United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Manila Bay (CVE-61)

USS Manila Bay (CVE-61)

Name: Manila Bay
Namesake: Battle of Manila Bay
Ordered as: Bucareli Bay (ACV-61)
Builder: Kaiser Shipyards, Vancouver, Washington
Laid down: 15 January 1943
Launched: 10 July 1943
Commissioned: 5 October 1943
Decommissioned: 31 July 1946
Reclassified: CVU-61 on 12 June 1955
Stricken: 27 May 1958
Identification: Hull symbol: CVE-61, Code letters: NKVK
Fate: Sold for scrap on 2 September 1959
Operations: Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, Western New Guinea campaign, Battle off Samar, Battle of Mindoro, Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Operation Magic Carpet
Awards: 8 battle stars

General characteristics (as built)

Class and type: Casablanca-class escort carrier
Displacement: 7,800 long tons (7,925 t)
Length: 512 ft (156 m) overall
Beam: 65 ft (20 m)
Draft: 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Installed power: 4 × 285 psi boilers, 9,000 shp (6,700 kW)
Propulsion: 2 × 5-cylinder reciprocating Skinner Unaflow engines, 2 × screws
Speed: 19 kn (22 mph; 35 km/h)
Range: 10,240 nmi (18,960 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement: Total: 910–916 officers and men
Embarked Squadron: 50–56
Ship's Crew: 860
Armament: 1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose gun, 16 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns (8×2), 20 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons (20×1)
Aircraft carried: 27

 

She was laid down as Bucareli Bay (ACV-61) under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Company, Inc., Vancouver, Washington on 15 January 1943; renamed Manila Bay on 3 April 1943; launched on 10 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Robert W. Bockius; reclassified CVE-61 on 15 July 1943; acquired by the Navy on 5 October 1943; and commissioned the same day at Astoria, Oregon, Captain Boynton L. Braun in command.

Description and construction

USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) Overview: The USS Manila Bay was a Casablanca-class escort carrier commissioned during World War II. Named after the strategic Manila Bay in the Philippines, it was launched on January 10, 1943, and commissioned on October 5, 1943. As part of a fleet of escort carriers, the Manila Bay served in a variety of roles, including providing air support for amphibious operations, convoy protection, and anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The vessel gained distinction for its contributions in the Pacific Theater, especially during operations such as the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

FM-1 Wildcat landing mishap aboard USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) 16th Dec 1943
General Motors FM-1 Wildcat White L12 BuNo 46789 landing mishap aboard USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) 16th Dec 1943

Flight deck arrangements

The USS Manila Bay featured a 477-foot-long and 80-foot-wide wooden flight deck, similar to other Casablanca-class escort carriers. This deck allowed the carrier to support a complement of approximately 27 aircraft, including FM-2 Wildcats for air combat and TBM Avengers for torpedo bombing and ASW missions. Beneath the flight deck was the hangar deck, where aircraft were maintained and stored. Two elevators connected the flight deck to the hangar, enabling efficient transfer of aircraft during combat. The small island structure on the starboard side housed the bridge, navigation equipment, and air traffic control facilities, centralizing command and operations for aviation activities. Arresting wires and a hydraulic catapult system were installed to facilitate safe takeoffs and landings for its aircraft.

Propulsion

The propulsion system of the Manila Bay consisted of a single-shaft steam turbine powered by two boilers, which produced a total of 9,000 shaft horsepower. This configuration allowed the ship to achieve a top speed of 19 knots and a cruising range of approximately 10,240 nautical miles at 15 knots, sufficient for long deployments across the vast expanses of the Pacific. Although slower than fleet carriers, this speed was adequate for the escort carrier’s mission profile, which emphasized versatility and endurance over raw speed.

Armament

The Manila Bay was lightly armed, reflecting its primary focus on supporting aircraft operations and providing limited self-defense. Its main armament consisted of a 5-inch/38 caliber dual-purpose gun, mounted at the stern, capable of engaging surface and air targets. For anti-aircraft defense, the carrier was equipped with eight twin-mounted 40mm Bofors guns and twenty 20mm Oerlikon cannons. These weapons were distributed across the deck and superstructure to provide overlapping fields of fire against incoming aircraft and smaller surface threats. This defensive array enabled the ship to repel attacks but required the protection of accompanying destroyers and cruisers for comprehensive defense against larger threats.

Fire control and electronics

The fire control systems onboard the Manila Bay were standard for its class. The ship employed Mk 4 fire control radar to assist with aiming its primary and secondary armament. Additionally, it was equipped with air-search radar, which allowed it to detect incoming aircraft at long ranges, and surface-search radar, used for locating ships and submarines in the vicinity. For its ASW role, the carrier worked in tandem with sonar-equipped destroyer escorts. The Manila Bay also featured communication systems to coordinate with its aircraft and task force, ensuring seamless integration of its operations.

Armor

Like other escort carriers of its class, the USS Manila Bay had minimal armor protection, as weight-saving measures were essential to maintain aircraft capacity and operational range. The hull was lightly constructed, and the flight deck was primarily wooden, providing limited resistance to torpedoes, bombs, or artillery. While the ship relied on its defensive armament and the screening forces of its task group, its lack of armor left it vulnerable to concentrated attacks, a characteristic inherent to its design philosophy.

Legacy: The USS Manila Bay played a significant role in the Pacific Theater, particularly during the amphibious campaigns at Kwajalein, Saipan, and Leyte Gulf. Its aircraft provided critical air cover and ground support, contributing to the success of Allied operations. Decommissioned after the war on July 1, 1946, the Manila Bay exemplified the versatility and utility of escort carriers, whose contributions were essential to Allied naval supremacy during World War II.

Service history - World War II

After a shakedown cruise along the west coast, Manila Bay sailed for Pearl Harbor on 20 November and returned a load of damaged planes to San Diego on 4 December. After training exercises, with Composite Squadron 7 (VC-7) embarked, she departed Hawaii on 3 January 1944. A week later she embarked Rear Admiral Ralph Davidson and became flagship for Carrier Division 24. Joining Task Force 52 (TF 52), she sortied 22 January for the invasion of the Marshall Islands. Between 31 January-6 February, she launched air and antisubmarine patrols as well as dozens of combat missions. Her planes bombed and strafed enemy positions from Kwajalein Island north to Bigej Island and destroyed ammunition dumps and ground installations. She remained in the Marshalls during the next month and extended her operations late in February first to Eniwetok and then to Majuro.

Departing Majuro on 7 March, Manila Bay reached Espiritu Santo on the 12th. Three days later she joined TF 37 for airstrikes and surface bombardments against Kavieng, New Ireland on 19–20 March. During the next month she cruised between the Solomons and the Bismarck Archipelago supporting the protracted offensive to neutralize the Archipelago and the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. Thence, on 19 April she steamed so that her planes could attack enemy positions on New Guinea.

New Guinea

American naval and ground forces began a three–pronged invasion along northern New Guinea at Aitape, Hollandia, and Tanahmerah Bay on 22 April. During and after the invasion Manila Bay launched protective air patrols and sent fighters and bombers to attack and destroy Japanese installations in the Aitape area. On 4 May she returned to Manus Island where Rear Admiral Felix Stump relieved Admiral Davidson as Commander, Carrier Division 24. Admiral Stump transferred his flag to Corregidor on 6 May, and the following day Manila Bay sailed for overhaul at Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 18 May.

After loading 37 Army Republic P-47 Thunderbolts of the Army Air Forces' 73rd Fighter Squadron, 318th Fighter Group, Manila Bay sailed on 5 June for the Mariana Islands. Steaming via Eniwetok, she reached the eastern approaches to Saipan on 19 June. During the next 4 days, she remained east of the embattled island as ships and planes of the Fast Carrier Task Force repulsed the Japanese Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and inflicted staggering losses on the enemy, crippling the Imperial Navy’s air strength permanently.

On 23 June, Manila Bay came under enemy air attack during refueling operations east of Saipan. Four Aichi D3A Val dive bombers attacked her from dead ahead, dropping their bombs which exploded wide to port. As a precautionary and rather unusual move which Raymond A. Spruance later characterized as 'commendable initiative', Manila Bay launched four of the P-47 Thunderbolts she was ferrying to fly protective CAP until radar screens were clear of contacts. The Army fighters then flew to Saipan, their intended destination. Manila Bay launched the remaining planes the next day and returned to Eniwetok, arriving on 27 June. After embarking 207 wounded troops, she departed on 1 July, touched Pearl Harbor on the 8th, and reached San Diego on 16 July.

Manila Bay returned to Pearl on 31 August. Two days later, Captain Fitzhugh Lee III took command of the veteran carrier, and after embarking VC-80, Manila Bay departed on 15 September as a unit of Carrier Division 24 (CarDiv 24). Steaming via Eniwetok, she reached Manus 3 October and began final preparations for the invasion of the Philippines at Leyte Gulf.

Leyte Gulf

Assigned to the Task Group 77.4 (TG 77.4), Manila Bay departed on 12 October for waters east of the Philippines. Prior to the invasion, her planes pounded enemy ground targets on Leyte, Samar, and Cebu Islands. She launched ground support, spotting, and air cover strikes during the amphibious assaults on 20 October, and she sent bombers and fighters to support ground forces during the critical first few days at Leyte.

As Manila Bay cruised to the east of Leyte Gulf with other carriers of Admiral Stump's 'Taffy 2' (Task Unit 77.4.2, TU 77.4.2), powerful Japanese naval forces converged upon the Philippines and launched a three-pronged offensive to drive the Americans from Leyte. In a series of masterful and coordinated surface attacks, an American battleship, cruiser, and destroyer force met and destroyed enemy ships in the Battle of Surigao Strait early on 25 October. Surviving Japanese ships retreated into the Mindanao Sea pursued by destroyers, PT boats, and after sunrise by carrier-based bombers and fighters.

Manila Bay sent an eight-plane strike against ground targets on Leyte before sunrise; subsequently, these planes bombed and strafed retiring enemy ships southwest of Panaon Island. A second strike about midmorning pounded the cruiser Mogami. In the meantime, however, Manila Bay turned her planes against a more immediate threat: the enemy attack against ships of Taffy 3.

Battle off Samar

A running battle ensued between the escort carriers of Rear Adm. Clifton Sprague's Taffy 3 and the larger, vastly more powerful surface ships of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force. The self-sacrificing attacks by American destroyers and destroyer escorts, and the prompt, aggressive, and unceasing torpedo, bomb, and strafing strikes by planes from Taffy 2 and Taffy 3 contributed to the American victory against great odds in the Battle off Samar.

Manila Bay launched two airstrikes during the enemy pursuit of Taffy 3 and two more as the Japanese retreated. At 08:30, she sent four torpedo-laden Grumman TBM Avengers and a seven-plane escort to join the desperate fight. Three launched torpedoes at a battleship, probably Yamato, but they missed. The fourth plane launched her torpedo at a heavy cruiser, most likely Chikuma. It hit the ship to starboard near the fantail, forcing her out of control. The second strike an hour later by two Avengers resulted in one torpedo hit on the portside amidships against an unidentified battleship.

As the Japanese ships broke off attack and circled off Samar, the airstrikes continued. At 11:20, Manila Bay launched four Avengers, carrying 500 pound bombs, and four bombers from other carriers. Escorted by General Motors FM-2 Wildcats and led by Commander R. L. Fowler, they soon joined planes from other Taffy carriers. Shortly after 12:30, some 70 planes surprised and attacked the retiring Center Force, strafing and bombing through intense antiaircraft fire. Manila Bay's bombers made a hit and two near misses on the lead battleship, probably Kongō or Haruna. Manila Bay launched her final strike at 12:45, strafing destroyers and getting two hits on a cruiser.

Later that afternoon, Manila Bay's CAP intercepted a Japanese bomber-fighter strike about 50 miles north of Taffy 2. Her four fighters broke up the enemy formation, and with reinforcements drove off the attackers before they reached the carriers. Her planes continued to attack enemy ships the following day. Laden with rockets and bombs, one of her Avengers scored two hits on the cruiser Kinu and several rocket hits on the destroyer Uranami. Both ships sank about noon in the Visayan Sea after numerous air attacks.

Manila Bay resumed air operations in support of Leyte ground forces on 27 October. During ground support and air cover missions, her planes shot down an Aichi D3A 'Val' on 27 October and bagged two Nakajima Ki-43 'Oscars' on 29 October. Late on 30 October she sailed for the Admiralty Islands, arriving at Manus on 4 November.

Mindoro

After steaming to Kossol Passage late in November, Manila Bay departed on 10 December to provide air cover for the Mindoro invasion convoys. The task force entered Mindanao Sea early on 13 December. Late that afternoon in the Sulu Sea south of Negros, they encountered enemy aircraft. The fighter cover shot down or repulsed most of the attackers. Accurate fire from Manila Bay shot down one kamikaze. A second kamikaze hit the destroyer Haraden.

During and after the Mindoro landings on 15 December, Manila Bay sent her planes on ground support and air cover missions. As troops poured ashore, more kamikazes attempted to break the air cover and crash into ships of the covering and carrier group. The few that escaped the combat air patrols were either shot down or driven off by accurate antiaircraft fire. Manila Bay helped down three of the raiders and her fighters knocked out two more. After recovering her planes on 16 December, she sailed in convoy via Surigao Strait and reached Kossol on 19 December.

After a trip to Manus, Manila Bay sortied New Year's Day 1945 with ships of the Luzon Attack Force. With five other escort carriers she provided air cover for Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf's Bombardment and Fire Support Group, and direct air support for Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey's San Fabian Attack Force.

The task groups steamed via Surigao Strait and the Mindanao Sea into the Sulu Sea where they turned north for the Mindoro Strait. Enemy nuisance and suicide raids began in earnest on 4 January; and despite the tight air cover provided by CVE aircraft, a kamikaze crashed into the flight deck of Ommaney Bay causing her to sink.

Lingayen Gulf

The enemy air attacks intensified on 5 January. Patrolling fighters broke up morning and early afternoon strikes, shooting down numerous raiders. At 16:50, a third attack sent all hands to general quarters. Vectored CAP shot down several enemy planes and anti-aircraft fire accounted for others. Three planes got through to the cruisers Louisville, the destroyer Stafford, and the Australian cruiser Australia.

Japanese kamikaze starting attack on the USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) 5th Jan 1945
1 - 2. Japanese kamikaze starting attack on the USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) in the South China Sea 5th Jan 1945 3 - 5. USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) taken just after she was hit by a Kamikaze on the 5th Jan 1945

Kamikaze strike

Just before 17:50, two kamikazes dove at Manila Bay from the portside.^[1] The first plane hit the flight deck to starboard abaft the bridge, causing fires on the flight and hangar decks, destroying radar transmitting spaces, and wiping out all communications. The second plane, aimed for the bridge, missed the island close aboard to starboard and hit the sea off the fantail.^[1]

Firefighting parties promptly brought the blazes under control, including those of two fueled and burning torpedo planes in the hangar deck. Within 24 hours, she resumed limited air operations.^[1] Most repairs to her damaged electrical and communication circuits were completed by 9 January, when the amphibious invasion in Lingayen Gulf got underway.

Manila Bay had 14 men killed and 52 wounded, but by 10 January she resumed full duty in support of the Lingayen Gulf operations. In addition to providing air cover for the task force, her planes flew 104 sorties against targets in western Luzon. They gave effective close support for ground troops at Lingayen and San Fabian and bombed, rocketed, and strafed gun emplacements, buildings, truck convoys, and troop concentrations from Lingayen to Baguio.

Manila Bay departed in convoy late on 17 January. Steaming via Leyte, Ulithi, and Pearl Harbor, she arrived San Diego on 15 February. Battle damage repairs completed late in April, with VC-72 embarked she trained in Hawaiian waters until sailing for the western Pacific on 24 May. She closed the coast of Okinawa on 13 June and during the next week launched rocket and strafing strikes in the Ryukyu Islands. She departed for the Marianas on 20 June and operated out of Guam and Eniwetok during the closing weeks of the war.

Manila Bay steamed to the Aleutians in mid-August. As a unit of TF 44, she departed Adak Island on 31 August to support occupation operations in northern Japan. From 7–12 September her planes carried out photographic and reconnaissance missions over northern Honshū and southern Hokkaidō and dropped emergency supplies at POW camps. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 September, unloaded her aircraft, and steamed to the Marshall Islands carrying replacement troops.

Post-war

Assigned to 'Magic Carpet' duty, Manila Bay embarked 1,031 veterans at Eniwetok, and from 6–18 October sailed to San Francisco. In November, the carrier aided the disabled Boeing 314 Honolulu Clipper 650 miles east of Oahu.^[2] After completing 2 more 'Magic Carpet' runs, she departed Pearl Harbor on 27 January 1946 and reached Norfolk, Va. on 18 February.

She steamed to Boston from 15–17 April, decommissioned there on 31 July 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was reclassified CVU-61 on 12 June 1955; her name was struck from the Navy list on 27 May 1958; and she was sold for scrap to Hugo Neu Corp., 2 September 1959.

Awards

Manila Bay received eight battle stars for World War II service.