USS White Plains (CVE-66) - Service History - World War II

World War II

The USS White Plains completed her outfitting at Astoria, Oregon, on 4 December 1943, and then she began shakedown training on 8 December. At the conclusion of her initial cruise, the warship entered San Diego on 21 December. On 30 December, she returned to sea, bound for the Gilbert Islands. She arrived at Tarawa Atoll on 11 January 1944 and unloaded the aircraft she had transported. On 17 January, the ship headed back to Oahu, arriving in Pearl Harbor six days later. Following a four-day turnaround period, the White Plains again set course for the Central Pacific to provide aircraft logistics support for the Marshall Islands operation. By the time she reached Tarawa on 3 February, the undefended Majuro Atoll had been occupied, and the Japanese garrison at Kwajalein Atoll had been all but subdued. On the next day, she got underway for Majuro where she arrived on 5 February. From there, the escort carrier moved on to Kwajalein for a brief visit before heading back to Hawaii. The White Plains stopped briefly at Oahu before continuing on toward the West Coast on 23 February. She arrived at Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay on 3 March.

While off the West Coast, the White Plains conducted operational training for her own ship's company and carrier qualifications for three air squadrons. In April, she embarked her own permanently assigned air unit, Composite Squadron 4 (VC-4), composed of 16 F4F Wildcat fighters and 12 TBM Avenger torpedo planes. She departed the West Coast from the San Diego Naval Base on 24 April, and she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 May. During the next month, the White Plains conducted air operations and amphibious support training out of Pearl Harbor.

At the end of May, the White Plains steamed out of port in company with units of the Task Forces assembled to invade the Mariana Islands. The portion of the Fleet containing the White Plains sortied from Eniwetok Atoll, and during the voyage from there to the Marianas, her aircraft provided antisubmarine warfare patrols and part of the combat air patrol. During the assault on Saipan, her planes continued to cover the Fleet against submarine and air attack, strafed the beaches, and spotted shellfire for gunfire support ships. They helped repulse at least three major enemy air attacks. On 17 June, while helping to fight off those raids, her antiaircraft gunners earned their first definite kill. Later, VC-4 Avengers successfully torpedoed an enemy transport during a sweep of the island of Rota.

The USS White Plains departed the combat zone on 2 July but, after a week at Eniwetok, returned to the Marianas with her air squadron upgraded to a total of 28 aircraft. During her second tour of duty in the Marianas, the escort carrier supported the Tinian assault late in July. Her planes carried out sortie after sortie in support of the troops ashore and over the ships assembled, but the White Plains herself suffered no enemy attacks. Her heavy flight schedule proved grueling to air squadron and ship's company alike.

She completed her participation during the first week in August and departed the Marianas and headed for Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides. She arrived in Segond Channel on 16 August and began preparations for the invasion of the Palau Islands. Those preparations included amphibious support training in the Solomon Islands. The White Plains and ten other aircraft carriers moved into the vicinity of the Palaus during the second week of September. Their planes provided a portion of the prelanding bombardment and support for the troops after the 15 September assault. In contrast to the Marianas campaign and later operations, the Palaus, though extremely difficult on the troops ashore, brought little opposition to the ships in the waters surrounding the islands. No enemy air attacks developed because the Japanese were husbanding their aircraft for the defense of the Philippines, and as a result of Japan's new strategic concept of defense in depth at some distance from the beaches, few shore batteries were sited near enough to the coast to fire upon ships. On 21 September, the White Plains joined the forces detached from the Palau operation for the occupation of Ulithi Atoll, which to everyone's relief, was undefended.