The Card's third cruise began 24 Nov 1943. On December 23rd, the hunter-killer group ran into a U-boat Wolfpack. The Card had 15 contacts in just five hours. The USS Schenck sank the U-645, but three U-boats ganged up on the USS Leary and sank it. The Card had to dodge German submarines all night before breaking off action.
The escort carrier saw other actions in the Atlantic before being sent to the Pacific. After the war, it was assigned to the "Magic Carpet" operation from August to December 1945 which brought the soldiers and Marines home.
It was deactivated until 1958 when it returned as the USNS Card and operated with a civilian crew transporting aircraft.
May 2, 1964, it was in Saigon, South Vietnam, when North Vietnamese frogman Lam Son Nao planted an explosive charge on the hull which blew a hole in the ship, causing it to settle into 20 feet of water.
It was raised and repaired.
Decommissioned in 1970, it was scrapped in 1971.
The Story of a Ship. The Story of a Crew. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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