USS ''Sicily'' (CVE-118) was a in the United States Navy. She was named in honor of the island of Sicily, which was the site of a major invasion during World War II. ''Sicily'' was laid down on 23 October 1944 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Tacoma, Washington, as ''Sandy Bay''; launched on 14 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Julius Vanderwiele; renamed ''Sicily'' on 5 June 1945; and commissioned on 27 February 1946, Capt. B. W. Wright in command.

Operational history

''Sicily'' fitted out at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, loaded supplies at Seattle, and then sailed for San Diego where she held shakedown training during April and May. On 15 May, she was ordered to proceed to New York City, via the Panama Canal and

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. The carrier entered the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 6 June and remained there until 30 September when she sailed to

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, to conduct cold weather training. During the remainder of 1946 and until 3 April 1950, ''Sicily'' operated with the

U.S. Atlantic Fleet The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...

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 on 28 April. The carrier was scheduled to conduct

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typic ...

exercises during the summer, but the invasion of South Korea by the North Koreans, on 25 June, caused a radical change in her operating plans. ''Sicily'' was notified on 2 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 on 3 August launched aircraft of VMF-214 on their first air strike in support of Allied ground forces. During this tour, she supported ground operations at Pohang, the Inchon landing, the advance to Seoul, and the withdrawal of the marines from the Chosin Reservoir to Hungnam before returning to San Diego on 5 February 1951. On her second tour with the 7th Fleet, from 13 May to 12 October 1951, ''Sicily'' operated on both the east and west coast of Korea. Her last tour during the Korean War was from 8 May to 4 December 1952, and she served with the United Nations Escort and Blockading Force. ''Sicily'' was deployed to the Far East again from 14 July 1953 to 25 February 1954.

Honors and awards

''Sicily'' received five battle stars for service in the Korean War.

Decommissioning

Upon her return to the United States West Coast, ''Sicily'' was placed in reserve, out of commission, with the

Pacific 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 ...

. She was struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1960 and sold to the

Nicolai Joffe Corporation Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the surname ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (crater), a crater on the Moon See also * Niccolai, a surname * Nicolae (disambiguation) * Nicolao * ...

on 31 October 1960 for scrap.

Gallery

File:USN Captain John S. Thach USS Sicily (CVE-118).jpg, U.S. Navy Captain

John S. Thach John Smith Thach (April 19, 1905 – April 15, 1981) was a World War II Naval Aviator, air combat tactician, and United States Navy admiral. Thach developed the Thach Weave, a combat flight formation which could counter enemy fighters of superior ...

, commanding officer of ''Sicily'', discusses a mission with two United States Marine Corps pilots from his ship while aboard ''Sicily'' off the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sicily (CVE-118) Commencement Bay-class escort carriers 1945 ships Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States Korean War escort carriers of the United States Korean War aircraft carriers of the United States