USS Block Island (CVE-21)
USS Block Island underway with a deckload of aircraft. |
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| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Block Island |
| Namesake: | Block Island Sound |
| Builder: | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down: | 19 January 1942 |
| Launched: | 1 May 1942 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. H. B. Hutchinson |
| Commissioned: | 8 March 1943 |
| Honors and awards: |
2 Battle Stars |
| Fate: | Torpedoed by U-549, scuttled by escort screen; 29 May 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Bogue-class escort carrier |
| Displacement: | 7,800 long tons (7,900 t) |
| Length: | 495.66 ft (151.08 m) |
| Beam: | 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Installed power: | 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 1 × Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbine 1 × shaft |
| Speed: | 18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 890 officers and men |
| Armament: | 2 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal dual purpose guns |
| Aircraft carried: | 24 |
| Aviation facilities: | 2 × elevators |
USS Block Island (CVE-21/AVG-21/ACV-21) was a Bogue-class escort carrier for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first of two escort carriers named after Block Island Sound off Rhode Island. Block Island was launched on 6 June 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation of Seattle, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. H. B. Hutchinson, wife of Commander Hutchinson; transferred to the United States Navy on 1 May 1942; and commissioned on 8 March 1943, Captain Logan C. Ramsey in command. Originally classified AVG-21, she became ACV-21 on 20 August 1942, and CVE-21 on 15 July 1943.
Read more about USS Block Island (CVE-21): Service History, Awards