Commissioning
The USS Chenango was a member of the Sangamon class of escort aircraft carriers. Originally, she was known as the Esso New Orleans, built by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of Chester, Pa. She was launched on April 1, 1939 and was acquired by the U.S. Navy on May 31, 1941. She was re-named and commissioned on June 20, 1941.
Underway
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II, the Chenango was re-fitted as an escort aircraft carrier. That process was started on March 16, 1942 and completed just over six months later when she was re-commissioned on Sept. 19, 1942. She would see action almost immediately, serving as a platform for U.S. Army Air Force aircraft flying support missions off the coast of French Morocco during Operation Torch in early November. After completing operations off North Africa, the Chanango was ordered to the Pacific Ocean.
The Chenango would arrive in the Western Pacific in 1943 and would spend several months providing air support for convoys supporting the American forces involved in fighting on Guadalcanal. She would later support the invasion of Tarawa, providing air cover for the assault force and attacking enemy positions on the island as well as defending supply convoys from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8.
In early 1944, the Chenango supported the invasion of Roi, Kwajalein and Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands chain. In April, she provided air coverage for assaults in the Marianas, attacking Japanese airfields and harbor facilities and sinking several enemy ships in the process.
The Chenango was on station in Leyte Gulf a week before the allied invasion of the Philippines began on Oct. 20, 1944 to take part in air attacks intended to weaken Japanese defenses. She would not, however, take part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in which several other Sangamon-class carriers were damaged by Japanese kamikaze attacks.
The Chenango was deployed to Okinawa in April 1945 to provide air cover for the invasion of that island. After providing close air support to the initial invasion on April 1, her aircraft were ordered to attack kamikaze bases on Sakashima Gunto. The Chenango would remain on station off Okinawa until June 11, in spite of damage caused by a fire after a crash landing on April 9.
The Chenango had received orders to prepare to take part in the ultimate invasion of Japan, but those plans were scrapped after the Japanese surrendered in August 1945. Instead, she would carry 1,900 allied prisoners of war and 1,500 civilians from slave labor camps to the west coast of the United States. She would do the same for veterans from Okinawa and Pearl Harbor before heading to Boston for decommissioning.
The Chenango would end the war with 11 combat stars and the Navy Unit Commendation.
Decommissioning
The Chenango was decommissioned on Aug. 14, 1946 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959. She was sold on Feb. 12, 1960, and later scrapped.
Characteristics of the USS Chenango (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Class and type: Sangamon-class escort carrier
Displacement: 6,534 long tons (6,639 t)
Length: 559 ft (170 m)
Beam: 75 ft (23 m);114 ft 3 in (34.8 m) extreme width
Draft: 32 ft 4 in (9.9 m)
Speed: 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement: 860 officers and men
Armament: • 2 × 5 in (130 mm)/51 cal. guns[1]
Aircraft carried: 31
Career:
Name: USS Chenango
Acquired: 31 May 1941
Commissioned: 20 June 1941, as AO-31
Decommissioned: 16 March 1942
Recommissioned: 19 September 1942, as ACV-28
Decommissioned: 14 August 1946
Reclassified: CVE-28, 15 July 1943
CVHE-28, 12 June 1955
Struck: 1 March 1959
Fate: Sold, 12 February 1960
Timeline:
May 1941: USS Chenango acquired by U.S. Navy
September 1942: USS Chenango commissioned as an escort carrier
November 1942: USS Chenango takes part in Operation Torch
November 1943: USS Chenango supports landings on Tarawa
October 1944: USS Chenango supports landings in the Philippines
April 1945: USS Chenango takes part in the invasion of Okinawa
August 1946: USS Chenango decommissioned
