USS Croatan (CVE-25)

The USS "Croatan" (CVE-25) (previously AVG-25 then ACV-25) was an escort aircraft carrier launched 1 August 1942 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation of Seattle, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. J. S. Russell; and commissioned 28 April 1943, Captain J. B. Lyon in command.

Sailing from San Diego 2 July 1943, "Croatan" arrived at Norfolk 19 July. As the nucleus for a hunter-killer group, she sailed 5 August for antisubmarine operations in the Atlantic covering the movement ofconvoys. Her planes had two skirmishes with surfaced submarines and on 5 September initiated night flying operations from escort carriers. She returned to Norfolk 22 September.

From 17 October to 29 December 1943, "Croatan" made two voyages to Casablanca ferrying aircraft and plane crews for the North African operations. After another antisubmarine patrol from 14 January to 27 February 1944, she took part in tests with the Naval Research Laboratory at Annapolis. From 24 March to 11 May, "Croatan" made a most successful patrol. On 7 April, her planes marked out "U-856", which was sunk by her escorts "Champlin" (DD-601) and "Huse" (DE-145) at coord|40|18|N|62|22|W|. On the night of April 25-26 April, her four escorts joined in sinking "U-488" at coord|17|54|N|38|05|W|. She was also successful in her patrol from 2 June to 22 July. On 10 June, "Croatan"'s planes and escorts "Frost" (DE-144), "Huse", and "Inch" (DE-146) attacked "U-490" and remained in constant contact with it, forcing it to surface the next day. Sixty survivors, including the commanding officer, were rescued before the submarine sank from scuttling charges at coord|42|47|N|40|08|W|. Aircraft and escorts "Frost" and "Inch" combined again to sink "U-154" on 3 July, at coord|34|00|N|19|30|W|.

Following a brief overhaul and radar tests with the Naval Research Laboratory, "Croatan" put to sea again 20 August 1944. On 15 September, she aided survivors from "Warrington" (DD-383) who had foundered in a hurricane. Returning to Norfolk 1 October, "Croatan" next sailed for antisubmarine training at Guantanamo Bay and Bermuda, then proceeded to provide air cover for a high-speed east bound task force, returning to New York 4 February 1945. For the next month, she qualified pilots in carrier operations, then sailed from Norfolk 25 March to join a barrier line to intercept German submarines. On 16 April, her escorts, "Frost" and "Stanton" (DE-247) sank "U-880" and "U-1235" at coord|47|53|N|30|26|W|. "Croatan" returned by way of NS Argentia, Newfoundland to New York 14 May for overhaul.

From 15 September to 3 November 1945, "Croatan" qualified aviators at Quonset Point, then cleared Norfolk 23 November on the first of two transatlantic voyages to bring troops home from Le Havre, France. "Croatan" was placed out of commission in reserve at Norfolk 20 May 1946. Reactivated, "Croatan" was assigned to MSTS in a noncommissioned status, manned by a civilian crew on 16 June 1958. In August 1963, she carried 23 F-104 Starfighters delivered to the Royal Norwegian Air Force 331 Squadron at Bodø, Norway. In October 1964, she served as an experimental ship under NASA control until May 1965. She was stricken for disposal 15 September 1970 and sold for scrap in 1971.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c15/croatan.htm