USS Ommaney Bay ( CVE - 79 ) USS " Ommaney Bay " ( CVE – 79 ) was a " Casablanca " - class escort carrier of the United States Navy , named for Ommaney Bay , Alaska . " Ommaney Bay " , formerly MC hull 1116 , was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract 6 October 1943 by Kaiser Company , Inc . , Vancouver , Washington ; launched 29 December 1943 , sponsored by Mrs . P . K . Robottom ; acquired by the Navy 11 February 1944 ; and commissioned the same day , Captain Howard L . Young in command . Service history . After commissioning and fitting out at Astoria , Oregon , and conducting shakedown in Puget Sound , " Ommaney Bay " sailed 19 March from Oakland , California , with passengers and a cargo of supplies and aircraft for Brisbane , Australia . ( While the ship is presumably named for Ommaney Bay in Alaska , note that Brisbane has a landmark and suburb called Mount Ommaney . ) By 27 April she had completed her mission and was back in San Diego , where she began a rigorous ten days of carrier qualification landings , drills and tests . Then , after minor alterations and repairs , the ship sailed 10 June for Pearl Harbor . Until 12 August she trained air groups and squadrons there in the art of operating from " baby flattops " , then she sailed to Tulagi to rehearse for the invasion of the Palau Islands . From 11 September until the beginning of October " Ommaney Bay " stood off Peleliu and Anguar Islands and provided air cover for the fleet and close support strikes for the forces ashore . " Ommaney Bay " sailed to Manus Island to renew her depleted stock of fuel and ammunition , then joined Rear Admiral Felix Stump ' s " Taffy 2 " ( TU 77 . 4 . 2 ) for the invasion of Leyte . At the beginning of the Battle off Samar on 25 October , the escort carriers began launching air strikes in an effort to cripple as many of the approaching enemy force as possible . In the ensuing battle aircraft from " Ommaney Bay " contributed to the sinking of one Japanese cruiser and helped to damage a number of other warships . " Ommaney Bay " launched some six strikes that day , and helped to turn threatened defeat into victory . The carrier spent the month of November at Manus and Kossol Passage for availability and replenishment , then , from 12 December to 17 December , operated in the Mindanao and Sulu Seas in support of operations on the Island of Mindoro . On the 15th , a day of heavy enemy air attacks , she splashed an enemy bomber as it dived for the ship from the port bow . On 19 December she returned to Kossol Passage to prepare for the landings in Lingayen Gulf . Sinking . " Ommaney Bay " left on New Year ' s Day 1945 and transited Surigao Strait two days later . The next afternoon , while in the Sulu Sea , a twin - engine Japanese suicide plane penetrated the screen undetected and made for " Ommaney Bay " . The plane nicked her island then crashed into her starboard side . Two bombs were released ; one of them penetrated the flight deck and detonated below , setting off a series of explosions among the fully gassed planes on the forward third of the hangar deck . The second bomb passed through the hangar deck , ruptured the fire main on the second deck , and exploded near the starboard side . Water pressure forward was lost immediately , along with power and bridge communications . Men struggling with the terrific blazes on the hangar deck soon had to abandon it because of the heavy black smoke from the burning planes and exploding . 50 caliber ammunition . Escorts could not lend their power to the fight because of the exploding ammunition and intense heat from the fires . By 17 : 50 the entire topside area had become untenable , and the stored torpedo warheads threatened to go off at any time . The order to abandon ship was given . At 19 : 45 the carrier was sunk by a torpedo from the destroyer . A total of 95 Navy men were lost , including two killed on an assisting destroyer when torpedo warheads on the carrier ' s hangar deck finally went off .