The ships were based on the hull of the Maritime Commission type T3 tanker, which gave them a displacement of approximately 23,000 tons and a length of 557 feet (170 m). Unlike most earlier escort carrier classes, which were laid down as something else and converted to aircraft carriers mid-construction, the Commencement Bays were built as carriers from the keel up. Their general layout was similar to the s, but some of the Sangamon's engineering shortcomings were addressed.
They entered service late in World War II – launched on 9 May 1944 – so most of them saw little or no operational service. Thirty-five of them were ordered but many were cancelled prior to completion. Nineteen saw commissioned service in the US Navy, four were broken up on the ways at the end of the war, two were accepted from the builders but never commissioned, and the remainder were cancelled before being laid down.
After the war they were seen as potential helicopter, anti-submarine, or auxiliary (transport) carriers, and a number of ships served in these roles during the Korean War. The oncoming Jet Age ended their careers, as the ships were no longer large enough to safely carry the much larger jet aircraft of the late 1950s, and all units were out of service or reclassified by 1960.
All of the Commencement Bay-class escort carriers that were laid down were built by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (a.k.a. Todd Pacific Shipyards) in the Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington yard, in addition to the planned (but unnamed) ships CVE-128 through CVE-131. Planned (but unnamed) ships CVE-132 through CVE-139 were to be built by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, in Vancouver, Washington, but were never laid down.
| Ship name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-105 | 23 September 1943 | 9 May 1944 | 27 November 1944 | 30 November 1946 | Struck 1 April 1971; Sold for scrap 25 August 1972 | |
| CVE-106 | 25 October 1943 | 10 June 1944 | 30 December 1944 | 27 August 1954 | Struck 1 July 1959; Sold for scrap 23 February 1960 | |
| CVE-107 | 29 November 1943 | 20 July 1944 | 5 February 1945 | 21 May 1946 | Struck 15 October 1976; Sold for scrap 1 November 1979 | |
| 5 February 1951 | 15 January 1955 | |||||
| CVE-108 | 16 December 1943 | 15 August 1944 | 12 May 1945 | 3 July 1946 | Struck 15 September 1970; Sold for scrap 1971 | |
| 15 February 1951 | 15 December 1955 | |||||
| CVE-109 | 10 January 1944 | 12 September 1944 | 5 March 1945 | 5 November 1946 | Struck 1 April 1971; Sold for scrap | |
| CVE-110 | 7 February 1944 | 19 October 1944 | 19 May 1945 | 4 October 1947 | Struck 1 June 1960; Sold for scrap 30 October 1961 | |
| 20 June 1951 | 16 February 1954 | |||||
| CVE-111 | 7 March 1944 | 19 October 1944 | 9 April 1945 | 9 August 1946 | Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap 22 October 1971 | |
| CVE-112 | 1 April 1944 | 9 November 1944 | 14 May 1945 | 6 December 1949 | Struck 1 June 1970; Scrapped 1971 | |
| 22 November 1950 | 31 July 1956 | |||||
| CVE-113 | 12 May 1944 | 1944 | 18 June 1945 | 18 October 1946 | Struck 1 June 1960; Sold for scrap 10 January 1962 | |
| CVE-114 | 15 June 1944 | 29 December 1944 | 22 October 1945 | 27 January 1950 | Struck 1 April 1971; Sold for scrap 1971 | |
| 3 January 1951 | 30 June 1955 | |||||
| CVE-115 | 25 July 1944 | 25 January 1945 | 16 July 1945 | 14 April 1950 | Struck 1 April 1960; Sold for scrap January 1961 | |
| 12 September 1950 | 18 February 1955 | |||||
| CVE-116 | 18 August 1944 | 15 February 1945 | 14 November 1945 | 20 April 1946 | Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap 8 May 1972 | |
| 6 January 1947 | 17 May 1957 | |||||
| CVE-117 | 29 September 1944 | 17 March 1945 | 4 September 1945 | 12 September 1947 | Struck 1 December 1970; Sold for scrap 22 October 1971 | |
| CVE-118 | 23 October 1944 | 14 April 1945 | 27 February 1946 | 4 October 1954 | Struck 1 July 1960; Sold for scrap 31 October 1960 | |
| CVE-119 | 4 December 1944 | 18 May 1945 | 16 October 1945 | 30 June 1947 | Struck 15 September 1970; Sold for scrap 1971 | |
| 26 July 1951 | 31 August 1956 | |||||
| CVE-120 | 2 January 1945 | 27 June 1945 | 4 December 1945 | 4 August 1955 | Struck 1 December 1959; Sold for scrap June 1960 | |
| CVE-121 | 29 January 1945 | 14 July 1945 | Struck 1 September 1971; Sold for scrap 25 August 1972 | |||
| CVE-122 | 19 February 1945 | 6 August 1945 | 15 January 1946 | 15 June 1954 | Struck 1 April 1960; Sold for scrap 13 July 1960 | |
| CVE-123 | 20 March 1945 | 5 September 1945 | Struck 1 June 1970; Sold for scrap 15 December 1971 | |||
| CVE-124 | 2 April 1945 | Cancelled before launching, 12 August 1945 | ||||
| CVE-125 | 20 April 1945 | |||||
| CVE-126 | 1 May 1945 | |||||
| CVE-127 | 22 May 1945 | |||||
| Unnamed | – | Cancelled before being laid down, 12 August 1945[1] |