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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

"Magic Carpet" Press Release

NAVY DEPARTMENT
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESS
DECEMBER 21, 1945

The Navy Department announced today that after this month there will be no need for the full number of ships which the Navy has made available to carry men from the Pacific. Transport schedules for both the Army and the Navy have been surpassed, and in January the Navy proposes to start withdrawing combat ships from troop-carrying runs.

Within the next two months 103 of the 353 ships in the Navy's Magic Carpet will have been withdrawn, among them six battleships and other large vessels. This will make possible the demobilization of eligible members of ships' crews that have been retained in service for transport duty.

The ships to be withdrawn are those least suitable for troop transport. These 103 ships are 6 battleships, 9 heavy cruisers, 9 light cruisers, 45 escort carriers, 6 landing ships vehicle and 28 assault cargo ships.

The 250 ships of more suitable type remaining in the Magic Carpet program will be 221 assault transports, 7 carriers, 4 light carriers, 13 hospital ships and 5 seaplane tenders.

There are in addition 215 transports operating in the Pacific, some of which, like the USS West Point, recently have been transferred from the Atlantic.

When the ships to be withdrawn have been taken from the Pacific run there will remain 768,000 troop spaces on transports now in the Pacific plus 118,000 spaces in ships being transferred from the Atlantic, more than enough to meet transport schedules.


28 Nov 2006