USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79)

History
USS Ommaney Bay under attack by kamikaze aircraft on 4 January 1945

Name:	USS Ommaney Bay
Namesake:	Ommaney Bay, Baranof Island, Alaska
Builder:	Kaiser Shipyards
Laid down:	6 October 1943
Launched:	29 December 1943
Commissioned:	11 February 1944
Fate:	Struck by kamikaze aircraft, and scuttled 4 January 1945
General characteristics
Class and type:	Casablanca-class escort carrier
Displacement:	7,800 tons (light) 10,400 tons (full load)
Length:	512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) overall
Beam:	65 ft 2 in (19.86 m) 108 ft 1 in (32.94 m) maximum width
Draft:	22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Propulsion:	2 × 5-cylinder reciprocating Skinner Unaflow engines 4 × 285 psi boilers 2 shafts, 9,000 shp
Speed:	19.3 knots (35.7 km/h)
Range:	10,240 nmi (18,960 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement:	860 officers and men Embarked Squadron: 50 to 56 officers and men Total: 910 to 916 officers and men
Armament:	1 × 5-inch/38 cal. DP gun 16 × 40 mm AA cannon in 8 twin mounts 20 × 20 mm AA machine guns in single mounts
Aircraft carried:	28
Service record
Part of:	United States Pacific Fleet
Operations:	Mariana and Palau Islands campaign Battle off Samar Battle of Mindoro Philippines campaign
Awards:	2 Battle stars

USS Ommaney Bay (CVE–79) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy, named for Ommaney Bay, Alaska.

Ommaney Bay, formerly MC hull 1116, was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract 6 October 1943 by Kaiser Company, Inc., Vancouver, Washington; launched 29 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. P. K. Robottom; acquired by the Navy 11 February 1944; and commissioned the same day, Captain Howard L. Young in command.

After commissioning and fitting out at Astoria, Oregon, and conducting shakedown in Puget Sound, Ommaney Bay sailed 19 March from Oakland, California, with passengers and a cargo of supplies and aircraft for Brisbane, Australia. (While the ship is presumably named for Ommaney Bay in Alaska, note that Brisbane has a landmark and suburb called Mount Ommaney.) By 27 April she had completed her mission and was back in San Diego, where she began a rigorous ten days of carrier qualification landings, drills and tests. Then, after minor alterations and repairs, the ship sailed 10 June for Pearl Harbor. Until 12 August she trained air groups and squadrons there in the art of operating from "baby flattops", then she sailed to Tulagi to rehearse for the invasion of the Palau Islands. From 11 September until the beginning of October Ommaney Bay stood off Peleliu and Anguar Islands and provided air cover for the fleet and close support strikes for the forces ashore.

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