| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Escort carrier |
| Class | Bogue |
| Pennant | CVE 18 |
| Built by | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 19 Dec 1941 |
| Launched | 22 May 1942 |
| Commissioned | 15 Sep 1942 |
| End service | 27 Sep 1946 |
| History | Decommissioned 27 September 1946. |
Commands listed for USS Altamaha (ii) (CVE 18)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | T/Capt. Jackson Rogers Tate, USN | 15 Sep 1942 | 14 Oct 1943 (1) |
| 2 | T/Capt. Alfred Clarence Olney, Jr., USN | 20 Oct 1943 | 28 Feb 1945 (1) |
| 3 | Lt.Cdr. William Alexander Sutherland, Jr., USN | 28 Feb 1945 | 15 Feb 1946 |
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Notable events involving Altamaha (ii) include:
31 Jul 1943
Around 1240K/31, HMAS Stuart (Lt.Cdr. N.A. Mackinnon, RAN) departed Moreton Bay to escort the troopship George Washington (American, 25570 GRT, built 1909) eastwards.
They parted company around 0900K/1. HMAS Stuart then remained patrolling in the area as she was to make rendezvous with the escort carrier USS Altamaha (T/Capt. J.R. Tate, USN).
Rendezvous was effected around 1100K/2 and course was set for Brisbane where they arrived around 1300K/3. (2)
6 Aug 1943
Around 0550K/6, HMAS Stuart (Lt.Cdr. N.A. Mackinnon, RAN) departed Moreton Bay to escort the escort carrier USS Altamaha (T/Capt. J.R. Tate, USN) eastwards.
They parted company around 0600K/7. (3)
12 Aug 1943
Around 1400H/12, HrMs Van Galen (Lt.Cdr. F.T. Burghard, RNethN) departed Fremantle to make rendezvous with the escort carrier USS Altamaha (T/Capt. J.R. Tate, USN).
Rendezvous was affected around 0900H/13.
They arrived at Fremantle around 1015H/14. (4)
16 Aug 1943
Around 1345H/16, the escort carrier USS Altamaha (T/Capt. J.R. Tate, USN) departed Fremantle for Karachi. She was escorted by the destroyer HrMs Van Galen (Lt.Cdr. F.T. Burghard, RNethN) until 0800H/18 when the destroyer parted company to return to Fremantle where she arrived around 1330H/19.
The escort carrier arrived at Karachi around 1500EF/28. (5)
21 Sep 1943
Around 0530K/21, HMAS Stuart (Lt.Cdr. N.A. Mackinnon, RAN) departed Williamstown to escort the escort carrier USS Altamaha (T/Capt. J.R. Tate, USN) eastwards towards longtitude 151°E.
They parted company around 0200K/22. (6)
28 Nov 1943
Around 1000L/28, HMAS Vendetta (Lt.Cdr. J. Plunkett-Cole, RAN) departed Sydney to make rendezvous with USS Altamaha (T/Capt. A.C. Olney, Jr., USN) and then escort her to Caloundra.
Rendezvous was effected around 1700L/29 and the ships arrived at Caloundra around 1000L/30. HMAS Vendetta then went on to Brisbane where she arrived around 1400L/30. (7)
5 Dec 1943
Around 0550L/5, USS Altamaha (T/Capt. A.C. Olney, Jr., USN) departed Moreton Bay for San Francisco. She was joined around 0900L/5 by HMAS Vendetta (Lt.Cdr. J. Plunkett-Cole, RAN) for A/S escort.
Around 2100K/5, HMAS Vendetta parted company to return to Brisbane where she arrived around 1200L/6.
(8)
18 Dec 1944
By early morning on the 18th December 1944, Altamaha had been hit by a raging typhoon while performing transfer operations in the Philippine Sea. By 0900, the escort carrier was labouring heavily and rolling as much as 25 to 30 degrees to either side. An hour later, visibility dropped to zero, and the vessel abandoned all effort to keep station. Almost one-half of the aircraft on board Altamaha broke loose and plunged overboard. The ship also experienced problems with flooding in the forward elevator pit. Many ships, including the Altamaha were heavily damaged, and some even sunk. No personnel were lost aboard the Altamaha. (9)
Media links
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Sources
- http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/018co.htm
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Stuart for July 1943 + Report of proceedings of HMAS Stuart for August 1943
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Stuart for August 1943
- File 2.12.03.1615 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
- War diary of USS Altamaha for August 1943 + File 2.12.03.1615 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Stuart for September 1943
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Vendetta for November 1943
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Vendetta for December 1943 + War Diary of USS Altamaha for December 1943
- Personal communication
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