USS ''Solomons'' (CVE-67) was the thirteenth of fifty s built for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. She was the first Navy vessel named after the
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...
, a lengthy operation that most famously included the
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...
, albeit she was not the first named ''Solomons''. The ship was
launched in October 1943,
commissioned in November, and served in
anti-submarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
operations during the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
, as well as in other miscellaneous training and transport missions. Her frontline duty consisted of four anti-submarine patrols, with her third tour being the most notable, when her aircraft contingent sank the during her third combat patrol. She was decommissioned in August 1946, being
mothballed in the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...
. Ultimately, she was
broken up
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...
in 1947.
Design and description
''Solomons'' was a ''Casablanca''-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
ever built, and was designed specifically to be rapidly mass-produced using prefabricated sections, in order to replace heavy early war losses. By the end of their production run, the time taken between laying down the hull and launching the ship had been cut down to nearly one month. Standardized with her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s, she was
long overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
, had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , and a
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
of . She
displaced standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and with a
full load
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. She had a long
hangar deck
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
and a long
flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
. She was powered with two
Skinner Unaflow
The uniflow type of steam engine uses steam that flows in one direction only in each half of the cylinder. Thermal efficiency is increased by having a temperature gradient along the cylinder. Steam always enters at the hot ends of the cylinder an ...
reciprocating steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s, which drove two shafts, providing , thus enabling her to make . The ship had a cruising range of at a speed of . Her compact size limited the length of the flight deck and necessitated the installment of an
aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...
at her bow, and there were two
aircraft elevators to facilitate movement of aircraft between the flight and hangar deck: one each
fore and
aft.
One
/38 caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
dual-purpose gun
A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.
Description
Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and ...
was mounted on the stern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by eight
Bofors anti-aircraft guns in single mounts, as well as twelve
Oerlikon cannons, which were mounted around the perimeter of the deck. By the end of the war, ''Casablanca''-class carriers had been modified to carry thirty cannons, and the number of Bofors guns had been doubled to 16, by putting them into twin mounts. These modifications were in response to increasing casualties due to
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
attacks. Although ''Casablanca''-class escort carriers were designed to function with a crew of 860 and an embarked squadron of 50 to 56, the exigencies of wartime often necessitated the inflation of the crew count. ''Casablanca''-class escort carriers were designed to carry 27 aircraft, but the hangar deck could accommodate more, which was often necessary during transport or especially training missions, due to the constant turnover of pilots and aircraft.
Construction
Her construction was awarded to
Kaiser Shipbuilding Company
The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser ...
,
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, under a
Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...
contract, on 18 June 1942. The escort carrier was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
on 19 March 1943 under the name ''Emperor'', with the intention of transferring her 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 F ...
under
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
. She was laid down as MC hull 1104, the thirteenth of a series of fifty ''Casablanca''-class escort carriers. On 28 June 1943, with the having been designated to be transferred in her place, ''Emperor'' was redesignated as an auxiliary aircraft carrier and therefore received the hull symbol ACV-67, indicating that she was the sixty-seventh
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
to be
commissioned into the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. As a part of this change, she was also renamed to ''Nassuk Bay'', as part of a tradition which named escort carriers after bays or sounds in Alaska. On 15 July, with the handover of ''Pybus'' having been completed, she was redesignated as an escort carrier and received her final hull symbol of CVE-67. She was
launched on 6 October 1943;
sponsored by Mrs. F. J. McKenna; transferred to the Navy, renamed to ''Solomons'' as part of a new naval policy which named subsequent ''Casablanca''-class carriers after naval or land engagements, and commissioned on 21 November 1943, with
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Marion Edward Crist in command.
Service history
![Uss solomons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Uss_solomons.jpg)
Upon being commissioned, ''Solomons'' underwent a
shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise s ...
in the area between
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
and
Astoria,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, conducting tests, evaluations, and training exercises for four weeks. She left Astoria on 20 December, making a stop at
Alameda
An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
**Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
on 23 December, and arriving at
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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
on 25 December. There, after conducting some more exercises, she departed 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 Re ...
on 30 December. On 6 January 1944, she took on a load of passengers, supplies, as well as dysfunctional aircraft to be taken to the West Coast for repairs or salvage. She left on 9 January, arriving back at San Diego on 14 January. For the rest of January, she conducted battle practices off of southern California. She left San Diego with a load of aircraft on 30 January for the East Coast. As she approached the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
, her aircraft participated in a simulated aerial attack on the canal in order to test its defenses. She stopped at
Balboa,
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
on 9 February, where she embarked passengers, and departed on 11 February, arriving at the
naval station A Naval Station was a geographic command responsible for conducting all naval operations within its defined area. It may consist of flotillas, or squadrons, or individual ships under command.
The British Royal Navy for command purposes was separ ...
in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, on 16 February.
At Norfolk, ''Solomons'' took on her aircraft contingent of
Composite Squadron (VC) 9, supplies, and aviation stores, before putting out to sea on 21 March for
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. She arrived at
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
on 13 April, and upon arriving, joined the
United States Fourth Fleet
The U.S. Fourth Fleet is a United States Navy numbered fleet. It is the Naval Component Command of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM). The Fourth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. It is responsible for U ...
for anti-submarine duties in the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, under the command of
Vice admiral Jonas H. Ingram
Admiral (United States), Admiral Jonas Howard Ingram (October 15, 1886 – September 9, 1952) was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. He commanded the United States Atlantic Fleet during World War II and was ...
. She joined Task Group 46.1, which centered around ''Solomons'', screened by the
destroyer escorts
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
, , , and . On 14 April, she began her first anti-submarine patrol. Her first patrol, which lasted until 30 April, proved to be uneventful. The only indications of possible contact were some green flares spotted on the morning of 22 April, as well as some unsuccessful
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
attacks on a signature that might have been Her second patrol, from 4 May to 20 May, had even less activity.
![TBF ramp strike on USS Solomons (CVE-67)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/TBF_ramp_strike_on_USS_Solomons_%28CVE-67%29.jpeg/1200px-TBF_ramp_strike_on_USS_Solomons_%28CVE-67%29.jpeg)
''Solomons'' departed Recife for her third patrol on 30 May. A submarine had been spotted off of
Salvador
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
proceeding to the northeast, and the task group was dispatched after it, without any results. The task group spent the front half of its patrol chasing several signature reports, including one about a Japanese
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
, but with no results. However,
high-frequency direction finding
High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate over ...
had picked up a lead of a
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
off of southwestern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
heading on a northwesterly course on 9 June. Thus, the task group went to the northeast, in a direction to possibly intercept.
In the midst of her patrol, on 15 June, one of VC-9's
Avenger
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
s, piloted by
Ens. G.E. Edwards, reported a contact at a bearing of 70 degrees and some from the carrier at 10:21. The Avenger proceeded towards the contact, and there was no further word relayed back. In fact, it had spotted the
Type IXD2 at 12:21 as it proceeded approximately south of
St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
. The Avenger immediately made four attack runs against ''U-860'', and was shot down by antiaircraft fire on the fourth run, killing all three of the Avenger's crew. However, the Avenger had managed to inflict enough damage on the submarine such that it could not safely dive, something that would later prove fatal for ''U-860''. It was not until 14:00 that a group was cobbled together on ''Solomons'' to investigate Chamberlain's report. At 17:22, VC-9's commanding officer,
Lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
H.M. Avery, spotted a wake about away. Proceeding closer, he could observe that it was ''U-860'' on a southeasterly course, proceeding at about , whereupon he immediately issued a contact report back to ''Solomons''. Two of ''Solomons''s screening vessels, the destroyer escorts ''Straub'' and ''Herzog'', were immediately dispatched to Avery's contact. As the Avenger moved closer, the gunners on ''U-860'' threw up a screen of flak, convincing Avery to wait for reinforcements. As Avery was transmitting his contact report back, two
Wildcat
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
and one Avenger were preparing to land on ''Solomons'', having been unsuccessful in spotting any targets. Upon receiving the news, the three aircraft turned around and headed to join Avery.
The three aircraft rendezvoused with Avery, and a series of three organized attacks were planned, which were launched at 19:46, under the waning evening sun. In the first attack, ''U-860'' was first strafed by the two Wildcats piloted by Ens. T.J. Wadsworth and Ens. R.E. McMahon, whilst the submarine moved in evasive circles, unable to dive. Hits were observed on the submarine's deck, conning tower, and bandstand. As the two Wildcats pulled up from their dive, only about above ''U-860'', Wadsworth's Wildcat was damaged by flak in a wing tank, forcing him to return to ''Solomons''. The two Avengers, piloted by Avery and Ens. M.J. Spear, followed up with rockets as the Wildcats were being harried by flak. The pilots of VC-9 had been trained to aim their rockets to hit to the fore of the conning tower, where the most vulnerable systems laid. Spear's Avenger, flying from the aft of the submarine, fired eight rockets from , six of which were observed connecting with the U-boat just to the starboard fore of the conning tower. Avery's Avenger, flying from the fore, fired six rockets from , all of which connected with the front of the U-boat, some in front of the conning tower.
Following this attack, ''U-860'' started to slow down, and turned southwards. At 17:51, two more aircraft arrived on the scene, two Avengers, one piloted by
Lieutenant, junior grade
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.
United States
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...
W.F. Chamberlain, and one piloted by Lieutenant, junior grade D.E. Weigle. The two aircraft immediately engaged ''U-860'', with McMahon's Wildcat making another strafing run to try to suppress antiaircraft fire. In the second attack, Weigle, running in from the fore, fired eight rockets, six of which connected in the area to the fore of the conning tower. Following this run, ''U-860'' slowed down to just a crawl, at only . In the third, and final attack, Chamberlain, charging from the port, dropped two
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s directly forward of the conning tower whilst Lt. Cdr. Avery strafed ''U-860'' to suppress antiaircraft fire. However, Chamberlain proceeded much too low, dropping the depth charges only over the submarine. The explosions rocked his aircraft, starting a fire in the bomb bay and in the central cockpit. Chamberlain maintained a semblance of control, and came to a relatively soft landing to the starboard of the sinking U-boat. ''U-860'' sank after this last attack, at 19:53, with 42 of her crew going down with the ship.
''Straub'' and ''Herzog'' arrived during the night. Under the darkness, the two destroyers were forced to rely heavily upon ''Solomon''s aircraft, which fired starshells and dropped flares. First, they attempted to recover Chamberlain and his crew, but were unable to find any trace of them. They then proceeded to the submarine's wreck, where ''Straub'' began rescuing survivors, whilst ''Herzog'' provided a screen. ''Straub'' eventually recovered 21 crewmen, including ''U-860''s commander,
Fregattenkapitän
Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy.
Address
In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' (O ...
Paul Büchel. One of the survivors was resuscitated only after twenty minutes of artificial respiration. ''Solomons'' continued her third patrol until 23 June, when she returned to Recife to refuel and to disembark the captured German sailors.
Following a fourth anti-submarine patrol, as well as a stop at
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, ''Solomons'' sailed back north to Naval Station Norfolk, arriving on 24 August. She moored at Norfolk for a month before heading for
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, docking there on 25 September. She took on a load of 150
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
airmen
An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions.
In civilian aviation usage, t ...
along with their
P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
fighters, and departed on 6 October, on a mission to ferry them to
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
,
French Morocco
The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
. She was back at the East Coast on 7 November, anchored within
Narrangansett Bay,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
.
For the rest of 1944, ''Solomons'' served as a training carrier, qualifying Navy and
Marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
pilots in carrier landings, initially off of
Quonset Point
Quonset Point (), also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Its name is widely known from the Quonset hut, which was first manufactured there. ''Quonset'' is an Algonqu ...
. In January 1945, she steamed southwards to
Port Everglades
Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, where she continued to qualify pilots throughout the rest of 1945. At Port Everglades, Captain Richard Stanley Moss raised his flag over the vessel. For a week in December 1945, she was diverted from her mission to participate in a search for the 14 missing airmen of
Flight 19
Flight 19 was the designation of a group of five General Motors TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945, after losing contact during a United States Navy overwater navigation training flight fr ...
, as well as the 13 airmen from a
Martin PBM Mariner
The Martin PBM Mariner was an American Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War era. It was designed to complement the Consolidated PBY Catalina and Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, PB2Y Coronado in s ...
flying boat that went missing after being dispatched to look for Flight 19. On 15 February 1946, Captain Allen Smith Jr. took over command of the vessel.
Having finished her qualification duties, ''Solomons'' proceeded northwards to the
naval shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
at
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, where she was decommissioned, on 15 May, joining the Boston group of the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...
. She was struck from the
Navy list
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...
on 5 June 1946, and she was sold for
scrapping
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
in December 1946 to the Patapsco Scrap Corp., headquartered at
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. She was delivered to its agent at
Newport on 22 December. She was ultimately broken up in 1947.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomons
Casablanca-class escort carriers
World War II escort aircraft carriers of the United States
Cold War amphibious assault ships of the United States
Ships built in Vancouver, Washington
1943 ships
S4-S2-BB3 ships