USS Saipan (CVL-48) was a light aircraft carrier commissioned after the end of World War II. She played a vital role in training student pilots in Pensacola, Florida from the fall of 1946 to the spring of 1947. After taking part in training in the Caribbean, she received an overhaul and returned to Pensacola. She continued to play a key role in training midshipmen.
Korean War
In 1948, she received the distinguished opportunity to ferry the delegation from the U.S. to the Venezuelan Presidential inauguration. After conducting operations off of Virginia, she continued her work with the Operational Development Force.
The Fighter Squadron 17A trained on Saipan, becoming qualified on the FH-1 Phantom jet. After this important training, she returned to Norfolk, where she remained until the spring of 1951. She sailed to the Western Mediterranean and the Western Atlantic. She also continued to participate in training operations, sailing in midshipman cruises during the summers of 1952 and 1953.
In 1953, she began participating in surveillance and reconnaissance missions along the coast of Korea and amphibious missions in the Ryukyus. She even assisted the French during the First Indochina War.
Hurricane Hazel allowed Saipan the opportunity to provide relief work along the Greater Antilles, delivering food and medical supplies to parts of Haiti. After she completed this mission, she was decommissioned and converted into a command ship. She was reclassified as a Major Communications Relay Ship in 1964.
During the Vietnam War, she was recommissioned and sent to Subic Bay, where she patrolled the Tonkin Gulf and assisted in communication for combat operations.
Following her role in the Vietnam War, she participated in space missions, taking part the recovery of Apollo 8. For her serve in Vietnam, she earned seven campaign stars. She was sold for scrap in 1976.