USS CABOT (CVL-28)

About this property

USS Cabot (CVL-28/AVT-3) was an Independence-class light aircraft carrier in the United States Navy, the second ship to carry the name, after the explorer John Cabot. Cabot was commissioned in 1943 and served until 1947. She was recommissioned as a training carrier from 1948 to 1955. From 1967 to 1989, she served in Spain as Dédalo. After attempts to preserve her failed, she was scrapped in 2002. Cabot was laid down as Wilmington (CL-79), a Cleveland-class light cruiser, redesignated CV-28 on 2 June 1942, renamed Cabot on 23 June 1942 and converted while building. She was launched on 4 April 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Read. She was reclassified CVL-28 on 15 July 1943 and commissioned on 24 July 1943. Cabot sailed from Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island with Air Group 31 aboard, on 8 November 1943 for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 2 December. Clearing for Majuro on 15 January 1944, she joined TF 58 to begin the consistently high quality of war service which was to earn her a Presidential Unit Citation. From 4 February to 4 March 1944, she launched her planes in strikes on Roi, Namur, and the island stronghold of Truk, aiding in the neutralization of these Japanese bases as her part in the invasion of the Marshalls. Cabot returned to Pearl Harbor for a brief repair period, but was back in action from Majuro for the pounding raids on the Palaus, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai at the close of March 1944. She sailed to provide valuable air cover for the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) operation from 22 to 25 April, and 4 days later began to hurl her air power at Truk, Satawan, and Ponape. She cleared Majuro again on 6 June for the preinvasion air strikes in the Mariana Islands, and on 19 and 20 June launched sorties in the key Battle of the Philippine Sea, the famous "Marianas Turkey Shoot", which hopelessly crippled Japanese naval aviation. Cabot's Air Group 31 pounded Japanese bases on Iwo Jima, Pagan, Rota, Guam, Yap and Ulithi as the carrier continued her support of the Marianas operation until 9 August. Preinvasion strikes in the Palaus in September 1944 along with air attacks on Mindanao, the Visayas, and Luzon paved the way for the long-awaited return to the Philippines. On 6 October, Air Group 29 relieved Air Group 31, and Cabot sailed from Ulithi for raids on Okinawa to provide air cover for her task group during the heavy enemy attacks off Formosa on 12 and 13 October. Cabot joined the group which screened "Cripple Division 1", Canberra and Houston which had been torpedoed off Formosa, to the safety of the Carolines, then rejoined her group for continued air strikes on the Visayas, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 25 and 26 October.

Location

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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