USS Admiralty Islands ( CVE - 99 ) USS " Admiralty Islands " ( CVE - 99 ) was a United States Navy " Casablanca " - class escort aircraft carrier , named after the Admiralty Islands group north of New Guinea , scene of fighting early in 1944 . Laid down as USS " Chaplin Bay " , under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1136 ) on 26 February 1944 by the Kaiser Shipyards , Vancouver , Washington , she was renamed " Admiralty Islands " on 26 April 1944 , launched on 10 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Homer N . Wallin , and commissioned at Astoria , Oregon , on 13 June 1944 , Captain J . D . Barner in temporary command . Later that day , command of the ship passed to Captain M . E . A . Gouin . Service history . The escort carrier departed bayside on 2 July for shakedown training in Puget Sound and then sailed for San Francisco to take on fuel oil and aviation gas . She arrived at San Diego on 14 July for further training before becoming a unit of the Carrier Transport Squadron , Pacific Fleet , with the task of transporting aircraft , material , and personnel to support front line carrier operations . After a brief pause at Pearl Harbor , " Admiralty Islands " got underway for the Marshall Islands . She disembarked her cargo at Majuro Atoll on 9 August and immediately returned to Pearl Harbor . The carrier then shuttled more planes and personnel back to San Francisco , arriving there on the 24th . She spent the month of September making a shuttle from the west coast to Finschhafen , New Guinea , and back . Upon her arrival at San Diego on 7 October , the ship underwent alterations from the 8th through the 26th . On 29 October , " Admiralty Islands " sailed for Naval Air Station Alameda , to load Army aircraft and personnel for transportation to New Guinea . She reached Finschhafen on 21 November , unloaded , and continued on to Manus Island . After a brief pause at Seeadler Harbor on 23 November , she touched at Pearl Harbor on 6 – 7 December before reaching San Diego a week later to load aircraft and military personnel . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 December and on the day after Christmas got underway for Guam . " Admiralty Islands " reached Guam on 6 January 1945 . She conducted refresher aircraft landing operations off that island for two days , then sailed for Pearl Harbor on the 10th . The carrier reached Hawaii on the 20th and began repairs to her main engine . After the yard work was finished on 31 January , she took on 61 aircraft , slated to replace combat losses . " Admiralty Islands " left Pearl Harbor on 2 February to support carrier operations in the campaign to seize Iwo Jima . After short stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi , " Admiralty Islands " got underway on 16 February as part of Task Group 50 . 8 ( TG 50 . 8 ) , the logistics support group for Task Force 58 ( TF 58 ) . Throughout the rest of February " Admiralty Islands " launched aircraft and provided replacement pilots to make good the carriers ' losses . She returned to Guam on 2 March for provisioning and to make minor hull repairs . On 13 March , she again sailed with TG 50 . 8 , this time to support action against Okinawa . The carrier interrupted her logistics supply role only for brief returns to Guam for replenishment . On 18 April 1945 , " Admiralty Islands " suffered her first operational casualty near Okinawa . After sounding flight quarters at 1217 , she began launching new replacement aircraft at 1352 . The pilots delivered one F6F Hellcat , two TBM Avenger s and two SB2C Helldiver s to . At 1406 , " Admiralty Islands " began recovering the pilots and ten combat - fatigued " Essex " aircraft ( commonly known as " Flyable Duds " ) for repair or disposal . Ensign Roy Edward Jones , piloting Grumman Hellcat F6F - 5 # 71332 , was the first to return for landing . He was not able to respond well to " low " and " opposite slant " flag signals , received a late " wave off " from the Landing Signal Officer ( LSO ) and applied full throttle for another go - around . The aircraft continued to settle and the tailhook caught the No . 5 arresting wire . The accelerating Hellcat impacted the ship ' s gun mount with terrific force , breaking in two . The forward part of the plane went over the port side with the trapped pilot . The tail of the aircraft remained hooked to the No . 5 wire , resting on the ship ' s catwalk . The LSO was forced to jump into the safety net , breaking his leg . Ensign Jones was lost at sea and his name is inscribed at the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu , Hawaii . The " Admiralty Islands " returned to Guam on 24 April to undergo repairs on her boilers two of which had become inoperative by the time she arrived . Her repairs completed , the escort carrier sailed on 14 May to rejoin TG 50 . 8 and operations off Okinawa . She delivered numerous aircraft to American forces before arriving , via Guam , at Saipan , on 15 June . She remained there for approximately two weeks before she received orders to join TG 30 . 8 and support air and bombardment strikes on the Japanese home islands . " Admiralty Islands " sustained another operational casualty on 20 July . An external fuel tank that would not release in flight detached on landing . The fuel tank exploded on the wooden flight deck . Three aircraft were burned , and one man died as a result of the ensuing fire . On 21 July , the ship was detached from the 3rd Fleet and headed for Guam , where she unloaded her cargo while refueling for the trip back to the west coast . The carrier reached San Diego on 11 August , then sailed to San Pedro , California to undergo repairs and alterations . The majority of the alterations were canceled because of Japan ' s surrender and , following completion of essential repairs , " Admiralty Islands " sailed on 1 September to become a member of the Operation Magic Carpet fleet for assistance in the return of American troops to home . On 25 September , operational control of the carrier was transferred to the Carrier Transport Squadron , Pacific Fleet . " Magic Carpet " duties occupied " Admiralty Islands " until she was decommissioned on 24 April 1946 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 May 1946 , and the ship was sold on 2 January 1947 to the Zidell Machinery and Supply Company , Portland , Oregon . Zidell scrapped her only miles from the Kaiser shipyards where she had been built only a few years before . Awards . " Admiralty Islands " won three battle star s for her World War II service .