Island Aircraft - Standing out of Hampton Roads, Va., on 5 January 1953, Block Island carried out training in the West Indies before entering the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 February for a month of repairs. She then returned to the Virginia capes to resume flight operations until mid-April.
Departing Norfolk on 17 April for the United Kingdom, Block Island made port visits in Great Britain and Ireland before proceeding to Golfe Juan, France. The escort carrier then operated briefly in the Mediterranean visiting Naples before returning to Norfolk late in June.
Island Aircraft
That fall, she conducted a second West Indian cruise, this time with a detachment of Sikorsky HO4S-3 helicopters from Helicopter Squadron (HS) 3 embarked, her last voyage before being placed in reserve at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 15 January 1954. Block
Domestic And Greenland Operations
Island was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 27 August 1954. A sound, a long, broad arm of an ocean, that lies east of Long Island, N.Y., and south of Rhode Island. It takes its name from Block Island, which separates it from the Rhode Island coast.
The Cessna 206 Amphib can transport three (3) passengers & gear, or 600 lbs of freight, at 125 MPH to locations throughout Alaska. As with all of our IFR aircraft, the 206 also has the Chelton "Synthetic Flight Vision" system onboard providing exceptional safety, situational awareness, and traffic alerts during flight.
This aircraft is a perfect option when your air travel needs require something a bit smaller and shorter range than a PC-12 or Caravan. On 17 April, Block Island sailed for Ulithi in the Carolines, screened by Harry E. Hubbard (DD-748), proceeding via Eniwetok in the Marshalls.
As the two ships approached Ulithi on 28 April, the escort carrier had her closest brush with an enemy aircraft. Eighteen miles from her destination, she began receiving radio reports from Ulithi announcing a condition red alert and an incoming "bogey."
Block Island went to general quarters and her Combat Information Center (CIC) watched by radar as shore-based interceptors splashed the Nakajima B6N1 carrier attack plane (Jill). One friendly aircraft, buzzing the ship to attract attention to the remains of the enemy plane nearby, found himself under fire from Block Island's forecastle 40-millimeter quadruple mounts until he established his identity!
Her starboard guns then took two others under fire until their friendly character became apparent as well. Continued unsatisfactory weather over the target prompted the cancellation of the afternoon operations. Instead, Block Island launched six Avengers, three Corsairs, and a Hellcat to make rocket and bombing runs on a towed spar.
At 1640, the escort carrier launched nine more planes to carry out similar evolutions but recalled all planes at 1734 in the face of the frighteningly rapid approach of a severe storm. Within six minutes, the turbulent weather engulfed the area and prevented the planes from entering the landing circle.
One Avenger managed to break through the overcast and land on board at 1808, but repeated attempts to bring in the rest failed. Block Island then directed the planes to San Nicolas Island which, although 120 miles away, reported a 1,500-foot ceiling.
After round-trip voyages to New York and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Block Island served as a recruit training ship off Camp Peary, Va. for two months. On 28 May 1946, she was placed in service, in reserve, at Portsmouth, Va., with Comdr.
Frank Slater as officer-in-charge. Shifting to Norfolk a few days later, she then proceeded to Annapolis, Md. on 7 June to serve as a training ship for Naval Academy midshipmen, berthed in the Severn River across from ex-Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes.
We have a flexible Boeing fleet that marries commonality with varying sizes and capabilities. The mix of aircraft is perfectly suited to serve Icelandair's international route network, which is designed around the unique geographical location of Iceland as a connecting hub between Europe and North America.
Her part in the mercy mission completed, Block Island stood out of Manila Bay on September 17 and reached Okinawa on the 20th. Subsequently, the escort carrier participated in a show of force at Formosa on 16 and 17 October, covering the landing of the Chinese Nationalist 70th Army.
Putting into Saipan in the Marianas on 23 October, Block Island soon sailed for the United States, picked up planes and passengers at Guam, and reached Pearl Harbor on 2 December. Returning to sea on the 5th, she arrived at San Diego on the 11th.
Pushing on for the east coast on 5 January 1946, Block Island transited the Panama Canal on 15 January, and stood into Norfolk, Va., on 20 January. Our Cessna 850 Caravan Amphibian can transport nine (9) passengers & gear or 2000 lbs of freight at 165 MPH to locations throughout Alaska from land or water, day or night.
We are FAA certified to fly the Caravan IFR (in and above clouds) which provides passengers with safe, reliable flights to and from destinations that are normally inaccessible during times of adverse weather conditions. If you're looking for one of the most versatile aircraft available in Alaska, this is it.
The Pilatus PC-12 can transport nine (9) passengers & gear or 2665 lbs of freight at 345 MPH to locations throughout Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48 States. With a pressurized cabin and a service ceiling of 30,000 feet, this aircraft can truly get above the weather and go long distances fast.
Known throughout the world as one of the most capable aircraft in its class, the PC-12 provides passengers with safe, reliable long-range flights to and from destinations that are not reachable by most Alaska-based aircraft. Departing Tacoma on 10 January 1945 after outfitting, Block Island ran brief exercises in Puget Sound and then loaded ammunition and supplies at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., and in Seattle.
Negotiating the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 20th, she headed down the west coast to reach San Francisco, Calif., on the 22nd. Taking on board some damaged aircraft and five 13-ton picket boats for transportation, Block Island sailed for San Diego, Calif., on the 24th.
On 26 January, the new escort carrier reached her destination, unloaded the cargo brought from San Francisco and began taking on board 5-inch aerial rockets at North Island to arm her air group. It almost defies belief, but it's true: our Cessna aircraft now have flight decks more advanced than the latest state-of-the-art airliners.
The FAA-certified Chelton FlightLogic Synthetic Vision EFIS employs breakthrough technology to deliver never-before-possible situational awareness and ground-breaking automated flight management capabilities. The Chelton FlightLogic EFIS combines advanced “Heads Up Display” symbology with real-time forward-looking 3-D terrain to create a primary flight display with capabilities unmatched by any other product in the world.
The result is tremendously enhanced awareness, unprecedented safety, and dramatically reduced pilot workload. Additionally, Chelton FlightLogic EFIS will overlay real time traffic & weather on both screens, and is able to receive text forecasts, pilot reports and current weather conditions for any aviation reporting location.
The entire operation took only 36 hours. Thirty-two marines rescued more than 1,200 POWs who were then distributed among the six ships of the task group, with Block Island getting 474. Early on 6 September, Block Island stood out with the task group, and rendezvoused with a British task force which
took over the air patrols and moved into the harbor to watch over the POWs deemed too ill to be moved. By 2337, all of the POWs in TG 77.1 had been distributed, and the group sailed for the Philippines, arriving in Manila on 8 September.
Detaching the destroyer, Block Island anchored at Ulithi on 28 April, and Capt. Hughes reported his ship ready for duty with the Fifth Fleet. Two days later, the warship was under way again, bound for Okinawa.
Shepherded by escort ship Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) and joined by Helm (DD-388) en route, Block Island rendezvoused with Rear Adm. Calvin T. Durgin's Task Unit (TU) 52.1.1 on 3 May as it steamed 64 miles southeast of the tip of Okinawa.
Detached the next day to join TU 52.1.3 under Rear Adm. William D. Sample, she joined Suwannee (CVE-27), Santee (CVE-29) and Chenango (CVE-28), replacing the kamikaze-damaged Sangamon (CVE-26). For the week that followed, Block Island underwent a shakedown of sorts, getting broken in on operations in the Pacific by providing Combat Air Patrol (CAP).
On the evening of 4 September, Ketcham drafted a proclamation to the Japanese commander on Formosa, informing him of his impending arrival and ordering him to make arrangements to evacuate POWs and internees. A flight of Corsairs swept over Kiirun Harbor and nearby Matsuyama airfield at dawn on September 5, delivered six copies of the proclamation by parachute and made a photographic reconnaissance of the area.
In March 2021, Icelandair and Air Iceland Connect united as Icelandair. This change is a part of strengthening our domestic route network and our operations to Greenland. As part of this integration, we added 5 De Havilland Canada aircraft to the Icelandair fleet.
Reliable, efficient aircraft. When loaded with nine (9) passengers Caravans produce a per passenger flight mile cost of only $0.90 per mile, one of the lowest flight mile costs in the industry. Additionally, our Caravans operate safely in IFR and night conditions by participating in the FAA's "Capstone" program which uses a navigation system known as Synthetic Flight Vision Technology.
This modern technology replaces conventional "steam gauge" instruments, which has been the industry standard since instrument flying was first introduced in the early 1930s. Using this advanced technology developed by Chelton Flight Systems, we are able to take advantage of special Capstone low level routes with lower instrument approach minimums that are unavailable to non-Capstone participating operators.
Island Air Express is one of only three commercial operations in Alaska authorized to use the Capstone Southeast IFR system. Block Island departed North Island on 10 February, accompanied by destroyer Douglas H. Fox (DD-779), for what was scheduled to be ten days operational training in the San Diego operating area.
The carrier conducted routine flight operations off San Clemente and San Nicolas for three days until the 14th. On that day, her planes were to carry out live-ammunition strikes on the bombing area on the southern tip of San Clemente Island, both in the morning and afternoon.
The morning flight found the weather unsatisfactory upon arrival at the island, and the planes returned to the ship, expending their ordnance at a towed spar target. At 1219, one of the returning planes' engine cut out and crashed, although the pilot extricated himself and was picked up by destroyer seaplane tender Childs (AVD-1).
The expansion of the Navy during the Korean War, though, gave Block Island a new lease on life. Transferred to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on 3 October 1950, she was taken in tow to Norfolk for drydocking, at the end of which she was towed from Norfolk to Philadelphia, Pa., arriving on 25 October.
There, Block Island was recommissioned on 28 April 1951, Capt. Arthur S. Hill in command. After fitting out, she put to sea on 5 January 1952, for Guantánamo Bay, where she carried out flight operations and other training until mid-March.
After operations out of Norfolk in the Virginia capes operating area, Block Island made another round-trip voyage to the West Indies and back in late April, returning to Norfolk on the 27th. Local operations out of Norfolk occupied her for the rest of 1952.
At daybreak on 11 May, the marines resumed their campaign against outlying airfields. First, a flight of fighters worked over the fields at Ishigaki Island, further west in Sakashima Gunto. A mixed strike made up of both fighters and bombers followed.
Then, another fighter sweep capped the effort. As before, a photo plane carried out the difficult post-strike reconnaissance. Three planes took hits from antiaircraft fire, while a fourth had to land at Yontan on Okinawa because of a bomb loose in its bomb bay and a shot-up hydraulic system.
Block Island's planes provided CAP on 11 and 12 May while planes from British carriers took their turn working over Sakashima Gunto. Following this tragedy, she turned to in order to restore morale and carried out intensive training until mid-March as her ship's company and air group prepared themselves to join the Pacific war.
Departing San Diego on 20 March, Block Island carried 30 aircraft as Hawaii-bound cargo in addition to the 36 in her own air group, and 192 naval officers and enlisted men traveled as passengers. Block Island reached Pearl Harbor, T.H., on 26 March and, after discharging her passengers and cargo, spent the ensuing weeks engaged in underway training in Hawaiian waters.
Although she never returned to active service, the warship experienced a series of promising, but, in the end, purely administrative, status changes during the nearly five years that she remained in reserve. Slated for conversion to an amphibious assault ship, she was reclassified LPH-1 on 22 December 1957 but reverted back to CVE-106 upon cancellation of those plans in June of 1958. Though Block Island was again reclassified, becoming a cargo ship and aircraft ferry
(AKP-38) on 7 May 1959, she carried that designation for less than two months. Her name was stricken from the Navy List on 1 July 1959, and she was sold to Kowa Koeki Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Naka, of Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo.
She was scrapped in Japan during the summer of 1960. The second Block Island (CVE-106), an escort aircraft carrier built as such from the keel up and incorporating some of the best features of the tanker conversions of the Sangamon class and the specially designed Casablanca class, was laid down as Sunset Bay on
25 October 1943 at Tacoma, Wash., by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards; launched on 10 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E.J. Hallenbeck; renamed Block Island on 5 July 1944; and commissioned on 30 December 1944, Capt. Francis M. Hughes in command.
With Balikpapan secured, Block Island and her marines returned to Leyte Gulf but remained there only briefly, continuing on to Guam almost immediately. There, she began repairs to her arresting gear while hostilities in the Pacific played out to their conclusion.
Still in Apra Harbor when the atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Block Island was on her way from Guam to Leyte in company with Santee and four destroyers when word of the impending Japanese surrender reached her on 14 August.
The formal dispatches announcing Japan's surrender and the ceasefire order arrived at 1630 the following day. Enables our pilots to always "see" the terrain and obstacles ahead of and around our aircraft for remarkable situational awareness and optimum command, control and safety Eliminates the uncertainty of darkness and weather to make every flight as effortless as flying in ideal weather.
Creates a virtual 3-D "tunnel" for all en route and instrument procedures—we simply fly our aircraft through the boxes, which makes executing flight plans and instrument approaches almost effortless. Easy push-button flight planning to any destination.