Pretty early during World War Two the British recognized a need for a very small aircraft carrier to escort convoys and hunt U-boats. A conversion program was started that took freighters and gave them a small hangar and small flight deck. These were proof-of-concept attempts and the Brits quickly realized they needed better versions and more of them.
Initially the United States Navy wanted nothing to do with these ships. They had quickly learned, between the wars, that the disadvantages of small carriers were not worth the extra hulls you could get for the investment. And these CVEs, as they became known, were slow as well as small. Meanwhile the shipyards were turning out all the fleet carriers the USN wanted, though this process did take time. The USN’s biggest problem in 1941 and 1942 was a shortage of fleet oilers. These were large, comparatively fast ships that supplied oil and gasoline to navy ships while they were underway. Eight Cimarron class fleet oilers were commissioned into the Navy by the end of 1941 — including the Neosho, lost at the Battle of the Coral Sea. An additional eighteen of these oilers would enter service between 1943 and 1946.
It occurred to someone that these hulls would make excellent CVEs. These ships became the Sangamon Class CVEs: Sangamon, Suwannee, Chenango, and Santee. They were larger than the normal CVE and also significantly faster. As a bonus, they retained some of their fuel tanks so they could still refuel ships serving with them. Suddenly the USN wanted in on this. Back in 1942 the USN had lost an oiler to air attack during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Since then they had tried to keep the oilers farther back from the action, but that meant that they weren’t as convenient for refueling. Adding a CVE or two to the fleet train provided protection for the fleet oilers without tying down a fleet carrier. Still short of fleet carriers, the USS Suwannee even took part in the Naval Battle of Casablanca alongside the USS Ranger in November of 1942, sending out 255 air sorties against the French.
The USN forgot their initial resistance to CVEs in general and just wanted more of them. They became the core of anti-submarine hunter-killer groups. They provided anti-submarine support and also fire support for amphibious invasions. They escorted the tankers. Operation Forager in 1944 — the invasion of Saipan — required a refueling group (TG 50.17) consisting of 24 fleet oilers protected by 4 CVEs. Three of the Sangamons (TG 53.7) provided local air support for Operation Galvanic, the invasion of Guam that followed the conquest of Saipan. The Battle off Samar, one of the most important battles of the war, was fought by sixteen CVEs including three Sangamons and their escort ships — USS Chenango was en route with replacement aircraft and missed the battle.
Once the war was over there wasn’t any need for these ships. Some CVEs became test beds for one thing or another and some were used to transport aircraft overseas. Today none survive as museum ships or in reserve.
