Displacement:	10,900 tons (standard), 24,100 tons (full load)
Length:	557 ft (169.77 m)
Beam:	75 ft (22.86 m)
Draft:	32 ft (9.75 m)
Propulsion:	2-shaft 16000 shp; Allis-Chambers, Geared Turbines
Speed:	19 knots (35 km/h)
Complement:	1,066 officers and men
Armament:	2 × 5 in (127 mm) guns, 36 × 40 mm guns
Aircraft:	34

USS Siboney (CVE-112/AKV-12) (ex-Frosty Bay) was a of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. She was the second ship named for Siboney, Cuba

Siboney, Cuba

Siboney is a town in Cuba east of the city of Santiago de Cuba. In 1898 Siboney and the nearby village of Daiquirí were locations where American forces came ashore in the Spanish-American War...

, the Cuban Village near which troops of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders fought during the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

.

Siboney was laid down as Frosty Bay on 1 April 1944 by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards at Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

; renamed Siboney on 26 April 1944; launched on 9 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Charles F. Greber; and commissioned on 14 May 1945, Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Stanhope Cotton Ring in command.

Service history

Siboney completed fitting out on 23 May 1945 in the Seattle area, and on 31 May 1945, sailed for San Diego. She held shakedown operations in the Bay Area until 3 August. The carrier then loaded bombs, aircraft, and personnel from Air Group 36, and on 8 August departed for Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

. Hostilities with Japan ceased the day before Siboney arrived, on 15 August, to discharge her cargo. She was in Hawaiian waters until early September when she sailed for Okinawa, via the Marshall

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

, Caroline

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

, and Philippine Islands.

On 5 October, she stood out of Buckner Bay for Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. En route, the carrier conducted air search operations in an attempt to locate Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 William Dodge Sample and his PBM Mariner

PBM Mariner

The Martin PBM Mariner was a patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War period. It was designed to complement the PBY Catalina in service. A total of 1,366 were built, with the first example flying on 18 February 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940.-Design and...

, which had been missing since 2 October. Siboney called at Honshū from 8–11 October, and then continued the search for the missing Mariner, with negative results. The ship operated in the Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 area from 24 October until 16 November 1945, when she was ordered to return to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. After port calls at Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

, Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, and Pearl Harbor, she arrived at San Diego on 23 January 1946. The carrier deployed to the western Pacific again from 15 February-7 May.

Siboney stood out of San Diego on 9 June 1947, en route to Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

. The carrier arrived on 26 June and operated between there and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba until November, when she was inactivated. In March 1948, Siboney was returned to active duty, and, in May, ferried former United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 planes to Yesilkoy

Yesilköy

Yeşilköy is a neighborhood of the Bakırköy municipality of Istanbul, Turkey.It is located along the Marmara Sea about 11 kilometers west of Istanbul's historic city center...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. She returned to Norfolk for a month and made another voyage to the Near East before entering the Boston Naval Shipyard in October 1948 for a three-month overhaul.

Siboney stood out of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 in January 1949 for Guantanamo Bay and refresher training. The carrier operated with the Atlantic Fleet until 6 December 1949, when she was placed in the inactive fleet at Philadelphia.

The outbreak of war in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 in June 1950 brought a need for more combat ships, and Siboney was returned to an active status on 22 November 1950. The carrier put to sea on 2 February 1951 and was assigned to Norfolk. From 27 February-10 April, she carried out extensive training exercises in the Guantanamo Bay area.

She operated in Canadian waters in July and, from September to 14 November, in the Mediterranean with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) units. Siboney participated in evaluation tests and carrier qualifications of A-1 Skyraider

A-1 Skyraider

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter...

es and F4U Corsair

F4U Corsair

The Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and...

s in January 1952. She also tested the new concept of vertical landings, using Marine helicopters. The ship was modernized at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...

 and rejoined the fleet on 20 January 1953. After training in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, she operated in the Atlantic with a hunter-killer group until August. From 16 September-1 December, Siboney was again deployed with the 6th Fleet.

1954-1955 were spent in fleet operations along the east coast, from New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 to the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and in midshipman cruises to Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 during the summers. Siboney was overhauled at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...

 from 28 September 1954-22 January 1955. She operated along the east coast until 4 October, when she was ordered to load as many supplies as possible and sail for Mexican waters in the Gulf. Until 19 October, helicopters from the carrier flew relief missions and transported supplies to the inhabitants of Tampico which had been devastated by a hurricane and subsequent flooding.

1956 was Siboneys last year of active service with the fleet. She operated along the east coast from January–May, and then made a final cruise with the 6th Fleet from 26 May-6 July. The carrier sailed to Philadelphia on 27 July and, four days later, was placed in reserve, out of commission, with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Siboney was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 1 June 1970, and sold to Union Minerals and Alloys Corps. a year later for scrap.

See also

lists other ships of the same name.

• The Ciboney
  Ciboney
  The Ciboney were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The name Ciboney derives from the indigenous Taíno people which means Cave Dwellers; evidence has shown that a number of the Ciboney people have lived in caves at some time. Over the years, many...
  
  people were indigenous occupants of the Antilles islands of the Caribbean.

External links