USS Nehenta Bay

The Third Fleet had been operating against positions on Luzon since 14 December, but its escorting destroyers ran low on fuel. As a result, the fleet retired to the east to refuel, and to receive replacement aircraft from Task Group 30.8. She rendezvoused with the Third Fleet about 300 mi (480 km) east of Luzon early on 17 December. The location had been chosen because it lay out of range of Japanese fighters, but it also happened to lie within Typhoon Alley, where many Pacific tropical cyclones transited. As the escort carriers and the Third Fleet met, Typhoon Cobra began to bear down. At 1:00 in the night, fueling operations were attempted with the destroyers, although heavy winds and listing seas complicated the matter. At the same time, barometers on-board the ships began to drop, and tropical storm force winds were recorded.[10]

A radar image of Typhoon Cobra, 18 December 1944.

As the weather continued to deteriorate, Admiral William Halsey Jr. ordered fueling operations suspended at 13:10, just after noon. He ordered his fleet to move to the next morning's planned rendezvous spot, approximately 160 mi (260 km) northwest, and comfortably safe from the typhoon's impacts. Two hours later, he instead ordered his fleet to proceed due southwards, 180 mi (290 km) from where the fleet was located. This brought the fleet directly into the typhoon's core. To make matters worse for the Third Fleet, Halsey ordered the fleet to proceed northwards at 22:20, putting the fleet in the quadrant of the typhoon with the highest winds. Blurry data and observations meant that command had little idea of where the typhoon actually was, with some weather maps pinning the typhoon's center some 100 mi (160 km) away, even whilst the fleet sailed directly into the eye. Attached to the Third Fleet, Nehenta Bay followed.[11]

At 7:00, on the morning of 18 December, the fleet was inescapably trapped in the typhoon's path. Conflicting orders meant that some of the destroyers attempted to do some fueling during the morning, even as waves with an estimated height of 60 ft (18 m) pounded the task force. At 7:22, Nehenta Bay came to course at 60°, along with Kwajalein and Rudyerd Bay. As Nehenta Bay struggled to maintain her course, massive waves crested over her flight deck. Captain Butterfield radioed to Vice Admiral John S. McCain Sr. that Nehenta Bay could not continue on her given path, and asked for permission to change course. At 7:52, McCain replied to the affirmative, and Nehenta Bay turned due south. At the time, she was rolling at about 30° to 37°, a dangerous angle for an aircraft carrier. Steering control was momentarily lost due to the typhoon, but it was quickly regained. To maintain steerageway, she increased her speed to 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph), before Butterfield decided that it would be easier to change the ship on a northwesterly heading.[12]

This change in course stabilized Nehenta Bay. Her rolls steadied to a bit less than 30°, but her crew still had to fight to stay in control against heavy seas and gusty winds. A full rudder was required to keep her bow aligned against gusts of up to 95 kn (176 km/h; 109 mph).[13] Eventually, the winds died down, and Nehenta Bay emerged from the storm with relatively little damage. Only three planes on her flight deck had been carried overboard, with another blown loose and stuck on a catwalk. The 20-mm cannon mounted on said catwalk had been ejected from the carrier as a result of the collision. There was minor damage on the flight deck, but her loss in cargo and hull integrity was little compared to her fellow ships of Task Group 30.8.[14]

An FM-2 Wildcat fighter of Composite Squadron 11 (VC-11) slams into a barricade during flight operations onboard Nehenta Bay, 21 January 1945.

She continued her replenishment duties after the typhoon, and on 27 December, Captain Edward Orrick McDonnell took over command of the vessel. On 12 January 1945, her aircraft contingent saw some action. At the time, she was providing cover and support for the vulnerable fleet oilers. At 7:10 in the morning, an Aichi E13A reconnaissance seaplane was detected by radar about 64 mi (103 km) away from Nehenta Bay. A squadron of fighters was launched in response to the threat, and the Japanese plane was engaged by fighters 13 mi (21 km) away from the task group. After an unsuccessful attempt to disengage, the seaplane spiraled into the ocean.[15] On 17 January, whilst Nehenta Bay was operating in the South China Sea, she once again suffered damage as a result of the weather. Throughout the day, refueling operations had been hampered by heavy surf and wind. At around 19:30, heavy waves, up to 30 ft (9.1 m) high, started cresting over the flight deck. Some steel supports near her bow buckled under the waves, and the flight deck bent down and sank, rendering the aircraft catapult inoperational. She continued to launch replacement aircraft, although her duties were cut back.[16]

She was discharged from her Task Group, and returned to San Diego on 19 February for overhaul and repairs. She then proceeded for Hawaii, where training exercises were conducted. She then briefly served as a training carrier, conducting pilot qualifications off of Guam, before arriving at Ulithi on 9 May, where she prepared to begin operations in support of the landings on Okinawa. She joined Task Unit 52.1 under Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin in May, with Composite Squadron 8 (VC-8) onboard. She then began flying missions and making strikes as U.S. forces advanced down the island. During this period, her task group came under frequent kamikaze attacks, most notably on 7 June, when two carriers were struck by aircraft.[6][17] After finishing her duties, she once again served as a replenishment carrier until the end of the war, guarding fleet oilers as they transited towards the Fast Carrier Task Force, which was launching strikes against the Japanese home islands.[6]

She was en route to the Aleutian Islands when the Japanese surrender was announced on 15 August. On 31 August, Nehenta Bay sailed to Mutsu Bay in support of the Occupation of Japan. There, she watched on as Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher accepted the formal surrender of Japanese forces in northern Honshu and Hokkaido on 6 September.[18] Her aircraft contingent dropped supplies to prisoners of war, and conducted patrols as U.S. forces landed throughout the Japanese islands.[6]

She returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 September, where she disembarked her aircraft squadron, aviation equipment, and excess gasoline. She then joined the Operation Magic Carpet fleet, which repatriated U.S. servicemen from around the Pacific. She first made a run to the Marshall Islands on 30 September, repatriating them to San Francisco in mid-October. She then made another run to the Philippines throughout November, returning to the West Coast on 27 November. She was then discharged from the Magic Carpet fleet, and steamed for Boston, passing through the Panama Canal. She arrived on 31 January 1946, whereupon inactivation work was conducted. She was decommissioned on 15 May, and mothballed as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Berthed at the East Boston Naval Annex, she suffered extensive damage on 31 August 1954 as a result of Hurricane Carol, which toppled a dockyard crane onto her flight deck.[6]

She was redesignated as a utility aircraft carrier, CVU-74, on 12 June 1955. She was once again redesignated, this time as an aircraft transport, AKV-24, on 7 May 1959. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1960, and sold on 29 June 1960 to Coalmarket Inc. for scrapping. She was ultimately broken up in Hong Kong during June 1960. She received seven battle stars for her World War II service.[4][6]