USS Anzio (CVE-57)

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USS Anzio (ACV/CVE/CVHE-57), known as Coral Sea until September 1944, was the third of fifty s built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first Navy vessel to be named after the Battle of the Coral Sea, a major naval engagement in the Pacific War and the Battle of Anzio, of the wider Italian theater.

In December 1942, she was laid down in Vancouver, Washington by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company. In January 1943, she was named Alikula Bay, renamed Coral Sea in April, launched in May, and commissioned in August. She participated in the Battle of Makin, the Battle of Kwajalein, the Battle of Saipan, and the Western New Guinea campaign before having to enter drydock for repairs. In September 1944, she was renamed Anzio, under which she took part in the Philippines campaign, the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. She distinguished herself in antisubmarine operations, contributing to the sinking of five Japanese submarines. Post-war, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from around the Pacific. She was decommissioned in July 1946 and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrap in 1959.

Design and description

A blueprint showing the side profile of an aircraft carrier.

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Anzio was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of aircraft carriers ever built, and designed specifically to be mass-produced using prefabricated sections to replace heavy early war losses. Standardized with her sister ships, she was Template:Cvt long overall, had a beam of Template:Cvt, and a draft of Template:Cvt. She displaced Template:Cvt standard, Template:Cvt with a full load. She had a Template:Cvt long hangar deck and a Template:Cvt long flight deck. She was powered by two Skinner Unaflow reciprocating steam engines, which drove two shafts, providing Template:Cvt, thus enabling her to make Template:Cvt. The ship had a cruising range of Template:Cvt at a speed of Template:Cvt. Her compact size necessitated the installment of an aircraft catapult at her bow, and there were two aircraft elevators to facilitate movement of aircraft between the flight and hangar deck: one each fore and aft.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

One [[5"/38 caliber gun|Template:Cvt/38]] caliber dual-purpose gun was mounted on the stern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by eight [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors Template:Cvt anti-aircraft guns]] in single mounts, as well as twelve [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon Template:Cvt cannon]]s, which were mounted around the perimeter of the deck. By the end of the war, in response to increasing casualties due to kamikaze attacks, Casablanca-class carriers had been modified to carry thirty Oerlikon cannonsTemplate:Sfn and sixteen Bofors guns; the doubling of the latter having been accomplished by putting them into twin mounts. Sensors onboard consisted of a SG surface-search radar and a SK air-search radar. Although Casablanca-class escort carriers were intended to function with a crew of 860 and an embarked squadron of 50 to 56, the exigencies of wartime often necessitated the inflation of the crew count. Casablanca-class escort carriers were designed to carry 27 aircraft, but the hangar deck could accommodate more, which was often necessary during transport or especially training missions due to the constant turnover of pilots and aircraft.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Operation	Embarked Squadron	Fighters	Torpedo bombers	Total
Battle of MakinTemplate:Sfn	Composite Squadron (VC) 33	12 F4F-4	10 TBF-1C	22
Battle of KwajaleinTemplate:Sfn		9 F4F-4, 5 FM-1	4 TBF-1, 2 TBM-1, 6 TBF-1C	26
Western New Guinea campaignTemplate:Sfn		14 FM-2	7 TBF-1, 4 TBM-1C	25
Battle of SaipanTemplate:Sfn		14 FM-2	2 TBF-1, 6 TBF-1C, 4 TBM-1C	26
Philippines campaignTemplate:Sfn	Composite Squadron (VC) 82	11 FM-2	16 TBM-1C	27
Battle of Iwo JimaTemplate:Sfn		12 FM-2	14 TBM-1C	26
Battle of OkinawaTemplate:Sfn	Composite Squadron (VC) 13	12 FM-2	14 TBM-1CTemplate:Refn	26

Construction

Her construction was awarded to Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract on 18 June 1942. She was laid down as MCE hull 1094, the third of a series of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers on 12 December 1942. Her initial hull symbol ACV-57 designated her as an auxiliary aircraft carrier. On 22 January 1943, she received her initial name of Alikula Bay, but she was subsequently renamed Coral Sea on 3 April. She was launched on 1 May; sponsored by Mrs. Martha Richards Fletcher, the wife of Vice admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. On 15 July, the U.S. Navy revised the classification of their escort carriers to reflect their combatant status, providing Coral Sea with her wartime hull symbol of CVE-57.Template:Sfn Problems with her boilers delayed her commissioning twice,Template:Sfn but she was transferred to the Navy on 27 August.Template:Sfn

Service history

Gilbert and Marshall Islands

An aircraft carrier at sea with both aircraft elevators are depressed.

Coral Sea undergoing sea trials, September 1943.

Upon being commissioned, Coral Sea spent much of September undergoing outfitting at U.S. Naval Ship Yard Tongue Point, Astoria, Oregon.Template:Sfn She then underwent a shakedown cruise down the West Coast, heading to Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. She arrived at San Diego on 8 October, where she took on her embarked squadron, Composite Squadron (VC) 33, and conducted flight training off the California coast. On 25 October, she departed for Pearl Harbor to join Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix's Carrier Division 24, which consisted of Coral Sea, her sisters and , and their screens. There, she participated in additional training exercises and drills with her division until early November. She was assigned to support the 27th Infantry Division as it prepared to invade Makin Island, part of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. She departed Pearl Harbor for Makin on 10 November.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Four propellered aircraft flying over an island. Behind them are two large plumes of black smoke, emanating from the island.

TBF-1 Avengers of Composite Squadron (VC) 33, based on Coral Sea, on patrol over Makin Island, 20 November 1943.

At 05:00 on 20 November, the bombardment of Makin began, commencing the first major U.S. thrust into the central Pacific. Just 76 hours later, Tarawa and Makin had both been captured. Coral SeaTemplate:'s aircraft aided the operation, providing close air support and bombing Japanese positions.Template:Sfn With the islands secured, U.S. naval forces began retiring, but Carrier Division 24 stayed behind to suppress pockets of resistance.Template:Sfn On 24 November, the Japanese Kaidai-type cruiser submarine fired a set of four Type 95 torpedoes at the broadside of the unsuspecting task force. Two of the torpedoes narrowly missed Coral Sea, but one torpedo hit Liscome Bay at 05:10, setting off its munitions stores and blowing apart the entire stern of the carrier. The tremendous explosion sent debris hurtling onto the surrounding ships, including Coral Sea, where a sailor reported being hit by a fire extinguisher.Template:Sfn Liscome Bay sank in only 23 minutes, with the ultimate loss of 702 men, including Rear Admiral Mullinix.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

On 28 November, Coral Sea left Makin.Template:Sfn The initial combat performance of the Casablanca-class carriers had been inauspicious. Of the 71 aircraft that Carrier Division 24 had brought to the front, 20 aircraft had been lost with the sinking of Liscome Bay. The inexperience of the air crews was evident, with 16 aircraft written off due to accidents, which cumulatively killed 4 aircraft crewmen and 6 deck personnel. Only one aircraft had been lost in combat, an Avenger from Coral Sea which had strayed too close to the explosion of an ammunition dump on the morning of 20 November.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 December, where she took on passengers and aircraft to ferry back to the West Coast. She departed on 8 December, arriving at Alameda, California on 14 December, where she replenished her aircraft, putting back to sea on 22 December. She entered Pearl Harbor on 28 December, where she rejoined Carrier Division 24, with replacing Liscome Bay.Template:Sfn There, she prepared for the impending assault on Kwajalein.Template:Sfn

Coral Sea was underway on 3 January 1944, conducting exercises off Hawaii through early January. After a final fitting out, she sailed out on 22 January in Task Group 52.9, arriving in Kwajalein on 31 January, two days after aircraft of the Fast Carrier Task Force had begun pounding airfields on the atoll. She provided direct and indirect air support for the amphibious landings. On 5 February, the escort carriers were ordered, one at a time, into Kwajalein lagoon to refuel and rearm.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn On 24 February, she set course for Eniwetok, but she was later recalled to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 3 March.Template:Sfn

Solomon Islands and New Guinea

After a brief respite, Coral Sea got underway again on 11 March and proceeded to the Solomon Islands. She anchored at Tulagi on 21 March, refueling and resupplying before sailing again on 30 March for Emirau Island alongside Corregidor. On 2 April, they relieved Manila Bay and , which had been supporting the 4th Marine Regiment as they landed on Emirau. Her time at Emirau was uneventful, save for a Mitsubishi G4M medium bomber shot down by two of her fighters on 6 April.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She concluded her tour at Emirau on 11 April, returning to Tulagi on 15 April and leaving the next day to assist in the Western New Guinea campaign. On 19 April, she joined Task Group 78.2, which was formed to cover the landings at Aitape. Her aircraft commenced strikes on D-Day, 22 April, but found little opposition. Thus, Task Group 78.2 was able to relieve the fast carriers in supporting the landings at Tanahmerah Bay and Humboldt Bay, but they found similarly sparse resistance. With the beachhead secured, Coral Sea entered Seeadler Harbor on 4 May, where her engines were evaluated.Template:Sfn She was sent back to Espiritu Santo on 7 May for extensive repairs to her forward main engine, necessitating the replacement of several broken piston rings. It was not until 2 June that she was deemed combat-ready again.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Mariana Islands

A hand-drawn diagram showing the position of ships, the path of attacking aircraft, and the chronology of attacks.

Coral SeaTemplate:'s action report depicting the action on 17 June.

Following the completion of repairs, Coral Sea arrived at Kwajalein on 8 June, which served as the staging point for the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign.Template:Sfn The invasion fleet sortied out on 10 June, and on 15 June, she provided air support for the initial landings on Saipan by the 2nd Marine Division. On 16 June, she was briefly dispatched for the planned recapture of Guam, but en route, the landings were postponed until mid-July, and she returned to Saipan on the afternoon of 17 June.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

At 17:50, on the evening of 17 June, a large raid of an estimated 20–30 Japanese aircraft was detected by radar about Template:Cvt away. The four escort carriers of Coral SeaTemplate:'s task group scrambled 44 fighters between them to intercept the raid, but they had little success in screening the ships. The Japanese strike force arrived at 18:48, around sunset, and at 18:51, a Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bomber chose Coral Sea as its target. Diving towards her bow, its aim was off, with the bomb missing Template:Cvt to her starboard quarter. Following the bomb was the Suisei, which splashed Template:Cvt behind her. Just two minutes later, a torpedo bomber approached from her port at an altitude of only Template:Cvt. Hit by a flak explosion, it broke apart and careened into the water Template:Cvt from Coral Sea. Ten minutes later, another plane was shot down Template:Cvt from her port quarter as it angled for an attack.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

A hand-drawn diagram showing the position of ships, the path of attacking aircraft, and the chronology of attacks.

Coral SeaTemplate:'s action report depicting the action on 18 June.

On 18 June, at 16:15, another group of an estimated 30–50 Japanese planes were detected by radar Template:Cvt to the south of Coral Sea. This time, the fighters proved to be more effective, with her embarked squadron (VC-33) claiming eight Kawasaki Ki-61s and two Yokosuka P1Y Gingas shot down, and six other planes damaged.Template:Sfn Nonetheless, at 17:55, eight Yokosuka P1Y Gingas broke through the screen from the task group's starboard and made a run towards the escort carriers. One plane, hit by antiaircraft fire, appeared to veer for her flight deck, crashing Template:Cvt short. Another was brought down Template:Cvt from her port bow. A Ginga dropped a torpedo at Coral Sea from an estimated Template:Cvt away, which missed. Alarmingly, one Ginga passed just Template:Cvt above her flight deck, having prematurely dropped its bomb Template:Cvt off her starboard beam. Under heavy fire from her antiaircraft guns, it crashed Template:Cvt off her port quarter. By 17:58, the attack was over. All eight of the attacking aircraft had been brought down, seven by antiaircraft fire and one by Coral SeaTemplate:'s fighters.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

A hand-drawn diagram showing the position of ships, the path of attacking aircraft, and the chronology of attacks.

Coral SeaTemplate:'s action report depicting the action on 19 June.

At 06:13 the next morning, four dive bombers were detected on radar Template:Cvt from the task group. The Japanese formation, passing in-between two combat air patrols, made an attack run on the escort carriers at 06:19, just as Coral Sea was launching emergency fighters. Approaching from ahead and masked by the rising sun, one plane made for Coral Sea, releasing its bomb high and missing Template:Cvt short of her bow. Two of the other planes dropped their bombs astern of Gambier Bay, while the last was driven off as it attempted to attack Corregidor.Template:Sfn As the Japanese squadron attempted to make good their escape, two were shot down by fighters.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Coral Sea replenished at Eniwetok on 28 June and rendezvoused on 4 July with Task Group 53.7 for the postponed landings on Guam. She arrived off Guam on 9 July, launching preparatory air strikes and softening positions. She returned to Eniwetok on 15 July for replenishment, but upon leaving port on 17 July, her "damnable" engines gave in, and she was ordered back to anchor. Ultimately, she was sent back to the West Coast, setting off on 23 July.Template:Sfn She stopped at Kwajalein on 25 July to unload her embarked squadron and munitions, transiting via Pearl Harbor and arriving back at San Diego on 9 August. She entered drydock on 31 July for repairs and overhaul.Template:Sfn On 15 September, Coral Sea received word that she was to be renamed to Anzio, clearing up the name for the planned .Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Refn

Typhoon Cobra and Iwo Jima

A front profile of a propellered aircraft. Numerous restraints have been placed onto it, tying it to the flight deck.

A TBM-1C Avenger tied onto the flight deck of Anzio, 18 December 1944.

Anzio held sea trials off the California coast before setting off for the western Pacific on 16 September with a load of 71 aircraft and 200 passengers.Template:Sfn She reached Pearl Harbor on 23 September, beginning a series of training exercises on 8 October with her freshly embarked squadron, Composite Squadron (VC) 82 in antisubmarine warfare. On 16 October, she set out for Eniwetok. There, Anzio became the flagship of the hunter-killer group Task Group 30.7 and carried out antisubmarine warfare patrols en route to Ulithi. On 4 November, she steamed for the Philippine Sea, but her orders were changed while she was barely out of port, and she was directed to assist the light cruiser which had been torpedoed by the B2 type submarine . She arrived the next day and provided air cover for the fleet tugboat which had Reno under tow until 8 November. She then rendezvoused with Task Group 30.8, the At Sea Logistic Group, which had been providing vital support in the form of supplies and replacement aircraft for the Fast Carrier Task Force as it supported the landings on Leyte and the wider Philippines campaign. AnzioTemplate:'s role for the following months was to provide a screen for the logistics force and to hunt down submarines.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

AnzioTemplate:'s aircraft found slim pickings until 18 November. Ultra signals intelligence had alerted Anzio to the presence of a Japanese submarine in the area, and at 03:29 in the morning, an Avenger made radar contact with I-41, the same ship which had torpedoed Reno. A nearby Avenger was summoned to assist and together, they dropped flares, sonobuoys, and float lights near the contact, guiding the s and into position. At 04:21, a Mark 24 acoustic homing torpedo was dropped, to no effect. The destroyer escorts arrived at the signature, and at 05:52 and 05:57, Lawrence C. Taylor made two Hedgehog attacks, without result. At 06:16, Melvin R. Nawman made an unsuccessful attack. At 06:24, Lawrence C. Taylor fired her third Hedgehog barrage, triggering three small explosions, followed by a large blast. Debris rose to the surface, and by the next day, a Template:Cvt wide oil slick covered the area.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The Third Fleet had been operating against positions on Luzon since 14 December, but its escorting destroyers ran low on fuel. As a result, the fleet retired to the east to refuel and to receive replacement aircraft from Task Group 30.8. Anzio met with the Third Fleet about Template:Cvt east of Luzon early on 17 December, as Typhoon Cobra began to bear down.Template:Sfn As the weather continued to deteriorate on 18 December, Admiral William Halsey Jr. made a series of blundering decisions that ended with his fleet trapped in the typhoon's core. Attached to the Third Fleet, Anzio followed.Template:Sfn

A side view of a damaged aircraft. One wing has been collapsed, folding onto the fuselage. Two men are standing in front of its tail.

The damaged Wildcat within the hangar deck of Anzio, 18 December 1944.

At the height of the storm, Anzio recorded a reading of 28.88 inHg (978 mbar) in pressure and encountered winds which reached an estimated Template:Cvt.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn She rolled up to 39°, beyond her theoretical maximum righting moment of 37Template:1/2°. Waves crashed over her flight deck and sent water running down her port funnels. The aircraft on her flight deck had been rigorously secured, but two planes still broke free and were carried away from the carrier. Similar measures were taken within the hangar deck, but a Wildcat managed to escape its restraints, smashing into a bulkhead before being resecured. This incident incurred the lone casualty on Anzio, a broken arm suffered in the rush to corral the loose plane. She emerged from the storm having sustained minor damage. Her fore catwalks and lookout station had been mangled, she had lost several life rafts and one of her whaleboats, and some water had made it into the interior of the ship,Template:Sfn but she was able to resume her routine antisubmarine patrols as the storm abated.Template:Sfn She spent January conducting sweeps off Luzon in support of the landings on Lingayen Gulf and in February 1945 she headed to support the invasion of Iwo Jima.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Anzio resumed combat operations on 16 February, conducting strikes on Iwo Jima and providing air cover for the naval forces arrayed against it. On 21 February, she witnessed a kamikaze sink her sister .Template:Sfn With the loss of Bismarck Sea, she was obliged to assume close air support duties, which taxed her pilots and crew.Template:Sfn From 19 February to 4 March, Anzio conducted antisubmarine patrols and ground support missions, completing 106 sorties without a single accident. Her aircraft found success in these roles. On 26 February, at 02:20 in the morning, an Avenger from Anzio spotted the Kaichū type submarine . As the submarine crash dived, the Avenger dropped from Template:Cvt altitude its Mark 24 torpedo and two sonobuoys, which landed Template:Cvt in front of the diving submarine. As dawn broke, all that remained was an oil slick.Template:Sfn The next day, on 27 February, another one of her Avengers detected the surfaced Type D1 kaiten carrier on its radar at 03:04. Passing over and making visual contact at Template:Cvt, the Avenger was unable to mount an attack, and by the time it had circled around, the submarine had dived. Her Avenger dropped a float light and sonobuoys around the location, and at 03:38, a conning tower was spotted breaching the surface near the float light. A Mark 24 torpedo was dropped Template:Cvt in front of the crash-diving submarine, and an explosion which sent a plume of water Template:Cvt into the air was observed. Another Avenger arrived, and together, they monitored the sonobuoys, over which unusual sounds could be discerned. Another Mark 24 torpedo was dropped, but no detonation was heard. However, soon afterwards, air bubbled to the surface, followed by an extensive oil slick.Template:Sfn She departed Iwo Jima on 8 March and entered San Pedro Bay on 12 March. After embarking the veteran Composite Squadron (VC) 13 from , she sailed on 22 March to join the invasion of Okinawa.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Okinawa and post war

A front view of a propellered aircraft above a flight deck. In the foreground is a man holding two paddles, one in each hand. The paddles are lowered.

A TBM-3E Avenger lands on Anzio, 20 May 1945.

While underway, Anzio continued her patrols, screening for the landing forces. After the initial landings on 1 April, Anzio performed both close air support and antisubmarine work. She entered Ulithi on 30 April for repairs to her rudder bearings. There, her embarked squadron had their TBM-1C Avengers replaced with TBM-3Es, equipped with improved radars and wing hardpoints which could mount rockets or drop tanks.Template:Sfn On 21 May, she resumed operations off Okinawa, and on 28 May, she received word of a submarine contact from a minesweeper. She dispatched aircraft to the vicinity, but her aircraft found no leads until early on 31 May, when one of her Avengers detected a radar signature at 04:36. Investigating the blip, the Avenger found the Type D1 kaiten carrier fully surfaced. Approaching from the port beam, the Avenger fired four [[High Velocity Aircraft Rocket|Template:Cvt air-to-surface rockets]], two impacting around the conning tower. Turning around, the Avenger found the submarine diving, and attempted to drop its Mark 24 torpedo, but failed, the pilot having neglected to switch from "RP" (rocket projectile) to "Bomb-Torpedo" on the armament selector. Hurrying around once more, the Avenger deployed its Mark 24 torpedo, along with all six sonobuoys via the emergency release. When the John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts and arrived, they found a large debris field and oil slick.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

On 11 June, while Anzio was taking on aviation fuel from the Cimarron-class oiler , her pair of aviation fuel tanks ruptured, sending fuel running into her interior and cofferdams.Template:Sfn This obliged her early retirement from antisubmarine duties, as she was no longer able to take on aviation fuel. Nonetheless, she continued as planned a radio deception operation that had begun earlier in the day. The Fast Carrier Task Force (operating attached to the Third Fleet as Task Force 38) had been launching strikes on Okinawa and Kyushu but had retired for Leyte under radio silence on 10 June for replenishment. A radioman from Halsey's staff was sent over to Anzio, and from 11 June to 17 June, when she herself headed to Leyte for repairs, radio traffic was fielded to mimic Halsey's fleet, providing the impression that it was still out at sea. AnzioTemplate:'s ship's history records her crew's claim that she was the "only ship to relieve the entire Task Force 38."Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Anzio left San Pedro Bay on 6 July and reached her operating area Template:Cvt east of Tokyo on 14 July, resuming her antisubmarine work covering Task Group 30.8. At 07:37 on 16 July, an Avenger from Anzio found the broadside signature of the Type A Mod.2 cruiser submarine . The Avenger, concealing itself within the clouds, emerged, raking I-13 with .50 Browning machine gun fire and firing two sets of two rockets, one at Template:Cvt, and another at Template:Cvt. One rocket impacted the submarine below the conning tower at the waterline, while the other three rockets hit Template:Cvt short, but in line with the conning tower. Circling around, the Avenger dropped two depth charges, which both missed, a sonobuoy, and attempted to drop its Mark 24 torpedo near the diving submarine, but to no effect, as the armament selector had not been switched. On the second go around, the Mark 24 torpedo was released Template:Cvt ahead of the wake left by the submarine. This damaged I-13, as oil soon began upwelling.Template:Sfn

An aircraft carrier in harbor. Behind the aircraft carrier is a city skyline. Surrounding the carrier are numerous small boats.

Anzio in Shanghai, 1 December 1945. She was the first American carrier to visit the port.

AnzioTemplate:'s Avenger tracked the oil slick as it moved across the ocean. It was joined by another Avenger at 9:00, and by a third one at 9:20. More sonobuoys were dropped, tracking the sound of I-13Template:'s propellers. At 10:00, a Mark 24 torpedo was dropped Template:Cvt in front of the slick, and an explosion followed by hissing was heard over the sonobuoys. Pieces of debris floated to the surface. Nonetheless, at 11:20, the oil slick began crawling eastwards again. By this point, the John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts Lawrence C. Taylor and were approaching the scene. A beacon was dropped at the submarine's approximate location, and Lawrence C. Taylor, guided by the beacon and her sonar, let loose a full Hedgehog barrage at 11:40. This triggered two massive underwater explosions about Template:Cvt below the surface that knocked out power to Lawrence C. TaylorTemplate:'s sonar and caused her some engine room damage. Robert F. Keller followed this up with another Hedgehog barrage, but this proved to be unnecessary, as the former contents of I-13 surfaced.Template:Sfn

She continued her antisubmarine patrols with no further incident until she received word of the Japanese surrender on 15 August. She sailed for Guam on 19 August, where she unloaded VC-13 and took on Composite Squadron (VC) 66. After refitting and refresher training for her new squadron, the escort carrier headed for Okinawa. She then provided air cover and conducted antisubmarine patrols for transports carrying occupation troops to Korea.Template:Sfn On 8 September, she anchored at Incheon, whence she provided air support for the landings of the occupation force. She left Korea on 13 September, returning to Okinawa. On 19 September, she headed to the West Coast to join the Operation Magic Carpet fleet, arriving at San Francisco on 30 September.Template:Sfn

At San Francisco, Anzio was modified to provide maximum passenger accommodations. She made two trips to the western Pacific, one to Pearl Harbor and one to Shanghai, shuttling American troops home. She arrived in Seattle on 23 December, ending the year at that port. On 18 January 1946, she sailed for Norfolk, Virginia. She paused at San Francisco and transited the Panama Canal en route to the East Coast. She was decommissioned on 5 August and mothballed, joining the Norfolk group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 15 June 1955, she was redesignated as a helicopter aircraft carrier, receiving the hull symbol CVHE-57. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959, and sold to Master Metals Co. on 24 November for scrapping.Template:Sfn

Awards and decorations

Anzio received nine battle starsTemplate:Refn and a Navy Unit Commendation for her World War II service.Template:Sfn

Template:Ribbon devices/alt Template:Ribbon devices/alt
Template:Ribbon devices/alt	Bronze star Bronze star Silver star Bronze star Bronze star File:Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg	Template:Ribbon devices/alt
Template:Ribbon devices/alt	Template:Ribbon devices/alt	Bronze star Template:Ribbon devices/alt

1st row	Navy Unit Commendation						China Service Medal

2nd row	American Campaign Medal	Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with nine battle stars	World War II Victory Medal
3rd row	Navy Occupation Service Medal ("Asia" clasp)	Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation	Philippine Liberation Medal with one service star

Sources

Online sources

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Bibliography

Military documents