The Altamaha Anomaly

When, during January through March 2007, I decided to prepare an essay The Story on my life experiences including the war years, I found an apparent conflict in my second Pacific tour. 

During the post World War I years, people, such as Billy Mitchell, demonstrated the ability of aircraft to sink capital warships, such as the captured German battleships and cruisers.  While the American and British admirals rebuffed the demonstrations and continued their reliance on battleships as the main ship of the line, the Japanese navy took serious note of the demonstrations.  While maintaining a strong fleet of battleships, they added a substantial number of aircraft carriers, stocked with dive-bombing aircraft, to their battle fleet.  Their attacks on China during the pre-WW II period provided them with the opportunity to hone their carrier operations and develop more efficient dive-bombing techniques. 

When Japan decided to attack the United States at Pearl Harbor, it was with the intent of crippling the U.S. fleet, and the specific task of destroying the small number of U.S. aircraft carriers.  But the gods of war decided otherwise.  When the attack came, none of the U.S. carriers was at Pearl and the U.S. carrier fleet, such as it was, was intact.  As the war progressed, the U.S. increased its carrier strength such that by 1945 there were 121 carriers in the fleet.  Of this number, there were 27 of the big fast fleet carriers (CV), nine of the light carriers (CVL), and 85 of the so-called jeep carriers (CVE).  The Altamaha was one of the latter, CVE-18.

During my second Pacific tour, I was assigned to the Altamaha for training.  Before training was initiated, the Altamaha was ordered to join the third fleet and I was reassigned to another mission.  In the preparation of The Story, I made an attempt to include some historical information on the Altamaha, but found a number of conflicting facts.  The major fact that didn’t fit my personal experiences was that the Altamaha was transferred to the British navy and was not returned to the United States until 1946.  The conflict was with the dates.  My brief visit to the Altamaha was in 1944.  There was an obvious error, despite official records. 

In April 2007, the mystery was solved.  There were two jeep carriers named Altamaha!

Both vessels were laid down in 1941 as Bogue Class escort carriers.  The first, on April 15, 1941, as hull #160 at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Mississippi.  The contract was let under a Maritime Commission contract for the mercantile Mormactern.   On January 7, 1942, the hull was acquired by the U.S. Navy before launch and renamed Altamaha, with a designation of ACV-6.  On October 31, 1942, the vessel was transferred to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Battler.  In 1943 the Battler was at Salerno and served in the Atlantic during 1943-1945.  On July 15, 1943 the carrier was re-designated CVE-6 and returned to the Norfolk Navy Yard on February 12, 1946.  The vessel was sold to Patapsco Steel Scrap Co., Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on May 14, 1946 and scrapped.              

The second Altamaha is the one we are more familiar.  Laid down on December 19, 1941, as hull #235 under a Maritime Commission contract for a type C3-S-A1 merchant craft with the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Washington, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy on May 1, 1942.  Transferred to the Bremerton Navy Yard, converted to a carrier and classified as an Aircraft Escort Vessel with the designation AVG-18.  On August 20, 1942 re-designated ACV-18, on July 15, 1943 reclassified as an Escort Carrier, and re-designated CVE-18.  While in reserve, on June 12, 1955 reclassified as an Escort Helicopter Aircraft Carrier, CVHE-18.  Sold on April 25, 1961 to Japan for scrap. 

Two jeep carriers serving two separate nations honorably during the same war – both named Altamaha, originally.  It’s no wonder there was confusion trying to fit my 1944 visit to the wrong carrier. 

April 2007

LFC