Figure 1: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) tied up at a tropical port, during the later 1940s or early 1950s. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) underway on 6 August 1952, while en route to the Far East for her third, and final, Korean War deployment. Seven F4U Corsair fighter bombers are spotted on the forward end of her flight deck. The "LD" painted on their vertical stabilizers shows that they belong to Marine Fighter Squadron 212 (VMF-212). Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter is catapulted from USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116), during operations in the eastern Pacific, circa early 1946. The carrier was then flagship of Commander Carrier Division 17, Rear Admiral Dixwell Ketcham. Collection of Vice Admiral Dixwell Ketcham. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) loading Marine Corps F4U-4B Corsair fighters at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, for transportation to Korea, July 1950. Badoeng Strait carried planes and aircrew of Marine Air Group 33 as part of the trans-Pacific movement of the First Provisional Marine Brigade, the initial Marine Corps deployment of the Korean War. She left San Diego in mid-July and arrived at Kobe, Japan on 31 July, flying her planes off the following day. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) crewmen clear snow from the carrier's flight deck during operations off the Korean coast, 14 November 1950. Planes on deck are Marine Corps F4U-4B Corsair fighters. Notice how narrow the flight deck seems with the Corsairs parked there. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: Marine Corps F4U-4B Corsair fighter parked on USS Badoeng Strait‘s (CVE-116) snowy flight deck during operations off the Korean coast, 14 November 1950. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) crewmen use a power brush to sweep ice and snow from the carrier's flight deck during operations off the Korean coast, 30 November 1950. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) crewmen use a power brush and shovels to remove ice and snow from the carrier's flight deck during operations off the Korean coast, 30 November 1950. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) Navy and Marine Corps ordnancemen load 5-inch rockets and napalm on USMC F4U-4B Corsair fighter-bombers during operations off Korea in December 1950. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) operating with Sikorsky HO4S helicopters of squadron HS-4 during exercises off the US west coast, 27 July 1954. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) at sea with Sikorsky HO4S helicopters of squadron HS-4 during exercises off the US west coast, 27 July 1954. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) underway while operating Sikorsky HO4S helicopters of squadron HS-4 during exercises off the US west coast, 27 July 1954. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: Sikorsky HO4S helicopter of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Four (HS-4) lifts off from USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) for a routine guard mail run during exercises off the US west coast, 27 July 1954. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 14: USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116), photograph number (6293-56) indicates the year is 1956. Location is probably off San Francisco. Source: San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, Historical Shipyard Photographic Collection 1904–74 NARA Pacific Region (San Francisco). Click on photograph for larger image.
Named after a strait in the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia), USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) was a 24,275-ton (full load) Commencement Bay class escort aircraft carrier. Her hull was built by Todd-Pacific Shipyards at Tacoma, Washington, but the ship then was moved to Portland, Oregon, and was completed by the Commercial Iron Works and was commissioned on 14 November 1945. Badoeng Strait was approximately 557 feet long and her hull was 75 feet wide, but the width of her flight deck was 105 feet. The escort carrier had a top speed of 19 knots, had a crew of 1,066 officers and men, and was armed with two 5-inch guns, 36 40-mm guns, and 20 20-mm guns. The ship carried a total of 34 aircraft.
After her shakedown cruise off the coast of California, Badoeng Strait left for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in March 1946. She returned to the west coast on April 20, but immediately was placed in temporary inactive status at San Diego, California. Badoeng Strait was reactivated on 6 January 1947 and eight days later began a long series of training and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises off the coast of California. After a brief visit to Pearl Harbor, Badoeng Strait continued her ASW training from San Diego until June 1947. The ship entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for an overhaul on 5 July and remained there until 11 November. After that, the escort carrier completed various training exercises until the end of the year.
On 5 January 1948, Badoeng Strait was used to ferry aircraft to Guam. After reaching her destination, she then brought cargo and passengers back to San Diego and arrived on 10 February. Badoeng Strait also was used to ferry aircraft to Pearl Harbor and for the next two years the ship carried ASW warplanes and was used to train ASW pilots. But on 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. After making preparations to sail, Badoeng Strait left San Diego on 14 July 1950 with US Marine Corps Air Group 33 (MAG-33) on board and headed toward Kobe, Japan.
Badoeng Strait left Kobe on 4 August and steamed to the Tsushima Strait, not far from the coast of South Korea. Vought F4U-4B Corsair fighter aircraft from Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 323 landed on the escort carrier the next day. One of the planes that landed, though, crashed into the flight deck barriers and overturned. Although the pilot sustained only minor injuries, the plane was a total loss and had to be thrown overboard. From 6 to 13 August 1950, planes from Badoeng Strait attacked communist North Korean bridges, vehicles, and troop concentrations in southwestern Korea. Her Corsairs also flew ground support missions for the First Marine Brigade during its offensive against Chinju. Badoeng Strait’s planes flew approximately 240 missions over the region, assisting United Nations forces in stopping the North Korean advance toward the famous Pusan Perimeter. The carrier lost five planes while supporting UN ground units, but four of the pilots were later rescued. The fifth pilot, Captain Vivian M. Moses, was killed on 11 August when his Corsair crashed into a rice paddy northwest of Kosong.
After a brief stop at Sasebo, Japan, to pick up fuel and supplies, Badoeng Strait resumed flight operations off Korea on 15 August 1950. Corsairs from Badoeng Strait, along with those from the escort carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118), attacked communist troop concentrations and again provided close air support for the First Marine Brigade. She continued these operations until returning to Sasebo on 29 August. On 5 September, the ship returned off the coast of Korea and her aircraft attacked bridges, railways, and airfields from Kunsan to Pyongyang. Badoeng Strait participated in the famous amphibious landing at Inchon, with her aircraft completing 344 ground-support sorties during the battle. For the next several weeks, Badoeng Strait continued combat operations off the coast of Korea, with her aircraft pounding communist targets throughout the country. During this time, Badoeng Strait made only brief stops at Sasebo for more fuel and supplies, but the bulk of her time was spent providing air support for UN ground forces in Korea. As air operations continued into November, the weather began to deteriorate, with snow often covering the ship’s flight deck. But the Marine Corsairs continued flying off the escort carrier and by 23 November the ship was situated off Wonsan Harbor. The next day, though, communist China mounted its enormous invasion of Korea and almost all of the UN aircraft in the area were used to push back the assault. Countless ground support missions were flown against the advancing communist Chinese, with special emphasis placed on enemy troop concentrations. In addition, numerous ground support missions were flown to assist the US Marines trapped at the infamous Chosin Reservoir. On 13 December, Badoeng Strait also participated in the evacuation of Hungnam.
Aircraft from Badoeng Strait continued flying missions over Korea until 6 January 1951, when bad weather and a shortage of fuel and supplies forced the ship to return to Japan. On 29 January, Badoeng Strait was ordered to return to the United States for an overhaul. She reached San Diego on 7 February and was sent to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington, for repairs. After the overhaul was completed, Badoeng Strait completed two more Korean War deployments, from October 1951 to February 1952, and from October 1952 to February 1953. During these deployments, she carried either Marine Corps Corsair fighter-bombers, or anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
After Badoeng Strait’s final combat cruise in Korea, the escort carrier was modified to carry Sikorsky HO4S helicopters for ASW duty. In April 1955, the ship was sent back to the Far East (off the coasts of Japan and China) and conducted extensive ASW exercises with the Seventh Fleet. During this time, Badoeng Strait tested the viability of using helicopters for antisubmarine warfare, a mission that is regularly assigned to many Navy helicopters today. After that, Badoeng Strait returned to San Francisco for yet another overhaul. In February 1956, Badoeng Strait steamed to the Marshall Islands and participated in Operation Redwing, a major thermonuclear bomb test that took place at Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls.
In September 1956, Badoeng Strait conducted numerous amphibious assault exercises off the coast of California, using Marine Corps helicopters to transport troops to the beach. Escort carriers like Badoeng Strait pioneered the development of Navy and Marine Corps vertical assault doctrine. Today, Navy and Marine Corps helicopters are routinely used in almost all assaults from amphibious warships. But on 14 January 1957, the ship steamed into Bremerton, Washington, and was decommissioned on 17 May. Judged to be worn out and structurally incapable of accommodating the new jet aircraft and larger assault helicopters that were being produced, Badoeng Strait was assigned to the Inactive Ship Facility, Pacific Reserve Fleet, at Bremerton. Although re-designated an aircraft transport (AKV-16) on 7 April 1959, the ship was never re-commissioned. USS Badoeng Strait was sold for scrapping on 8 May 1972. The ship received six battle stars for her service during the Korean War.
