AVG-78 (later ACV-78, CVE-78, CVHE-78 and AKV-28) was initially named Kaita Bay (the name appears to be misspelled in DANFS and should probably be Karta Bay, a bay and an estuary on the East coast of Prince of Wales Island. The name Karta Bay itself is also incorrect, as the Haida Indian name published by Captain M.D. Tebenkov in 1852 was "Kazarn;" the name was published as "Kasa-an" in the 1883 Coast Pilot, and mistakenly copied as "Karta" on British Admiralty Chart 2431; the latter form has since become well established).

Renamed Savo Island, 6 November 1943, after a battle fought off Savo Island, in the Solomons, 9 August 1942.

Since the battle was actually a Japanese "resounding victory," in the words of historian RADM Samuel E. Morison, the fact that an American escort carrier was named after it has probably to be interpreted as a tribute to the officers and men who fought the battle. American and Australian dead totaled 1,023; 709 were wounded. The Japanese only suffered light damage.

(Image: Google Maps.)

Battle diagram showing ship movement during Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942.

Source: Preliminary Design Branch, Bureau of Ships Navy Department, War Loss/Damage Report No. 29.

Savo Island was sponsored by Miss Margaret Taffinder, daughter of Rear Admiral Taffinder, Commandant of the Thirteenth Naval District.

(From "Bo's'n's Whistle," Vol. 4, No. 2; January 28, 1944; pages 4 & 5.)

Naval Station Astoria, Oregon, oblique view looking northeast, altitude 1000 feet, 19 February 1944.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo, # 80-G-218308.

Three CVEs can be seen in the lower half of the picture, fitting out. They are, top to bottom, USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80), commissioned the day before; USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), that had just shifted berth from pier 3 to pier 2; and USS Savo Island (CVE-78).

Undated overhead photo of USS Savo Island (CVE-78) underway.

Source: U.S. Navy, photo no. unknown.

USS Savo Island (CVE-78) underway, date (circa 1944) and location unknown. US Navy photo, numbered 112-10.

USS Savo Island (CVE-78) underway on 25 May 1944, location unknown. Note dismantled SO3C Seamew, a J2F Duck (minus its engine), and SOC Seagull and three F6F Hellcats lining the port side, with spare floats lashed down aft (USN photo).

US Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum, photo # 1996.488.034.023. Robert L. Lawson Photograph Collection.

"A U.S. Navy baby carrier [USS Savo Island (CVE-78)] arrived at Guadalcanal carrying a load of P-38 Lightning fighter planes for the replacement of worn out craft throughout the Solomons area. This carrier is one of the Navy's newest types." Before 10 July 1944. Guadalcanal.

U.S. Air Force Number 52212AC. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ID 193853651.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ID 193853654.

"In addition to the space that is used on the flight deck, there is untold space available in the holds of the carrier [USS Savo Island (CVE-78)]. Wings, new engines and other vital replacement parts are stored within." Before 10 July 1944. Guadalcanal.

U.S. Air Force Number B52213AC. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ID 193853658.

"Here can be seen the wings of a dismantled Lockheed P-38 Lightning being loaded on to a truck and trailer." Before 10 July 1944. Guadalcanal.

U.S. Air Force Number C52215AC. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ID 193853668.

"By Christmas 1944, the men of the Savo Island had been through some rough battles. While the aviators were providing air and ground support for the invasions, the men on the ship were fighting off waves of kamikaze attacks (as shown in the picture at the top of the menu). A single kamikaze could sink a ship the size of an escort carrier."

Good photo taken from the waterline, circa 1945. Good details.

USS Savo Island (CVE-78) on 3 January 1945, entering the Sulu Sea, as seen from USS West Virginia (BB-48). The camouflage pattern is Measure 33 Design 14A. The colors are Navy Blue, Haze Gray and Pale Gray.

Photo Source: United States National Archives and Records Administration, Photo No. 80-G-301851, courtesy of C. Lee Johnson, (usndazzle.com).

[A] Kamikaze [is] just meters above the flight deck of the escort carrier USS Savo Island (CVE-78) in this shot taken from the battleship USS West Virginia on 5 January 1945. It sheared off the carrier's air-search radar antenna with its wingtip and then hit the water close aboard. The splashes in the water to the right, no doubt from the battleship's anti-aircraft fire, highlight the constant danger of friendly fire among the closely-packed ships of the invasion fleet. Photo National Archives and Records Administration.

Photo and text from Fire From The Sky, by Robert C. Stern.

USS Savo Island (CVE-78) refueling from USS Tappahannock (AO-43) while operating with Task Group (TG) 50.8 off Okinawa, 15 April 1945. (Thanks to John Chiquoine for the information, derived from War Diaries and logs.)