USS Midway (CVE-63)
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| History | |
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| Name: | USS Midway (1943-44), USS St. Lo (1944) |
| Builder: | Kaiser Shipyards |
| Laid down: | 23 January 1943 |
| Launched: | 17 August 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 23 October 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk by kamikaze aircraft on 25 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Casablanca-class escort carrier |
| Displacement: | 7,800 long tons (7,900 t) |
| Length: | 512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) o/a |
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| Draft: | 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m) |
| Installed power: | 9,000 ihp (6,700 kW) |
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| Speed: | 19 kn (22 mph; 35 km/h) |
| Range: | 10,240 nmi (11,780 mi; 18,960 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 28 |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: | United States Pacific Fleet |
| Operations: | Battle of Saipan, Battle of Tinian, Battle of Morotai, Battle off Samar, Battle of Leyte Gulf |
| Awards: | Presidential Unit Citation, 4 Battle stars |
USS St. Lo (CVE–63) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy during World War II. On 25 October 1944, St. Lo became the first major warship to sink as the result of a kamikaze attack. The attack occurred during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
St. Lo was laid down as Chapin Bay on 23 January 1943; renamed Midway on 3 April 1943; launched on 17 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Howard Nixon Coulter; and commissioned on 23 October 1943, Captain Francis J. McKenna in command. She was renamed St. Lo on 10 October 1944 after the town of Saint-Lô in Normandy, France, which was the location of fierce fighting during the allied Normandy landings.
After shakedown on the west coast and two voyages to Pearl Harbor and one to Australia carrying replacement aircraft, Midway, with Composite Squadron 65 (VC-65) embarked, joined Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan's Carrier Support Group 1 in June for the conquest of the Mariana Islands. She furnished air coverage for transports and participated in strikes on Saipan on 15 June 1944. She fought off several air attacks but suffered no damage during her support of the Saipan campaign. VC-65′s FM-2 Wildcats shot down four and damaged one other Japanese plane during combat air patrol operations there.
On 13 July, she sailed for Eniwetok for replenishment before joining the attack on Tinian on 23 July. Furnishing air support for ground forces on the island and maintaining an anti-submarine patrol, Midway operated off Tinian until she again headed out for supplies on 28 July.
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