USS Ommaney Bay file photo [32896]

Ommaney Bay

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassCasablanca-class Escort Carrier
Hull NumberCVE-79
BuilderKaiser Vancouver Shipyard
Laid Down6 Oct 1943
Launched29 Dec 1943
Commissioned11 Feb 1944
Sunk4 Jan 1945
Displacement7,800 tons standard
Length512 feet
Beam65 feet
Draft22 feet
Machinery2 Skinner uniflow engines with two screws
Power Output9,000 shaft horsepower
Speed19 knots
Crew860
Armament1x5-in Anti-aircraft, 8x40mm, 20x20mm
Aircraft28

Contributor:

ww2dbaseNamed for a bay in Alaska, Ommaney Bay was commissioned in Feb 1944 with Captain Howard L. Young in command. She was fitted out at Astoria, Oregon, and conducted her shakedown cruise in Puget Sound. In Mar 1944, she sailed with supplies and aircraft on board for Brisbane, Australia. She did not have her carrier qualification landings and other drills until she returned from Australia at the end of Apr. She received her air group in Jun and sailed for combat mission in the Pacific in Aug. In Oct, she was stationed off Peleliu and Anguar Islands and provided air cover for the invasion forces ashore. Her next mission took her to the Philippines, supporting the invasion of Leyte. During the Battle off Samar on 25 Oct, her aircraft attacked the attacking Japanese fleet, assisting in the sinking of one Japanese cruiser. In Dec, she operated in Mindanao and Sulu Seas in the Philippines to continue her support of the Philippines campaign. On 19 Dec, she returned to port in preparation of the American landing in Lingayen Gulf on Luzon.

ww2dbaseOn 3 Jan 1945, while in Surigao Strait, Ommaney Bay was struck by a suicide aircraft with two bombs on her starboard side. One of the bombs tore through the flight deck and detonated in the middle of fueled aircraft; the other detonated near the fire main on the second deck. Power was lost quickly, and communications broke down. Without water pressure in the forward half of the ship, fires burned uncontrollably. Nearby ships attempted to assist in the firefighting, but the intense heat and the ammunition being set off made it impossible. With fire spreading near the torpedo storage (which did detonate later), the captain gave his abandon ship order. After the completion of the evacuation, destroyer Burns launched a torpedo, scuttling the ship. 93 of Ommaney Bay's crew and 2 from an assisting destroyer were lost.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Jan 2007

Escort Carrier Ommaney Bay (CVE-79) Interactive Map

Photographs

Escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay steaming off Hawaii, Jul 1944. Note the Measure 33, Design 15A dazzle paint scheme.A burning Yokosuka P1Y Ginga ‘Frances’ aircraft crossing astern of escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay in the Sulu Sea, Philippines, 15 Dec 1944. Moments later, the airplane crashed into the sea.Burning escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay as seen from sister ship USS Steamer Bay, 4 Jan 1945, Sulu Sea, Philippines. Ommaney Bay had been struck by a Japanese special attack aircraft and was later scuttled.Escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay on fire after being struck by a Japanese special attack aircraft in the Sulu Sea, Philippines, 4 Jan 1945. The destroyer USS Patterson can be seen approaching to help.

Ommaney Bay Operational Timeline

11 Feb 1944 Ommaney Bay was commissioned into service.
4 Jan 1945 In the Philippine Islands, Japanese aircraft attacked the American invasion fleet bound for Luzon; USS Ommaney Bay was seriously damaged by a special attack in the Sulu Sea and was scuttled.




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More on Ommaney Bay
Event(s) Participated:
» Palau Islands and Ulithi Islands Campaigns
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 1, the Leyte Campaign
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 2

Document(s):
» US Aircraft Carrier Functions
» US Aircraft Carrier Operational Status By Month
» US Carrier Time Operational

Escort Carrier Ommaney Bay (CVE-79) Photo Gallery
Escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay steaming off Hawaii, Jul 1944. Note the Measure 33, Design 15A dazzle paint scheme.
See all 4 photographs of Escort Carrier Ommaney Bay (CVE-79)


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