Sangamon-class escort carrier

Class overview
USS Santee (ACV-29) at anchor, 1942
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 escort carrier
Succeeded by:	Casablanca-class escort carrier
Built:	1942
In commission:	1942–1959
Completed:	4
General characteristics
Type:	Escort carrier
Displacement:	11,400 long tons (11,583 t) standard 24,275 long tons (24,665 t) full
Length:	553 ft (169 m)
Beam:	75 ft (23 m) 114 ft (35 m) extreme width
Draft:	32 ft (9.8 m)
Propulsion:	2 steam turbines, 2 shafts, 4 boilers, 13,500 shp (10,067 kW)
Speed:	18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement:	860-1080 officers and men
Armament:	2 × 127 mm/51 cal. guns (2×1)^[1] 8 × Bofors 40 mm guns (4×2) 12 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons (12×1) Additional 20 & 40 mm guns later added
Aircraft carried:	25-32 Grumman F4F Wildcat & Grumman TBF Avenger or Douglas SBD Dauntless

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

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 1940-41. 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.^[2]

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 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.^[3]

The Sagamon-class were all renamed for rivers following the contemporary US Navy practice for oilers when taken into Navy 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Ships

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

Notes

↑ Friedman 1983 p. 407
↑ Stefan Terzibaschitsch: Flugzeugtraeger der U.S. Navy. Geleitflugzeugtraeger. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1979, pp. 31. ISBN 978-3-7637-5212-6
↑ Stefan Terzibaschitsch: Flugzeugtraeger der U.S. Navy. Geleitflugzeugtraeger. Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1979, p. 67. ISBN 978-3-7637-5212-6
↑ Paul H. Silverstone: US Warships of World War II. Ian Allan, London 1965 (reprint 1982), p. 55. ISBN 0-7110-0157-X
↑ 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.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sangamon class escort carrier.

Sangamon-class escort carriers

Sangamon Suwannee Chenango Santee

Preceded by: Bogue class Followed by: Casablanca class List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy

United States naval ship classes of World War II

Aircraft carriers	Lexington Ranger^S Yorktown Wasp^S Essex Midway^C

Light aircraft carriers	Independence Saipan^C

Escort carriers	Long Island Charger Bogue Sangamon Casablanca Commencement Bay

Battleships	Wyoming New York Nevada Pennsylvania New Mexico Tennessee Colorado North Carolina South Dakota Iowa Montana^X

Large cruisers	Alaska

Heavy cruisers	Pensacola Northampton Portland New Orleans Wichita^S Baltimore Oregon City^C Des Moines^C

Light cruisers	Omaha Brooklyn St. Louis Atlanta Cleveland Fargo^C Juneau^C Worcester^C

Gunboats	Asheville Tulsa Dubuque Plymouth^S Williamsburg^S St. Augustine^S Vixen^S Erie

Destroyers	Sampson Caldwell Wickes Clemson Farragut Porter Mahan Gridley Bagley Somers Benham Sims Benson Gleaves Fletcher Allen M. Sumner Robert H. Smith Gearing

Destroyer escorts	Evarts Buckley Cannon Edsall Rudderow John C. Butler

Patrol frigates	Asheville Tacoma

Patrol boats	Action PT boat

Minesweepers	Lapwing Raven Auk Eagle^S Hawk Admirable

Submarines	O R S Barracuda Argonaut^S Narwhal Dolphin^S Cachalot Porpoise Salmon Sargo Tambor Mackerel Gato Balao Tench

S Single ship of class C Completed after the war X Cancelled

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