USS Chenango ( CVE - 28 ) The second USS " Chenango " ( CVE - 28 ) ( originally designated as oiler AO - 31 , after redesignation as escort carrier , was first ACV - 28 ) was launched on 1 April 1939 as " Esso New Orleans " by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company , in Chester , Pennsylvania , sponsored by Mrs . Rathbone ; acquired by the United States Navy on 31 May 1941 ; and commissioned on 20 June 1941 as AO - 31 , with Commander W . H . Mays in command . Service as oiler . Assigned to the Naval Transportation Service , " Chenango " steamed in the Atlantic , the Caribbean , and the Pacific as far as Honolulu on tanker duty . " Chenango " was present at Aruba , N . W . I . on 16 February 1942 when a German submarine shelled one of the island ' s refineries . She was decommissioned at New York on 16 March for conversion to an escort carrier . Conversion and combat service as escort carrier . Her conversion complete , she was recommissioned as ACV - 28 on 19 September 1942 . Carrying Army aircraft , " Chenango " sailed on 23 October with the Torch assault force bound for North Africa , and on 10 November , flew off her aircraft to newly won Port Lyautey , French Morocco . She put into Casablanca on 13 November to refuel 21 destroyer s before returning to Norfolk , Virginia , on 30 November , battling through a hurricane en route which caused extensive damage . Quickly repaired , " Chenango " was underway for the Pacific by mid - December , possibly alongside as part of Task Force 13 . Arriving at Nouméa on 18 January 1943 , she joined the escort carrier group providing air cover for supply convoys supporting the invasion and occupation of the Solomon Islands . One of her air groups was sent to Henderson Field , Guadalcanal to give close support to U . S . Marine Corps forces ashore . One of " Chenango " s duties during this period was to stand sentry off the fiercely contested island . As part of her Solomons operations , " Chenango " s planes formed an air umbrella to escort to safety and after the cruisers were damaged in the Battle of Kolombangara on 13 July . Redesignated CVE - 28 on 15 July , " Chenango " returned to Mare Island on 18 August for an overhaul , then acted as training carrier for new air groups until 19 October . She steamed from San Diego to join the Gilbert Islands invasion force at Espiritu Santo on 5 November . During the invasion of Tarawa from 20 November - 8 December , her planes covered the advance of the attack force , bombed and strafed beaches ahead of the invading troops , and protected off - shore convoys . She returned to San Diego for another period of training duty . Steaming from San Diego on 13 January 1944 , " Chenango " supported the invasion landings on Roi , Kwajalein and Eniwetok in the Marshalls operation . After protecting the service group refueling fleet units engaged in the Palau strikes , " Chenango " arrived at Espiritu Santo on 7 April . She sortied for the landings at Aitape and Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) ( 16 April – 12 May ) , then joined Task Group 53 . 7 ( TG 53 . 7 ) for the invasion of the Marianas . Her planes crippled airfield installations , sank enemy shipping , and hammered harbor facilities on Pagan Island , as well as conducting valuable photographic reconnaissance on Guam . From 8 July , she joined in daily poundings of Guam , preparing for the island ' s invasion . She returned to Manus on 13 August to replenish and conduct training . From 10 – 29 September , " Chenango " joined in the neutralization of enemy airfields in the Halmaheras in support of the invasion of Morotai , stepping - stone to the Philippines . After preparations at Manus , " Chenango " cleared on 12 October to conduct softening up strikes on Leyte in preparation for the invasion landings on 20 October . " Chenango " , and her sister ship , were attacked by three Japanese planes on the afternoon of D - Day , and shot down them all , capturing one of the pilots . Sailing to Morotai to load new aircraft , " Chenango " was not in action waters during the Battle of Leyte Gulf , but returned on 28 October to provide replacement aircraft to her victorious sister escort carriers , who had held the Japanese fleet off from Leyte . The next day , she sailed for overhaul at Seattle , Washington until 9 February 1945 . After the overhaul period , she again sailed west , arriving at Tulagi in the Solomons on 4 March . " Chenango " conducted training , then sortied from Ulithi on 27 March for the invasion of Okinawa . She gave air cover in the feint landings on the southern tip of the island , then was assigned to neutralize the " kamikaze " bases in Sakashima Gunto . On 9 April , a crash - landing fighter started a raging fire among the strike - loaded aircraft on " Chenango " s deck . Skillful work by her crew saved the ship from serious damage and she remained in action off Okinawa until 11 June . After escorting a tanker convoy to San Pedro Bay , " Chenango " sailed on 26 July to join the logistics force for the 3rd Fleet , then engaged in the final offensive against Japan . Postwar service and scrapping . Following the cease - fire , " Chenango " supported the occupation forces and evacuated some 1 , 900 Allied prisoners of war and 1 , 500 civilians from slave labor camps . She cleared Tokyo Bay on 25 October , and after a brief overhaul at San Diego , returned to " Magic Carpet " duty , transporting veterans from Okinawa and Pearl Harbor to the West Coast . " Chenango " sailed from San Pedro , California on 5 February for Boston , and was placed out of commission in reserve there on 14 August 1946 . She was reclassified CVHE - 28 on 12 June 1955 , struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1959 , sold and removed from naval custody on 12 February 1960 . Awards . " Chenango " was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and received 11 battle star s for her World War II service .