- USS Sicily (CVE-118)
USS "Sicily" (CVE-118) was a sclass|Commencement Bay|escort carrier in the
United States Navy . She was named in honor of the island ofSicily , which was the site of a major invasion duringWorld War II . "Sicily" was laid down on23 October 1944 byTodd-Pacific Shipyards , Tacoma,Washington , as "Sandy Bay"; launched on14 April 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. Julius Vanderwiele; renamed "Sicily" on5 June 1945 ; and commissioned on27 February 1946 , Capt. B. W. Wright in command.Operational history
, to conduct cold weather training.
During the remainder of 1946 and until
3 April 1950 , "Sicily" operated with theU.S. Atlantic Fleet out of her home port of Norfolk. At that time, she was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet with San Diego as her home port, arriving there on28 April . The carrier was scheduled to conductantisubmarine warfare exercises during the summer, but the invasion ofSouth Korea by theNorth Korea ns, on25 June , caused a radical change in her operating plans. "Sicily" was notified on2 July that she was needed in the Far East; and she sailed, two days later, for the first of three deployments to Korean waters. "Sicily" was designated flagship of Carrier Division (CarDiv) 15 and on3 August launched aircraft ofVMF-214 on their first air strike in support of Allied ground forces. During this tour, she supported ground operations atPohang , theInchon landing, the advance toSeoul , and the withdrawal of the marines from the Chosin Reservoir toHungnam before returning to San Diego on5 February 1951 . On her second tour with the 7th Fleet, from13 May to12 October 1951 , "Sicily" operated on both the east and west coast of Korea. Her last tour during the Korean conflict was from8 May to4 December 1952 , and she served with the United Nations Escort and Blockading Force. "Sicily" was deployed to the Far East again from14 July 1953 to25 February 1954 .Decommissioning
Upon her return to the west coast, "Sicily" was placed in reserve, out of commission, with the
Pacific Reserve Fleet . She was struck from theNavy List on1 July 1960 and sold toNicolai Joffe Corporation on31 October for scrap."Sicily" received five battle stars for service in Korea.
References
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