TARAWA CVS 40

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Ticonderoga Class Aircraft Carrier Keel Laid 1 March 1944 - Launched 12 May 1945 USS TARAWA CV-40 Commissioned 8 December 1945 - Decommissioned 30 June 1949 Ordered reactivated 30 November 1950 Recommissioned 3 February 1951 USS TARAWA CVA-40 Redesignated Attack Carrier (CVA) 1 October 1952 USS TARAWA CVS-40 Redesignated Anti-submarine Carrier (CVS) 10 January 1955 Decommissioned 13 May 1960 USS TARAWA AVT-12 Redesignated Aircraft Ferry and Transport (AVT-12) May 1961 while in reserve Struck from Naval Register 1 June 1967 Sold 3 October 1968 for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Tarawa CV-40 Covers Page 1    (1945-1949)
2. USS Tarawa CVA-40 Covers Page 2    (1950-1954)
3. USS Tarawa CVS-40 Covers Page 3    (1955-1960)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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1st Commissioning 8 December 1945 to 30 June 1949

 

Locy Type FDC 2(n)

1945-12-08

As CV-40. Commissioning. Cachet by George V. Sadworth

 

Locy Type FDC 2(n)

1945-12-08

As CV-40. Commissioning. Postmark from the backside of a postal card.

 

Locy Type FDC 9ef(nu)

1945-12-08

As CV-40. Commissioning. Cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1946-03-12

As CV-40

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1946-07-26

As CV-40

 

Locy Type Pz (used before FDC)

1945-12-07

Postmark from the backside of a postal card.

 

Locy Type LDPS 2(n)

1949-04-30

As CV-40. Last Day Postal Service. Cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

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2nd Commissioning 3 February 1951 to 13 May 1960

 

Locy Type FDPS 2r

1951-03-15

As CV-40. First Day of Postal Service, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Locy Type FDPS 9efu

1951-03-15

As CV-40. First Day of Postal Service, cachet by William T. (Duke) Gmahle

 

Locy Type 2r USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. T-9

1952-06-30

As CV-40

 

Locy Type 2r USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. T-9a

1953-09-24

As CVA-40

 

Locy Type 2r USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. T-9b

1954-04-05

As CVA-40

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u)

1958-07-04

As CVS-40. Independence Day.

 

Locy Type 9efu USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. T-9d

1952-06-30

As CV-40

 

Locy Type 9efu USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. T-9d

1954-04-05

As CVA-40

 

Locy Type 9efu USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. T-9f

1958-07-04

As CVS-40

 

Other Information

USS TARAWA earned the China Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ "Asia" and "Europe" clasps, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Korean Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Named for Tarawa Atoll. During World War II, Tarawa was occupied by the Japanese, and starting on November 20, 1943 it was the scene of the bloody Battle of Tarawa. On that day United States Marines landed on Tarawa and Makin atolls and suffered heavy losses from Japanese soldiers occupying entrenched positions on the atolls. The Marines secured the island after three days of intense fighting.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Julian C. Smith, wife of Lieutenant General Julian C. Smith, USMC.

Two ships of the US Navy have borne the name TARAWA - USS Tarawa CV-40 and USS Tarawa LHA-1

 

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