The Casablanca class ships were relatively small at 10,200 tons (incidentally about the size of ship envisaged in the 1920s and 1930s small carrier designs), but possessed a more useful and larger hangar deck than the preceding conversions - not unexpected in a ship that was designed from keel up an escort carrier. It possessed a large flight deck than the Bogue class, though not the Sangamons, and of course, a much smoother interior layout.

Since the availability of steam turbines was seriously limited by other, more urgent programs, the old-style reciprocating engines were employed, powering two shafts for 20 knots. This was considerably faster, and the class considerably more maneuverable, than the previous ships. The new carriers received the standard CVE island, which was obviously more than satisfactory, and a large margin of fuel oil for refueling destroyers.

There were, to be certain, certain gaps in the design, mostly concerning protection (which was limited to splinter plating).

Two catapults were provided for a designed air group of 28 planes, for which two aircraft elevators were available of sufficient size and shape to handle the common types found.

The new carriers were armed with a single 5” L/38 on the stern, 16 40mm L/56 in twins around the flightdeck, and numbers of 20mm L/70 guns. In keeping with their air group capacity, the ships received SK and SG radars when available.

Modification History
In order to improve the protection of the class, in practice two of the three aviation ordnance magazines were abandoned and the last protected by fluid-filled voids. STS plating was later added.

Service
The huge number of carriers makes it impossible to keep track of individual service records. Carriers of the Casablanca class participated in every major fleet operation after their commissioning, serving in support, ASW, aircraft replacement, aircraft ferrying and transport roles.

Ships in class:

CVE-55 Casablanca CVE-56 Liscombe Bay CVE-57 Coral Sea, renamed Anzio, Sept. 1944 CVE-58 Corregidor CVE-59 Mission Bay CVE-60 Guadalcanal CVE-61 Manila Bay CVE-62 Natoma Bay CVE-63 Midway, renamed St. Lô, Sept. 1944 CVE-64 Tripoli CVE-65 Wake Island CVE-66 White Plains CVE-67 Solomons CVE-68 Kalinin Bay CVE-69 Kaasan Bay CVE-70 Fanshaw Bay CVE-71 Kitkun Bay CVE-72 Tulagi CVE-73 Gambier Bay CVE-74 Nehenta Bay CVE-75 Hoggatt Bay CVE-76 Kadashan Bay CVE-77 Marcus Island CVE-78 Savo Island CVE-79 Ommaney Bay

CVE-80 Petrof Bay CVE-81 Rudyerd Bay CVE-82 Saginaw Bay CVE-83 Sargent Bay CVE-84 Shamrock Bay CVE-85 Shipley Bay CVE-86 Sitkoh Bay CVE-87 Steamer Bay CVE-88 Cape Esperance CVE-89 Takanis Bay CVE-90 Thetis Bay CVE-91 Makassar Strait CVE-92 Windham Bay CVE-93 Makin Island CVE-94 Lunga Point CVE-95 Bismarck Sea CVE-96 Salamaua CVE-97 Hollandia CVE-98 Kwajalein CVE-99 Admiralty Islands CVE-100 Bougainville CVE-101 Matanikau CVE-102 Attu CVE-103 Roi CVE-104 Munda