USS Badoeng Strait was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy during the Korean War.

The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

She was named after the Badung Strait, located between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Nusa Besar, which was the site of a World War II battle in February 1942, between American–Netherlands and Japanese naval forces.

In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types.

These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay class, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design.

[2] They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23,900 nautical miles (44,300 km; 27,500 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

Badoeng Strait then underwent additional work to modify her to serve as a flagship, after which she sailed for San Diego, California, for her shakedown cruise and initial training.

The ship began a cruise to the western Pacific on 5 January 1948 to ferry aircraft to the American base at Apra Harbor, Guam.

She next ferried aircraft to Pearl Harbor in April, followed by another overhaul at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard that began on 24 May and lasted for three months.

[7] In early January 1949, Badoeng Strait took aboard Composite Squadron VC-21, which was equipped with TBM-3 Avenger bombers for anti-submarine exercises, which continued until 25 February.

She moved north to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for another overhaul on 30 March that lasted into early July, when she returned to San Diego.

The ship stopped in Pearl Harbor to disembark the NROTC cadets still aboard and then returned to San Diego to take on supplies and ammunition for wartime operations.

While cruising near the Marianas Islands on 27 July, Badoeng Strait came alongside the dock landing ship Gunston Hall to refuel that vessel.

Badoeng Strait was then detached to cover the withdrawal of the British destroyer HMS Comus, which had been damaged by North Korean aircraft.

Her aircraft resumed attacks on North Korean positions the next day as Allied forces began preparations for the imminent landing at Incheon.

After four days, Badoeng Strait got underway again to take part in the operation into the Seoul area, which culminated in the liberation of the South Korean capital on 28 September.

She assisted a marine unit south of Wonsan that came under attack on 28 October from a North Korean division that had been bypassed by the main UN offensive.

The ship sailed back to San Diego on 20 July, where she carried out a month of flight training in preparation for another deployment to Korea.

Badoeng Strait then went to sea for anti-submarine training off Okinawa, and after a week there, joined the rest of 7th Fleet for operations off Japan that lasted through September.

The ship finally sortied from Sasebo for combat operations on 5 October, though this time, her activities were limited to providing anti-submarine patrols for various naval units in the area off Wonsan.

Badoeng Strait provided air transport from the fleet to Bikini, supported the Marine helicopter unit HMH-363, and served as a radiation safety checkpoint.

Late the following month, she took part in extensive amphibious assault training, which lasted for fifteen weeks and included joint operations with Marine helicopters.

[7] By the late 1950s, Badoeng Strait was worn out, and was too small to accommodate new jet aircraft and assault helicopters entering service.

Proposals to radically rebuild the Commencement Bays either with an angled flight deck and various structural improvements or lengthen their hulls by 30 ft (9.1 m) and replace their propulsion machinery to increase speed came to nothing, as they were deemed to be too expensive.