Pacific ships
USS Matanikau (CVE-101)

USN · CVE

Matanikau

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Afloat

Casablanca-class escort carrier, CVE-101, named for the river on Guadalcanal. Kaiser, Vancouver. Laid down as Dolomi Bay. Commissioned at Astoria on 24 June 1944, Captain W. L. Erdmann. One ferry reached Manus in August 1944. She then qualified pilots at San Diego for the rest of the war, including 1,332 aviators between January and June 1945. Decommissioned at Tacoma on 11 October 1946.

ClassCasablanca class
TypeEscort carrier (CVE)
HullCVE-101
BuilderKaiser, Vancouver
Launched1944-05-22
Commissioned1944-06-24
FateAfloat. Casablanca-class escort carrier. Commissioned 24 June 1944. One South Pacific ferry, then a west-coast training carrier. Decommissioned at Tacoma on 11 October 1946. Redesignated CVHE-101 on 15 June 1955 and AKV-36 on 7 May 1959. Struck 1 April 1960. Sold 27 July 1960.
Armament (class)Escort carrier. Flight deck over a merchant hull, small island set aft, one 5-inch gun.
Command

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

USS Matanikau (CVE-101). U.S. Navy photograph. Public domain.

The pictures on this page are the originals.

Command

William Lawrence ErdmannErdmann, William LawrenceCaptain from 24 June 1944Relieved on 27 March 1945Francis Benedict JohnsonJohnson, Francis BenedictCaptain from 27 March 1945Relieved on 6 December 1945Henry Thornton DietrichDietrich, Henry ThorntonCaptain from 6 December 1945Relieved on 11 June 1946Burdette Eugene CloseClose, Burdette EugeneCommander in command from 11 June 1946Relieved on 10 August 1946TLLaPorte, Thaddeus LouisLieutenant Commander in command from 10 August 1946Relieved on 11 October 1946

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