USS Croatan ( CVE - 25 ) USS " Croatan " ( CVE - 25 ) ( previously AVG - 25 then ACV - 25 ) was an escort carrier launched on 1 August 1942 by the Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation of Seattle , Washington , under a Maritime Commission contract ; sponsored by Mrs . J . S . Russell ; and commissioned on 28 April 1943 , Captain J . B . Lyon in command . Service history . Sailing from San Diego , California on 2 July 1943 , " Croatan " arrived at Norfolk , Virginia on 19 July . As the nucleus for a hunter - killer group , she sailed on 5 August for antisubmarine operations in the Atlantic covering the movement of convoys . Her planes had two skirmishes with surfaced submarines , and on 5 September initiated night flying operations from escort carriers . She returned to Norfolk on 22 September . From 17 October - 29 December 1943 , " Croatan " made two voyages to Casablanca ferrying aircraft and plane crews for the North African operations . After another antisubmarine patrol from 14 January - 27 February 1944 , she took part in tests with the Naval Research Laboratory at Annapolis , Maryland . From 24 March - 11 May , " Croatan " made a most successful patrol . On 7 April , her planes marked out , which was sunk by her escorts and at . On the night of 25 – 26 April , her four escorts joined in sinking at . She was also successful in her patrol from 2 June - 22 July . On 10 June , " Croatan " s planes and escorts , " Huse " , and attacked and remained in constant contact with it , forcing it to surface the next day . Sixty survivors , including the commanding officer , were rescued before the submarine sank from scuttling charges at . Aircraft and escorts " Frost " and " Inch " combined again to sink on 3 July , at . Following a brief overhaul and radar tests with the Naval Research Laboratory , " Croatan " put to sea again on 20 August 1944 . On 15 September , she aided survivors from who had foundered in a hurricane . Returning to Norfolk on 1 October , " Croatan " next sailed for antisubmarine training at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Bermuda , then proceeded to provide air cover for a high - speed east bound task force , returning to New York on 4 February 1945 . For the next month , she qualified pilots in carrier operations , then sailed from Norfolk on 25 March to join a barrier line to intercept German submarines as part of Operation Teardrop . On 16 April , her escorts , " Frost " and sank and at . " Croatan " returned by way of Naval Station Argentia , Newfoundland to New York City on 14 May for overhaul . From 15 September - 3 November , " Croatan " qualified aviators at Quonset Point , then cleared Norfolk on 23 November on the first of two transatlantic voyages to bring troops home from Le Havre , France . " Croatan " was placed out of commission in reserve at Norfolk on 20 May 1946 . Reactivated , " Croatan " was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service in a noncommissioned status , manned by a civilian crew on 16 June 1958 . In August 1963 , she carried 23 F - 104 Starfighter s delivered to the Royal Norwegian Air Force 331 Squadron at Bodø , Norway . In October 1964 , she served as an experimental ship under NASA control until May 1965 . In August 1965 , she helped transport helicopters for the US Army ' s 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) to Vietnam . She was stricken for disposal on 15 September 1970 and sold for scrap in 1971 .