USS Tarawa (CV-40)
 USS Tarawa (CV/CVA/CVS-40 AVT-12) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name and was named for the bloody 1943 Battle of Tarawa. Tarawa was commissioned in December 1945 too late to serve in World War II. After serving a short time in the Far East she was decommissioned in 1949.