamikaze attack, which sunkOmmaney Bay and damaged five others. After being relieved from operations around Lingayen,Marcus Island joined Rear AdmiralRussell S. Berkey's Close Covering Group, which was operating to the west of northern Mindoro.[53] On 29 January, she supported landings atZambales in Luzon, which were unopposed. On 31 January, she headed toUlithi of theCaroline Islands, arriving on 5 February.[9][57]
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On 6 February, Rear Admiral Sample leftMarcus Island, but she maintained her status as flagship, embarking Rear AdmiralFelix Stump, commander of Carrier Division 24. On 14 February, she switched aircraft contingents, unloading VC-21 and taking on VC-87. On 4 March, she steamed for Leyte, arriving on 7 March. There, rehearsals were conducted forOperation Iceberg, the planned landings onOkinawa.[9][58]
The ships of Carrier Division 24 departed Leyte on 21 March, arriving in the waters off Okinawa on 26 March.[59] Upon arrival,Marcus Island launched airstrikes in support of the77th Infantry Division as they secured theKerama Islands. At the end of March, her aircraft began transitioning their strikes towards Okinawa Island itself in anticipation of the landings on 1 April.[60] On 3 April,Wake Island was damaged by a kamikaze, and on 5 AprilWake Island's embarked squadron, Composite Observation Squadron (VOC) 1 was taken onboard byMarcus Island. In turn, she transferred her aircraft contingent toWake Island to be ferried back to Guam.[61]
Throughout April, aircraft fromMarcus Island provided artillery spotting for surface ships conductingshore bombardment on Okinawa, struck Japanese installations, provided fighter cover, and gave close air support to American forces as they advanced through the island.[62] On 29 April, she departed Okinawa in a convoy withSaginaw Bay andSavo Island.[63] During the Battle of Okinawa, her aircraft had flown 1,085 sorties, shooting down eleven Japanese aircraft and destroying another thirteen grounded aircraft.[9]
Marcus Island arrived at Guam on 3 May, where VOC-1 was transferred back toWake Island. She took on a load of damaged aircraft, steaming on 5 May for the West Coast, arriving in San Diego on 22 May. There, she underwent a refit, a process which took until 5 July. She sailed westward again on 10 July, ferrying troops and replacement aircraft to Pearl Harbor and Guam. She returned to Alameda on 15 August, the same day that theJapanese surrender was announced.[9][64]
Leaving Alameda on 25 August,[65]Marcus Island was assigned to theOperation Magic Carpet fleet, which repatriated U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. At Pearl Harbor, her hangar deck was converted into passenger accommodations, and with a reduction in the ship's crew, she now had the capacity to berth 1,053 passengers. With the conversion complete, she transported an air squadron to Guam before proceeding to Okinawa, arriving on 28 September. There, she embarked returning troops, delivering them to San Francisco on 24 October. She then completed additional "Magic Carpet" runs to Guam and Pearl Harbor.[9][66]
Marcus Island left San Diego on 12 January 1946, transiting thePanama Canal and stopping atNorfolk, arriving inBoston on 2 February. On 12 December, she wasdecommissioned andmothballed, joining the Boston group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, moored at theSouth Boston Naval Annex. On 12 June 1955, she was redesignated as ahelicopter aircraft carrier, receiving the hull symbolCVHE-77. On 7 May 1959, she was further redesignated as an aviation transport, receiving the hull symbolAKV-27. She was struck from theNavy list on 1 September 1959 and sold to Comarket Inc. on 29 February 1960 forscrapping.[9]
| Operation | Embarked Squadron | Fighters | Torpedo bombers | Recon planes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Peleliu[13] | Composite Squadron (VC) 21 | 16FM-2 | 12TBM-1C | 28 | |
| Battle of Leyte[67] | 17 FM-2 | 12 TBM-1C | 29 | ||
| Battle of Mindoro[42] | 24 FM-2 | 9 TBM-1C | 33 | ||
| Invasion of Lingayen Gulf[48] | 26 FM-2 | 9 TBM-1C | 35 | ||
| Battle of Okinawa[59] | Composite Squadron (VC) 87 | 20 FM-2 | 11 TBM-3 | 1 TBM-3P | 32 |
Marcus Island received fourbattle stars and aNavy Unit Commendation for her World War II service.[68]
 | |||
 |   |  | |
 | .svg) |  | |
| 1st row | Navy Unit Commendation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd row | American Campaign Medal | Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars | World War II Victory Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd row | Navy Occupation Service Medal ("Asia" clasp) | Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation | Philippine Liberation Medal with two service stars |
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Military documents
