USS Takanis Bay (CVE-89)
Takanis Bay in May, 1944, at the start of her training career. Note the light anti-aircraft armament. Photo in the collection of the US Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation.
USS Takanis Bay (CVE-89) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, laid down 16 December, 1943. Commissioned 15 April, 1944, Takanis Bay spent her entire wartime career training pilots out of San Diego, California. She deployed for Operation Magic Carpet at the end of August, 1945, bringing home 6,500 troops on her first trip alone. Takanis Bay made five round trips before the end of the year. She was inactivated in April, 1946, and decommissioned 18 June. Takanis Bay remained in reserve until 1960, when she was sold for scrap.
Takanis Bay undergoing stability tests during her 1946 inactivation. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard photo.
Fun Fact: During her training career, Takanis Bay received 20,159 landings, only surpassed during the War by the carriers Ranger and Saratoga.
Bonus Fact: Takanis Bay only lost one pilot, despite the typically frequent accidents of a training carrier.