USS Rendova
USS Rendova was a of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of [5"/38 caliber gun|], [Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|], and [Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|] guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.
She was originally assigned the name Mosser Bay. she was laid down by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Washington, 15 June 1944; launched 29 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Anna-Marie H. Kurtz; and commissioned 22 October 1945, Capt. R. W. Ruble in command. She was completed at Willamette Iron and Steel Works.
Design
In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the s were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.Rendova was long overall, with a beam of at the waterline, which extended to at maximum. She displaced at full load, of which could be fuel oil, and at full load she had a draft of. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.
The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of for a top speed of. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some at a speed of.
Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two [5"/38 caliber gun|] dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six Bofors guns, and twenty Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.
Service history
The ship, originally named Mosser Bay, was ordered on 23 January 1943, and on 6 November, before work had begun, she was renamed Rendova after the landings on Rendova that occurred earlier that year. She was laid down at the Todd-Pacific Shipyards in Tacoma, Washington, on 15 June 1944 and was launched on 28 or 29 December. She was commissioned on 22 October 1945, by which time World War II had already ended. The ship completed her shakedown cruise in January 1946 before being assigned to First Fleet the following month. She took part in training exercises off the West Coast of the United States in March, but as the Navy was drawing down its force levels after the war, Rendova was removed from active service with only a skeleton crew to maintain her. She remained laid up in San Diego, California, for the next year, during which time she served as a headquarters ship for Carrier Division 15.Rendova was reactivated in early 1947, and she spent the rest of the year participating in training maneuvers held off the West Coast and in the Hawaii area. She was used as an aircraft transport in 1948, departing from San Francisco on 1 April with a cargo of North American T-6 Texan trainers, bound for Turkey. She arrived in Yesilkoy on 28 April and unloaded the aircraft before departing to return home on 4 May. She passed through the Suez Canal and then transited the Indian and Pacific Oceans on the way home, stopping in many foreign ports on the way to make goodwill visits. She reached San Diego on 1 July. Her stay there was brief, as she got underway again on 28 July, this time to China. She stopped in Qingdao from 23 to 27 August and then returned to San Diego by the end of September. She spent the rest of the year training off the California coast.
The ship made another voyage to Chinese waters in early 1949, visiting Qingdao once again. She patrolled between that port and Okinawa, Japan, until mid-April, when she departed to return to California. After arriving, she rejoined First Fleet and took part in training exercises for much of the rest of the year. She sailed to Bremerton, Washington, in October, for an overhaul in preparation to being decommissioned on 27 January 1950. She was then assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Korean war
Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950, which initiated the Korean War, Rendova was recommissioned on 3 January 1951. The ship was operational by April, and on 3 July, she departed for East Asia. She arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, on 2 August and then sailed south to Okinawa for combat training. She then sailed back to mainland Japan in September, arriving in Kobe on the 20th. There, she replaced her sister ship as the carrier for Task Group 95.1. On 22 September, she embarked Marine squadron VMF-212, which was equipped with Vought F4U Corsair fighters. The following day, she carried out carrier training for the pilots, and then loaded ammunition and supplies at Sasebo, Japan on the 24th. She departed Japan on 25 September for her operational area in the Yellow Sea.After arriving on station, she relieved the British aircraft carrier and began combat operations off the western coast of Korea on 26 September. Her aircraft supported American and South Korean ground forces fighting ashore, flew search and rescue missions, assisted enforcing a blockade of North Korean ports, and performed reconnaissance flights over enemy positions. Over the course of the next two months, her aircraft flew a total of 1,743 sorties, and on 17 November, the pilots of VMF-212 established a one-day record for escort carriers of 64 individual sorties. Throughout this period, she alternated with the Australian aircraft carrier. Rendova completed her combat tour on 6 December, departing to return to the United States soon thereafter. The ship earned two battle stars for her service during the war.