SAVO ISLAND CVE 78

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Casablanca Class Escort Aircraft Carrier
Ordered as Aircraft Escort Ship KAITA BAY AVG-78
Reclassified Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier (ACV) August 20 1942
Reclassified Escort Aircraft Carrier (CVE) July 15 1943
Keel Laid September 27 1943
Renamed SAVO ISLAND November 6 1943
Launched December 22 1943


1. USS SAVO ISLAND CVE-78
   Commissioned February 3 1944 - Decommissioned December 12 1946
   Assigned to the Boston group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
   Reclassified Escort Helicopter Carrier (CVHE) June 12 1955 While in reserve
   Reclassified Cargo Ship Aircraft Ferry (AKV) May 7 1959 While in reserve
   
   Struck from the Naval Vessel Register September 1 1959
   Sold February 29 1960 to Comarket Inc. Hong Kong and broken up for scrap

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Covers Page 1    (1944-45)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2z

1944-07-31

Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type 2# (Br. #15848)

1945-10-27

Navy Day 1945. Cachet by Smartcraft. Type SLKbs(n+)(61x4) is also on this cover.

 

Locy Type 9# (Br. #15848)

1945-10-27

Navy Day 1945. Cachet by Smartcraft

 

Locy Type SLKbs(n+) (61x4)

1945-10-27

Straightline is known used as cancel...Noted in USCS Postmark Catalog as such. Cachet by Smartcraft

 

Other Information

SAVO ISLAND earned 4 Battle Stars (WWII) and the Presidential Unit Citation for her service in the Western Carolines, the Philippines, and Okinawa between September 1944 - April 1945

NAMESAKE...Named for the Battle of Savo Island August 9 1942

 

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If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

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