4th Marine Division Departure Details

DEPARTURE SCHEDULE
SHIP
DATE CVE- U.S.S.
10/6/45102Attu
10/8/4583Sargent Bay
10/9/4576Kadashan Bay
10/12/4599Admiralty Islands
10/19/4555Casablanca
10/27/4584Shamrock Bay
10/28/4570Fanshaw Bay
10/31/4581Rudyerd Bay
11/3/4569Kasaan Bay


The escort carriers used to transport the Division from Kahului Harbor to San Diego were all of the Casablanca Class, 50 of which were built by Kaiser (CVE-55 through CVE-104). The ships had a length of 490 feet and displaced 10,902 tons fully loaded.

For transporting the marines, all aircraft were removed to provide bunking space for the men on the hangar deck. The flight deck was used for open-air activities such as shuffleboard and jogging.

These nine escort carriers were part of a 107-ship operation "Magic Carpet" (Task Group 16.12) tasked to bring service personnel home after V-J Day. The group was commanded by Rear Admiral H.S. Kendall.

References

  1. The Maui News, Oct. 6, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 1
  2. The Maui News, Oct. 10, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 8
  3. The Maui News, Oct. 13, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 8; Pg. 10, Col. 2
  4. The Maui News, Oct. 20, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 4
  5. The Maui News, Oct. 31, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 3
  6. The Maui News, Nov. 3, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 7; Pg. 8, Col. 3
  7. The Maui News, Nov. 7, 1945, Pg. 1, Col. 8
  8. Y'Blood, "The Little Giants", Bluejacket Books, Pg. 413-414

Links

  1. Casablanca Class Escort Carriers  description and listing

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Page revised 1/20/17 by Maui MeshWorks