- USS Rendova (CVE-114)
USS "Rendova" (CVE-114) was a "Commencement Bay" class
escort carrier of theUnited States Navy .She was originally assigned the name "Mosser Bay" and completed as the "Willamette"cite book
last = Silverstone
first = Paul H.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = US Warships of World War 2
publisher = Naval Institute Press
date = 1965
location = USA
pages =
url = http://www.usni.org/
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-87021-773-9] , she was laid down byTodd-Pacific Shipyards , Inc., Tacoma,Washington ,15 June 1944 ; launched29 December 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. Anna-Marie H. Kurtz; and commissioned22 October 1945 , Capt. R. W. Ruble in command.Operational history
Commissioned too late for service in
World War II , "Rendova" completed shakedown in early January 1946, and reported for duty with the 1st Fleet in February. During March, she conducted exercises off the west coast, but in April, her complement was reduced to a maintenance crew. Immobilized atSan Diego for a year, she remained on the active list as the administrative headquarters forCarrier Division 15 (CarDiv 15). In the spring of 1947, she returned to full active duty and for the next year conducted training exercises off the west coast and in theHawaiian Islands .On
1 April 1948 , she departedSan Francisco en route toTurkey with a cargo of AT-6 training planes for that country's air force. Steaming via thePanama Canal , she arrived atYesilkoy 28 April , off loaded her cargo, and continued her voyage4 May . She moved south toSuez , thence crossed the Indian andPacific Ocean s. With numerous good will visits en route, she returned to San Diego1 July , only to depart again on another mission, this time to Tsingtao, on the 28th. At Tsingtao23 August –27 August , she was back in San Diego, her homeport, in late September and through the fall trained on the west coast. With the new year, 1949, she again sailed west; operated between Tsingtao andOkinawa until mid-April; then returned to her homeport and resumed 1st Fleet training operations. In October, she arrived atBremerton , where, after overhaul, she was decommissioned,27 January 1950 , and berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet.Korean war
Six months later the North Korean Army crossed the 38th Parallel and "Rendova" was ordered activated. Recommissioned
3 January 1951 , she reported for duty in April and on3 July steamed west. She arrived atYokosuka 2 August ; underwent further training off Okinawa; then on20 September , arrived at Kobe to relieve USS|Sicily|CVE-118 as aircraft carrier unit under CTG 95.1.On the 22d, she completed embarking personnel, planes (F4Us), and equipment of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 212. On the 23rd, she conducted carrier qualifications for the squadron. On the 24th, she loaded ammunition and supplies at Sasebo and on the 25th, she got underway for operating area "Nan" in the
Yellow Sea . There she relieved HMS|Glory|R62 assuming CTE 95.11, and on the 26th, launched her first close air supportsortie . During the next months, she cruised off the west coast of Korea, alternating with HMAS|Sydney|R17 as CTE 95.11.VMF-212 recorded 1,743 sorties in support of ROK, U.S. Marine, and EUSAK ground forces; enforcing the U.N. blockade; rendering SAR assistance; and flying armed and photo reconnaissance missions. On17 November , the ship and the squadron established a new sortie record for CVEs - 64."Rendova" completed her last support operation
6 December . By the 22nd, she was back at San Diego and with the new year, 1952, she resumed west coast training operations with the 1st Fleet. In September, she sailed west again and for two months participated in Operation "Ivy" - an atomic test series in the Marshalls, then she returned toCalifornia . In commission, in reserve in 1953, she continued her training activities off the west coast, and in 1954 returned to the active fleet and another WestPac deployment, this time as a hunter-killer carrier. Back in California by mid-June, she conducted exercises out of Long Beach until October, then shifted toMare Island for preinactivation overhaul. She reported to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Francisco Group,2 February 1955 and was decommissioned30 June . Reclassified AKV-14 in 1959, she remained in the Reserve Fleet until struck from the Navy list1 April 1971 ."Rendova" earned two battle stars for Korean war service.
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.