USS Anzio (CVE-57)

USS Anzio (then Coral Sea) underway, 1943
History
United States
Name	Alikula Bay (1943) Coral Sea (1943–1944) Anzio (1944–1959)
Namesake	Alikula Bay, Coronation Island, Alaska Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of Anzio
Ordered	as a Type S4-S2-BB3 hull, MCE hull 1094
Awarded	18 June 1942
Builder	Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington, US
Cost	$9,627,180[1]
Laid down	12 December 1942
Launched	1 May 1943
Sponsored by	Martha Richards Fletcher
Commissioned	27 August 1943
Decommissioned	5 August 1946
Reclassified	CVE, 15 July 1943 CVHE, 15 June 1955
Stricken	1 March 1959
Identification	Hull symbol: ACV-57 (1943) CVE-57 (1943–1955) CVHE-57 (1955–1959)
Fate	Sold for scrap, 24 November 1959
General characteristics [2]
Class & type	Casablanca-class escort carrier
Displacement	8,188 long tons (8,319 t) (standard) 10,902 long tons (11,077 t) (full load)
Length	512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) (oa) 490 ft (150 m) (wl) 474 ft (144 m) (fd)
Beam	65 ft 2 in (19.86 m) 108 ft (33 m) (extreme width)
Draft	20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) (max)
Installed power	4 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 9,000 shp (6,700 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Skinner Unaflow reciprocating steam engines 2 × screws
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range	10,200 nmi (18,900 km; 11,700 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	860 (ship's crew)
Sensors & processing systems	1 × SG radar, 1 × SK radar
Armament	As designed: 1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal dual-purpose gun 4 × twin 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 12 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons Varied, ultimate armament: 1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal dual-purpose gun 8 × twin 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 20 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Aircraft carried	27
Aviation facilities	1 × catapult 2 × elevators
Service record
Part of	United States Pacific Fleet (1943–1946) Atlantic Reserve Fleet (1946–1959)
Operations	Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Battle of Makin Battle of Kwajalein Operation Cartwheel Landing on Emirau Western New Guinea campaign Landing at Aitape Battle of Hollandia Mariana and Palau Islands campaign Battle of Saipan Battle of Tinian[3] Battle of Guam (1944) Philippines campaign (1944–1945) Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Battle of Iwo Jima Battle of Okinawa Operation Magic Carpet
Awards	9 Battle Stars Navy Unit Commendation

USS Anzio (ACV/CVE/CVHE-57), known as Coral Sea until September 1944, was the third of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first U.S. Navy vessel to be named after the Battle of the Coral Sea, a major naval engagement in the Pacific War, as well as the first to be named for the Battle of Anzio, an amphibious landing in the Italian campaign.

In December 1942, she was laid down in Vancouver, Washington, by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company. In 1943, she was named Alikula Bay in January, renamed Coral Sea in April, launched in May, and commissioned in August. She participated in the Battle of Makin, the Battle of Kwajalein, the Western New Guinea campaign, and the Battle of Saipan. While engaging in preparatory airstrikes for the Battle of Guam, her engines failed, forcing her to return to the West Coast for repairs. In September 1944, she was renamed Anzio, and partook in the Philippines campaign, the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa. As Anzio, she operated primarily in an anti-submarine role, contributing to the sinking of five Japanese submarines. Post-war, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from around the Pacific. She was decommissioned in August 1946 and mothballed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was sold for scrap in 1959.

Anzio was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of aircraft carriers ever built. Built to stem heavy losses during the Battle of the Atlantic, they came into service in late 1943, by which time the U-boat threat was already in retreat.^[4] Although some did see service in the Atlantic, the majority were utilized in the Pacific, ferrying aircraft, providing logistics support, and conducting close air support for the island-hopping campaigns.^[5] The Casablanca-class carriers were built on the standardized Type S4-S2-BB3 hull, a lengthened variant of the Doyen-class hull, and specifically designed to be mass-produced using welded prefabricated sections. This allowed them to be produced at unprecedented speeds: the final ship of her class, Munda, was delivered to the Navy just 101 days after the laying of her keel.^[6]

Anzio was 512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) long overall (490 ft (150 m) at the waterline), had a beam of 65 ft 2 in (19.86 m), and a draft of 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m). She displaced 8,188 long tons (8,319 t) standard, which increased to 10,902 long tons (11,077 t) with a full load. To carry out flight operations, the ship had a 257 ft (78 m) hangar deck and a 474 ft (144 m) flight deck. Her compact size necessitated the installation of an aircraft catapult at her bow, and there were two aircraft elevators to facilitate movement of aircraft between the flight and hangar deck: one each fore and aft.^[7]

She was powered by four Babcock & Wilcox Express D boilers that raised 285 psi (1,970 kPa) of steam at 577 °F (303 °C). The steam generated by these boilers fed two Skinner Unaflow reciprocating steam engines, delivering 9,000 hp (6,700 kW) to two propeller shafts. This allowed her to reach speeds of 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph), with a cruising range of 10,200 nmi (18,900 km; 11,700 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). For armament, one 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose gun was mounted on the stern. Additional anti-aircraft defense was provided by eight Bofors 40 mm (1.57 in) anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts and twelve Oerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons mounted around the perimeter of the deck. By 1945, the standard armament for the Casablanca-class carriers had grown to twenty Oerlikon cannons and sixteen Bofors guns. Sensors onboard consisted of a SG surface-search radar and a SK air-search radar.^[8] In the field, they were intended to function with a crew of 860 and to carry 27 aircraft.^[2] A typical embarked squadron in 1944 consisted of eighteen fighters and twelve torpedo bombers.^[9]

The future Anzio's construction was awarded to the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company in Vancouver, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract on 18 June 1942. She was laid down on 12 December 1942 as MCE hull 1094, the third of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers. Her initial hull symbol ACV-57 designated her as an auxiliary aircraft carrier. On 22 January 1943, she received her initial name of Alikula Bay, her namesake being a bay on the northwest coast of Coronation Island, Alaska.^[10] She was subsequently renamed Coral Sea on 3 April, becoming the first ship to be named after the Battle of the Coral Sea.^[11] Her hull was launched on 1 May, sponsored by Martha Richards Fletcher, the wife of Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. On 15 July, the U.S. Navy revised the classification of their escort carriers to reflect their combatant status, providing Coral Sea with her wartime hull symbol of CVE-57.^[12] Problems with her boilers twice delayed her commissioning,^[13] but she was transferred to the Navy on 27 August.^[14] In total, her construction and outfitting cost $9,627,180 (equivalent to $179,121,100 in 2025).^[1]

Coral Sea spent much of September 1943 being fitted out at U.S. Naval Ship Yard Tongue Point in Astoria, Oregon.^[12] She then underwent a shakedown cruise down the West Coast, heading to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. En route, gunnery drills, crew training, and lecture classes were conducted.^[15] She arrived at San Diego on 8 October, taking on Composite Squadron (VC) 33 for a period of flight training off the California coast. On 25 October, she departed for Pearl Harbor to join Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix's Carrier Division 24, which consisted of Coral Sea along with her sister ships Liscome Bay and Corregidor. The newly-formed carrier division participated in training exercises and drills until early November. They were then assigned to support the 27th Infantry Division as it invaded Makin Island, as part of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. She sortied from Pearl Harbor for Makin on 10 November.^[16]

At 05:00 on 20 November, the bombardment of Makin began, commencing the first major U.S. thrust into the central Pacific. Just 76 hours later, Tarawa and Makin had both been captured. Coral Sea's aircraft aided the operation, providing close air support and bombing Japanese positions. The inexperience of the aircrews was evident, with little of the air-ground coordination that would become a characteristic in later American amphibious operations.^[17] Furthermore, the three escort carriers of Carrier Division 24 were plagued by accidents that killed four airmen and six deck personnel, as well as causing the loss of sixteen aircraft.^[18]

With the islands secured, U.S. naval forces began retiring, but Carrier Division 24 stayed behind to suppress pockets of resistance.^[19] On 24 November, the Japanese Kaidai-type cruiser submarine I-175 fired a set of four Type 95 torpedoes at the broadside of the unsuspecting task force. Two of the torpedoes narrowly missed Coral Sea,^[20] but one torpedo hit Liscome Bay at 05:10, setting off her munitions stores and blowing apart the entire stern of the carrier. The tremendous explosion sent debris hurtling onto the surrounding ships, including Coral Sea, which was 2,200 yd (2,000 m) off her port beam. Coral Sea's navigation officer estimated that debris was shot up to 1 mi (1.6 km) high, while one of her sailors reported being hit by a fire extinguisher originating from Liscome Bay.^[21] 23 minutes later, Liscome Bay slipped beneath the waves. Coral Sea's war history describes her crew standing in "stunned silence", staring at the empty waters where Carrier Division 24's flagship once was. 702 men, including Rear Admiral Mullinnix, were lost with Liscome Bay, which remains the deadliest sinking of a carrier in the history of the United States Navy.^[22] With the death of Mullinnix, Captain Roscoe Leroy Bowman, the commanding officer of Corregidor, temporarily took charge of Carrier Division 24.^[23]

On 28 November, Coral Sea left Makin.^[24] She reached Pearl Harbor on 5 December, where she took on passengers and aircraft to ferry back to the West Coast. She arrived at Alameda, California, on 14 December, where her aircraft were replenished. Leaving Alameda on 22 December, she entered Pearl Harbor on 28 December, joining Corregidor and Manila Bay, the new flagship of Carrier Division 24.^[25] There, she prepared for the impending assault on Kwajalein.^[14]

Coral Sea was underway on 3 January 1944, conducting exercises off Hawaii through early January. After a final fitting out, she sailed out on 22 January in Task Group 52.9, arriving off Kwajalein on 31 January, the day of the landings. She conducted anti-submarine patrols, flew combat air patrol, and conducted strikes in support of American forces.^[26] On 24 February, Carrier Division 24 set course to support operations on Eniwetok. En route on 25 February, Coral Sea and Corregidor were both recalled to Pearl Harbor.^[27]

After a brief respite, Coral Sea got underway again on 11 March and proceeded to the Solomon Islands. She anchored at Tulagi on 21 March, refueling and resupplying before setting off on 30 March for Emirau Island alongside Corregidor. On 2 April, they relieved Manila Bay and Natoma Bay, which had been supporting the 4th Marine Regiment as they landed on Emirau. Her time at Emirau was uneventful, save for a Mitsubishi G4M medium bomber shot down by two of her fighters on 6 April.^[28] She concluded her tour at Emirau on 11 April, returning to Tulagi on 15 April and leaving the next day to assist in the Western New Guinea campaign. On 19 April, she joined Task Group 78.2, which was formed to cover the landings at Aitape. Her aircraft commenced strikes on D-Day, 22 April, but found little opposition. Task Group 78.2 then relieved the Fast Carrier Task Force in supporting the landings at Tanahmerah Bay and Humboldt Bay, but they found similarly sparse resistance.^[29] With the beachhead secured, Coral Sea entered Seeadler Harbor on 4 May, where her engines were evaluated.^[30] She returned to Espiritu Santo on 7 May for extensive repairs to her forward main engine, involving the replacement of several broken piston rings. It was not until 2 June that she was deemed combat-ready again.^{[31][note 1]}

Following the completion of repairs, Coral Sea arrived at Kwajalein on 8 June, which served as the staging point for the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign.^[33] The invasion fleet sortied out on 10 June, and on 15 June, she provided air support for the initial landings on Saipan by the 2nd Marine Division. On 16 June, she was briefly dispatched for the planned recapture of Guam. En route, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance indefinitely postponed the landings on Guam after U.S submarines spotted the 1st Mobile Fleet as it sortied into the Philippine Sea.^[34] Coral Sea returned to Saipan on the afternoon of 17 June.^[35]

The Japanese had put into motion Admiral Shigetarō Shimada's Plan A-Go which, in accordance with Kantai Kessen, anticipated a decisive naval action that would destroy the American fleet. To the west of Coral Sea and her fellow escort carriers, Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa's 1st Mobile Fleet would engage Spruance's Fifth Fleet from 19–20 June in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the largest carrier-to-carrier engagement in history.^[36] In conjunction with Plan A-Go, Shimada drew up Plan To-Go, which directed Vice Admiral Kakuji Kakuta's land-based aircraft of the 1st Air Fleet to destroy at least one-third of the American carriers prior to the decisive battle. Of the approximately 600 planes at hand for To-Go, 172 aircraft were based in the Mariana Islands, with the rest scattered throughout the Carolines–Philippines area, where the Japanese were expecting the next American campaign to take place.^[37] Although the 1st Air Fleet was well equipped with first-line aircraft, about half of its pilots were fresh from flight qualification, having had no live-fire aerial gunnery or dogfighting training.^[38]

On 17 June, 31 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, 17 Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bombers, and 2 Yokosuka P1Y Ginga bombers took off from Yap to strike Saipan. The Americans had picked up the raid on radar at 17:35, and the escort carriers scrambled a combined 46 fighters in response. However, the fighter direction was inaccurate, and only 9 managed to intercept.^[39] At Saipan, the Japanese attacked ships unloading in Charan Kanoa, but the raid was generally unsuccessful. Turning around, the Japanese raid made contact with the escort carriers at 18:48, around sunset. At 18:51, a Suisei chose Coral Sea as its target, but its aim was off and the bomb fell 100 ft (30 m) to her starboard quarter.^[40] Shortly afterwards, the Suisei went into the water 300 yd (270 m) behind the carrier. Two minutes later, a torpedo bomber approached from Coral Sea's port at an altitude of 50 ft (15 m). Hit by a flak explosion, it broke apart and careened into the water 400 ft (120 m) from Coral Sea. After a short lull, a disorganized attack was mounted by several remaining Japanese aircraft. Taken under fire by Coral Sea's gunners, another plane was shot down 2,000 yd (1,800 m) from her port quarter.^[41]

The Japanese, having misidentified their targets as fleet carriers under the dusk light,^[42] erroneously believed that they had sunk three or four carriers of the Fast Carrier Task Force. In reality, of the eleven escort carriers operating near Saipan, none had been sunk, although Fanshaw Bay was forced to withdraw for repairs.^[43] Greatly encouraged by their perceived success, they resolved to make a further attack the next day.^[44] In Tinian, Vice Admiral Kakuta misled Admiral Ozawa with glowing reports about the success of To-Go. These reports helped convince Ozawa to attempt to continue the battle on 21 June, even after his enormous losses in aircraft had become apparent.^[45]

On 18 June, at 16:15, another group of an estimated 30–50 Japanese planes was detected by radar 97 mi (156 km) to the south of Coral Sea. This time, the fighter screen proved to be more effective, with her planes claiming eight Kawasaki Ki-61s and two Yokosuka P1Y Gingas shot down.^[46][47] Nonetheless, at 17:55, eight Gingas broke through the screen from the task group's starboard and made a run towards the escort carriers. One plane, hit by antiaircraft fire, appeared to veer for Coral Sea's flight deck, crashing 300 yd (270 m) short. Another was brought down 800 yd (730 m) from her port bow. One Ginga dropped a torpedo at Coral Sea from an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 yd (1,400 to 2,300 m) away, which missed. Alarmingly, another Ginga passed just 50 ft (15 m) above her flight deck, having prematurely dropped its bomb 30 ft (9.1 m) off her starboard beam. Under heavy fire from her antiaircraft guns, it crashed 1,500 yd (1,400 m) off her port quarter. By 17:58, the attack was over.^[48]

At 06:13 the next morning, four dive bombers were detected on radar 26 mi (42 km) from the task group. The Japanese formation, passing in between two combat air patrols, made an attack run on the escort carriers at 06:19, just as Coral Sea was launching emergency fighters. Approaching from ahead and masked by the rising sun, one plane made for Coral Sea, releasing its bomb high and missing 100 ft (30 m) short of her bow. Two of the other planes dropped their bombs astern of Gambier Bay, while the last was driven off as it attempted to attack Corregidor.^[49] As the Japanese squadron attempted to escape, two were shot down by fighters.^[50]

Coral Sea replenished at Eniwetok on 28 June and rendezvoused on 4 July with Task Group 53.7 for the postponed landings on Guam. She arrived off Guam on 9 July, launching preparatory air strikes and softening positions. She returned to Eniwetok on 15 July to replenish, but immediately upon leaving port on 17 July, her engines gave in, and she was ordered back to anchor. The repair ship Hector assisted in fixing one of her maneuvering valves, but no replacement piston could be procured for the No.5 cylinder in her starboard main engine.^[51] Ultimately, she was sent back to the West Coast, and set off on 23 July.^[52] She stopped at Kwajalein on 25 July to unload her embarked squadron and munitions, transiting via Pearl Harbor and arriving at San Diego on 9 August. She entered drydock on 31 August^[53] for repairs and overhaul.^[54] On 15 September, the crew of Coral Sea received word that she was renamed to Anzio, after the eponymous battle, becoming the first ship to bear the name.^[55] This vacated her former name for the planned Midway-class aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-42).^{[56][note 2]}

Anzio held sea trials off the California coast before setting off for the western Pacific on 16 September with 71 aircraft and 200 passengers embarked.^[58] She reached Pearl Harbor on 23 September, beginning a series of anti-submarine exercises on 8 October with her freshly embarked squadron, Composite Squadron (VC) 82. She set out for Eniwetok on 16 October, where she became flagship of the hunter-killer group Task Group 30.7, which consisted of Anzio and five John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts.^{[note 3]} She proceeded to Ulithi, which she departed on 4 November, bound for the Philippine Sea. However, her orders were countermanded while she was barely out of port, as she was directed to assist the light cruiser Reno, which had been torpedoed by the Type B2 submarine I-41. She arrived the next day and provided air cover through 8 November for the fleet tugboat Zuni which had Reno under tow. She then linked up with Task Group 30.8, the At Sea Logistic Group, which was providing underway replenishment in the form of supplies, fuel, and replacement aircraft for the Fast Carrier Task Force as it covered the landings on Leyte. Anzio's role for the following months was to provide a screen for the logistics force and to hunt down submarines.^[56]

Anzio's aircraft found slim pickings until 18 November. Ultra signals intelligence had alerted Allied command to the presence of I-41, the same ship which had torpedoed Reno, within Anzio's vicinity. In response, she was ordered to conduct a sweep over the area. At 03:29, one of her Avenger torpedo bombers made radar contact with I-41 and dropped flares, whereupon the contact was lost. A nearby Avenger was summoned to assist and together, they dropped float lights and sonobuoys near the contact, guiding Lawrence C. Taylor and Melvin R. Nawman into position. The destroyer escorts arrived at the signature, and at 05:52 and 05:57, Lawrence C. Taylor made two Hedgehog attacks, without result. At 06:16, Melvin R. Nawman made an unsuccessful attack. At 06:24, Lawrence C. Taylor fired her third Hedgehog barrage, triggering three small explosions, followed by a large blast. Debris rose to the surface, and by the next day, a 2 mi (3.2 km) wide oil slick covered the area.^[60]

Early on 17 December, Anzio was attached to William Halsey Jr.'s Third Fleet, which was refueling and receiving replacement aircraft from the At Sea Logistic Group about 300 mi (480 km; 260 nmi) east of Luzon. Unfortunately for Halsey's fleet, the rendezvous point was situated in the path of Typhoon Cobra. Accentuating the crisis, as the weather continued to deteriorate on 18 December, Admiral Halsey made a series of blunders that maneuvered his fleet directly into the typhoon's core.^[61]

At the height of the storm, Anzio recorded a reading of 28.88 inHg (978 mbar) in pressure and encountered winds that reached an estimated 120 kn (140 mph; 62 m/s; 220 km/h).^{[62][note 4]} She rolled up to 39°, beyond her theoretical maximum righting moment of 371⁄2°. Waves crashed over her flight deck and sent water running down her port funnels. The aircraft on her flight deck had been rigorously secured, but two planes were still swept away. Similar measures were taken within the hangar deck, but a Wildcat broke free, smashing into a bulkhead. This incident incurred the lone casualty on Anzio, a broken arm suffered in the rush to resecure the loose plane. She emerged from the storm having sustained minor damage. Her fore catwalks and lookout station had been mangled, she had lost several life rafts and one of her whaleboats, and some water had made it into the interior of the ship,^[63] but she was able to remain on station.^[64] The rest of Halsey's fleet had not fared as well, with the destroyers Hull, Monaghan, and Spence all capsizing. The day after the storm, Admiral Halsey ordered Anzio and Rudyerd Bay to join three destroyers and two destroyer escorts in searching for and recovering survivors.^[65] When Halsey called off the search on 22 December, only 93 survivors had been rescued from the ocean, leaving 793 dead.^[66] Anzio spent January conducting sweeps off Luzon in support of the landings on Lingayen Gulf and in February 1945, she headed to support the invasion of Iwo Jima.^[67]

Anzio resumed combat operations on 16 February, conducting strikes on Iwo Jima and providing air cover for the naval forces arrayed against it. On 21 February, her crew witnessed a kamikaze sink her sister Bismarck Sea.^[68] With the loss of Bismarck Sea, Anzio's pilots assumed extra work, taxing them heavily. Some pilots logged six to seven hours of flying on seven consecutive nights, and VC-82's crew voiced complaints that they were having trouble sleeping.^[69] Nonetheless, her aircraft found success in hunting submarines. On 25 February, the Fletcher-class destroyer Bennion reported a sonar contact with a submarine. Anzio launched an Avenger to investigate the sighting, and sent out another during the predawn hours of 26 February to continue the search. At 02:20, her Avenger picked up the radar signature of the Kaichū type submarine Ro-43 3 mi (4.8 km) away. Passing over the contact, the distinctive whirl of a crash diving submarine could be discerned. At 02:25, her Avenger dropped its Mark 24 "Fido" torpedo and two sonobuoys from an altitude of 150 ft (46 m), which landed 150 yd (140 m) in front of the whirl. As dawn broke, all that remained was an oil slick.^[70]

The next day, on 27 February, another one of her Avengers detected the surfaced Type D1 kaiten carrier I-368 on its radar at 03:04. Passing over and making visual contact at 280 kn (320 mph; 520 km/h), the Avenger was unable to mount an attack, and by the time it had circled around, the submarine had dived. Anzio's Avenger dropped a float light and sonobuoys around the location, and at 03:38, a conning tower was spotted breaching the surface near the float light. A Mark 24 torpedo was dropped 100 ft (30 m) in front of the crash-diving submarine, and an explosion which sent a plume of water 30 ft (9.1 m) into the air was observed. Another Avenger from Anzio arrived, and together, they monitored the sonobuoys, over which unusual sounds could be discerned. Another Mark 24 torpedo was dropped, but no detonation was heard. However, soon afterwards, air bubbled to the surface, followed by an extensive oil slick.^[71] Anzio departed Iwo Jima on 8 March and entered San Pedro Bay on 12 March. After embarking the veteran Composite Squadron (VC) 13 from Tripoli, she sailed on 22 March to join the invasion of Okinawa.^[72]

While underway, Anzio continued her patrols, screening for the landing forces. After the initial landings on 1 April, she performed both close air support and anti-submarine work. She entered Ulithi on 30 April for repairs to her rudder bearings. There, her embarked squadron had their TBM-1C Avengers replaced with TBM-3Es. These new planes had a more powerful engine, were equipped with improved radars, and had wing hardpoints that could mount rockets or drop tanks.^[73] On 21 May, she resumed operations off Okinawa, and on 28 May, she received word of a submarine contact from a minesweeper. She dispatched aircraft to the vicinity, but her aircraft found no leads until early on 31 May, when one of her Avengers detected a radar signature at 04:36. Investigating the blip, the Avenger found the Type D1 kaiten carrier I-361 fully surfaced. Approaching from the port beam, the Avenger fired four 5 in (127 mm) air-to-surface rockets, two impacting around the conning tower. Turning around, the Avenger found the submarine diving, and failed to drop its Mark 24 torpedo, as its pilot had neglected to switch the armament selector from "RP" (rocket projectile) to "Bomb-Torpedo". On its second pass, the Avenger deployed its Mark 24 torpedo, along with all six sonobuoys via the emergency release. When the destroyer escorts Oliver Mitchell and Tabberer arrived, they found a large debris field and oil slick.^[74]

On 11 June, while Anzio was taking on aviation fuel from the Cimarron-class oiler Caliente, a pair of fuel tanks ruptured, sending aviation fuel running into her cofferdams. Further inspections over the following days would find major leakage, forcing her to withdraw early. In the meantime, she continued as planned a radio deception operation that had begun that same morning.^[75] The Fast Carrier Task Force (operating attached to the Third Fleet as Task Force 38) had been launching strikes on Okinawa and Kyushu but had retired for Leyte under radio silence on 10 June for replenishment. A radioman from Halsey's staff was sent over to Anzio, and from 11–17 June, when she herself headed to Leyte for repairs, radio traffic was fielded to mimic Halsey's fleet, providing the impression that it was still out at sea. Anzio's ship's history records her crew's claim that she was the "only ship to relieve the entire Task Force 38."^[76]

Anzio left San Pedro Bay on 6 July and reached her operating area 600 mi (970 km) east of Tokyo on 14 July. She resumed her anti-submarine work covering Task Group 30.8, which was resupplying the Fast Carrier Task Force as it conducted strikes across Japan.^[77] At 07:37 on 16 July, an Avenger from Anzio detected the broadside radar signature of the Type A Mod.2 cruiser submarine I-13 10 mi (16 km) away. The Avenger concealed itself within the clouds and ambushed the submarine: it raked I-13 with .50 Browning machine gun fire and fired two sets of two rockets, one at 600 yd (550 m) and another at 400 yd (370 m). One rocket impacted the submarine below the conning tower at the waterline, and the other three rockets hit 15 ft (4.6 m) short but still in line with the conning tower. Circling around, the Avenger dropped two depth charges (which both missed) and a sonobuoy. It also attempted to drop its Mark 24 torpedo, but as the armament selector had not been switched, the torpedo remained on the aircraft. On a second go around, the Avenger released its Mark 24 torpedo 200 ft (61 m) ahead of the wake left by the submarine. This damaged I-13, as oil soon began upwelling.^[78]

Anzio's Avenger tracked the oil slick as it moved across the ocean. It was joined by another Avenger at 9:00, and by a third one at 9:20. More sonobuoys were dropped, tracking the sound of I-13's propellers. At 10:00, a Mark 24 torpedo was dropped 500 ft (150 m) in front of the slick, and an explosion followed by hissing was heard over the sonobuoys. Pieces of debris floated to the surface. Nonetheless, at 11:20, the oil slick began crawling eastwards again. By this point, the destroyer escorts Lawrence C. Taylor and Robert F. Keller were approaching the scene. A beacon was dropped at the submarine's approximate location, and Lawrence C. Taylor, guided by the beacon and her sonar, let loose a full Hedgehog barrage at 11:40. This triggered two massive underwater explosions about 1,000 ft (300 m) below the surface that knocked out power to Lawrence C. Taylor's sonar and caused her some engine room damage. Robert F. Keller followed this up with another Hedgehog barrage, but this proved to be unnecessary, as the former contents of I-13 surfaced.^[79]

Anzio continued her anti-submarine patrols with no further incident until she received word of the Japanese surrender on 15 August. She sailed for Guam on 19 August, where she unloaded VC-13 and took on Composite Squadron (VC) 66. After a refit and some refresher training for her new squadron, the escort carrier headed for Okinawa, providing air cover and conducting anti-submarine patrols for transports carrying occupation troops to Korea.^[80] On 8 September, she anchored at Incheon, whence she provided air support for the landings of the occupation force. She left Korea on 13 September, returning to Okinawa. On 19 September, she headed to the West Coast to join the Operation Magic Carpet fleet, arriving at San Francisco on 30 September.^[14]

At San Francisco, Anzio was modified to provide maximum passenger accommodations. She made two trips to the western Pacific, one to Pearl Harbor and one to Shanghai, becoming the first American carrier to visit the port. She arrived in Seattle on 23 December, ending the year at that port. On 18 January 1946, she sailed for Norfolk, Virginia. She paused at San Francisco and transited the Panama Canal en route to the East Coast. She was decommissioned on 5 August and mothballed, joining the Norfolk group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 15 June 1955, she was redesignated as a helicopter aircraft carrier, receiving the hull symbol CVHE-57. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959 and sold to Master Metals Co. on 24 November 1959 for scrapping.^[14] Her anchor was preserved, and is on display in front of the National Museum of the United States Navy at the Washington Navy Yard.^[81] She received nine battle stars^{[note 5]} and a Navy Unit Commendation for her World War II service.^[83]

• "Alikula Bay", Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Anzio (CVE-57).

• Photo gallery of USS Anzio (CVE-57) at NavSource Naval History