Wake Island (CVE-65) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1102) on 6 February 1943 at Vancouver, Wash., by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Inc.; launched on 15 September 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Frederick Carl Sherman, the wife of Rear Admiral Sherman; commissioned on 7 November 1943, Capt. Hames R. Tague in command.
Following commissioning, Wake Island received supplies, ammunition, and gasoline at Astoria, Oreg., and got underway on 27 November 1943 for Puget Sound and anchored the following day at Bremerton, Wash., where she continued to load supplies and ammunition. The escort carrier operated in the Puget Sound area conducting structural firing tests and making stops at Port Townsend, Sinclair Inlet, and Seattle before sailing south on 6 December. She arrived at San Francisco on 10 December; took on fuel; and, two days later, headed for San Diego, arriving there on 14 December for shakedown and availability. Before departing, the escort carrier took on board the personnel and planes of squadron VC-69.
On 11 January 1944, Wake Island got underway and steamed, via the Panama Canal, to Hampton Roads, Va., arriving at Norfolk on 26 January. Following availability, the escort carrier sailed on 14 February for New York in company with Mission Bay (CVE-59), Swenning (DE-394), and Haverfield (DE-393).
On 16 February--after loading supplies and embarking Army and Navy officers for transportation--Wake Island set course for Recife, Brazil, the first stop on her voyage to Karachi, India. She arrived at Recife on 1 March and made stops at Capetown, South Africa; and Diego Suarez Harbor, Madagascar; before arriving at Karachi on 29 March. The escort carrier began her return trip on 3 April and arrived back at Norfolk on 12 May.
She spent the remainder of May and part of June undergoing alterations and an overhaul. She then took on board the planes and personnel of VC-58 and, on 15 June, set course toward Bermuda for duty as the nucleus of Task Group (TG) 22.6, a combined, air-and-surface, anti-submarine, hunter-killer group. The highlight of her cruise came on 2 July, when one of the carrier's Avengers intercepted the surfaced U-543 off the coast of Africa between the Canary and the Cape Verde Islands, making its way home after an unsuccessful patrol in the Gulf of Guinea. The torpedo bomber's pilot, Ens. Frederick L. Moore, USNR, braved heavy antiaircraft fire from the German submarine while making two bombing attacks which sank the U-boat. However, no evidence appeared to confirm the kill, so the escort carrier and her escorts spent the ensuing fortnight hunting the already destroyed submarine.
Task Group (TG) 22.6 began her next serious encounter with the enemy two minutes before noon on 2 August, when Douglas L. Howard (DE-138) sighted a U-boat's conning tower some eight miles away. She and Fiske (DE-143) were detached to investigate, while all planes in the area were recalled. A "killer" TBM, armed with depth bombs, was catapulted at 1209. At 1235, a torpedo--apparently fired by a second submarine--hit Fiske amidships and broke her in two. The ships of the group managed to maneuver clear of two more torpedoes which were fired at the force. The first report of casualties listed 4 dead, 26 missing, and 55 seriously injured. Farquhar (DE-139) was detached to support Douglas L. Howard and later to pick up survivors. As the group was preparing to avenge the loss of Fiske, heavy fog and rain stopped all operations.
On 4 August, TG 22.6 was dissolved and, four days later, Wake Island made rendezvous with Convoy UC-32 as it steamed westward. She left the convoy on the 11th and headed for Hampton Roads. She arrived at Norfolk on the 15th for alterations and repairs which lasted through the 25th. Following post-repair trials and a brief availability, the escort carrier sailed on 29 August for Quonset, R.I., to relieve Mission Bay on carrier aircraft qualification operation duty which lasted through 30 October.
The next day, the escort carrier sailed for Norfolk with Lea (DD-118) and Babbitt (DD-128) as escorts and arrived on 1 November for a period of availability. On the 11th, she stood out of Norfolk in company with Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) and escorts bound, via the Panama Canal, for the west coast. The escort carrier entered San Francisco Bay on 28 November and moored at the Naval Air Station, Alameda, Calif., where she embarked two new aircraft squadrons before heading for Hawaii the following day. She moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, on 5 December; detached squadrons VC-9 and VPB-149; and disembarked personnel, planes, and equipment. Ten days later, Wake Island--her flight deck laden with cargo and unable to launch or receive planes--got underway for the Admiralty Islands with escorts Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) and O'Flaherty (DE-340). She arrived at Manus on 27 December, discharged all cargo and passengers, sailed for the Palau Islands, and arrived at Kossol Reef Lagoon on New Year's Day 1945. Late that evening, she loaded ammunition from a barge and got underway at 0642, bound for the Philippines and the forthcoming invasion of Luzon, in company with a tremendous fleet which had gathered for the operation.
Two days later, Wake Island passed through Surigao Strait and launched both SNAP (antisnooper air patrol) and LCAP (local combat air patrol). On 4 January 1945, she was operating in the Sulu Sea and launched a three-hour SNAP. The American planes sighted a single-engine Japanese float plane on the water off the southeastern tip of Panay Island. It appeared to be in the hands of a salvage crew. Two of the scout planes made two strafing runs each and left the plane riddled and the salvage crew dispersed.
The Fleet entered Panay Gulf about 100 miles northwest of Manila. Wake Island's surface search radar was jammed by enemy transmission, and the escort carrier went to general quarters at 1714. One minute later, a Japanese single engine plane appeared overhead in a steep diving attack on Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), some 4,200 yards away. Fire immediately flared from that carrier's flight and hangar decks; and, after 20 minutes, her crew abandoned Ommaney Bay under a dense cloud of black smoke. She burned with explosions of ammunition and was finally scuttled astern of the Fleet by a torpedo from an American destroyer.
On 5 January, Wake Island received 19 survivors of Ommaney Bay who had been rescued by Maury (DD-401). The ship went to general quarters with bogies on the radar screen, but three threatened raids failed to develop. At 1502, eight LCAP fighters from Wake Island pounced upon a division of Japanese Army fighters. When the melee was over, the Americans claimed three certain kills and a probable without suffering any loss themselves. In all, Wake Island launched three LCAPs during daylight. At 1655, the ship again went to general quarters to repel an air attack and for the next hour was under severe attack. At one time, six single-engine planes were simultaneously diving on carriers off Wake Island's port side. Five were knocked down by antiaircraft fire, narrowly missing their targets, but one managed a hit on Manila Bay (CVE-61). She caught fire and dropped behind, but her efficient damage control efforts enabled her to resume her position in the formation in only 51 minutes, with her flight deck out of commission. During the attack, at least 10 enemy planes splashed within 5,000 yards of Wake Island, and her own antiaircraft gunners claimed three.
On 13 January, two enemy planes attacked Salamaua (CVE-96), cruising about eight miles astern of Wake Island. One of the attackers was shot down, but the other scored a hit which briefly slowed that carrier. She soon regained speed and controlled a fire on her hanger deck without losing her position in the formation. Four days later, Wake Island was detached and left Lingayen Gulf in TG 77.14--a force consisting of eight escort carriers and their screen to retire to Ulithi, Caroline Islands. She anchored at Ulithi's southern anchorage from 23 to 31 January, undergoing availability and preparing for further operations. During this period, her home port was changed from Norfolk to Puget Sound, Bremerton, Washington.
On 10 February 1945, the escort carrier got underway to join TG 52.2, which had been established to provide air cover and support while escorting major units to the Volcano Islands and then to furnish naval gunfire spotting, and direct air support for landing forces. The following day, she steamed to an area off Saipan-Tinian where rehearsals for the invasion took place. On 13 February, Wake Island's commanding officer was designated OTC of Task Unit (TU) 52.2.1.
On 14 February, the escort carrier set course for Iwo Jima and, two days later, arrived at her operating area 49 miles from the southwestern tip of Iwo. Shortly after daylight, the heavy bombardment group began shelling shore installations on the island. Planes from Wake Island flew spotting sorties, attacked defensive works with rocket fire, and flew local antisubmarine patrols and hydrographic observation flights over the beaches. D-day for the invasion of Iwo Jima was 19 February; and, on that day, Wake Island operated as before, flying 56 spotting sorties and firing 87 rockets.
Her wartime commanding officers, from NavSource: Captain James Robert Tague, 7 November 1943 to 3 October 1944; Captain Austen Volker Magly, 3 October 1944 to 2 November 1945.
Sources: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Wikipedia, NavSource Online (commanding officers) and Wikimedia Commons (photograph records).