Vancouver's WWII Connection: Gambier Bay CVE-73

What really got me interested in returning to this hobby was attending a lecture last spring on the role of the Vancouver shipyards during World War II. It turns out that the Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver turned out over 50 (!) CVEs (escort carriers). As noted earlier, the size of these carriers was constrained by the winding course of the Columbia River: these Jeep carriers were just over 500 feet long so they could maneuver down the river to Astoria, Oregon where they received their final outfitting for sea duty.

In today's issue of my local paper, The Columbian, this important role received front page coverage "Local veterans recall service aboard ships built at Kaiser in Vancouver" It's a fascinating and inspiring read including interviews with those who built the Gambier Bay and a veteran of that ship who watched her sink.

UPDATE: Part 2 appeared today, 19 Aug."Working on the war effort at Vancouver's Kaiser Shipyard."

I went out and bought the 1/350 scale Hasegawa kit of the Gambier Bay, CVE-73, --the only US aircraft carrier to ever be sunk by surface and built right here in Vancouver 70 years ago but more on that when I build the kit! That Mavis may have to take a place behind this kit when I finish the Yellow Submarine!

A big "Thank you!" to our veterans and the men and women who built the arsenal of democracy.