SAVO ISLAND CVE 78

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.

Casablanca Class Escort Aircraft Carrier
Ordered as Aircraft Escort Ship KAITA BAY AVG-78
Reclassified Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier (ACV) 20 August 1942
Reclassified Escort Aircraft Carrier (CVE) 15 July 1943
Keel Laid 27 September 1943
Renamed SAVO ISLAND 6 November 1943
Launched 22 December 1943


1. USS SAVO ISLAND CVE-78
   Commissioned 3 February 1944 - Decommissioned 12 December 1946
   
   
2. USS SAVO ISLAND CVHE-78
   Reclassified Escort Helicopter Carrier (CVHE) 12 June 1955 while in reserve
   
   
3. USS SAVO ISLAND AKV-28
   Reclassified Cargo Ship Aircraft Ferry (AKV) 7 May 1959 while in reserve
   
   Struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 September 1959
   Sold 29 February 1960 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 Savo Island CVE-78 Covers Page 1    (1944-1945)

 

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

 

Locy Type 2z

1944-07-31

Censored, WWII use

 

Locy Type 2# (Br. #15848)

1945-10-27

Navy Day 1945. Cachet by Smartcraft. Type SLKbs(n+)(61x4) is also on this cover.

 

Locy Type 9efu

1945-09-10

Registered, Official mail. From the Richard F. Hoffner collection.

 

Locy Type 9# (Br. #15848)

1945-10-27

Navy Day 1945. Cachet by Smartcraft

 

Locy Type SLKbs(n+) (61x4)

1945-10-27

Straightline is known used as cancel...Noted in USCS Postmark Catalog as such. Cachet by Smartcraft

 

Other Information

SAVO ISLAND earned the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 4 Battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ "Asia" clasp, the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Medal w/ 2 stars during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Named for the Battle of Savo Island August 9 1942

The ships sponsor was Miss Margaret Taffinder, daughter of Rear Admiral Taffinder, Commandant of the Thirteenth Naval District.

 

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