NS0306409 |
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CVE-100 was initially named Didrickson Bay for
a bay (also known as Deep Bay) on the west coast of Chichagof Island, Alexander Archipelago, Alaska
(NS0306409).
Renamed Bougainville, 26 April 1944, to commemorate a major campaign fought on the
island by that name, in the northern Solomons (NS0310003).
Allied troops stormed ashore at Cape Torokina on 1 November 1943. During the early morning hours
of the 2nd, a Japanese surface force composed of four cruisers and six destroyers tried unsuccessfully
to break up the invasion in what became known as the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay:
- U.S. Forces: light cruisers USS Montpelier
(CL-57, flag of RADM Aaron S. Merrill),
USS Cleveland (CL-55), USS
Columbia (CL-56), and USS Denver
(CL-58, slightly damaged). Destroyers USS Charles
Ausburne (DD-570, flag of CAPT Arleigh
A. Burke), USS Stanly (DD-478),
USS Claxton (DD-571), USS Dyson
(DD-572); USS Spence (DD-512, flag
of CDR Bernard L. Austin; slightly damaged), USS Converse
(DD-509), USS Foote (DD-511, heavily
damaged), and USS Thatcher (DD‑514,
slightly damaged).
- Japanese forces: heavy cruisers Myoko
(flag of RADM Omori Sentaro) and Haguro
(slightly damaged); light cruisers Agano
(flag of RADM Osugi Morikazu) and Sendai
(flag of RADM Ijuin Matsuji; sunk); destroyers Naganami,
Hatsukaze (sunk), Wakatsuki,
Shigure, Samidare
(damaged), and Shiratsuyu (damaged).
Since the purpose of the assault was to secure air bases to isolate the large Japanese base at Rabaul,
New Britain, and not necessarily to occupy the entire island, enemy land forces remained active on
Bougainville through the end of the war.
NS0310003a: Chart, "The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay." (See also  "Night
Engagement off Empress Augusta Bay" video .)
(Maps NS0306409 and NS0310003 courtesy of Google
Maps. Chart NS0310003a courtesy of The
Two-Ocean War, by Samuel Eliot Morison [Galahad Books, 1997].) |
NavSource |
NS0310002 |
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USS Bougainville (CVE-100) underway, circa 1945.
U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph (#NH 89182). Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1979. |
Naval History & Heritage Command, via Robert Hurst |
NS0310005 |
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USS Bougainville (CVE-100), port side, San Diego, probably
in July 1944. The camouflage is Measure 33 Design 18A, with Dull Black (BK), Navy Blue (5-N), Haze
Gray (5-H), and Pale Gray (5-P).
National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA), photo # 19-LCM-CVE100-1. |
John Spivey |
NS0310002 |
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USS Bougainville (CVE-100) underway, circa 1945.
U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph (#NH 89182). Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1979. |
Naval History & Heritage Command, via Robert Hurst |
