conflict uss matanikau 
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier ( hull classification symbol CVE ), also called a " jeep carrier " or " baby flattop " in the United States Navy ( USN ) or " Woolworth Carrier " by the Royal Navy , was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force , and the United States Navy in ___MASK74___ . They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers . While they were slower , carried fewer planes and were less well armed and armored , escort carriers were cheaper and could be built quickly , which was their principal advantage . Escort carriers could be completed in greater numbers as a stop - gap when fleet carriers were scarce . However , the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable and several were sunk with great loss of life . The light carrier ( hull classification symbol CVL ) was a similar concept to escort carriers in most respects , but were capable of higher speeds to allow operation alongside fleet carriers . A fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation ' s navy . The term was developed during ___MASK74___ , to distinguish it from the escort carrier and other lesser types . In addition to many medium - sized carriers , supercarriers , as well as some light carriers , are also classed as fleet carriers . The Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ; Kyjitai : Shinjitai : "" or " Nippon Kaigun ", " Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire ") was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 until 1945 , when it was dissolved following Japan ' s defeat and surrender in ___MASK74___ . It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff and the Ministry of the Navy , both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan as supreme commander of the army and the navy . The Japan Maritime Self - Defense Force ( JMSDF ) was formed after the dissolution of the IJN . The United States Navy ( USN ) 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 , most capable navy in the world , with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage . The U . S . Navy has the world ' s largest aircraft carrier fleet , with ten in service , two in the reserve fleet , and three new carriers under construction . The service has 323 , 792 personnel on active duty and 108 , 515 in the Navy Reserve . It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3 , 700 aircraft in active service . ___MASK74___ ( often abbreviated to WWII or WW2 ), also known as the Second ___MASK24___ , was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 , although related conflicts began earlier . It involved the vast majority of the world ' s nations  including all of the great powers  eventually forming two opposing military alliances : the Allies and the Axis . It was the most widespread war in history , and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries . In a state of " total war ", the major participants threw their entire economic , industrial , and scientific capabilities behind the war effort , erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources . Marked by mass deaths of civilians , including the Holocaust ( in which approximately 11 million people were killed ) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres ( in which approximately one million were killed , and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities . These made ___MASK74___ the deadliest conflict in human history . USS Matanikau ( CVE - 101 ) was a Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy . Matanikau was laid down as Dolomoi Bay under Maritime Commission contract by Kaiser Co . , Inc . Vancouver , Washington on 10 March 1944 ; renamed Matanikau 26 April 1944 ; launched on 22 May 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . Robert A . Grant , delivered to the Navy on 24 June 1944 , and commissioned at Astoria , Oregon the same day , Captain W . L . Erdmann in command . The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States . They consist of the Army , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Coast Guard . The President of the United States is the military ' s overall head , and helps form military policy with the U . S . Department of Defense ( DoD ), a federal executive department , acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out . From the time of its inception , the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States . A sense of national unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the ___MASK65___ and the ___MASK70___ . Even so , the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force . It played an important role in the American Civil War , where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military . Not until the outbreak of ___MASK74___ did a large standing army become officially established . The National Security Act of 1947 , adopted following ___MASK74___ and during the Cold War ' s onset , created the modern U . S . military framework ; the Act merged previously Cabinet - level Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment ( renamed the Department of Defense in 1949 ), headed by the Secretary of Defense ; and created the Department of the Air Force and National Security Council .