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USS Corregidor CVE-58

The USS Corregidor was originally named Auguilla Bay when her construction began. Corregidor is the name of an island in the Philippines. She was launched in May of 1943 by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, of Vancouver, Washington. She was the fourth Casablanca class escort carrier to be built by the Navy. The Corregidor was meant to be given to the Royal navy upon completion, but a different ship was transferred instead.

Casablanca class escort carriers are much smaller than their larger cousins. She weighed right around 7,800 tons and measured just a little over 512 foot long and 65 feet wide. Her top speed was about 19 knots and her crew complement consisted of 860 officers and enlisted men. Her armament was made up of one 5 inch 38 caliber gun, sixteen 40mm guns and 28 20mm guns. She could carry up to 28 aircraft.

She and her crew quickly completed shakedown operations and immediately left for Pearl Harbor. Her first mission involved joining Carrier Division 24 in providing air support for the Gilbert Islands invasion, which took place in November and early December of 1943. She returned once to San Diego to affect repairs and take on aircraft and men and then returned to operating out of Pearl Harbor. From the beginning of 1944 through the first of March, the Corregidor was involved with providing air cover for the invasion of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.

After the invasion was complete, she made way for Guadalcanal, where her airplanes helped provide cover for landings on Emirau Island. In the middle of April, the escort carrier joined the Seventh Fleet as it performed operations in Hollandia (Hollandia was renamed Jayapura in 1963). She then spent some time around Manus Island, patrolling for enemy submarines. The month of June found the Corregidor taking part in the invasion of Saipan. She provided antiaircraft support and combat air patrols and her attack planes accounted for at least eight enemy aircraft. In July she assisted with softening up Guam in preparation for an invasion and then returned to San Diego at the end of the month.

After an overhaul, the Corregidor was used to train pilots in carrier operations. She was again based out of Pearl Harbor. In October of 1944, she became part of a submarine hunter/killer group. There were reports that enemy subs were located between Pearl Harbor and California. From November until February of 1945, the carrier helped patrol the waters, keeping shipping lanes open and safe. In the middle of February, after a quick stop off at Pearl Harbor, she headed for Majuro. Once there, she returned to her submarine hunter/killer duties in the Marshall Islands and then in Eniwetok.

In May of 1945 the Corregidor and her crew returned to Pearl Harbor. For the rest of the war, she was used to train and qualify more carrier pilots in Hawaiian waters. After the war ended, she alternated between training and qualifying pilots and making trips to bring home American forces. She made three such trips between October 1945 and January of 1946. She arrived in Norfolk, Virginia in February and, after inactivation preparations were made, was placed in reserve in July.

A little under five years later, the USS Corregidor was pulled out of mothballs. She was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service and began ferrying men, aircraft, to NATO nations. She also made five trips through the Panama Canal, taking men and cargo to United Nations forces fighting in Korea. She was reclassified CVU-58 in June of 1955. In 1958, when the crisis in Lebanon broke out, the carrier made way to support the landings there. After her mission was completed, she returned to the United States. She was decommissioned in September of 1958 and then sold for scrap in April of 1959. She had received four Battle Stars for her service in World War II.

All through her service to the United States, there was a silent killer aboard that had nothing to do with any of the enemies she had faced. Asbestos had been used in many areas of the ship as an insulator. When asbestos dust shakes loose from the main mass, it floats very easily through the air. This dust contains millions of microscopic asbestos fibers that are inhaled and swallowed. Once these fibers have entered the body, they begin to do damage. It may take as long as twenty to fifty years for this damage to reach a point that it actually shows up. Asbestosis and mesothelioma are the two diseases that are directly related to asbestos exposure. There isn't a known cure for either disease.

If you were exposed to asbestos while serving on the USS Corregidor CVE-58, or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, Asbestos.com offers a free packet with more information. Enter your contact information in the form in the right column and we'll send a copy immediately.

Aircraft Carriers Index

USS America USS Antietam CV 36 K USS Antietam CV 36 USS Badoeng Strait CVE 116 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Bairoko CVE 115 USS Belleau wood CVL 24 USS Bennington CV 20 USS Bon Homme Richard CVa USS Boxer CV USS Bunker CV USS Cabot CVL 28 USS Constellation CV USS Coral Sea CV USS Corregidor CVE 58 USS Sable ix USS San jacinto CVL USS Saratoga CV USS Saratoga CV3 USS Shangri La

USS Cowpens CVL 25 USS Enterprise CV 6 USS Enterprise CVN USS Essex CV 9 USS Forrestal CV USS Franklin CV 13 USS Hancock CV 19 USS Hornet CV 12 USS Hornet CV 8 USS Independence C1 USS Independence CVL 22 USS Intrepid CV 11 USS Kearsage CV 33 USS Kearsage CV USS Kitty Hawk USS Sicily CVe USS Sitkoh bay USS Tarawa CV USS Ticonderoga CV USS Valley forge CV

USS Lake Champlain CV 39 USS Langley CV 1 USS Langley CVL 27 USS Lexington CV 16 USS Lexington CV 2 USS Leyte CV 32 USS Midway CV USS Oriskany CV USS Phillipine Sea CV USS Point cruz CVE USS Princeton CV USS Princeton CVL USS Randolph CV USS Ranger CV USS Rendova USS Wasp CV 18 USS Wasp CV 7 USS Wolverine IX 64 USS Yorktown CV 10 USS Yorktown CV 5

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