USS Badoeng Strait
_underway_off_Korea_on_13_January_1952_(NNAM.1996.488.035.040).jpg) USS Badoeng Strait off the coast of Korea in 1952
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Badoeng Strait |
| Namesake | Battle of Badung Strait |
| Builder | Todd-Pacific Shipyards |
| Laid down | 18 August 1944 |
| Launched | 15 February 1945 |
| Commissioned | 14 November 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 20 April 1946 |
| Recommissioned | 6 January 1947 |
| Decommissioned | 17 May 1957 |
| Refit | April–September 1953 |
| Fate | Sold and scrapped 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Commencement Bay-class escort carrier |
| Displacement | 21,397 long tons (21,740 t) |
| Length | 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) loa |
| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 1,066 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 33 |
| Aviation facilities | 2 × aircraft catapults |
USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy during the Korean War.
She was named after the Badung Strait, located between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Nusa Besar, which was the site of a World War II battle in February 1942, between American–Netherlands and Japanese naval forces.
Design[edit]
In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay class, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation.[1]
Badoeng Strait was 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) long overall, with a beam of 75 ft (23 m) at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft 2 in (32.05 m) at maximum. She displaced 21,397 long tons (21,740 t) at full load, of which 12,876 long tons (13,083 t) could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft 11 in (8.51 m). The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.[2]
The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16,000 shp (12,000 kW) for a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23,900 nautical miles (44,300 km; 27,500 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[2]
Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm (2 in) Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm (1 in) Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.[2]
Service history[edit]
The ship was laid down on 18 August 1944, at the Todd-Pacific Shipyard in Tacoma, Washington. She was launched on 15 February 1945, after which she was moved to the Commercial Iron Works for fitting-out work. She was commissioned into active service on 14 November 1945, by which time World War II had ended. Badoeng Strait then underwent additional work to modify her to serve as a flagship, after which she sailed for San Diego, California, for her shakedown cruise and initial training. There, she carried out air qualification training with her new aircrew. She got underway again in late March 1946, bound for Pearl Harbor, which she reached on 2 April. She then returned to California on 20 April, where she was temporarily placed in reserve at San Diego.[3]
On 6 January 1947, Badoeng Strait was recommissioned, and she went to sea on 14 January to begin training exercises, including flight operations with her new aircraft. She made another visit to Pearl Harbor from 11 to 26 February, before resuming training exercises off California that lasted through June. During this period, she alternated between Carrier Divisions 15 and 17, serving as the flagship of the divisions. On 5 July, Badoeng Strait went to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for an overhaul that lasted until 11 November. She then embarked on a shakedown cruise before resuming training operations through December. The ship began a cruise to the western Pacific on 5 January 1948 to ferry aircraft to the American base at Apra Harbor, Guam. There, she picked up passengers for the voyage back to California, arriving back in San Diego on 10 February. She next ferried aircraft to Pearl Harbor in April, followed by another overhaul at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard that began on 24 May and lasted for three months. She departed for San Diego on 16 June and spent the following four months carrying out anti-submarine warfare training. The rest of the year saw the ship confined to port.[3]
In early January 1949, Badoeng Strait took aboard Composite Squadron VC-21, which was equipped with TBM-3 Avenger bombers for anti-submarine exercises, which continued until 25 February. She moved north to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for another overhaul on 30 March that lasted into early July, when she returned to San Diego. She returned to anti-submarine training with VC-21 and VC-11 from July through September. In October, she went to Hawaii for a two-week training period, before returning to San Diego on 14 November.[3]
From July 1950 until February 1953 Badoeng Strait completed three tours off Korea (29 July 1950– 23 January 1951, 2 October 1951– 14 February 1952, and 6 October 1952– 11 February 1953), as a unit of TF's 95 and 77. During these tours she operated on anti-submarine warfare duty and as a part of the blockade-escort force. Her aircraft provided invaluable close ground support during the early period of the action, particularly during the defense of the Pusan Perimeter (6 August – 12 September 1950), Inchon landing (15 September), and Hŭngnam evacuation (9–24 December 1950). Badoeng Strait received the Navy Unit Commendation and six battle stars for her services during the Korean action.
After 1953 the ship underwent modernization (April to September 1953); continued extensive experimental work in anti-submarine warfare with new naval aircraft and helicopters, participated in various Pacific Fleet training exercises and carried out extensive exercises with Marine assault helicopters. She has also completed another tour of the Far East and participated in Operation Redwing in the Pacific Proving Grounds during February–July 1956 where she and her crew witnessed all 17 detonations. On 14 January 1957 Badoeng Strait sailed for Bremerton, Washington, for inactivation. She went out of commission in reserve 17 May 1957 and was scrapped in 1972. Sold for scrapping to the Nicolai Joffre Corporation, Badoeng Strait was broken up at the company's San Francisco Bay area facility in Richmond, California, the former Kaiser Shipbuilding Yard No. 3.
As of 2021, no other U.S. Navy ship has been named Badoeng Strait.
See also[edit]
- VS-931, antisubmarine squadron
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- Friedman, Norman (1986). "United States of America". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 105–133. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- "Badoeng Strait (CVE-116)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
