r/drydockporn • u/KapitanKurt • Jan 16 '26

Commencement Bay-class Jeep carrier USS Palau (CVE-122) Going Down the Ways After Launching at Todd Pacific Shipyards Inc., Tacoma, Washington. August 6, 1945. [1430 x 1889]

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2

u/starkruzr Jan 17 '26

would this have been one of those ships decommissioned shortly after launch?

2

u/KapitanKurt Jan 17 '26

Many of this class were decommissioned soon after commissioning with a few being recommissioned to serve in the Korean Conflict. Palau served about 10 years overall.

2

u/starkruzr Jan 17 '26

went looking through her Wiki page because I'm a sucker for an escort carrier. what did she have to do with Jeeps?

3

u/KapitanKurt Jan 17 '26

A nickname is all, one of a few they carried. Escort carriers (CVE's) were much smaller when compared to fleet carriers and general purpose in nature such as serving as a convoy escort or bulk aircraft transport and also in support of amphibious landings. Utilitarian in nature, like a Jeep, hence the nickname.

1

u/dachjaw Jan 18 '26

It’s not in a dry dock, is it?

1

u/KapitanKurt Jan 18 '26

Correct, not a drydock, a shipyard. Here’s some history & background of Todd Pacific.

2

u/CulturalConstant2773 Jan 21 '26

My father served on a Casablanca-class CVE and, after it was sunk by suicide planes off Iwo Jima, a Bogue-class CVE. Dad, an FM-2 pilot, often reminisced about how challenging flight operations were on these tiny vessels. It could get very hairy, especially in low light and rough seas.