USS RUDYERD BAY CVE-81
CASABLANCA class (Jeep) carrier.. Displacement: 7,800t. Length: 512' 3" Beam: 65 ' Extreme Width: 108'1" Draft: 22'6" Top Speed 19k. Complement: 860 Armament: 1 - 5" .. 16 - 40mm .. 20 - 20mm .. Aircraft: 28 Commissioned: February 25, 1944
.. My Dad, Erny Ekblom is in the front row on the right ..
"Never Give A Sucker An Even Break"
Following shake down off southern California in March of 1944 RUDYERD BAY ferried planes to Espiritu Santo in April and May; conducted qualification exercises off California into July. During this time my Mom and myself joined my Dad in California .. I was 1 year old. Following another ferry run to Majuro she embarked Composite Squadron 77(VC-77) and on 8 August headed west. At Eniwetok, she joined (Task Group)TG 30.8, the fast carrier forces' replenishment group, with which she arrived with at Manus on the 31st. During early September, she covered the replenishment group as the 3rd Fleet supported the Palau campaign. In October, she continued that cover as strikes against the Philippines began. On the 18th, she took on wounded sailors from the torpedoed Cruiser HOUSTON CL-81, and transported them to Ulithi.
USS Houston CL-81
On December 29th, RUDYERD BAY with NEHENTA BAY CVE-74, tankers and other ships departed Ulithi. In the Philippine Sea until January 10, 1945, the replenishment group shifted to the South China Sea as the fast Carriers continued support of the Lingayen assault and conducted strikes against enemy installations and shipping from Indochina to Formosa. On the 22nd, they retired via the Sulu and Mindanao Seas and Leyte Gulf, to Ulithi.
To See More Of The TBF-1-Avenger Click On The Picture
This is the airplane my Dad worked on, he was an Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class .. AMM1 ...
Aviation Machinist Mate
The Battle of Iwo Jima
The tiny island of Iwo Jima is just under five miles long and two and a half miles wide at its widest point and has been described by many as a "pork chop" when viewed from the air. Iwo Jima is 625 miles north of Saipan and 660 miles south of Tokyo. The island is mostly barren, with a 556-foot extinct volcano on the southern tip of the island (Mt. Suribachi), black sands, rocky cliffs, and no source of drinkable water. The amphibious assault on Iwo Jima was considered to be the "ultimate storm landing," with a striking force of 74,000 Marines. What started as a quick, violent attack on February 19, 1945, turned into 36 days of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting the Marines had encountered. The U.S. Marine 4th and 5th Divisions led the invasion, with the 3rd Division in reserve. The first day saw 2,400 American casualties but, during the battle U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers killed an estimated 20,000 Japanese and captured over 1,000 prisoners. On March 25 1945, the Battle of Iwo Jima was finally over.
RUDYERD BAY remained in Ulithi until February 10th when she proceeded to Saipan to prepare for the assault on Iwo Jima. Departing the Marianas in TG 51.17 she provided air cover for the troop transports en route to the Volcano Islands, February 16th to the 18th. On the 18th she joined TG 52.2 and from then until the 8th of March operated to the east of Iwo Jima as VC-77 flew support missions over the contested island and on antisubmarine patrols over the surrounding waters. My Dad told me "One of the planes from VC-77 while providing support over Iwo Jima had a group of soldiers he thought were Japanese in his gun sights at the top of Mt. Suribachi and was about to fire when they raised the American Flag. He wasn't aware the Marines had reached the top". He almost shot the guys in the picture below.
On the left Photo by Lou Lowery. 10AM, Feb. 23, 1945 The first flag raising atop Mt. Suribachi. Jim Michels holds the gun with (left to right) Hank Hansen, Boots Thomas, Harold Schrier and Chuck Lindberg behind. On the right the second flag raising as seen in the the most reproduced photograph in the history of photography. This is the original photograph by Joe Rosenthal.
Anchored at Ulithi from 11 to 20 March, RUDYERD BAY, with VC-96 now embarked, got underway for the Ryukyus in TU 52.1.2 on the 21st. On the 25th, she arrived at her position 60 miles to the south of Okinawa and began launching strikes against enemy positions on Kerama Retto and on Okinawa. With the exceptions of 1 April and 8 April, VC-96 flew daily support missions until 17 April. On 13, 14, and 15 April, the squadron target was shifted from Okinawa Gunto to Sakishima Gunto. On 17 April, RUDYERD BAY rotated to TG 50.8. For the next 10 days, she provided air cover for that group, then returned to TG 52.1 and resumed support missions for the troops fighting ashore. On 8 May, she again joined TG 50.8, which she covered until retiring from the Ryukyus on the 20th. By that time, VC-96 had flown 1,257 missions in support of the Okinawa offensive. RUDYERD BAY arrived at Guam on the 23d, detached VC-96 and embarked VC-85 as passengers for transport back to the United States. By the end of July, the escort carrier had completed a shipyard overhaul and had been re assigned to plane ferry duty. On 1 August, she departed Alameda for the Marshalls. On August 14, 1945, hostilities ceased and the war was over. RUDYERD BAY continued on, discharged cargo and passengers at Eniwetok, then proceeded to Ulithi and the Philippines, whence she moved VC-33 to Okinawa. There, she embarked another squadron for the voyage back to California. On October 8, 1945 she arrived at San Francisco and my Dad was discharged. She then underwent repairs and alterations to enable her to carry troops, then joined the "Magic Carpet" fleet. RUDYERD BAY CVE-81 earned five battle stars during World War II.
Plane Ferry Duty to San Francisco-War's Over!