Military history

CHAPTER TWO

Neutrality and Atlantic Crossings

On 1 September 1939 the forces of a renewed Germany invaded Poland and France and began offensive operations against Britain. On the other side of the Atlantic the United States was publicly trumpeting its isolationist policies, these being espoused by the more jingoistic politicians with the support of the popular press. While such a policy, more concerned with protecting their own territory and interests, made sense to many Americans, the more astute thinkers realised that the world had changed significantly. This had been brought home with some force during the Wall Street Crash of 1929, whose effects were felt around the world. While the financial chaos would last until the mid-1950s, the United States was becoming drawn into the affairs of the world whether it wished to or not. In 1928 the country was invited to join the newly emerged League of Nations. However, wary of having her foreign policy mandated by others, it took the signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact to draw America towards the rest of the world. This pact allowed the League signatories to defend their interests, while another section of the Pact allowed the signatories to group together should one country decide to undertake some military adventurism against the other members.

The Kellogg-Briand Pact, while laudable, would soon be overwritten as America viewed with concern the growing war clouds over Europe. With that in mind the US Congress passed the Neutrality Acts during 1936 and 1937 that required the country to stay clear of any such conflict. This seriously dismayed President Roosevelt, who was very pro-British in his stance. It also created two strong factions within the country–the isolationists and the interventionists –, the latter seeing that the outbreak of war would eventually affect everyone and that trying to ignore the fact would endanger the country. While Roosevelt continued to reassure the American people about remaining uninvolved, he also warned that should it be needed America would have little option but to become entangled in any global conflict.

Not on the radar of the American people, the press and many politicians were the actions and ambitions of the Japanese. Having defeated the Russians thoroughly earlier in the century, the Japanese had embarked on a programme of naval ship building that had been stunted by the Washington Treaty, and this was seen as an insult to both the nation and the Emperor. As Japan was located a world away from America and Europe, the Japanese felt able to ignore the various treaties and protocols, and they would therefore start to build major combat vessels outside the agreed tonnage limits. It would be the successful invasion of China in 1937 that would flag up the Japanese as a nation that required the use of increased intelligence assets by America. The possibility of conflict with Japan would be exacerbated by the attack on the US Navy gunboat Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze river outside Nanjing on 12 December 1937. This, coupled with the Nanking Massacre, would swing both public and political opinion against the Japanese. But even more worrying was the possibility of the Japanese undertaking an expansionist campaign in the Pacific, which was of even more concern to both America and Britain, who had extensive interests in the area.

President Roosevelt was a very able and astute politician who quickly realised that should Germany, Japan and to a lesser extent Italy succeed in their conquest plans, America would in reality be completely isolated. Obviously such an outcome was not acceptable. Therefore the President requested that plans be laid to assist Britain in its fight against all three aggressor nations, while quietly arming the United States to enter the war. The first signs of American preparedness was the organisation of the Neutrality Patrols off the coasts of America, which utilised destroyer patrols backed up by the battleships USS New York, Texas, Arkansas and Wyoming, and the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. These patrols remained in operation until America entered the war formally in 1941. Aware that America was moving slowly towards war, President Roosevelt signed the Two-Ocean Navy Expansion Act, which allowed for the construction of 1,325,000 warship tonnage plus a further 100,000 tons for auxiliaries. Added to this were 15,000 aircraft for naval purposes.

Further moves by the Japanese would take place on 22 September 1940 when the Vichy French government signed an agreement that allowed Japanese forces unrestricted access to French bases in Indo-China. In response to this move and others by Axis forces, representatives of America and Britain met in Washington, where secret talks thrashed out how America would enter the war. After these talks there was a change in the stance of US Navy operations, since while the Neutrality Patrols continued as before, there was an alteration in attitude towards the British war effort. On 1 March 1941 a support force for the Atlantic Fleet was formed under the command of Rear Admiral Bristol Jnr USN, which consisted of three destroyer flotillas and some flying-boat squadrons, their purpose being to provide convoy protection in the north Atlantic. Further increases in Atlantic strength saw the establishment of the US Navy base in Bermuda on 7 April 1941. The following day, Task Group TG.7.3 would take up residence, ostensibly to increase Neutrality patrols, although its task was more concerned with detecting and destroying enemy submarines and escorting convoys safely to harbour. Within TG.7.3 was the carrier USS Ranger, which was complemented by four cruisers and ten destroyers. A few days later the carrier USS Wasp would join the task group, and this would later be augmented by the arrival of the carrier Yorktown plus numerous escort vessels that had been transferred from the Pacific to the Atlantic to further strengthen the forces in the Atlantic. These forces would pass through the Panama Canal during early June. By this time American destroyers were operating freely in the Atlantic, and on 11 April, while en route to Iceland with a convoy, the destroyer USS Noblack stopped to pick up survivors from the Dutch freighter Saleier, soon afterwards detecting a possible submarine contact that was attacked, although the contact later proved to be false.

Seen in pre-war years is the USS Wasp, CV-7,. After its service in the Atlantic the carrier was transferred to the Pacific, where it was sunk by the Japanese in September 1942.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

Further changes to the South Atlantic Neutrality Patrol saw the carrier USS Wasp plus escorts operate from Hampton Roads from 26 April 1941 to extend the patrol area even further south, and the task group would return to Bermuda some two weeks later. While the US Navy was concentrating its efforts in the Atlantic, the country’s diplomats were endeavouring to find ways to shore up the defences in the Far East without actually becoming involved in a conflict for which America was not ready. To that end a conference was held in Singapore on 27 April, attended by delegates from Britain, Australia and the Netherlands, while the Americans were there as observers, although their input was gratefully received.

As a show of strength a further powerful force was dispatched from Bermuda on 9 May consisting of the carrier USS Ranger plus the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes with the destroyers Sampson and Eberle. The purpose of TG.1 was to further reinforce the Neutrality Patrol and to hunt for any submarines in the vicinity After fourteen days TG.1 returned to Bermuda to await further tasking. Even as the Ranger was heading back towards Bermuda, another patrol was readying to leave. Designated TG.2, the carrier was the USS Wasp, escorted by the cruiser USS Quincy and the destroyers Livermore and Kearny. After an uneventful fortnight in the central Atlantic, the task force returned to Bermuda, arriving on 3 June 1941. TG.3 was the next patrol for the Ranger group, although this time the escorts were the USS Tuscaloosa, plus the destroyers McDougal and the Eberle, and it departed on 29 May for the central Atlantic, returning to base on 8 June. Two days after TG.3 had left, the USS Yorktown plus the cruiser USS Vincennes with the destroyers Sampson and Gwin in company, departed from Bermuda as TG.1 for patrol duties around the Canaries, returning to Hampton Roads on 12 June. The Yorktown was later joined at Hampton Roads by the USS Wasp. On 20 June 1941 the carrier, in company with the cruiser Tuscaloosa and the destroyers Anderson and Rowan, set sail for the central Atlantic as TG.2.6. At the conclusion of the patrol the task group returned to Bermuda on 4 July. The USS Yorktown had remained at Hampton Roads and was made ready for another patrol. Designated as TG 2.8, the carrier was joined by the cruisers Vincennes and Quincy plus the destroyers Wainwright, Hammann, Mustin and Stack, departing on 29 June for the central Atlantic. The Yorktown plus the Wainwright and Stack returned to Hampton Roads on 12 July, while the remainder spent another three days at sea en route to Bermuda.

The north Atlantic from 19 July would be the next venue for the USS Wasp, which was the carrier assigned to TF.1. The escort vessels were the cruisers Quincy and Vincennes plus the destroyers O’Brien and Walke, their initial task being to transport Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters for the defence of Iceland, after which the task group was expected to provide protection for convoys arriving at and departing from the island. To speed up the process of offloading the fighter cargo it was decided to fly the P-40s off the carrier, and all the fighters arrived safely without loss. As Iceland was seen as pivotal to American operations once the war overtook them, it was decided to provide a permanent force to escort the expected convoys, and so a protection force of twenty-four destroyers was deployed, as were a pair of seaplane patrol squadrons.

The USS Yorktown, in port at Hampton Roads, was warned for another patrol as TG.2.5. The carrier departed on 30 July in company with the cruiser Brooklyn and the destroyers Roe, Grayson and Eberle for the central Atlantic. However, instead of returning to Hampton Roads the group sailed on to Bermuda, arriving there on 10 August. The USS Wasp, still in the north Atlantic, formed the core of a new Task Group, TG 16, under the command of Rear Admiral Monroe USN. The purpose of the force that included the battleship Mississippi, the cruisers Quincy and the Wichita plus five destroyers was to escort convoys to and from Reykjavik, their first customers being the transports American Legion, Mizar and the Almaack. In contrast to the Wasp the Yorktown was still involved in Neutrality patrols and would form the core of TG 2.5. Departing on 15 August 1941 the carrier was escorted by the cruiser Brooklyn plus the destroyers Roe, Grayson and Eberle, the group returning to Bermuda on 27 August.

On 1 September 1941 the US Navy Atlantic Fleet assumed responsibility for the escort of the fast north Atlantic convoys from a point off Argentia near Newfoundland to a meridian point south of Iceland. The C-in-C of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral King, ordered the vessels assigned to the Denmark Strait patrol to operate between Iceland and Greenland. On 23 September, even though America was still not officially engaged in the war, the carrier Yorktown plus the cruisers Brooklyn and Savannah and a destroyer group were transferred from Bermuda to Argentia in response to a cracked Ultra code message that indicated that the Tirpitz might undertake a break-out from the Baltic. On that same day a task group that comprised the battleship USS Mississippi and the carrier USS Wasp, in company with the cruiser Wichita and the destroyers Gwin, Meredith, Grayson and Monssen, with the repair and support vessel Vulcan, were transferred from Argentia to Hvalfjord. After a five-day voyage the force was used to strengthen the White Patrol covering the Denmark Strait, although the USS Wasp would depart for Argentia on 6 October, as conditions for flying in the strait were poor, and she arrived there five days later.

On 2 October 1941 the Japanese Prime Minister, Prince Konoye, proposed a meeting with President Roosevelt to discuss the cultural and political differences between America and Japan. President Roosevelt would reject the proposal as the State Department thought that such a summit was a complete waste of time.

Argentia saw the departure of the USS Yorktown on 10 October for Casco Bay for patrol duties. Accompanying the carrier was the battleship USS New Mexico, the cruisers Quincy and Savannah plus eight destroyers. However, some of the latter were damaged when the group was hit by a severe storm. At the other end of the continent, Brazil would grant the US Navy access rights to ports in the north of the country. Brazil would eventually wade in to support the Allied cause, sending an air combat group equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts to Europe. At the completion of its operations off Argentia, the Yorktown task force would head towards Casco Bay. However, en route the group was hit by another heavy storm, and so it was a very bedraggled flotilla that limped into port on 13 October 1941. As ever, it would be the smaller vessels that would suffer the most damage. After two weeks in port the USS Yorktown would form the core of TF.14 in company with the battleship New Mexico, the cruisers Philadelphia and Savannah plus the destroyer group, Desron 2, their task to escort six American cargo vessels to Britain to replace tonnage already lost due to U-boat activity. As these vessels were capable of running at high speed, they and their escorts would attempt a high-speed transit across the Atlantic. Having avoided the known U-boat-covered zones, the US Navy-escorted ships would meet the British convoy CT.5, complete with its troops, coming the other way. The British escort vessels turned round and escorted the new freighters back to Britain while the American escort group took over the troop convoy. The task force and its vital cargo would reach Halifax by 7 November, with the troops being transferred to the American convoy WS.124.

The USS Wasp would assist the Royal Navy by delivering Supermarine Spitfires to that beleaguered island. Here a much-needed fighter departs on its journey across the Mediterranean.

(John Ryan Collection)

On 10 November the US Navy would also start to provide escort for ships transiting from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. The first such convoy was designated WS.24, and comprised American troop transports that were carrying 20,000 British troops and their equipment to the Middle East. The escort was TG.14.4 commanded by Admiral Wood USN, the vessels being the carrier USS Ranger supported by the cruisers USS Vincennes and Quincy plus eight destroyers. The USS Ranger would later return to Trinidad, while the convoy itself was ordered to Bombay instead of Basra in Iraq. However, the convoy would stop over at Cape Town, departing on 27 December for Bombay.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the Japanese Navy would mount a strike against the US Navy base, causing massive destruction to the vessels located there. While the carriers were safely at sea, the destruction caused a hiatus in American operations globally. The first change in Atlantic operations would take place on 1 January 1942, when Admiral Ingersoll replaced Admiral King as Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet. Initially the Atlantic Fleet was not able to provide aircraft carriers for escort duties, as the US Navy was gearing up to drive the Japanese forces from the territories they had already captured in the Pacific. Due to this change in focus, convoy escorts would be provided by a mix of destroyers and cutters from the US Coast Guard. Also adding to Admiral Ingersoll’s woes was the transfer of the battleships USS Idaho, Mississippi and New Mexico, in company with seven destroyers, these being redeployed to the Pacific to increase the forces there. The entry of America into the war would also signal another change when the destroyers of TG.4.1.2 entered British waters while escorting a convoy, instead of handing over to British escorts in the open sea. The United States would continue running convoys across the Atlantic throughout February and March, although the lack of aircraft carriers still worried the US Navy’s senior commanders. Fleet carriers would finally reappear on 15 March 1942 when the USS Wasp, in company with the newly commissioned battleship USS Washington, plus the cruisers Tuscaloosa and Wichita with six escort destroyers, was transferred from Casco Bay to the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow to provide convoy cover in support of British operations. The Wasp would depart from Scapa Flow for Norfolk naval base soon after arrival, but the carrier would be damaged after colliding with the destroyer USS Stock, both vessels requiring repair upon arrival.

The damage to the USS Wasp was quickly repaired, as the entire escort group TF.39 departed Casco Bay bound for Scapa Flow, where they would replace the Royal Navy Force H that was required to undertake duties in support of Operation Ironclad against Japanese forces based on Madagascar. The British convoy departed on 23 March, while the US Navy arrived at Scapa Flow on 5 April. The USS Wasp would set sail again on 14 April to take part in Operation Calendar as part of the Anglo-American Force W under the command of Commodore Daniell RN. The purpose of this operation was to fly off forty-seven much-needed Supermarine Spitfires desperately needed for the defence of Malta. All were launched from the carrier on 20 April, and all but one of the fighters arrived safely on the island. Having delivered its vital cargo, the task force departed the Mediterranean and headed back to Scapa Flow, where it arrived on 26 April.

While the Wasp was undertaking its delivery mission, the USS Ranger was also operating in the south Atlantic as part of Task Force TF.36. The carrier and its escorts had arrived at NAS Quonset Point to collect the aircraft of the 33rd Pursuit Group, plus extra replacement airframes, departing on 22 April. The destination of the carrier and her escorts was Accra on Africa’s Gold Coast. As the task force neared the African coast on 10 May, the carrier launched its cargo of sixty-eight Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters for use by the USAAF in Africa and the Middle East. At the completion of this mission TF.36 would return to the United States, with the carrier continuing to Argentia, where it would undertake an anti-submarine patrol. The USS Ranger would join up with the battleship USS North Carolina, later replaced by the South Dakota, while the USS Wasp plus some cruisers and destroyers were soon added. Their purpose was to stand by for a possible break-out of the German battleship Tirpitz. The USS Wasp would soon depart from the Tirpitz watch to rejoin the Anglo-American Force W arriving at Scapa Flow on 3 May. The Wasp would yet again be loaded with Spitfires. Forty-seven would be loaded aboard the American carrier, while a further seventeen would be carried aboard the Royal Navy carrier HMS Eagle. Known as Operation Bowery, the combined force would launch its Spitfires on 9 May, all but three arriving at their new base safely. After launching their aircraft, the USS Wasp plus escorts would return to Scapa Flow, arriving on 16 May, while Eagle returned to Gibraltar. The delivery of these Spitfires to Malta was vital, as on 4 May the German High Command had issued its directive that would signal the launch Operation Herkules, the capture of Malta. The USS Ranger also returned to the aircraft-delivery role on 10 May, when a further forty Curtiss P-40s were launched off the Gold Coast, having collected the aircraft from NAS Quonset Point as before. After arrival in Africa the fighters were transferred to India via the bases in the Middle East. This would be the last time that the USS Wasp would undertake Atlantic duties, as in mid-1942 the carrier would depart to Norfolk Navy yard for modifications and repairs prior to joining the war in the Pacific. This move was seen as essential as the Navy had only two carriers available for combat duty in the region.

The USS Ranger was also assigned to the Atlantic, although its primary task was to deliver Curtiss P-40 fighters to USAAC units operating in the Middle East.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

The USS Ranger would undertake another Argentia patrol before returning to Quonset Point to collect another load of P-40s on 1 July. A total of seventy-two aircraft were loaded, and as before they were flown off close to the Gold Coast. This batch of aircraft was also destined for the China–Burma–India (C–B–I) theatre, routeing via the Middle East before joining up with the American Volunteer Group in China. At the conclusion of this delivery run, the USS Ranger returned to the Norfolk Navy Yard for refitting, after which the carrier undertook some combat training covering anti-submarine duties, air defence and exercising the air wing. After the completion of these exercises the carrier returned to Norfolk for a quick refit. This completed, the Ranger, plus the escort carriers Sangamon, Chenango and Suwanee, with the Santee and escorts, departed the United States to take part in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa. This was a large force, with the Americans providing the Western Task Force. This was commanded by Rear Admiral Hewitt, and its target was Casablanca. Under his command was TG.34.1, consisting of the battleship USS Massachusetts, the cruisers Wichita and Tuscaloosa, four destroyers and an oiler. The Northern Attack Group TG.34.8 comprised the battleship Texas, the cruiser Savannah, a group of troop transports and five destroyers. The escort carriers USS Sangamon and Chenango, with their own destroyer escort and oiler, were provided for air-cover duties. The Central Attack Group, TG.34.9, consisting of the cruisers Augusta and Brooklyn, with ten destroyers and fifteen troop transports, were covered by the carrier Ranger for air support, and the escort carrier Suwanee. Attached to this group was the cruiser Cleveland, plus two submarines and an oiler. The Southern Attack Group TG.34.10 was assembled around the battleship USS New York and the cruiser Philadelphia. Supporting the larger vessels were eight destroyers, while standing further off were the ships of the air group, these being the USS Santee and the usual range of escort destroyers. As this was a combined force, the Royal Navy also provided a sizeable force that consisted of seven carriers, covering battleships plus hordes of cruisers and destroyers and a large flotilla of auxiliaries.

These Douglas SBDs overfly their carrier home during Operation Torch. Of note are the markings applied for this operation, the most obvious being the surrounds for the national markings.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

Pictured in happier times are these Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bombers assigned to VT-2, practising their peacetime formation flying.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

Captured at dusk is the crowded flight deck of the USS Ranger as the ground crews prepare the carrier’s aircraft for their part in Operation Torch.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

The gambit was played by the destroyer USS Dallas, which tried on 8 and 10 November to land a raider battalion near Fedhala. However, on both occasions the ship was driven back out to sea by gunfire from the French shore batteries. Further resistance was put up by the defenders of Casablanca under the command of Vice-Admiral Michelier, although the incomplete battleship Jean Bart was badly damaged by shelling and air attacks by the Allied forces. A further French naval sortie was launched under the command of Rear Admiral de Lafond against the ships of the Western Task Force. While this was a reasonable force consisting of a cruiser and eight destroyers, it was outgunned by the Allied fleet, with four of the destroyers being badly damaged by gunfire and forced to run aground while the remainder were sunk departing the harbour; a similar fate befell three of the eleven submarines present. Two others suffered minor damage while the remainder managed to depart in the confusion. The six that had escaped attempted to attack the Allied shipping, but their attempts failed. This was not the end for these six vessels, as one was sunk by a mine, another by a Vought OS2U Kingfisher spotter patrol aircraft from the USS Philadelphia, another was sunk by aircraft from the escort carrier USS Suwanee, and another, making for Dakar, was sunk by a US Navy Consolidated Catalina. The Allies, having sunk the smaller vessels, made strenuous efforts to stop the French Navy from scuttling the battleships at Oran, but in this they were unsuccessful. Operation Torch was deemed a success, and would be followed by attacks upon other French and German-held territory. During its period of combat, the USS Ranger launched 496 sorties during the three days the carrier was involved. On 12 November 1942 the Ranger departed the Torch combat zone, arriving at Norfolk Naval Yard on 23 November.

The Ranger is seen here in its wartime camouflage, by which time the carrier had increased defensive armament. The Ranger would survive the war, being decommissioned in 1946.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

It was also in 1942 that the escort, or ‘jeep’, carriers began to enter service. It had become obvious to the US Navy that more deck space was needed to launch aircraft for various roles and that construction of major aircraft carriers would take more time than developing a design based on an already available hull. After two initial forays with the USS Long Island and Charger, the US Navy ordered the conversion of four vessels based on the hull of the merchant T-3 type, which became the Sangamon class. Not only could these ships carry and launch aircraft, they could also double as fleet oilers. However, it was becoming obvious that even escort carriers would need a credible number of aircraft to make a difference. The answer to these concerns were the Bogue, Casablanca and Commencement classes. These classes were similar in size, with a length between 490 and 525 feet, while the maximum beam was around the 80 ft mark. As each vessel had a hangar under the deck, this allowed an operational complement of twenty-eight aircraft to be carried, although this could multiplied massively if used in the transport role. The Sangamon class would later undergo conversion to full carrier status, reentering service during 1943. While many of these vessels entered service with the Royal Navy, a goodly number would serve with the US Navy and would stay on the Navy List until struck off, being finally sold for scrap in the 1960s.

A Grumman F4F Wildcat prepares to launch from the USS Ranger during Operation Torch. This aircraft also sports the yellow surrounds applied to the national markings.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

While the Ranger returned to the United States, the escort carriers were utilised in supporting convoys running between America and Casablanca. The USS Sangamon covered convoy TG.34.8, while the USS Chenango covered TG.34.9. At the conclusion of these convoys both escort carriers were ordered to return to the United States, but both would be badly damaged by heavy seas while in transit. The USS Ranger would return to the Atlantic in January 1943 when it departed Quonset Point with seventy-five Curtiss P-40s aboard. As before, the aircraft were flown off-shore of Accra, the final destination being North Africa. At the completion of this delivery run the Ranger returned to America, where it was employed in training pilots prior to their deploying aboard other carriers. Having completed its period as a pilot trainer, the USS Ranger would yet again be employed as an aircraft transport. As before, the load was Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, seventy-five in this group, but on this trip they would be delivered to Casablanca for onward deployment in North Africa. The Ranger would depart the United States on 7 February, arriving in Casablanca on 24 February. Returning to America, the carrier undertook a series of patrols along the Atlantic coast, frequently reaching Halifax, Nova Scotia.

One of the first vessels converted for escort carrier purposes was the USS Sangamon. It would survive the war, being decommissioned just afterwards.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

Although the USS Ranger featured in many of the Atlantic operations, it would soon be joined by the first of the escort carriers that were beginning to make their presence felt. The first of these was the USS Bogue, which had been commissioned in September 1942, with Captain G.E. Short USN in command. It would take four months of shake-down cruising, modifications and repair before the carrier was considered fit for combat duties. The Bogue would form the nucleus of the first American anti-submarine group, Support Group 6, being deployed on convoy escort duties in the Atlantic. The vessel and its escorts, consisting of the destroyers Belknap, Greene, Osmond Ingram and George E. Badger, undertook three uneventful escort voyages during March and April 1943 without attacking a single submarine. It would be on its fourth voyage, which started on 22 April, that the Bogue group would score its first success on 21 May, when the carrier’s Grumman Avengers damaged the German submarine U 231. The Bogue group would sink its first submarine of 22 May, when the U 569 was sunk by the Avengers of VC-9. These concentrations of U-boats were successfully passed without loss to the vital convoy.

While the USS Bogue was defending its charges in the north Atlantic, another escort carrier was carrying out a similar task in the south Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The USS Card, another member of the Bogue class, had been commissioned in November 1942 with Captain J.B. Sykes USN as commander, and undertook its first voyage as a troop transport and aircraft supply vessel during Operation Torch. At the completion of this first voyage the Card became the focus of an anti-submarine group, TG.21.14, undertaking its first trip in its new role during July 1943. The USS Card joined convoy UGS.13 and ran straight into a swarm of U-boats lying in wait south of the Azores. The Avengers from the USS Card had their first success on 6 August when U 66 was badly damaged, while the air group managed its first sinking the following day when U 117 was destroyed. The Avengers of VC-1 also sank U 664 on 9 August. The same group also sank U 525 and U 847 within two days. This would be one of the pivotal days of the war as the German submarines had taken a pasting, and this led to a reduction in German long-range U-boat operations.

These Grumman Avengers are wearing the scheme applied to aircraft serving in the Atlantic. As the flight deck is full, the Avenger buzzing this escort carrier is probably from another vessel.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

With Grumman Avengers on the flight deck, the USS Card proceeds across the Atlantic. The Card was a member of the Bogue class, being finally decommissioned in 1970.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

While much of the US 8th Fleet, assigned to operations in the Atlantic and Pacific, was undertaking support for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, the carrier escort groups were continuing their vital duties escorting convoys across the Atlantic. One new route opened in September 1943 was that from America to Gibraltar. The carrier assigned to GUS.13 was the USS Croatan, which was part of TG.21.15, while the primary escort was provided by the destroyers of TF.65. The Croatan was a member of the Bogue class of escort carriers and had been commissioned in April 1943. After use as an aircraft transport, the Croatan was redeployed as an ASW hunter-killer carrier. The following convoy was GUS.14, this being escorted by TF.61, while the carrier support group was TG.21.11 with the USS Santee at its core. Also sailing in company with the convoy was a further escort group, this being TG.21.14, whose carrier was the USS Card. Convoy UGS.17 was a return trip that was escorted by TF.62, while the support group was provided by TG.21.12 with the USS Bogue as the escort carrier. The penultimate convoy to work between Gibraltar and America in September 1943 was GUS.14, which was undertaking the return trip, having ended its delivery journey at Casablanca. The carrier support group was TG.21.15 centred around the USS Croatan. The final convoy to undertake the journey back to the United States was GUS.13, which had TG.68 with the battleship USS Texas at its core, while the escort group was TG.21.11 with the USS Santee as its assigned escort carrier.

Travelling at speed is the USS Core, undertaking its share of convoy escort duties across the Atlantic. The Core would also survive the war, being retired soon afterwards.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

After a short period to restore and repair and to give the crews a break, the convoys from the United States to Gibraltar would resume on 15 September. The first would be GUS.15 escorted by TF.61, with the escort carrier USS Santee and TG.21.11 in support. Once the convoy reached Gibraltar the merchant vessels would come under the protection of the Royal Navy, which would escort them to their final destination, normally Casablanca. Going the other way was convoy UGS.19 escorted by TF.64 with TG.21.14 in support. TG.21.14,which included the escort carrier USS Card, was detached en route to investigate information gained from cracking the Ultra code. Their target was a group of four U-boats refuelling away from the known shipping lanes. During the attack launched from the USS Card, the Grumman Avengers and Wildcats managed to sink two of the refuelling submarines, one escaped, and the tanker was lost during its escape dive. The Avengers from the USS Card would strike lucky again on 13 October 1943 when they managed to sink U 402. GUS.16 would be the next convoy to head for America, escorted by TF.62 with the USS Bogue and TG.21.11 acting as the ASW escort. GUS.16 would arrive in New York on 15 October. Coming the other way was UGS.20, which was covered by TF.65, while TG.21.5 with the USS Core was the escort group. The aircrew from the USS Core would manage to sink U 378 on 1 November.

TG.21.14 with the USS Card as the assigned escort carrier was crossing the Atlantic with convoy UGS.19 when one of the carrier’s aircraft spotted three U-boats being refuelled by a submarine tanker on 4 October. The spotter aircraft called the carrier for reinforcements, which arrived in three waves and promptly sank U 422 and U 264 successfully. The USS Core was also involved with sinking further U-boats while escorting convoy UGS.20. On 27 October two aircraft from VC-13 sank U 378 and damaged U 271. The following day the carrier’s aircraft would successfully deal with U 220 in a similar manner. Aircraft from another escort carrier, the USS Block Island, would sink U 256 while in transit across the Atlantic. The USS Card ASW group would score another success on 31 October when their aircraft sank U 584.

After a period of rest and restoring, the carrier support groups were ready to restart their escort duties. The first convoy they escorted was GUS.23 with the USS Bogue as the escort carrier. During the transit across the Atlantic the escorts encountered a U-boat tanker refuelling an attack submarine, U 172. Avengers of VC-19 were launched from the Bogue to attack the submarines. The tanker managed to escape, but U 172 was not so lucky and was sunk. VC-19 and its Avengers would score a further success on 20 December when U 850 was sunk while in transit to the Indian Ocean. The GUS.23 carrier support group was not so lucky further on in the voyage when the German blockade runner Osorno slipped through the wake of the convoy and headed towards Germany. Not only did TG 21.12 miss the blockade runner, the escort group supporting the return convoy UGS.23 that was being covered by TG.21.16, the core of which was the USS Block Island, missed it also. The Osorno also managed to evade the escort group covering UGS.27, this being TG.21.15 with the USS Core as its aircraft carrier. Having evaded the various carrier groups, the blockade runner entered the Bay of Biscay and prepared to make its final run to home.

The USS Card would head for choppier climes on 20 December 1943, as intelligence had revealed that some U-boats from the Coronel pack had been detached south as the Borkum pack to intercept convoy MKS.33/SL.142. In support of the U-boats the Luftwaffe launched FW 200 Condors in an effort to track the convoy. The USS Card was escorted by extra destroyers detached from the GUS.24 escort force. The premise behind the Borkum deployment was to give the Orsono a greater chance of reaching Germany without interference. However, this was not to be, as a Grumman Wildcat from the Card spotted the ship on 23 December while patrolling in bad weather. The fighter’s radio call had been intercepted, and so the U-boats attempted some retaliation when U 415 fired three torpedoes at the carrier. However, the weapons missed their target. A further attack was made by U 645, but it, too, missed its target and was sunk by the escorting destroyer USS Schenk. After these engagements the USS Card and its escorts were forced to withdraw as fuel was running low. The Orsono would eventually reach Germany, although it was damaged en route, and this would be the last blockade run of the war.

Given the extent of its orders, Grumman sub-contracted production of the F4F Wildcat to General Motors, whose product was designated FM-2.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

As the Borkum pack was still active, the Commander US 8th Fleet decided to deploy the Block Island escort group to provide extra cover for MK.34/SL.143. On 11 January 1944, U 305 attempted to attack the convoy, and had some success in keeping the Block Island aircraft away using the submarine’s anti-aircraft guns. U 758 and U 953 were the next submarines to attempt an attack. Both were unsuccessful, as were the aircraft from the USS Block Island that tried to sink U 758 with rockets as the submarine put up a spirited anti-aircraft barrage. Running short of weapons and fuel, the submarines decided to withdraw, although even this was not without loss, as aircraft from the Block Island vectored a Vickers Wellington of No.172 Squadron towards U 231, which was promptly destroyed in the bomber’s attack.

The next group of U-boats to appear in the Atlantic was the Rugen pack, to which was added the ragged remainder of the Borkum boats. Its target would be convoy SL.144/MKS.35 with the support group TG.21.12, whose carrier was the USS Guadalcanal. The Guadalcanal, a member of the Casablanca class, had entered service with the Atlantic Fleet in late 1943. The carrier’s aircraft would score their first success on this voyage when they surprised a group of U-boats on the surface. During the attack an Avenger of VC-13 sank U 544. The USS Block Island and its attendant destroyers would have some success against the U-boats during the middle of March 1944. Operating south of the Azores, TG.21.16 was hunting submarines that had been reported in the area. In this the group was successful as it managed to sink U 801 and U 1059. Running low on fuel, TG.21.16 was relieved by TG.21.12, whose carrier was the USS Guadalcanal. During this group’s patrol it managed to sink the U-boats U 515 and U 68.

Although the German U-boats were starting to suffer significant losses, they were still capable of causing significant damage to convoys, especially if their protection was less than normal. In February 1944 the Preussen pack would assume new positions to the south of Ireland, their first intended victims being the convoys ON 225 and HX 279. In order to protect both sets of vessels, TG.21.16 was deployed to the area to begin submarine hunting. Both escorts and the aircraft assigned to the Block Island undertook this task with some success, as U 91, U 709 and U 603 were dealt with swiftly. Task Group 21.11 was also employed in this task, the carrier as before being the USS Bogue. While the Avengers of Bogue were unsuccessful in sinking any submarines, their efforts did drive them towards a Royal Navy anti-submarine group that was successful. These losses would persuade the Commander U-boats that the practice of operating in packs was no longer viable, and the concept was therefore scrapped, each boat being ordered to operate individually.

In April 1944 another escort carrier would join the war in the Atlantic. This was the USS Tripoli, a member of the Casablanca class. This carrier and its air group, VC-13, would form the core of TG.21.15 in company with the Croatan. This group managed to sink the U 66 and U 488. Task Group 22.2 with the USS Bogue would manage to sink a most unusual submarine, this being a Japanese vessel, Ro-501, which was sunk on 13 May 1944. The south Atlantic would gain another task group, unnumbered, that was based at Recife, being constructed around the Casablanca-class escort carrier, the USS Solomon. Throughout May to October 1944 the US Navy task groups would be tasked with hunting down any notified U-boat packs. Their first area of operations was off the Azores where the Block Island group, TG.22.1, would attempt to sink the U 549. However the submarine was the eventual victor when, on 29 May, it hit the carrier with three torpedoes, causing it to sink. The submarine in turn would be sunk by the escorting destroyers, many of whom returned to pick up survivors from the carrier.

To replace the lost Block Island, TG.22.3 with the Guadalcanal as its escort carrier was deployed. Its first success was against U 505, which was forced to the surface by naval and aerial action. The result was that the submarine was taken over by a prize crew and sailed to Bermuda. The USS Tripoli, a member of the Casablanca class, would be deployed to Brazil after commissioning to operate from Recifie in the hunt for Axis submarines. After the carrier’s first deployment to Recife it returned to the United States, putting into Norfolk for rest and restoring, arriving there on 29 April 1944. After a period of pilot training the Tripoli was prepared for combat operations. Embarking the composite squadron VC-6, the vessel departed for Brazil on 1 August. During the transit south, one of the escorts detected a submarine trace on its sonar. In support of the destroyer escorts the aircraft from the Tripoli dropped sonar buoys and flares, and the escorts closed in and thoroughly depth-charged the area. The result was some wreckage and a reasonable quantity of diesel oil. The task group would claim this as a sinking, though examination of the German records showed that no vessel had been lost that day. Had this been a case of a decoy move correctly and successfully executed? We shall probably never know.

After this mild diversion the Tripoli finally reached Recife on 13 August, where the carrier was designated as the core of TG.47.7. After restoring and mission briefing, the task group put to sea on 22 August. The group’s first task was to hunt a U-boat that was reported to be transiting through the area. The Tripoli group spent a fruitless fourteen days chasing sonar contacts before returning to Recife on 11 September. The period in port was short, as TG.47.7 departed two days later in order to join up with the USS Mission Bay (another Casablanca-class vessel) task group in order to intercept two U-boats known to be passing through the zone. One was a prize target, being the tanker submarine U 1062 en route to Penang, Malaysia, with much-needed aviation fuel, while the other was a standard boat U 219. In order to improve the chances of detecting either vessel, radar-equipped Grumman Avengers were launched from both carriers. In this the air groups were successful, as U 219 was detected just eleven miles in front of the Tripoli group. Grumman Avengers were launched armed with rockets and depth charges, but the U-boat was not going to go down without a fight. As the first Avenger attacked, it was met by a hail of anti-aircraft fire that caused its destruction. A second Avenger attacked the submarine, which continued to twist and turn while throwing up a curtain of anti-aircraft fire. Eventually U 219 managed to slip the attackers, although it would be attacked again a few days later by aircraft from both carrier groups. This time the aircrew were insistent that this time they had sunk the German vessel. Unfortunately for them, the submarine had escaped again, finally resurfacing in Batavia, Java. U 1062 was not so lucky, as it was detected by the Mission Bay escorts and sunk.

The USS Croatan has a mix of Grumman Avengers and Wildcats on the flight deck. The Croatan was finally decommissioned in 1970.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

Preparing to depart the flight deck of the USS Bogue is this Grumman Avenger of composite squadron VC-9. The Bogue was retired in 1946.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

After this excitement the Tripoli group returned to Recife to refuel and restore, arriving on 12 October. The carrier and its escorts departed Recife to undertake their final Atlantic patrol, departing port on 26 October. This patrol was quiet, and ended on 12 November, after which the carrier departed for a much-needed refit at the Norfolk Navy Yard. At the conclusion of this refit the carrier transited through the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Hawaii in January 1945.

The two other carriers in the area, the Card and Guadalcanal, plus their supports, tried to sink U 539 without success. TG.22.3 was more successful when the escorts and aircraft from Croatan managed to sink the remaining U-boat tanker, U 490, in the Atlantic on 11 June. The Croatan and its escorts departed the area to refuel, being replaced by TG.22.2 with Bogue at its core. Their target was U 530, although the group did manage to sink the Japanese supply submarine I-52 on 23 June. On 2 July TG.22.4 with the carrier Wake Island successfully detected and sank U 543 to the east of the Azores, even though the submarine put up a strong anti-aircraft resistance. Close to the Canadian coast, near Halifax, the USS Card group, TG.22.10, successfully sank U 233 on 5 July. Further success was had off the Azores when the USS Solomon’s group, by now designated TG.41.6, intercepted and sank the submarine U 860 using Avengers and Wildcats from VC-9. The USS Solomon and its escorts would then head towards Brazil in order to intercept U 861, which was hunting a convoy bound for Italy from Brazil. The submarine managed to evade TG.41.6, sinking a vessel that was part of convoy JT.39 as a consolation.

In late June 1944 TG.22.6 with Wake Island as its carrier was sent to hunt down a group of all-weather U-boats operating in the north Atlantic. The first submarine found was U 804, which managed to evade the destroyers and sink the escort USS Fiske. The Wake Island group was replaced by the Bogue group, TG.22.2, which scored a success when aircraft from VC-42 sank U 1229.

On 6 June 1944 the Allies launched Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day. Its purpose was the invasion of Europe, and one of the side effects was to force the U-boats away from their established bases in France. Most of the boats, whether seaworthy or not, were transferred to Norway in order to further prosecute the war, although in reality the menace of the U-boats had been greatly reduced. However, the German submarine service would have a final fling, which began on 26 September 1944. Operating mainly off the Canadian coast, the submarines began to sink convoy vessels almost with impunity. To answer these attacks the escort carrier Mission Bay and Card task groups were sent to the region in an effort to curb their success. While none of the German submarines were detected or sunk, the presence of the two carrier groups did drive the submarines away. Throughout the remainder of 1944 the carrier escort groups continued to ply their trade in the Atlantic, although anti-submarine trade had started to fall off as the Allies took a firmer grip on Europe.

Operating in fairly calm seas, the USS Core launches a Grumman Avenger assigned to VGS-13 for another anti-submarine patrol.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

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The weather in the Atlantic could be very rough at times, as this view of the USS Croatan shows. To protect the aircraft from damage they are securely lashed down.

(US Navy/NARA via Dennis R. Jenkins)

While 1945 saw the U-boat menace severely curtailed, there was still some use for the carrier group, although by this time many of the escort groups had been dispatched to the Pacific to prosecute the war against the Japanese. One of the major sorties carried out by the Atlantic group began on 5 April, being codenamed Operation Teardrop. The escort carriers involved were the USS Croatan, TG.22.5, and Mission Bay, TG.22.2. Surrounded by the usual pack of escorting destroyers, the carriers began their operations just north of the Azores. From the start their endeavours bore fruit, as submarines U 1235 and U 880 were sunk on 15 and 16 April respectively. The groups were not quite so lucky on 22 April when, after extensive searching, neither managed to snare U 805, which evaded the searchers. However, later that day U 518 was not quite so lucky, as it was detected and sunk by escorts from the Croatan group. Over the next twenty-four hours the two original carrier groups were replaced by two fresh groups. The replacement groups were TG.22.3, whose carrier was the USS Bogue, and TG.22.4 with the USS Core. TG.22.3 would start the ball rolling by detecting U 546, although the submarine did manage to score some success by sinking one of the escorts. After a six-hour hunt the submarine was forced to the surface, where it launched a final torpedo before sinking. The remaining U-boats, U 858, U 805, U 853, U 530, U 899 and U 881, managed to reach the east coast of America. Unfortunately for U 881 it ran straight into the Mission Bay group, which promptly sank it. U 853 would manage to sink a collier before being sunk itself on 5 May 1945, and this would be the final U-boat sinking before the war against Germany finally ended.

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Captured on the point of touchdown is this Douglas SBD Dauntless of VB-4 landing on the deck of CV-4, USS Ranger.