USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56) was
a Casablanca-class escort carrier. She was
originally to have been given to the Royal
Navy under the terms of Lend-Lease as HMS Ameer, but
was appropriated by the U.S. Navy while still being
built.
Liscome Bay was launched on 19 April 1943 and assigned
the hull classification symbol CVE-56 on 15 July
1943.
On 23 November, the Japanese submarine I-175
arrived off Makin. A temporary task group, built
around Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix three escort
carriers - Liscome Bay, Coral Sea and Corregidor -
was steaming 20 miles southwest of Butaritari Island
at 15 knots.
At about 05:10, a lookout shouted, "Here comes a
torpedo!" The torpedo struck abaft the after engine
room and detonated the aircraft bomb stockpile,
causing a major explosion which engulfed the ship
and sent shrapnel flying as far as 5,000 yards.
At 05:33, Liscome Bay listed to starboard and then
sank, carrying 53 officers and 591 enlisted men –
including Admiral Mullinix, Captain Wiltsie, and
famous Pearl Harbor hero Ship's Cook Third Class
Doris Miller - down with her. Of the 916 crewmen,
only 272 were rescued. The survivors had reached the
deck soon after the initial torpedo impact.
Including the sailors lost on the Liscome Bay,
American casualties in the assault on Makin Island
exceeded the strength of the entire Japanese
garrison.
This
Liscome Bay model
features:
- Plank-on-frame,
hollow hull construction.
- All parts are wood and metal.
- Light 'rust' appearance and camouflage
feature.
32" long. $1,200 
S & H is $90
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