USS KULA GULF (CVE-108)

• Namesake: USS KULA GULF (CVE-108) was named after the Battle of Kula Gulf, a significant naval engagement during the Solomon Islands campaign in World War II, fought in July 1943. • Ship Class: She was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, one of the final and most advanced classes of escort carriers built by the United States during World War II. • Commissioning: USS KULA GULF was commissioned on 12 May 1945, too late to see combat in World War II, but she played important roles in the immediate postwar period. • Builder: The ship was constructed by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., in Tacoma, Washington. • Operation Magic Carpet: After the end of WWII, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating thousands of American servicemen from the Pacific theater back to the United States. • Korean War Service: Recommissioned in 1951, USS KULA GULF served during the Korean War as an aircraft transport and training carrier, supporting naval aviation operations. • Training Role: Between 1951 and 1955, she was used extensively as a training carrier for naval reservists, helping to train future generations of naval aviators. • Helicopter Carrier Conversion: In the mid-1950s, she was briefly converted for use as a helicopter carrier, supporting experiments and exercises in amphibious warfare tactics using helicopters. • Decommissioning: USS KULA GULF was finally decommissioned in 1955 and placed in reserve, remaining in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until being struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1969. • Final Fate: The ship was sold for scrap in 1971, ending her more than 25-year association with the U.S. Navy, but her service reflected the flexibility and adaptability of escort carriers in the mid-20th century.