She was named after the invasion of Salamaua, a strategically important village in the New Guinea Theater during World War II, and one of the main targets of the Salamaua–Lae campaign.

She served with distinction during the war, notably being damaged in early 1945 by a kamikaze aircraft during the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, killing 15 crewmen and injuring 88.

Post war, the ship helped repatriate servicemen to the United States as part of Operation Magic Carpet before being decommissioned and struck in 1946, and ultimately being broken up in 1947.

Salamaua was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, designed specifically to be mass-produced using prefabricated sections, in order to replace heavy early war losses.

She was powered with two Uniflow reciprocating steam engines, which provided 9,000 horsepower (6,700 kW), driving two shafts, enabling her to make 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

The ship had a cruising range of 10,240 nautical miles (18,960 km; 11,780 mi), assuming that she traveled at a constant speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[4] By the end of the war, Casablanca-class carriers had been modified to carry 30 20–mm cannons, as a response to increasing casualties due to kamikaze attacks.

[7] The escort carrier was laid down on 4 February 1944, under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 1133, by Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington.

On 6 November 1943, before she was laid down, she was renamed to Salamaua, as part of a new policy which named escort carriers after sites of naval or land engagements.

She was launched on 22 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. W. J. Mullins; transferred to the United States Navy and commissioned on 26 May 1944, Captain Joseph Irwin Taylor, Jr in command, and with a partial complement of 54 officers and 518 enlisted men.

[7] On 16 October, she once again sailed west from San Diego, as part of Task Unit 19.15.1, under the command of Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin, along with her fellow sister ships Makin Island, Lunga Point, and Bismarck Sea.

A tropical disturbance delayed departure until 10 November, when she set off for Leyte Gulf, pausing at Kossol Roads, to replenish fuel.

She then proceeded to the Admiralty Islands, to prepare for the invasion of Luzon, as part of Carrier Division 29, under the command of Rear Admiral Durgin.

Although fighters from the carrier group were scrambled, false radar signals hampered their efforts to intercept, resulting in the shooting down of just one Japanese plane.

During the early stages of the attack, one kamikaze made for Salamaua, but it was discouraged by heavy anti-aircraft fire, changing course instead to make for Lunga Point before being shot down.

[7][1] In the days prior to 13 January, fueling operations for the task group had been underway, which was complicated significantly by rough seas which snapped hoses.

However, visibility was limited due to heavy cloud cover, hovering 1.5 mi (2.4 km) above the ground, and there was no indication of enemy activity in the area.

The second bomb failed to explode, and was ejected through the starboard side of the ship at the waterline, near the engine, leaving a hole about 20-inch (51 cm) wide through which seawater rushed in.

Fighting the fire was further complicated by the loss of water main pressure along the aft of the ship, and by the detonation of hydrostatic fuses and various other ammunition.

One plane dove towards Tulagi, but was engaged by heavy anti-aircraft fire, including from Salamaua, and it veered towards Hoggatt Bay before being destroyed by a proximity-fuzed 5-inch shell.

On 21 July, she was assigned anti-submarine patrol duty as part of the newly formed Task Group 94.17, along with the destroyer escorts William Seiverling, Ulvert M. Moore, Kendall C. Campbell, and Goss.

On 31 July, she shifted to the Leyte-Okinawa lanes, as a reaction to the sinking of the destroyer escort Underhill and the cruiser Indianapolis by Japanese submarines.

The convoy arrived on 2 September, and the escort carrier's planes photographed the landing of the occupation troops at Yokohama, during the formal Japanese surrender aboard the battleship Missouri.

After guarding a second convoy into Tokyo Bay, she joined the "Magic Carpet" fleet, which embarked veterans for transport to the United States.

She was decommissioned on 9 May 1946, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 21 May, and subsequently sold to the Zidell Ship Dismantling Company, Portland, Oregon, for scrapping on 18 November 1946.