After shakedown off
California, Mission Bay departed San Diego on 15 November for the
east coast via the Panama Canal, arriving Portsmouth, Virginia on 5
December. Assigned to convoy and antisubmarine duty, she got
underway for Europe the 26th, arriving Casablanca, French Morocco (now
Morocco), 14 January 1944. Two days later the escort aircraft
carrier sailed for the east coast, reaching Portsmouth 8 February.
On 20 February, Mission Bay steamed from New York with a load of
Army planes and personnel for India, stopping at Recife, Brazil, and
Cape Town, Union of South Africa, before arriving at Karachi on 29
March. By 12 May, she was back at Portsmouth. On the 28th, the
carrier departed New York again on another trip to North Africa.
Mission Bay arrived Casablanca on 6 June to steam for home 2 days
later, entering the New York channel on the 17th. That same day she
collided with a dredge and had to continue on to Portsmouth for
repairs, mooring on 22 June. On 8 September, Mission Bay steamed
from Portsmouth for the South Atlantic. After refueling at Dakar,
French West Africa (now Senegal) on 20 September, she conducted
antisubmarine operations into November ending at Portsmouth on the
25th. Her next cruise from Portsmouth on 21 December took her to the
Caribbean for exercises between Mayport, Florida and Guantánamo Bay,
Cuba into March 1945. In February, Mission Bay was ordered to sail
in the direction of Gibraltar to meet Quincy on the 23rd, and escort
the heavy cruiser returning in convoy from the Yalta Conference from
4–11 February, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and party
embarked. Mission Bay left the convoy en route to Newport News,
Virginia, mooring at Bermuda, British West Indies on the 27th before
continuing on to Portsmouth to arrive 9 March.
After antisubmarine duty in the North Atlantic from March 29 to May
14 during Operation Teardrop, Mission Bay cruised off the east coast,
training pilots, until she sailed for Guantanamo Bay on 19 July. The
escort carrier returned to Quonset Point, R.I. on August 2 to
continue training operations off the east coast through the Japanese
surrender on August 15 into December. On Navy Day, October 27, 1945,
she was part of the celebration at Wilmington Del. that hosted Adm
Bill Halsey. On December 19, Mission Bay was assigned to the 16th
Fleet, with Norfolk as her home yard, to serve in an incommission,
in reserve status the next year. Placed in service in reserve on
February 21, 1947, she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk
to remain there until she joined the New York Group on November 30,
1949. On June 12, 1955, she was redesignated CVU-59. The utility
aircraft carrier was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on
September 1, 1958, and sold to Hugo Neu Corp of New York City on
April 30, 1959, where she was subsequently scrapped. |