page_title: USS Thetis Bay
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: USS Thetis Bay / World War II
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. escort carrier USS Thetis Bay (CVE-90)enroute to NAS Alameda, California with a deckload of war-weary planes in 1944. The planes visible on deck are eight Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats, 18 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, and a Grumman J2F "Duck" amphibious biplane.
context_page_description: USS Thetis Bay was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. Though not the last of the class to be built, she was the last Casablanca class hull to be scrapped.
  Thetis Bay was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 22 December 1943 at Vancouver, Washington, by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company; launched on 16 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Rico Botta; and commissioned on 21 April 1944, Captain Donald E. Wilcox in command.
  The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships says Thetis Bay is "an inlet at the south end of Tebenkof Bay on the west coast of Kuiu Island in the Alexander Archipelago of Alaska."
  [[Notable Crew: = Famed actress Claudette Colbert's husband was the ship's Dr. She often met them at port.
context_section_description: Thetis Bay got underway for San Diego where she conducted brief shakedown training. On 2 June, she moved to San Pedro to load planes and passengers for Pacific bases. The new escort carrier put out to sea on 5 June; called at Pearl Harbor on the 11th; and continued on, via Makin and Majuro, to Kwajalein. There, she embarked the Army's 50th Engineer Battalion which she offloaded at Pearl Harbor on 5 July.
  Two days later, the carrier got underway for Alameda with 41 aircraft that needed repairs. She arrived on 13 July and, after offloading the aircraft, proceeded to Terminal Island for a three-week yard period. Between 11 August and 13 September, the escort carrier delivered spare parts, replacement aircraft, and personnel to Hawaii and the Marshalls. From September 1944 through mid-April 1945, Thetis Bay made five round-trip voyages from California ports to bases in the Pacific ranging from Pearl Harbor to Finschhaven, New Guinea.
  On 12 June 1945, Thetis Bay arrived at Pearl Harbor from San Diego with a load of aircraft. There, the aircraft were readied for combat within 72 hours; and the ship got underway for Guam. She arrived at Apra Harbor on 25 June and was assigned to Task Group 30.8 for duty as a replenishment carrier. Thetis Bay made her first rendezvous with Task Force 38 on 12 July when she transferred 40 planes to various carriers. She returned to Guam on 22 July and remained there until 24 July to load more aircraft before joining the fast carriers again on the 31st. The ship reloaded at Guam once more and resupplied the task force from 14 August to 8 September when she returned to Apra Harbor en route to the United States.
  Thetis Bay arrived at Alameda on 7 September 1945 and was assigned to "Magic-Carpet" duty, returning veterans from overseas bases to the United States. She served in this capacity until January 1946 when she began inactivation. The ship was placed out of commission, in reserve, at Bremerton, Washington, on 7 August 1946.
caption: Thetis Bay transporting planes in 1944.
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