LISCOME BAY USS

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
shipstamps
Posts: 0
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:12 pm

LISCOME BAY USS

Post by shipstamps » Thu Sep 25, 2008 5:06 pm


Built as an aircraft escort carrier under yard No. 302 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co. Vancouver, Washington for the USA Maritime Commission.
09 December 1942 laid down.
19 April 1943 launched as one of the Casablanca Class.
28 June 1943 named LISCOME BAY, Christened by Mrs. Ben Moreell
Displacement 7.800 ton standard, 10.400 ton full load, dim. 156.49 x 19.81 x 6.89m (draught), length bpp. 149.3, extreme beam 32.95m.
Powered by two Skinner Uniflow reciprocating steam engines, 11.200 shp, twin screws, speed 19 knots.
Armament 1 – 5 inch and 16 – 40mm AA guns.
Aircraft 28.
Crew 860.
15 July 1943 redesignated CVE-56
07 August 1943 commissioned, under command of Captain I.D.Wiltsie at Astoria, Oregon.

She was one of the S4-S2-BB3 type of which 50 were built during World War II.
After a training period along the west coast of America, departed she from San Diego 21 October 1943 bound for Hawaii where she arrived 1 week later.

After completing additional drills and operational exercises, sailed out for her first and last battle mission.
10 November 1943 she sailed from Pearl Harbour as a unit of the CarDiv 24, and attached to TF 52, Northern Attack Force, under Rear-Admiral Richard K. Turner, bound for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

The invasion bombardment announcing America’s first major thrust into the central Pacific began 20 November at 05.00, and 76 battle-filled hours later, Tarawa and Makin Island were captured.
LISCOME BAY’s aircraft played their part well in the 2.278 action sorties providing by carrier based planes which neutralized enemy airbases, supporting landings and ground operations in powerful bombing-strafing missions, and intercepted enemy raids. With the islands secured, the U.S. forces began a retirement.

On 23 November, the Japanese submarine I-175 arrived off Makin. The temporary task group built around Rear Admiral H.M. Mullinnix’s three escorts, LISCOMBE BAY, CORAL SEA (CVE-57) and CORREGIDOR (CVE-58) commanded by Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin in NEW MEXICO (BB-40) was steaming 20 miles southwest of Butaritari Island at 15 knots.
At 04.30 on 24 November, reveille was made in LISCOME BAY. The ship went to routine general quarters at 05.05 as flight crews prepared their planes for dawn launchings. There was no warning of a submarine in the area until about 05.10 when a lookout shouted: “here comes a torpedo!”
The torpedo struck abaft the after engine room an instant later with a shattering roar. A second major detonation closely followed the first, the interior burst into flames. At 05.33 LISCOMBE BAY listed to starboard and sank carrying Admiral Mullinnix, Captain Wiltsie, 53 other officers and 591 enlisted men down with her.
272 Of her crew were rescued by the escorting destroyers.
She was struck by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I 175 under command of Comdr. Tabata.


Sources: From America to United States by Sawyer and Mitchell, but mostly copied from
http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/carriers/cve56.txt

Post Reply