USS WRIGHT
A Saipan-class light aircraft carrier, USS Wright (CVL-49) is named after Orville Wright. Commissioned in 1947, Wright left Philadelphia to participate in air defense drills, gunnary practice and carrier qualifications for military student pilots. She continued this training for over two years.
In 1952, she sailed for Gibralter to work with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, where she sailed around the area participating in training missions. She continued to participate in training operations throughout the Atlantic, including the northern Atlantic conducting defense exercises with other navies of the countries participating in NATO. After a brief return home, she sailed for the Mediterranean once more.
Wright rested in Philadelphia, getting a much deserved face-lift. She resumed training operations in the waters of Cuba in 1954. She then received orders to set sail for the Pacific to work with the 7th Fleet off the coast of Korea.
In 1959, Wright was reclassified an auxiliary aircraft transport. She was inactive for three years, until she was taken to Puget Sound for conversion into a mobile command post. After a brief stint on the West Coast, she sailed for the East Coast. Here she acted as an emergency command post, continually receiving upgrades. She provided key communications capability for military, presidential, and humanitarian missions around the world. She was sold for scrap in 1980.