History Presentation and Flight Demonstration Escort Carriers—Small Ships with Big Impact
April 12
Doors Open at 8am Presentation Starts at 9am
Of the 151 aircraft carriers built in the U.S. during World War II, 122 were escort carriers. The escort carrier, carrying the U.S. Navy hull designator CVE, was a small and slower type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the United States Navy, and the Japanese in WW II. They were about half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers, more-lightly armed and armored, and carried fewer planes. Escort carriers were most often built upon a commercial ship hull, so they were cheaper and could be built quickly. However, escort carriers were vulnerable. Several were sunk by enemy action.
Escort carriers were often employed to escort merchant ship convoys, defending them from enemy submarines and aircraft. In the Allied invasions of North Africa, France and in the Pacific, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations. Escort carriers also served as backup aircraft transports for fleet carriers, and ferried aircraft to and from overseas areas. Escort carriers were too slow to keep up with the main naval task forces, so they were often used in independent actions. As numbers increased later in the war, escort carriers also formed part of hunter-killer groups that sought out submarines instead of being attached to a particular convoy.
In one particular action in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a task force of escort carriers and destroyers managed to successfully defend itself against a much larger Japanese force of battleships and cruisers. The attacking Japanese met a furious defense of carrier aircraft, screening destroyers, and destroyer escorts.
On April 12th, 2025, at 9:00 am, Museum docent and retired Navy officer John Lynch will present the escort carrier story. He will cover their history and origins, their employment in anti-submarine operations, typical aircraft complement, and the critical role of escort carriers in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Please join us for this interesting and informative presentation. Weather permitting, the presentation will be followed by a flight demonstration of one of the museum’s two TBM Avenger aircraft, a plane typically deployed on escort carriers conducting anti-submarine operations.