Sangamon-class escort carrier

The Sangamon class were a group of four escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy that served during World War II.

USS Santee (ACV-29) at anchor, 1942
Class overview
Name	Sangamon-class escort carrier
Builders	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company: Sangamon & Suwannee Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.: Chenango & Santee
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Bogue class
Succeeded by	Casablanca class
Built	1942
In commission	1942–1947
Completed	4
Retired	4
Scrapped	4
General characteristics
Type	Escort carrier
Displacement	11,400 long tons (11,600 t) (standard load) 24,275 long tons (24,665 t) (full load)
Length	525 ft (160 m) wl 553 ft (169 m) oa 502 ft (153 m) fd
Beam	75 ft (23 m) 114 ft (35 m) extreme width
Draft	32 ft (9.8 m)
Installed power	13,500 shp (10,067 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Boilers (450 psi (3,100 kPa) 2 × Steam turbines 2 × screws
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	860-1080 officers and men
Armament	2 × Single 127 mm (5.0 in)/51 caliber guns 4 × Twin 40 mm (1.57 in)/56-caliber Bofors 40 guns 12 × Single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons Additional 20 & 40 mm guns later added
Aircraft carried	25-32 Grumman F4F Wildcat & Grumman TBF Avenger or Douglas SBD Dauntless
Aviation facilities	1 × Catapult (One additional catapult added later) 2 × Elevators

Overview

These ships were originally Cimarron-class oilers, launched in 1939 for civilian use. They were acquired and commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1940–1941. Due to the shortage of MARAD type C3 ships for conversion to desperately needed escort carriers, it was decided in early 1942 to convert four oilers to escort carriers. The conversion took around six months.^[1]

These ships were the largest escort carrier conversions built for the U.S. Navy. The late-war Commencement Bay-class escort carriers were about as large, but were built as carriers from keel up. Being built as T3 tanker oilers, the machinery space was located aft, resulting in the placing of the smokestacks on both sides aft of the flight deck. They were excellent examples of the type, roomy and tough with a large flight deck and good stability on even high seas. The Sangamons could operate about 30 aircraft, and were the only escort carriers to operate dive bombers.^[2]

The Sangamon class were all renamed for rivers following the contemporary U.S. Navy practice for oilers when taken into naval service and retained those names following their conversions to carriers.

Service history

From late 1942 until the end of the war the ships saw active duty in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific Campaigns. Three of the class were damaged by Japanese kamikaze attacks at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but all survived the war. In the Pacific, the carriers often operated together as Carrier Division 22.^[3]

The ships were withdrawn from active service shortly after the end of the war. Some of them were kept in reserve and reclassified as helicopter escort carriers (CVHE). All had been sold or scrapped by the early 1960s.^[4]

Ships

List of Sangamon-class escort carriers

Ship name	Hull no.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Recommissioned as escort carrier	Decommissioned	Fate
Sangamon	CVE-26	Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny, New Jersey	13 March 1939	4 November 1939	25 August 1942	24 October 1945	Struck 1 November 1945; Scrapped in Osaka, Japan, August 1960
Suwannee	CVE-27		3 June 1938	4 March 1939	24 September 1942	8 January 1947	Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap 30 November 1959
Chenango	CVE-28	Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania	10 July 1938	1 April 1939	19 September 1942	14 August 1946	Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap 12 February 1960
Santee	CVE-29		31 May 1938	4 March 1939	24 August 1942	21 October 1946	Struck 1 March 1959; Sold for scrap 5 December 1959

See also

• List of ship classes of the Second World War
• List of aircraft carriers

Notes

1. Terzibaschitsch 1979 p. 31
2. Terzibaschitsch 1979 p. 67
3. Paul H. Silverstone: US Warships of World War II. Ian Allan, London 1965 (reprint 1982), p. 55. ISBN 0-7110-0157-X
4. Paul H. Silverstone: US Warships since 1945. Ian Allan, London 1986, p. 23. ISBN 0-7110-1598-8

References

• Friedman, Norman (1983). U.S. Aircraft Carriers. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-739-9.
• Terzibaschitsch, Stefan (1979). Flugzeugtraeger der U.S. Navy. Geleitflugzeugtraeger. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5212-6.