USS ''Nassau'' (CVE-16) (originally AVG-16 then ACV-16) was laid down 27 November 1941 by the
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (also operating as Todd Pacific) was an American corporation which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II i ...
of
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...
, as M.C. Hull No. 234; launched 4 April 1942; sponsored by Mrs. G. H. Hasselman, Tongue Point, Oregon; acquired by the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
1 May, towed to the
Puget Sound Navy Yard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...
,
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...
, and converted to an escort carrier; and commissioned 20 August, Captain Austin K. Doyle in command.
''Nassau'' was one of thirty-seven Tacoma-built C3 CVEs, of which twenty-six went to the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. It was one of the ten s that served in the U.S. Navy.
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...
, loaded aircraft, and four days later steamed for
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
, thence to
Palmyra Island
Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii a ...
, arriving 30 October. For the next four months, she operated between Palmyra and
Nouméa
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
,
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
.
''Nassau'' returned to Pearl Harbor 14 February 1943, embarked personnel and aircraft, and sailed 21 February on a ferry mission to Espiritu Santo. She returned to Pearl Harbor in mid-March and then continued on to Alameda, California. In April, she moved to San Diego and conducted flight training operations, after which she rendezvoused with Task Group 51.1 and steamed for
Cold Bay, Alaska
Cold Bay ( ale, Udaamagax,; Sugpiaq: ''Pualu'') is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 108, but at the 2020 census this had reduced to 50.
Cold Bay is one of the main commercial ...
with Composite Squadron 21 (VC-21) embarked.
''Nassau'' got underway on a search mission 4 May and conducted flight operations with Task Force 51, providing air cover for the occupation of Attu Island from 11 May through 20 May. She returned to San Diego in late May, arrived at Alameda 8 June and onloaded 45 aircraft destined for
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, Australia. She delivered the aircraft 2 July and returned to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
via Nouméa, New Caledonia.
In August, she trained off San Diego before ferrying planes to
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
. Returning to San Diego from Samoa, 19 October, ''Nassau'' embarked Marine Fighter Squadron 225 (VMF-225) for passage to Pearl Harbor. Arriving 30 October, she conducted air operations off Pearl Harbor during the early days of November and on 7 November, she embarked Fighter Squadron 7 (VF-1) and steamed for the Gilbert Islands for operations with Task Force 52.
''Nassau''s mission was to transport VF-1 to
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
combat air patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
and flew bombing and strafing runs from the carrier in support of the assault troops. The squadron flew a total of 106 missions and spent 237 hours of flying time in four days of operations without losing a single plane or pilot.
''Nassau'' returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 December following flight operations. She then sailed to the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
with Task Group 51.2 and launched strikes 29 January 1944 against Taroa Field on
Maloelap
The Maloelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only , but that encloses a lagoon of ...
Atoll. The next day, the Task Group centered its operations around
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...
,
Wotje
Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands.
Geography
Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...
, and Maloelap Atolls, with ''Nassau'' conducting both anti-submarine and combat air patrols.
''Nassau'' returned to Pearl Harbor 3 March, disembarked VC-66, and took on aircraft, cargo, and passengers for ferry to the Marshall Islands. Throughout March, ferry missions were performed between Kwajalein,
Majuro
Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...
, and Pearl Harbor. After repairs and alterations at
Mare Island Navy Yard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...
, the carrier sailed with 51 aircraft for
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U.S ...
,
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
5 May. The next four months she performed ferry missions from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, the
Admiralties
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-cov ...
and the New Hebrides Islands.
Upon arrival at
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German colonial activity between 1884 a ...
1 September, ''Nassau'' reported to Commander Task Group 30.8. Thus began her tour of duty with Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet, which made unprecedented naval history in the following months. ''Nassaus mission was to operate out of the Admiralties with other escort carriers to provide replacement aircraft and pilots for the attack carriers of Task Force 38. Steaming in company with the oiler groups, which refueled the ships of the Task Force at sea, ''Nassau'' made three cruises into the western Pacific. She returned to the Admiralties with disabled aircraft which were destined for shipment to Pearl Harbor or the United States for reconditioning.
The first of these replacement trips was in support of the strikes against
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
; the second in support of operations against the southern and central
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. Then Task Force 38 shifted to more northerly targets in the Philippines and Formosa. ''Nassau'' reached Manus on 20 October. After offloading old aircraft and taking on new ones, she departed on her last replacement trip. Steaming to
Ulithi Atoll
Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap.
Overview
Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest ...
in the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...
, she joined up with Task Groups 38.1 and 38.3 on 28 October and transferred 70 aircraft and 43 pilots to the attack carriers.
Task Unit 12.6.1, composed of ''Nassau'', and four other ships steamed for Pearl Harbor 5 November, arriving 16 November. Two days later, ''Nassau'' was dispatched to San Diego. Among her passengers were 382 survivors of , which was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 24 October 1944. Another ferry mission to Pearl Harbor followed in mid-November, with three more runs to
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
in December, January 1945, and February. ''Nassau'' returned to Alameda, California, 23 March and through the remainder of the war, performed transport and ferry missions between Alameda, Pearl Harbor, Guam, Manus,
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
and Saipan.
''Nassau'' departed Alameda 13 May 1946 for Tacoma, Washington. On 28 October, she decommissioned and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Designated for modification for aircraft transportation purposes, her classification was changed to CVHE-16, 12 June 1955. Shortly thereafter she transferred to the Bremerton Reserve Group, and was struck from the Navy Register, 1 March 1959. In June 1961, she was towed to Japan for scrapping.
Awards
''Nassau'' received five
battle stars
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...