World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseOriginally laid down as Kanalku Bay but renamed several months later, USS Marcus Bay was commissioned into service in Jan 1944 with Captain Charles Greber in command. After shakedown and training cruises along the west coast of the United States, she ferried aircraft to the South Pacific in mid-1944 before embarking on US Navy Composite Squadron 21 (VC-21) for combat duty in Jul 1944. As flagship Rear Admiral W. D. Sample's flagship for Carrier Division 27, she participated in the pre-invasion strikes on Peleliu and Angaur in the Palau Islands as well as covering the invasion force from the air when the landings began on 15 Sep. In the following month, she participated in actions supporting the Leyte, Philippine Islands invasion, during which she participated in the Battle off Samar and damaged Japanese heavy cruiser Chikuma and claimed the downing of five Japanese aircraft. On the next day, 26 Oct 1944, her aircraft shared the credit for the sinkings of Kinu and Uranami in the Visayan Sea. Later in the year and into early 1945, she would support the US invasion of Mindoro and Luzon of the Philippine Islands. She was relieved of her duty as Rear Admiral W. D. Sample's flagship while at Ulithi, Caroline Islands on 6 Feb 1945, and then was then made the flagship of Rear Admiral Felix Stump's Carrier Division 24 two days later. With squadron VC-87 and later squadron VCO-1 aboard, USS Marcus Island operated in the Ryukyu Islands from late Mar through late Apr 1945 in support of the invasion of Okinawa, Japan, flying 1,085 sorties during that period, claiming 11 Japanese aircraft shot down in combat and 13 on the ground. Her final missions in the Pacific War saw her returning to the role of logistics, ferrying aircraft and men across the Pacific Ocean. After the war, she made several additional journeys across the Pacific to bring American service members back to the US as a part of Operation Magic Carpet. She remained in Boston, Massachusetts, United States for the most part of 1946 before being decommissioned in Dec 1946. In 1960, Marcus Island was sold for scrapping.

Escort Carrier Marcus Island (CVE-77) Interactive Map

Photographs

Marcus Island Operational Timeline

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