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NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS BAIROKO   (CVE-115)
(later AKV-15)



Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Bravo - Romeo

Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons

   

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal / Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
2nd Row: World War II Victory Medal / Navy Occupation Service Medal ("Asia" clasp) / National Defense Service Medal
3rd Row: Korean Service Medal (2 stars) / United Nations Korean Medal / Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

(Ex- PORTAGE BAY)
CLASS - COMMENCEMENT BAY
Displacement 21,397 Tons (full load), Dimensions, 557' 7" (oa) x 75' x 30' 8" (Max)
Armament 2 x 5"/38AA 36 x 40mm, 20 x 20mm, 33 Aircraft.
Machinery, 16,000 SHP; Allis-Chambers, Geared Turbines, 2 screw
Speed, 19 Knots, Crew 1066.

Operational and Building Data
Laid down 25 July 1944; launched 25 January 1945; commissioned 16 July 1945.

FATE  Decommissioned to reserve 18 Feb 1955.
Redesignated as an aviation transport (AKV 15) 7 May 1959
while in reserve. Stricken for disposal 1 April 1960.
Sold and scrapped at Hong Kong 1/61.


Click On Image 
For Full Size Image
Size Image Description Contributed
By And/Or Copyright
Name
Portage Bay
NS0311519
115k

CVE-115 was initially named Portage Bay, for a bay in Alaska. (There are several features on the Alaskan coast known as Portage Bay. In 1944 it probably alluded to the bay on the north coast of Kupreanof Island, Alexander Archipelago, also known as Perenosnaia Bay, Perenosnaya Bukhta, Perenosnaya Creek and Portage Harbor. NS0311519.)

Renamed Bairoko, 5 June 1944, after a small harbor on the north coast of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. In 1942 and 1943, the Japanese used this harbor as the port of supply for Munda airfield, itself important for the battles in and around Guadalcanal. American forces attacked on 20 July 1943, but the Japanese did not abandon Bairoko until 25 August. Its seizure marked an important milestone in the southwestern Pacific counter-offensive (NS0311519a).

NS0311519b: A Marine Raiders 60mm mortar crew goes into action on New Georgia. Because the Raiders had no heavier weapons, their initial efforts at Bairoko were mostly unsuccessful.

(Maps NS0311519 and NS0311519a courtesy of Google Maps. Photo NS0311519b Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 54650.)

NavSource
Bairoko
NS0311519a
84k
Bairoko
NS0311519b
51k
1945–1954
CVE-115
NS0311501
490k

USS Bairoko underway.

Joe Wilson
CVE-115
NS0311507
109k

US Navy photo of USS Bairoko (CVE-115) underway, date and location unknown.

David Buell
CVE-115
NS0311513
86k

USS Bairoko (CVE-115). Date and location unknown.

Tommy Trampp
CVE-115
NS0311515
121k

USS Bairoko (CVE-115). Date and location unknown.

Tommy Trampp
CVE-115
NS0311508
111k

Photos from the collection of Frank J. White, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), 1944–1945.

F4U Corsairs on deck.

Donald White and
Melanie White Brackenrich,
children of Frank J. White
CVE-115
NS0311508a
143k

SB2C Helldivers on deck.

CVE-115
NS0311508b
122k

View of the island.

CVE-115
NS0311508c
98k

Frank J. White.

CVE-115
NS0311508d
115k
CVE-115
NS0311522
64k

Gunnery drill aboard USS Bairoko (CVE-115), circa 1945.

Bob Canchola, BT, USN (Ret.)
Yu Chu
CVE-115
NS0311509a
535k

Aerials of USS Bairoko (CVE-115), shown off Vashon Island, Washington, at an altitude of 400 feet and a speed of 20 knots. Photographed by aircraft from Naval Air Station, Seattle, Washington, 26 July 1945.

NS0311509a: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo, # 80-G-346690.

NS0311509b: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo, # 80-G-346692.

NARA
CVE-115
NS0311509b
681k
CVE-115
NS0311509
36k

The escort carrier USS Bairoko (CVE-115) underway, apparently at the same time as the photos above. She is fitted with SK-2 air-search radar. Note the rounded stern, carrying two quad 40mm sponsons; visible forward of the port side sponson is the muzzle of one of the pair of 5"/38's. USN photo.

Robert Hurst
Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com
CVE-115
NS0311510
160k

Starboard quarter view of USS Bairoko (CVE-115), steaming off San Pedro, California, 10 October 1945. BuAer photo (# SP10461).

David Buell
CVE-115 Bairoko
NS0311524
254k

USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Pearl Harbor, November 1945.

NS0311524: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo, # 80-G-351482.

NS0311524a: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo, # 80-G-351483.

Rick Davis & John Chiquoine
CVE-115 Bairoko
NS0311524a
290k
CVE-115
NS0311523
27k

A Ryan FR-1 Fireball of Fighter Squadron (VF) 41 "Firebirds" launching from the escort carrier USS Bairoko (CVE-115) during testing and evaluation of the composite piston-and-jet-engine aircraft, 3 March–26 April 1946. Note the "G-symbol" identifying Bairoko's planes, a white tail with two yellow vertical stripes in front. As these geometries were hard to remember and describe, they were replaced by letters on 7 November 1946. Photo by Lawrence B. Massey, SM2C, USN.

Robert Hurst
CVE-115
NS0311523a
187k

A Ryan FR-1 Fireball from Fighter Squadron (VF) 41 "Firebirds" recovering aboard the escort carrier USS Bairoko (CVE-115), just before the nose gear collapsed, 13 March 1946.

National Museum of Naval Aviation photo, # 1996.253.7133.006.

CVE-115 Bairoko
NS0311523b
32k

A Ryan FR-1 Fireball of Fighter Squadron (VF) 41 "Firebirds" recovering aboard the escort carrier USS Bairoko (CVE-115) during operations in the Pacific in 1946. Photo courtesy Lawrence B. Massey, SM2C, USN.

CVE-115
NS0311512
66k

"WASHINGTON: It was reported here 5/25[, 1948,] that the U.S. aircraft carrier Bairoko was exposed to radioactive dust from the recent Pacific H-bomb tests but none of the 1,500-man crew was seriously injured. The Navy and the AEC refused to comment on the report. Above the 13,000-ton baby flattop is shown at anchor. UNITED PRESS TELEPHOTO FROM FILES."

Tommy Trampp
CVE-115
NS0311518
140k

USS Bairoko (CVE-115), location and date unknown (possibly circa 1949).

David Upton
CVE-115
NS0311505
216k

"Escort Carrier, the USS Bairoko, (CVE-115), part of the Air Support Group under the command of Rear Admiral M.R. Greer, USN, steams past snow covered mountains of Kodiak while recovering Marine support aircraft during 'Operation MICOWEX'".

Quoted from the original picture caption. This view was taken by a USS Boxer (CV-21) photographer on 10 February 1949. A U.S. Marine Corps F4U aircraft is flying over the carrier and other F4Us are parked on her flight deck, forward. Kodiak Island is in the background.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NH&HC), photo # NH 97321.

NH&HC
CVE-115 Bairoko
NS0311526
308k

USS Bairoko (CVE-115) at San Diego, April 1949.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo, # 80-G-427622.

Rick Davis & John Chiquoine
CVE-115
NS0311503
109k

"The 10,900 ton escort aircraft carrier, USS Bairoko, is shown as she arrived at Pearl Harbor Thursday evening, July 28 (1949), from San Diego, Calif., with 30 officers and 150 enlisted personnel from Composite Squadron 25, which will receive six weeks' training with Fleet All Weather Training Unit at Barber's Point Naval Air Station, Oahu, T.H. The Bairoko is commanded by Captain S. Gazze, USN, of Coronado, California".

Quoted from the original picture caption, released by 14th Naval District Public Information Office on 29 July 1949.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97319).

Fred Weiss
CVE-115
NS0311517
206k

"My father, John Owens, served aboard the Bairoko during Operation Miki in 1949 off the coast of Hawaii. During a landing approach, his Avenger [SK]415[, Composite Squadron (VC) 25,] was hit by a crosswind, swerved to port, clipping the right wing on the catwalk and plunged into the ocean. The pilot easily got out, but my dad who had climbed out of the turret realized that the crewman inside was trapped and couldn't open the hatch. He crawled over the fuselage and freed the crewman. Afterwards they drifted to the destroyer USS Brinkley Bass to be their guests until the operation was over. Luckily, the entire event was photographed."

"The Avenger now on display at the USS Midway museum has the exact markings of my dad's old plane in tribute to the plane and its crew."

Ken Owens (former RM2 on USS Preble DLG-15)
CVE-115
NS0311517a
222k
CVE-115
NS0311517b
267k
CVE-115
NS0311517c
242k
CVE-115
NS0311504
125k

USS Bairoko (CVE-115) photographed during the later 1940s or early 1950s, off San Diego, California. This photograph was received by the Naval Photographic Center in December 1959, many years after it was taken.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center (# NH 97320).

Fred Weiss
CVE-115
NS0311506
510k

"Everybody turns to when it's reactivation time. Here storekeeper striker D.W. Shore ... and Glenn Hobbs ... remove a dehumidifier from the hangar deck of USS Bairoko prior to its actual reactivation by San Francisco Naval Shipyard employees."

"Navy men like Seaman Hobbs and Storekeeper Shore were given the task of helping in reassembling the ship that would be theirs when the ship departed from San Francisco."

Quoted caption was released with this photo circa August 1950. Bairoko recommissioned for Korean War service on 12 September 1950.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the All Hands collection at the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC), # NH 97004.

NHHC
CVE-115
NS0311511
251k

Aerial view of USS Bairoko (CVE-115) underway. Photo is dated 20 April 1950, but was probably taken during the second half of 1949, as Bairoko reported to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for pre-inactivation maintenance on 15 December 1949, and was placed out of commission, in reserve, on 14 April 1950.

US Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum, Photo No.1996.488.035.020. Robert L. Lawson Photograph Collection.

Mike Green
CVE-115
NS0311520
101k

"Memories from Duty Aboard USS Bairoko (CVE-115)," sent by Robert (Bob) Martin, TE-2, The CVE Piper, Summer 2010, page 23.

Courtesy of Escort Carrier Sailors and Airmen Association (ECSAA)

NS0311516
153k

NY13-17750, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Antennas - 30 September 1952. Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach 2, California. Official Navy Photograph.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # rg19nn-b1584-006-039_pr, from Record Group 19.

NARA

NS0311516a
124k

NY13-17751, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Antennas - 30 September 1952. Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach 2, California. Official Navy Photograph.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # rg19nn-b1584-006-040_pr, from Record Group 19.


NS0311516b
107k

NY13-17752, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Antennas - 30 September 1952. Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach 2, California. Official Navy Photograph.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # rg19nn-b1584-006-041_pr, from Record Group 19.


NS0311516c
131k

NY13-17753, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Antennas - 30 September 1952. Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach 2, California. Official Navy Photograph.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # rg19nn-b1584-006-042_pr, from Record Group 19.


NS0311516d
127k

NY13-17754, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Antennas - 30 September 1952. Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach 2, California. Official Navy Photograph.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # rg19nn-b1584-006-043_pr, from Record Group 19.


NS0311516e
153k

NY13-17755, USS Bairoko (CVE-115), Antennas - 30 September 1952. Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach 2, California. Official Navy Photograph.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), photo # rg19nn-b1584-006-044_pr, from Record Group 19.

CVE-115
NS0311514
106k

US Marine Corps F4U-4 Corsairs from Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 312 "Checkerboards" operating aboard USS Bairoko (CVE-115), probably off Korea, 1952–1953.

Tommy Trampp
CVE-115
NS0311514a
60k
CVE-115
NS0311514b
91k
CVE-115
NS0311514c
86k
CVE-115
NS0311514d
78k
CVE-115
NS0311514e
111k
Memorabilia
CVE-115
NS0311521
117k

"Best Wishes—Blue Angels, USS Bairoko CVE-115, 1986" "Blue Angels" 40th Anniversary.

Signed by: #1, CDR Gil Rud, Flight Leader, A-4F Skyhawk BuNo 155033; #2, Capt. Mark Bircher, USMC, Right Wing, BuNo 154172; #3, LCDR Donnie L. Cochran (first African-American "Blue Angel" pilot), Left Wing, 154983; #4, LT Pat Walsh, Slot Pilot, 154180; #5, LCDR Curt Watson, Lead Solo, 154211; #6, LT David Anderson, Opposing Solo, 154904; #7, LT Wayne Molnar, Narrator, 158722; #8, Maj. Bill Campbell, USMC, Event Coordinator, TA-4J BuNo 158722.

Tommy Trampp

For more information about this ship, see:

Read the USS Bairoko (CVE-115 / AKV-15) DANFS History entry.
Read United States Navy, "Album USS Bairoko CVE 115" (1946). World War Regimental Histories, 207,
at the Bangor, Maine Public Library website, via Jonathan Eno.

Crew Contact and Reunion Information
Date:  
Place:  
Contact: John Summers, RD2
Address:  
Phone:  
E-mail: jsumrs@usa.com
Web site:  
Remarks: OI Division.

Related Links
Hazegray & Underway World Aircraft Carrier Pages By Andrew Toppan.
Escort Carrier Sailors & Airmen Association
Korean Combat Action Reports located on the Naval History & Heritage Command website

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Last update: 25 November 2023