USS Corregidor

The USS Corregidor CVE 58 was a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier that was officially launched in May of 1943 from the Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard in Vancouver, Washington. This ship was the fourth Casablanca-class escort carrier to be built by the U. S. Navy at the time. The USS Corregidor was meant to be given to the Royal Navy upon completion, but a different ship was transferred in the transaction instead. The Corregidor and her crew quickly completed their shakedown operational procedures and immediately departed the mainland heading for Pearl Harbor. Their very first mission had involved joining Carrier Division 24 in assisting with air support for the infamous Gilbert Islands invasion, which took place from November until early December of 1943.

The Corregidor returned once again to San Diego Bay for repairs and to accept aircraft and crewmen for transit back to their destination of operations, Pearl Harbor. In early 1944 through the 1st of March, the Corregidor had been involved with providing superior air support for the invasion of Kwajalein during the Marshall Islands campaign. After massive repairs, the Corregidor was then utilized to train aircraft pilots in strategic carrier exercises. Not long after those training operations, the Corregidor had once again been assigned to her previous station at Pearl Harbor.

Concluding her preparations to enter the Pacific theater, she left Pearl Harbor and headed east for Majuro. After various missions hunting possible submarine infested waters but not confronting any of such enemy craft, she steamed back to her home port of Pearl Harbor in May of 1945. During the remainder of the war, the Corregidor trained aircraft carrier pilots in Hawaiian waters using her deck as an exercise proving ground of sorts. When the Japanese surrendered, she alternated between her training and ferrying soldiers home to the United States. The ship made three major cruises between October of 1945 and January of 1946. She finally returned to Norfolk, Virginia in February and was given a complete overhaul. About five years or so later, she was pulled out of reserve and given the task of ferrying servicemen and Allied aircraft to NATO nations as a part of the Military Sea Transportation Service. The USS Corregidor CVE 58 was officially decommissioned on September 4th, 1958. The ship was awarded four Battle Stars for her service in World War II.

The USS Corregidor CVE 58 and her crew experienced the hazards of asbestos that were not well known to the world just yet. It was used extensively as an insulator in the construction of the vessel, specifically within the internal piping of the ship. Airborne asbestos fibers are extremely harmful if inhaled and the crewmembers were therefore exposed to these dangerous materials without their knowledge. Asbestos is now known to increase the risk of mesothelioma, also known as asbestos cancer, as well as other respiratory problems in people who work near it. Crewmembers of the USS Corregidor who may have been exposed to asbestos while serving aboard should visit with a respiratory doctor for thorough evaluation and mesothelioma treatment.

Last modified: December 09 2009.