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USS Kitkun Bay
Casablanca-class escort carrier of the US Navy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) was the seventeenth of fifty Casablanca-class escort carrier built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was launched in November 1943, and transferred to the Navy and commissioned in December. She served in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Battle off Samar, in which she was the first ship to undergo kamikaze attack, and the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, during which she was damaged by another kamikaze and forced to withdraw. Post-war, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from around the Pacific. She was decommissioned in April 1946, and sold for scrapping in November. Ultimately, she was broken up in early 1947.
![]() USS Kitkun Bay underway, 10 February 1944 | |
History | |
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Name | Kitkun Bay |
Namesake | Kitkun Bay, Prince of Wales Island |
Ordered | as a Type S4-S2-BB3 hull, MCE hull 1108[1] |
Awarded | 18 June 1942 |
Builder | Kaiser Shipyards |
Laid down | 3 May 1943 |
Launched | 8 November 1943 |
Commissioned | 15 December 1943 |
Decommissioned | 19 April 1946 |
Stricken | 1 April 1960 |
Identification | Hull symbol: CVE-71 |
Honors and awards | 6 Battle stars, a Presidential Unit Citation for conduct during the Battle off Samar |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 18 November 1946 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Casablanca-class escort carrier |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam |
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Draft | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) (max) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | |
Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Range | 10,240 nmi (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 27 |
Aviation facilities | |
Service record | |
Part of: | United States Pacific Fleet (1944–1946) |
Operations: |