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U.S.S. CAPE ESPERANCE
(CVE-88)NOT SELF BUT COUNTRY - NOT WORDS BUT ACTION
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USS CAPE ESPERANCE (CVE-88)
USS Cape Esperance was a Casablanca-class aircraft carrier built and active during World War II and the Korean War. Though she received only two battle stars (for her service in World War II), her history was comparatively longer than those of her sister carriers, and she was part of both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. Below are her highlights:
From the time she was commissioned in the spring of 1944 until the war’s end, Cape Esperance transported new, combat-ready aircraft as well as personnel to strategic locations in the Pacific, including the Philippines, Ulithi, Guam, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the larger islands of Japan. The planes she transported were crucial in securing Philippine and Japanese territories.
Post-World War II and the Korean War
During the early 1950s, she continued performing similar duties to support the Korean War, ferrying aircraft and personnel from the US to bases in Japan. She also picked up Chinese Nationalist aircraft to avoid seizure by Mao Zedong’s Communist forces.
Other
Cape Esperance also traversed the Panama Canal to ferry aircraft to Italy, France, and Portugal in 1955. She then maintained a rigorous schedule of nearly constant transpacific voyages until she was sold for scrap in 1959.
CVE-88 Deployments - Major Events
Add a CVE-88 Shellback Initiation | Add a CVE-88 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MAR | 1944 | - | Launch Date: 3 MAR 1944 | ||
APR | 1944 | - | Commissioned: 9 APR 1944 | ||
JUN | 1944 | - | Shellback Initiation - 3 JUN 1944 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1944 | - | Shellback Initiation - 13 AUG 1944 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1946 | - | Shellback Initiation - 13 AUG 1946 - Pacific Ocean | ||
JUL | 1950 | - | DEC | 1950 | Inchon Landing |
MAY | 1953 | - | JUN | 1954 | West Pac |
MAY | 1954 | - | JAN | 1955 | West Pac |
JUL | 1955 | - | Shellback Initiation - 15 JUL 1955 - Pacific Ocean | ||
JAN | 1959 | - | Decommissioned: 15 JAN 1959 |
CVE-88 General Specifications
Class: Casablanca
Named for: Cape Esperance
Complement: 860 Officers and Enlisted
Displacement: 10400 tons
Length: 512 feet 3 inches
Beam: 65 feet 2 inches
Flank Speed: 20 knots
Final Disposition: Sold 14 May 1959