WWII 1944 ANCIENT ORDER of the DEEP CERTIFICATE Dept of the NAVY USS Mission Bay

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WWII 1944 ANCIENT ORDER of the DEEP CERTIFICATE Dept of the NAVY USS Mission Bay:
$35.00

USS Mission BayCVE-59
\'Equator Crossing Certificate\'February 29th, 1944(nine days after sailing from New York, bound for India)
WWII 1944
ARCHER J. LEWIS
\"ANCIENT ORDER of the DEEP CERTIFICATEDept of the NAVY\"HAND Signed by Captain WILLIAM l. REESE
In excellent condition...Original TubeContainer15\" x 20\", very colorful . Copyright 1929

USSMission Bay(CVE-59)was aCasablanca-classescort carrierof theUnited States Navy. Named forMission Bay, California, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally scheduled to be built asAVG-59,USSMission Bay(CVE-59), it was redesignatedACV-59on 20 August 1942; laid down by Kaiser Co., Inc.,Vancouver, Washingtonon 28 December 1942; launched on 26 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. James McDonald; redesignated CVE-59 on 15 July 1943; acquired by the Navy from theMaritime Commissionon 13 September 1943; and commissioned atAstoria, Oregonthe same day, withCaptainWilliam L. Rees in command.

Service history[edit]

After shakedown off California,Mission BaydepartedSan Diegoon 15 November for the east coast via thePanama Canal, arrivingPortsmouth, Virginiaon 5 December. Assigned to convoy and antisubmarine duty, she got underway for Europe the 26th, arrivingCasablanca,French Morocco(nowMorocco), 14 January 1944. Two days later the escort aircraft carrier sailed for the east coast, reaching Portsmouth 8 February.

On 20 February,Mission Baysteamed from New York with a load of Army planes and personnel for India, stopping atRecife, Brazil, andCape Town,Union of South Africa, before arriving atKarachion 29 March. By 12 May, she was back at Portsmouth. On the 28th, the carrier departed New York again on another trip to North Africa.Mission Bayarrived Casablanca on 6 June to steam for home 2 days later, entering the New York channel on the 17th. That same day she collided with a dredge and had to continue on to Portsmouth for repairs, mooring on 22 June. On 8 September,Mission Baysteamed from Portsmouth for the South Atlantic. After refueling atDakar,French West Africa(nowSenegal) on 20 September, she conducted antisubmarine operations into November ending at Portsmouth on the 25th. Her next cruise from Portsmouth on 21 December took her to theCaribbeanfor exercises betweenMayport, FloridaandGuantánamo Bay, Cuba into March 1945. In February,Mission Baywas ordered to sail in the direction of Gibraltar to meetQuincyon the 23rd, and escort the heavy cruiser returning in convoy from theYalta Conferencefrom 4–11 February, with PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltand party embarked.Mission Bayleft the convoy en route toNewport News, Virginia, mooring atBermuda,British West Indieson the 27th before continuing on to Portsmouth to arrive 9 March.

Afterantisubmarineduty in the North Atlantic from 29 March to 14 May duringOperation Teardrop,Mission Baycruised off the east coast, training pilots, until she sailed for Guantanamo Bay on 19 July. The escort carrier returned toQuonset Point, R.I. on 2 August to continue training operations off the east coast through the Japanese surrender on 15 August into December. On Navy Day, 27 October 1945, she was part of the celebration at Wilmington, Delaware, that hosted Admiral William Halsey. On 19 December 1945,Mission Baywas assigned to the 16th Fleet, with Norfolk as her home yard, to serve in an incommission, in reserve status the next year. Placed in service in reserve on 21 February 1947, she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk to remain there until she joined the New York Group on 30 November 1949. On 12 June 1955, she was redesignatedCVU-59. The utility aircraft carrier was struck from theNaval Vessel Registeron 1 September 1958, and sold to Hugo Neu Corp of New York City on 30 April 1959, where she was subsequently scrapped.