World War II Database

Steamer Bay, CVE-87, was launched in Feb 1944 and had her trials in Puget Sound. Her first two missions involve ferrying men and aircraft of the United States Marine Corps to New Hebrides and Marshall Islands. Starting from her third mission she directly supported combat crafts, carrying replacement aircraft for Task Force 38, which busied itself with the landings at Palau and the Philippines. After repairs and training at Pearl Harbor from 15 Nov to 5 Dec 1944, she was assigned to Task Group 77.4, which supported the landings at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, and was directly involved in combat. She was the target of Japanese air attacks, seeing many of her fellow CVEs damaged, but she sustained little or no damage herself. On 31 Jan 1945, she steamed for Ulithi, preparing for the assault on Iwo Jima.

Steamer Bay arrived near Iwo Jima on 16 Feb 1945, and with three other escort carriers launched air missions against the Japanese ground defenses. When the landings started, her aircraft provided air cover for the marines. On 1 Apr 1945, she provided similar support for the landing at Okinawa as well. She remained in Okinawa until 26 May.

On 10 Jun 1945, after spending some time at Guam for repairs, Steamer Bay joined the Third Fleet and bombarded Sakishima Gunto islands between Okinawa and Taiwan between 14 and 22 Jun.

On 10 Aug, Steamer Bay returned to San Diego, where she remained until the end of the war. After the war, she was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, then she was placed out of commission in Jan 1947. She was sold for scrap on 29 Aug 1959.

USS Steamer Bay Operational Timeline

Photographs

Share this article with your friends:   Facebook   Reddit   Twitter   Digg   StumbleUpon   Delicious Stay updated with WW2DB:   RSS Feeds

Advertisement                    Close

Advertise on ww2db.com

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
	Your email will not be published
Your Comments
Security Code

Note: Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment.