USS Makassar Strait (CVE-91) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was named after the Battle of Makassar Strait, an early naval engagement to the east of Borneo. Launched in March 1944, and commissioned in April, she served in support of the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet. She was decommissioned in August 1946, when she was mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Ultimately, she was used as a target, and she was accidentally run aground on San Nicolas Island in April 1961. Her wreckage survived until at least 1965.
USS Makassar Strait at dock, 1951
Makassar Strait being used as an unmanned anchored missile test target, sometime in the late 1950s.
Makassar Strait grounded as a target ship, 1963. Note the warning painted onto the hull.
Makassar Strait grounded and split neatly in half. Photographed on 22 January 1963.
Casablanca-class escort carrier
The Casablanca-class escort carrier was a series of escort carriers constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. They are the most numerous class of aircraft carriers ever built. Fifty were laid down, launched and commissioned within the space of less than two years – 3 November 1942 through to 8 July 1944. Despite their numbers, and the preservation of more famous and larger carriers as museums, none of these modest ships survive today. Five were lost to enemy action during World War II and the remainder were scrapped.
USS Guadalcanal, 1944
Casablanca-class escort carriers fitting out, circa April 1944.
USS Lunga Point
USS Gambier Bay under fire at Samar, 1944