USS Croatan (CVE-25)

The USS Croatan (CVE -25 ) (also AVG -25, ACV -25, T- CVHE -25, T- CVU -25 and AKV -43 ) was an escort carrier Bogue / Prince William class.

The ship was laid on April 15, 1942 at the Seattle -Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation in Kiel, the launching was followed on August 3, 1942. Upon commissioning on 28 April 1943, the Croatan drove several transport and anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic. Here, the escort carrier was involved with his aircraft and escort ships in the sinking of six German U- boats. In November 1945, traveled as part of Operation Magic Carpet between France and the East Coast. After the war the Croatan was decommissioned and placed in reserve. 1958, the escort carrier was reactivated and assigned as the T -25 - CVHE the MSTS and used by civil aircraft for crew transport. She wore since May 7, 1959, the identifier T- AKV -43, which they claim to be the aircraft ferry.

Between October 27 1964 and May 1965, the Croatan was used as an experimental ship of NASA in the South Pacific. During this period, rockets starter was on the back of the ship for sounding rockets (English Sounding Rockets ) type Nike -Cajun and Nike - Apache, tracking antennas and cameras set up. The hangar took to the extensive equipment.

Until decommissioning on 23 October 1969, the Croatan went back aircraft transports for MSTS. On September 15, 1970, she was permanently deleted from the registers and 1971 sold for scrap.