By Captain Lawrence B. Brennan, U.S. Navy (Ret.) - New Jersey ...

Lawrence B. Brennan NJ-Built Aircraft Carriers Page 45
Lawrence Brennan ~ NEW JERSEY-BUILT AIRCRAFT CARRIERS: PART III
Continuing support of the Philippines advance, Cowpens’s planes struck Luzon
repeatedly during December. During the typhoon of December 18, 1944, Cowpens lost one man,
as well as planes and equipment, but skillful work by her crew prevented major damage, and she
reached Ulithi safely on December 21 to repair her storm damage.
Between December 30, 1944 and January 26, 1945, Cowpens was at sea for the Lingayen
Gulf landings. During January 1945, her planes struck targets on Formosa, Luzon, the Indo-
Chinese coast, the Hong Kong-Canton area, and Okinawa. On February 10, 1945 Cowpens
sortied from Ulithi for the Iwo Jima operation, striking the Tokyo area, supporting the initial
landings from February 19-22, and hitting Okinawa on March 1, 1945.
After overhaul at San Francisco and refresher training at Pearl Harbor, Cowpens sailed on
June 13, 1945 for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on her way striking Wake Island on June 20th.
Rejoining Third Fleet, Cowpens sailed from San Pedro Bay on July 1 to join in the final raids on
the Japanese mainland. Her planes pounded Tokyo, Kure, and other cities of Hokkaido and
Honshu until hostilities ended on August 15, 1945.
Remaining off Tokyo Bay until the occupation landings began on August 30, Cowpens
launched photographic reconnaissance missions to patrol airfields and shipping movements, and
to locate and supply prisoner-of-war camps. Men from Cowpens were largely responsible for the
emergency activation of Yokosuka airfield for Allied use. Between November 8, 1945 and
January 28, 1946, Cowpens made two “Magic Carpet” voyages to Pearl Harbor, Guam, and
Okinawa to return veterans.
Placed in commission in reserve at Mare Island on December 3, 1946, Cowpens was
decommissioned on January 13, 1947. She was reclassified as an aircraft transport (AVT-1) in May
1959, but was stricken from the Navy List on November 1, 1959 and sold for scrap. In addition to
her Navy Unit Commendation, Cowpens received 12 battle stars for World War II service.
Fig. 52: A modern postal card with a pictorial cancel for USS Cowpens's
reunion at Cowpens, South Carolina, dated June 13, 1996. It bears a
rubber stamp cachet sponsored by USS New Jersey Chapter USCS.
Vol. 37/No. 1
17
NJPH
Whole No. 173 February 2009
Published by the New Jersey Postal History Society
Originally published in the pages of NJPH