_underway_in_1945.jpg) USS Gilbert Islands in 1945
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Gilbert Islands |
| Namesake | Gilbert Islands campaign |
| Builder | Todd Pacific Shipyards |
| Laid down | 29 November 1943 |
| Launched | 20 July 1944 |
| Commissioned | 5 February 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 15 January 1955 |
| Stricken | June 1961 |
| Recommissioned | 7 March 1964 |
| Renamed | USS Annapolis, 22 June 1963 |
| Stricken | 15 October 1976 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 1 November 1979 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Commencement Bay-class escort carrier |
| Displacement | 21,397 long tons (21,740 t) |
| Length | 557 ft 1 in (169.80 m) loa |
| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 1,066 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 33 |
| Aviation facilities | 2 × aircraft catapults |
USS Gilbert Islands (ex-St. Andrews Bay) was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon class, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in (127 mm), 40 mm (1.6 in), and 20 mm (0.8 in) guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.
She was launched on 20 July 1944 by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards in Tacoma, Washington. She was sponsored by Mrs. Edwin D. McMorries, wife of Captain Edwin D. McMorries, Surgeon at the Naval Hospital at Puget Sound Naval Yard, and commissioned on 5 February 1945.
She was reclassified as AGMR-1 on 1 June 1963, renamed Annapolis on 22 June 1963 and finally recommissioned on 7 March 1964.