USS ''Block Island'' (CVE-106) (then LPH-1 and CVE-106 again) was a of 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 ...

. She was the second ship to carry her name, done in honor of the first one, being launched 12 days after the original was sunk. She was launched on 10 June 1944 as ''Sunset Bay'' by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.

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 ...

; sponsored by Mrs. E. J. (Grace) Hallenbeck (mother of Major

Pappy Boyington Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with ...

, then a

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

of the Japanese), and commissioned as ''Block Island'' on 30 December 1944.

Service history

World War II

''Block Island'' got underway 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 ...

on 20 March 1945. Upon arrival she underwent a period of provisioning and training in preparation for the invasion of

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. On 17 April, ''Block Island'' left

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and steamed toward Okinawa, via

Ulithi 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 larges ...

. Flight operations commenced immediately upon her arrival 3 May and lasted until 16 June when she departed for

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. After a brief stay at San Pedro Bay, the carrier steamed through the Straits of Makassar for

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. From 26 June-6 July, she took part in the

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated ...

operation. She then proceeded 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 ...

where she was anchored at the time of the cessation of hostilities.

Post-War

From 6–9 September, ''Block Island'' took part in the evacuation of Allied prisoners of war from Formosa. She continued cruising in the Far East until 14 October, and arrived 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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

on 11 December 1945. Leaving San Diego on 6 January 1946, she transited 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 condui ...

and reached Norfolk on the 20th. She was placed in service in reserve on 28 May 1946. On 29 May 1946, ''Block Island'' was towed from Norfolk to Annapolis, reporting to the Superintendent of the Naval Academy to serve as a training ship for midshipmen. This duty was terminated on 3 October 1950, and ''Block Island'' was transferred to 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 ...

. The vessel was recommissioned on 28 April 1951 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet. From June 1951-November 1953, she carried out local operations off the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. In 1610, a supply ship learned of the famine at Jamestown when it ...

, made four cruises to the Caribbean and one to the United Kingdom, France, and Italy from 17 April – 26 June 1953. The painter Thomas Hart Benton was a guest on the return trip from Europe. On 15 January 1954, she was placed in commission in reserve at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and out of commission in reserve on 27 August 1954. In 1957–1958, she was redesignated LPH-1 in anticipation of conversion under project SCB 159 to an

amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...

, but the conversion was canceled and her designation reverted to CVE-106 before any work was done.* ''Block Island'' was stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 1 July 1959. File:USS Block Island (CVE-106) underway in the summer of 1953.jpg, USS ''Block Island'' underway, summer 1953 File:Piasecki HUP of HU-2 rescues pilot near USS Block Island (CVE-106) on 12 August 1953.jpg, alt=The dark tail of a Navy plane bobs upright in foggy, choppy seas, while a low hovering twin-rotor helicopter pulls a pilot from the water with a rope. The parent aircraft carrier just behind, with a handful of crew seen standing on the edge of the deck watching., Recovery of the crew of a U.S. Navy Grumman AF-2 Guardian from Anti-Submarine Squadron VS-22 by Helicopter Utility Squadron HU-2 after the plane was forced to ditch immediately after launching in 1953. Parent escort carrier USS Block Island is standing by in the background. File:8819770020104i.jpg, Thomas Hart Benton (wearing hat) aboard USS ''Block Island''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Block Island (Cve-106) Commencement Bay-class escort carriers World War II escort aircraft carriers of the United States Ships built in Tacoma, Washington 1944 ships Cold War escort carriers of the United States