Most were small Escort Carriers
Most were small Escort Carriers
From blam’s wiki link, at end of article:
“Of the 151 aircraft carriers built in the U.S. during World War II, 122 were escort carriers.”
Yep! However there were trade-offs for their use. A caustic version of their designation of CVE was "Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable". A RN version was sunk by a single torpedo.
Of the 151 US-Built aircraft carriers, 122 (81%) were these Escort (CVE) types (including 6 for the Royal Navy). Initial incentive was to give protection to the North Atlantic convoys, especially in the GIUK Gap (Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom) where German U-Boats roamed un-menaced. These 'Jeep' carriers, plus better anti-sub surface ships plus longer ranged land aircraft, closed that 'hole' in late 1943-44. By late 1944-45, these carriers were not just protecting but also hunting these submarines.
In the Pacific, these ships were excellent at bringing forward replacement aircraft from the US, covering smaller landings and being utility players in that theater. They did earn bloody glory though, as in the Battle off Samar (1944) where Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy 3") lost two CVEs, this pictured USS Gambier Bay and the USS St Lo, while holding off IJN Admiral Kurita's big gun force of the super BB Yamato and 3 smaller battleships plus 19 other warships. Taffy 3 won a Presidential Unit Citation for this action, where they lost 5 ships but cost the IJN (with other USN units) 26 ships and near 10 times the tonnage.
powered by steam reciprocating engines.