USS Sangamon (CVE-26)

USS Sangamon (CVE-26)

USS Sangamon (CVE-26) was an escort carrier converted from an oiler, the second ship to carry her name. She was one of 12 Cimarron class oilers built on a joint Navy-Maritime Commission design later duplicated by the T3-S2-A1 type. Sangamon was laid down as Esso Trenton (MC hull 7) on 13 March 1939 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny, New Jersey; launched on 4 November 1939, sponsored by Mrs. Clara Esselborn; operated by Standard Oil of New Jersey on runs from gulf coast ports to the east coast; and acquired by the United States Navy on 22 October 1940. Renamed Sangamon and designated a fleet oiler, AO-28, she was commissioned on 23 October 1940, with Commander J. H. Duncan in command.