Siboney completed
fitting out on 23 May 1945 in the Seattle area, and on 31 May 1945,
sailed for San Diego. She held shakedown operations in the Bay Area
until 3 August. The carrier then loaded bombs, aircraft, and
personnel from Air Group 36, and on 8 August departed for Pearl
Harbor. Hostilities with Japan ceased the day before Siboney arrived,
on 15 August, to discharge her cargo. She was in Hawaiian waters
until early September when she sailed for Okinawa, via the Marshall,
Caroline, and Philippine Islands.
On 5 October, she stood out of Buckner Bay for Honshū, Japan. En
route, the carrier conducted air search operations in an attempt to
locate Rear Admiral William Dodge Sample and his PBM Mariner, which
had been missing since 2 October. Siboney called at Honshū from 8–11
October, and then continued the search for the missing Mariner, with
negative results. The ship operated in the Tokyo Bay area from 24
October until 16 November 1945, when she was ordered to return to
the United States. After port calls at Saipan, Manila, Hong Kong,
Guam, and Pearl Harbor, she arrived at San Diego on 23 January 1946.
The carrier deployed to the western Pacific again from 15 February-7
May.
Siboney stood out of San Diego on 9 June 1947, en route to Norfolk,
Virginia. The carrier arrived on 26 June and operated between there
and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba until November, when she was inactivated.
In March 1948, Siboney was returned to active duty, and, in May,
ferried former United States Air Force planes to Yesilkoy, Turkey.
She returned to Norfolk for a month and made another voyage to the
Near East before entering the Boston Naval Shipyard in October 1948
for a three-month overhaul.
Siboney stood out of Boston in January 1949 for Guantanamo Bay and
refresher training. The carrier operated with the Atlantic Fleet
until 6 December 1949, when she was placed in the inactive fleet at
Philadelphia.
The outbreak of war in Korea in June 1950 brought a need for more
combat ships, and Siboney was returned to an active status on 22
November 1950. The carrier put to sea on 2 February 1951 and was
assigned to Norfolk. From 27 February-10 April, she carried out
extensive training exercises in the Guantanamo Bay area.
She operated in Canadian waters in July and, from September to 14
November, in the Mediterranean with North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (NATO) units. Siboney participated in evaluation tests
and carrier qualifications of A-1 Skyraideres and F4U Corsairs in
January 1952. She also tested the new concept of vertical landings,
using Marine helicopters. The ship was modernized at the Norfolk
Naval Shipyard and rejoined the fleet on 20 January 1953. After
training in the Caribbean, she operated in the Atlantic with a
hunter-killer group until August. From 16 September-1 December,
Siboney was again deployed with the 6th Fleet.
1954-1955 were spent in fleet operations along the east coast, from
New England to the Caribbean and in midshipman cruises to Spain
during the summers. Siboney was overhauled at the Philadelphia Naval
Shipyard from 28 September 1954 – 22 January 1955. She operated
along the east coast until 4 October, when she was ordered to load
as many supplies as possible and sail for Mexican waters in the Gulf.
Until 19 October, helicopters from the carrier flew relief missions
and transported supplies to the inhabitants of Tampico which had
been devastated by a hurricane and subsequent flooding.
1956 was Siboney's last year of active service with the fleet. She
operated along the east coast from January – May, and then made a
final cruise with the 6th Fleet from 26 May - 6 July. The carrier
sailed to Philadelphia on 27 July and, four days later, was placed
in reserve, out of commission, with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Siboney was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1970,
and sold to Union Minerals and Alloys Corps. a year later for scrap. |