World War II Database

Contributor: David Stubblebine

ww2dbaseIn 1941 in the United States, the Todd Shipyard in Tacoma, Washington was operated by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. The shipyard had eight shipways and in late 1941 and early 1942, all eight were occupied with Maritime Commission Type C-3-class hulls under construction. Normally, this hull design was the basis for several manners of merchant ship but on 1 May 1942 all eight were acquired by the United States Navy for completion as auxiliary aircraft carriers. These would ultimately become Bogue-class escort carriers Bogue, Card, Nassau, Altamaha, Core, Barnes, Block Island, and the British lend-lease escort carrier HMS Tracker.

ww2dbaseOn 8 Nov 1942, what began as Maritime Commission Hull #178 was commissioned as Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Card at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, Captain James B. Sykes commanding. Card's initial designation as an Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier (ACV) implied she was more of a transport ship than a fighting ship. After some more fitting out at Puget Sound and some shakedown off San Diego, California, Card transited the Panama Canal on 26 Jan 1943 and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 1 Feb 1943. In a routine change of command, Captain Arnold Jay "Buster" Isbell relieved Captain Sykes as commanding officer.

ww2dbaseCard's first operational sortie in late May 1943 was an aircraft ferrying trip from New York to Casablanca in French Morocco. Card then made the return voyage to Norfolk arriving 5 Jun 1943. Ten days later, Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier Card (ACV-11) was reclassified as Escort Carrier Card (CVE-11). With the stroke of a pen, Card was a warship at last and she was made ready to lead an anti-submarine Hunter-Killer group.

ww2dbaseHunter-Killer groups became feasible with the convergence of several factors as the war progressed. One was the availability of enough small aircraft carriers, escort ships, and aircraft to outfit these groups; another was the development of specialized anti-submarine weaponry like the Mark 24 FIDO homing torpedo and the growing dependability of sonobuoys; and finally, the breaking of the German submarine enigma codes that allowed the Allies to reasonably predict U-Boat locations. Much of the enigma traffic related to when and where submarines would meet other submarines for replenishment, something that played perfectly to the hands of the Hunter-Killer groups. Hunter-Killer groups were formed in both the Atlantic and Pacific and in time, 14 United States escort carriers would lead them: USS Santee, Bogue, Card, Core, Block Island, Croatan, Anzio, Mission Bay, Guadalcanal, Tripoli, Wake Island, Solomons, Tulagi, and Hoggatt Bay.

ww2dbaseFor her first Hunter-Killer sortie, Card embarked the TBF-1 Avengers and F4F-4 Wildcats of Composite Squadron One (VC-1) and sailed into the Atlantic on 27 Jul 1943 as flagship of Task Group 21.14. One week after sailing, Card's aviators made their first attack when Lt(jg) "Zeke" Cormier flying an Avenger dropped two depth charges and one FIDO torpedo on a German submarine. Cormier reported that the submarine was sunk but this was never confirmed.

ww2dbaseCard's first confirmed submarine sinking came four days later on 7 Aug 1943 when Lt(jg) Asbury H. Sallenger in his Avenger, acting on enigma intercepts, caught submarines U-117 and U-66 on the surface exchanging provisions. Sallenger attacked immediately and crippled the larger U-177. In the following coordinated attack involving six Avengers and four Wildcats, U-117 was sunk with Mark 24 FIDO torpedoes and U-66 was likely damaged. For his part in this attack, Sallenger would be awarded the Navy Cross. It happened again the very next day when Sallenger interrupted a refueling rendezvous with three surfaced submarines, but this encounter did not go as well for the Card aviators. Sallenger was accompanied by Ensign John F. Sprague in a Wildcat who strafed the U-262 in the hopes the submarine would dive (according to the Hunter-Killer doctrine, a surfaced submarine would be attacked with gunfire and/or aerial depth charges to force it to submerge whereupon a FIDO homing torpedo would be launched that, by design, was not effective against a surfaced submarine but could seek out and destroy a shallowly submerged one). U-262 fought back against Sprague's attack, however, and Sprague was shot down and killed. Sallenger attacked with depth charges but U-262 gunners fired on him too, damaging the Avenger enough that Sallenger had to make a water landing. The depth charges, however, caused serious damage to U-262. The other two submarines at the rendezvous slipped away undamaged. For his efforts in this attack, Sallenger would be awarded the Silver Star.

ww2dbaseFortunes reversed again the next day when Card aircraft found U-664 on the surface and attacked. Bombs, depth charges, and machine gun fire crippled the submarine and she began to sink by the stern. Many of the crew abandoned the vessel into the water before the submarine sank altogether. Card's escorts mounted no rescue efforts right away because of the proximity of other submarines but seven hours after the initial attack, once darkness fell, USS Borie began picking up U-664 survivors. Forty-four survivors were picked up but as Borie was doing so, her lookouts reported no fewer than five different torpedo wakes passing the ship close aboard. The U-664 sailors were transferred to the Card the following day.

ww2dbaseTwo days later, Card aircraft launched depth charges and one FIDO torpedo against submarine U-525 which sank with all hands. Five days after that, Card and her task group arrived at Casablanca in French Morocco to put the 44 German prisoners ashore and for five days of rest and replenishment. Once back at sea, two different flights of Card aircraft found two different surfaced German submarines on the same day. U-508 was damaged but escaped and U-847 was sunk with all 62 hands. After one more sweep of their patrol area, Card put into Norfolk.

ww2dbaseAfter a two-week refit, Card put to sea again on 23 Sep 1943 but with a different air contingent. For this voyage, Composite Squadron Nine (VC-9) came aboard. VC-9 had just finished distinguishing themselves on their previous Hunter-Killer cruise aboard USS Bogue where they had destroyed four submarines and damaged three others. After a few days of anti-submarine exercises around Bermuda, Card and her group returned to the Central Atlantic. Within a week, Card aircraft found four surfaced German submarines 440 miles north of the Azores in the midst of refueling. U-422 was sunk immediately while a longer search and pursuit ended with the destruction of the U-460 tanker submarine or "Milchkau" (Milk Cow). U-264 and U-455 got away but not before U-264 was damaged.

ww2dbaseEight days later on 12 Oct 1943, Lt(jg) Letson "Sam" Balliett in a TBF Avenger interrupted another refueling operation involving Milchkau U-488 and U-402. Balliett attacked but both escaped with only minimal or no damage. Later that same day in different attack, U-731 was damaged. U-402's escape from Lt(jg) Balliett did not last long, however, as she was found again the following day and sunk with a FIDO torpedo. Card spent another week sweeping her assigned area before she and her group made a two-day stop at Casablanca.

ww2dbaseTen days after leaving Morocco on 30 Oct 1943, a Card pilot reported he had attacked and sunk a surfaced submarine but there never confirmed. The next day, U-584 and U-91 were spotted at a rendezvous point. Both were attacked and U-584 was sunk with all hands while U-91 escaped unharmed. Later that night while pursuing the escaping U-91, escort destroyer USS Borie attacked and damaged U-256. A few hours later, Borie shelled, depth charged, and then rammed U-405. U-405 sank with all hands but Borie was so badly damaged that she could not even be towed. Borie was abandoned and her crew was taken aboard destroyers USS Barry and Goff before Borie was to be scuttled by gunfire and torpedoes. Stubbornly, the ship would not sink and the scuttling was finally accomplished in the very unusual manner of being bombed from the air by one of Card's Avengers. All of Borie's crew successfully left the ship but 27 were lost to the icy waters, many simply too weak to come over the sides of the rescuing destroyers. The remaining 130 survivors were transferred to Card as the task group retired toward Norfolk.

ww2dbaseOn 10 Nov 1943, the day after arriving at Norfolk, Card received an impressive delegation of dignitaries including seven flag officers:

• Admiral Royal Ingersoll (Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet)
• Vice Admiral Patrick Bellinger (Commander for Air, Atlantic Fleet)
• Vice Admiral Alexander Sharp (Commander of Service Forces, Atlantic Fleet)
• Rear Admiral Walter Kilpatrick (Chief of Staff to Commander Atlantic Fleet)
• Rear Admiral David LeBretan (Commandant 5th Naval District)
• Rear Admiral Gerald Bogan (Commander Fleet Air, Norfolk), and
• Rear Admiral Calvin Durgin (Commander Fleet Air, Quonset).

ww2dbaseIn a mere 40 minutes aboard the ship, Admiral Ingersoll made several award presentations:

• Captain Arnold Isbell (Commanding Officer USS Card and Commander Task Group 21.14) received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
• Lieutenant Commanders Herbert Hill (Commanding Officer USS Barry), Hinton Smith (Commanding Officer USS Goff), and Howard Avery (Commanding Officer Composite Squadron VC-9) received the Legion of Merit
• Lieutenant Charles Hutchins (Commanding Officer USS Borie) received the Navy Cross
• Machinist's Mate 2nd-class Irving R. Saum (USS Borie) received the Navy Cross
• Lieutenant Philip Brown (Executive Officer USS Borie) received the Legion of Merit
• Chief Machinist's Mate William Green (USS Borie) and Fireman 1st-class Mario Pagnotta (USS Borie) received Silver Stars, and
• A Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to USS Card, USS Barry, USS Borie, USS Goff, Composite Squadron VC-1, Composite Squadron VC-9, and all men who served in these commands at any point during the first two sorties of Task Group 21.14.

ww2dbaseAdditionally, Borie's Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Morrison Brown, received the Navy Cross posthumously.

ww2dbaseFollowing a two-week refit, Card's task group was reformed with a different set of escort ships and with Composite Squadron 55 embarked. The task group sailed 24 Nov 1943, patrolled the Central Atlantic for three weeks without engaging a submarine, spent three days in Casablanca, and resumed their patrols for a week before running into the notorious North Atlantic bad weather. During the night of 23 Dec 1943, Card was trying to cover the flank of the southbound Britain-to-Gibraltar Convoy OS-62/KMS-36 of fifty ships in weather so bad the task group had to run with the wind with no possibility of launching aircraft. In these miserable conditions, Card's group steamed directly through the thirteen German submarines of Wolfpack Borkum. Card and destroyer USS Decatur were attacked unsuccessfully by U-415. Destroyer USS Schenck attacked U-645 and probably damaged it. After Card's group scattered Wolfpack Borkum, U-415 attacked convoy escort HMS Hurricane using Germany's acoustic homing torpedo, codenamed GNAT. U-415's GNAT found its mark and blew Hurricane's stern off, killing three and wounding nine. Hurricane, unable to move, was scuttled the following morning by the destroyer HMS Watchman.

ww2dbaseMeanwhile, Card and her screen continued the running battle with the German wolfpack. Destroyer USS Schenck sank German submarine U-645 while U-275 torpedoed and sank destroyer USS Leary, also with a GNAT. Ninety-seven of Leary's crew were killed and 59 were picked up by Schenk.

ww2dbaseCard and her group arrived at Norfolk on 2 Jan 1944, lucky to have made it through their trip through the lion's den as well as they did. Three weeks later, Card's group reformed, again with Composite Squadron 55 embarked but with a new slate of escort ships and more of them; Card's screen was increased from three to five.

ww2dbaseOn 30 Jan 1944 in the mid-Atlantic, Card and her group encountered a mysterious surface ship that they were nearly forced to fire upon. Aircraft first observed a large armed merchant ship traveling alone that would not respond to normal challenges to identify herself. Card had already observed German blockade runners traveling disguised and unescorted and so Captain Isbell was naturally suspicious. Blinker signals and radio messages failed to get any proper response. Even Card's blunt message, "United States Navy orders you to steer course 180" brought only confusing flag hoists, nonsensical blinker signals, and erratic 90-degree turns. This went on most of the day until finally one of Card's planes was ordered to drop two bombs off the ship's bow. Only then did the ship heave to and respond correctly to all challenges from one of Card's escorts. She identified herself as the Canadian merchant cruiser HMCS Prince Henry. The communications difficulty, they said, was due to the poor weather and rough seas, but Captain Isbell wasn't sure he was buying it.

ww2dbaseCard and her group then turned south, venturing nearly down into the tropical zone. On 12 Feb 1944, Card received a secret dispatch to proceed to a reported rendezvous between a northbound Japanese submarine and a German submarine after dark the following day. This message was clearly the product of Allied codebreaking at the highest levels and while Card had no idea about the details at the time, this was to be the meeting of Japanese I-29 with German U-518. Seventeen months before, I-29 had been the submarine that, with one spread of Type 95 torpedoes, sank or severely crippled three American warships southeast of Guadalcanal (aircraft carrier Wasp, sunk; battleship North Carolina, badly damaged; and destroyer O'Brien, badly damaged and later sank). In 1944, however, I-29 was traveling from Japan to Germany on the Fourth Yanagi mission to exchange technologies between the two countries using submarine transports. I-29 was loaded with a cargo of rubber, tin, tungsten, zinc, quinine, opium, and coffee. I-29 was to rendezvous with the German U-518 to take aboard three German technicians and two types of radar detectors. That meeting took place on schedule but 650 miles west of where Card was told to look. Card was told to proceed to 28-degrees North Latitude and 29-degrees West Longitude but the actual rendezvous was at 28-degrees North Latitude and 39-degrees West Longitude, a difference of 10 degrees of longitude. It is unknown where this simple error, almost a clerical error, entered the intelligence stream but for this simple difference, Card might have been right on top of this meeting. As it was, Card diligently searched her area but (naturally) found no Japanese submarine. I-29 would successfully arrive in Lorient, France, her captain would be personally decorated by Adolf Hitler for sinking the Wasp, and then I-29 would depart on her return to Japan with her cargo of an advanced German rocket motor. Codebreaking intercepts caught up with her again, however (Japanese codes this time), and I-29 was sunk in the Luzon Strait on 26 Jul 1944 by three torpedoes (that worked!) from submarine USS Sawfish.

ww2dbaseOnce USS Card exhausted her search efforts in the wrong place, she and her group retired to Casablanca and then to Norfolk. As soon as she arrived in Norfolk, there was a routine change of command where Captain Rufus Young, Jr. relieved Captain Isbell. A break from Hunter-Killer missions followed. Card shifted to New York and loaded Army fighter planes and personnel for transportation to Africa. After a quick turnaround in Casablanca, Card returned to New York for another load of planes and people. On 23 Apr 1944, Card departed New York for Casablanca once again but this time in company with fleet carrier USS Ranger which was also ferrying planes and personnel. Following another quick return, Card was attached to the fleet aviation training center at Quonset Point, Rhode Island on Narragansett Bay.

ww2dbaseAs D-Day was raging in Normandy, Card was beginning two weeks of carrier qualifications where pilots from several squadrons were certified in their ability to land airplanes on flight decks. Back in Norfolk later that month, Card embarked Composite Squadron 12 in preparation for another Hunter-Killer sortie. As flagship of Task Group 22.10, Card and her group departed Norfolk on 25 Jun 1944. The group conducted anti-submarine exercises off Bermuda for two days that included tracking the friendly Italian submarine RIN Goffredo Mameli.

ww2dbaseCard and her group then took their station southeast of Newfoundland where they were plagued by several days of persistent heavy fog. Even so, there were hints of a submarine working those waters and Card's group spent several days stalking it. During the evening of 5 Jul 1944, destroyer escort USS Baker steaming 20,000 yards off Card's port beam developed a sound contact and attacked. After three well-placed depth charge patterns, submarine U-233 came to the surface. Baker opened fire with her guns and fired two torpedoes. Destroyer escort USS Thomas came to assist, also firing her guns and then Thomas rammed the submarine. The U-Boat's bow rose at a high angle and the submarine began sinking quickly by the stern. Baker, Thomas, and USS Breeman recovered thirty U-233 survivors from the water and delivered them to the Card. This included U-233's badly wounded commanding officer Kapitänleutnant Hans Steen who died of his wounds the next day and was buried at sea with full military honors.

ww2dbaseCard and her group began retiring toward Boston, arriving 7 Jul 1944. After ramming U-233, USS Thomas remained in Boston to tend to her repairs and was replaced by USS Coffman as the task group departed on 10 Jul 1944, this time bound for the Caribbean. Almost right away after her arrival south of Puerto Rico, Card developed engine trouble that sent her planes to shore bases while Card limped into San Juan for repairs. Once Card rejoined her task group, the ships responded to intelligence intercepts describing a German submarine leaving the Caribbean. Card followed the submarine's path which took the group back into the central Atlantic. Card's airmen had a few hopeful moments but no confirmed contacts before returning to Norfolk on 23 Aug 1944.

ww2dbaseAlmost a month later, Card formed a new Hunter-Killer task group and returned to the mid-Atlantic for eight weeks but engaged no submarines. The most noteworthy event was a large wave that came over Card's fantail and flooded several compartments. One sailor was injured and the water was pumped out with no damage to the ship. This cruise was followed by another month-long Hunter-Killer sortie without results that ended with Card back at Quonset Point for two weeks of carrier qualifications before going into the Philadelphia Navy Yard for an overhaul. After that, Card was back on aircraft ferry duty when she took Army fighter planes and Army and Navy personnel from New York to Liverpool, England, returning to Norfolk on 12 Mar 1945.

ww2dbaseAt Norfolk, Captain Paul L. Dudley relieved Captain Young as Card's commanding officer. Card then resumed carrier qualifications at Quonset Point where she remained for nine weeks. During that period, Card landed 4,742 planes with only one fatal accident. Back to ferrying duty, Card transported personnel of Utility Squadron VJ-5, their 25 TD2C-1 utility/drone aircraft, and all of the squadron's peripheral equipment from Norfolk to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From there, Card sailed empty to the Panama Canal and into the Pacific. She made multiple trips transporting men and equipment from the west coast to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and as far west as Guam. On the day Japan surrendered, Card was entering San Diego harbor in California. Card made two voyages as part of Operation Magic Carpet bringing American servicemen back to the United States from assignments in Hawaii and the western Pacific. Her last Magic Carpet voyage ended in Alameda, California and from there, Card steamed back to Norfolk where she was placed out of commission on 13 May 1946 and put in the Reserve Fleet.

ww2dbaseWithout being recommissioned, Card went through a series of reclassifications until 16 May 1958 when she was reactivated as the aircraft transport USNS Card with a civilian crew operating under the Military Sea Transportation Service contracted to the Navy. Card transported servicemen and aircraft, mainly helicopters, to Vietnam.

ww2dbaseOn 2 May 1964, as Card was dockside at Saigon, South Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), a Viet Cong swimmer named Lam Son Nao placed an explosive charge against Card's hull that blew a hole in the ship and killed five crewmen. Card settled on the bottom in 20 feet of water. She was patched, pumped out, and raised on 19 May 1964 before being towed to Subic Bay, Philippines and then Yokosuka, Japan for repairs. Card returned to service on 11 Dec 1964.

ww2dbaseCard entered the Reserve Fleet once again on 10 Mar 1970, this time at Olympia, Washington. The ship was sold for scrap on 14 May 1971 and withdrawn from the fleet.

ww2dbaseDuring World War II, Card's aircraft destroyed a total of eight enemy submarines and her escorts accounted for another three. In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, Card received three battle stars for service in World War II: two in the European Theater, where far fewer battle stars were authorized than in the Pacific, and one in the American Theater, where extremely few stars were authorized at all. In fact, all three of these stars were limited to the three individual sorties of Card's Task Group 21.14 between 27 Jul 1943 and 2 Jan 1944.

Escort Carrier Card (CVE-11) Interactive Map

Photographs

Card Operational Timeline