USS Kwajalein (CVE 98)

- formerly BUCCARELI BAY -
- later CVU 98, later AKV 34 -
- decommissioned -

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USS KWAJALEIN was the 44^th CASABLANCA - class escort aircraft carrier and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Decommissioned on August 16, 1946, the KWAJALEIN was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Tacoma. She was reclassified CVU 98 on June 12, 1955, and AKV 34 on May 7, 1959. She was struck from the Navy list on April 1, 1960, and was scrapped in Japan the following year.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: 1942
	Keel laid: February 19, 1944
	Launched: May 5, 1944
	Commissioned: June 7, 1944
	Decommissioned: August 16, 1946
	Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash.
	Propulsion system: four boilers
	Propellers: two
	Length: 512.5 feet (156.2 meters)
	Flight Deck Width: 108 feet (32.9 meters)
	Beam: 65 feet (19.9 meters)
	Draft: 22.6 feet (6.9 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 10,400 tons full load
	Speed: 19 knots
	Catapults: one
	Aircraft: 28 planes
	Armament: one 5-inch L/38 gun, 16 40mm guns, 20 20mm guns
	Crew: 860

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS KWAJALEIN. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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History of USS KWAJALEIN:

KWAJALEIN (CVE 98), formerly BUCCARELI BAY, was launched 4 May 1944, by the Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Rudolf L. Johnson; acquired by the Navy 7 June 1944, and commissioned the same day, Comdr. R. C. Warrack in command.

After shakedown along the West Coast, KWAJALEIN cleared San Pedro 19 July 1944, bound for Espiritu Santo with passengers and a cargo of fuel and planes. Arriving 3 August, she sailed 4 days later to transport aircraft to Guam and pick up salvaged Japanese equipment for intelligence studies in the United States.

Following repairs at San Diego, KWAJALEIN got underway 7 October for operations as replenishment carrier. She loaded combat-ready aircraft at Manus and sailed for Eniwetok 5 November to replenish the carriers of Task Force 38 as they prepared for raids on Manila and the Visayas. Continuing operations from Ulithi, KWAJALEIN furnished the big carriers with the planes needed to drive the Japanese out of the Philippines. During January 1945, replacement aircraft roared from her decks to Task Force 38 flattops for strikes on enemy air bases on Formosa and the China coast. KWAJALEIN returned San Diego 23 February for overhaul and additional aircraft before resuming operations 9 March.

From March to August KWAJALEIN carried aircraft on three cruises from Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific keeping carrier-based air groups at full strength for the massive carrier raids on the Japanese home islands. With the cessation of hostilities 14 August 1946, the carrier was assigned the task of returning Pacific veterans to the United States. She made four cruises to the Pacific Islands before arriving San Pedro 2 February 1946, from her final "Magic-Carpet" mission. On 23 April KWAJALEIN cleared San Pablo Bay for Mukilteo, Wash., arriving there 3 days later. She decommissioned at Tacoma, Wash., 16 August 1946, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 April 1960, and she was scrapped in Japan the following year.

KWAJALEIN received two battle stars for World War II service.

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