LOUIS ALONZO HARRIS

Birth: 31 Jan 1925 in MANITOU,TILLMAN,OK
Death: 23 Aug 1982 in MONTCLAIR,LOS ANGELES.CA 

SON OF:
Father: THOMAS LOUIS HARRIS b: 7 Mar 1895 in COLLINS CO,TEXAS
Mother: ALICE ELIZABETH ALEXANDER b: 7 Aug 1906 in STEPHENS TWP,TILLMAN CO,OKLAHOMA

USS LONG ISLAND CVE-1
LOUIS ALONZO HARRIS B 1-23-1925 MANITOU, TILLMAN CO, OK CAME TO CALIFORNIA ABT AGE 14 DURING THE GREAT MIGRATION (DUST BOWL) CAME TO SANGER CA PICKED TREE FRUIT (FRUIT PICKERS) FOLLOWED THE CROPS TO WASCO AND SHAFTER, CA -JOINED THE NAVY AGE 17-ENLISTED WORLD WAR 2-INDUCTED: PHOENIX, AZ 10-8-1942
US NAVAL TRAINING SAN DIEGO, CA 10-9-1942 TO 12-1-1942 SEAMAN 2ND CLASS RS SAN DIEGO, CA 12-1-1942 TO 7-2-1943 SEAMAN 2ND CLASS
ASSIGNED: USS LONG ISLAND (CV-1) 9-15-1943 TO 1-30-1945 SEAMAN 1ST CLASS-COXIAN T
RS SAN DIEGO, CA 1-30-1945 TO 4-5-1945 COXIAN T
COMSERV: TO 7TH FLEET 5-7-1945 TO 5-16-1945 COXIAN T
ASSIGNED: USS TRIANGULM (AK 102)-USS LONG ISLAND CVE-1 (ROOSEVELT PET PROJECT)

THE UNITED STATES COMMISSIONED EIGHT CARRIERS (JEEP CARRIERS) BEFORE THE  OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II; IT HAD ADDED SOME ONE HUNDRED ADDITIONAL CARRIER DECKS TO THE FLEET. THE  VAST MOJORITY OF NEW CONSTRUCTION SHIPS WERE OF A SHIP CLASS WHICH HAD HAD ITS DEBUT ONLY A YEAR BEFORE WAR STARTED IN EARNEST FOR THE UNITED STATES: THE ESCORT CARRIER. THESE SHIPS CARRIED THE DESIGNATION AVG UNTIL  EARLY 1943, WHEN THEY WERE REDESIGNATED CVE.

DESIGN HISTORY:

IN OCTOBER 1940, PRESIDENT ROOSVELT ASKED THE NAVY TO DESIGN A MERCHANT SHIP CONVERSION AIRCRAFT CARRIER  TO ESCORT ATLANTIC CONVOYS ACROSS THE "AIR GAP" IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC, WHERE NO LAND BASED PATROL PLANE COULD REACH. SINCE
tHE U.S. FLEET DESIRED A SIMILAR SMALL SHIP FOR AIRCRAFT TRAINING, IN JANUARY 1941 INITIAL DESIGN PROPOSAL WERE FILED, ASKING FOR A FLUSH DECK AND DIESEL PROPULSION. THE OBVIOUS SOURCE FOR ALL MERCHANTSHIP CONVERSIONS WERE THE VARIOUS INCARNATION OF THE "LIBERTY" SHIP, C-3 CLASS. IN EARLY JANUARY, WHILE THE DECISION ON THE SPECIFICS OF THE CONVERSION WAS YET TO BE MADE, THE US NAVY ACQUIRED TWO SHIPS TO CONVERT, ONE FOR ITSELF AND ONE FOR THE ROYAL NAVY, THE MORMACMAIL AND THE MORMALAND, THE THE LATTER FOR CONVERSION INTO THE ROYAL NAVY ESCORT CARRIER. THE DESIGN WAS NECESSARILY SWIFT; ALTHOUGH THE NAVY DESIRED A SHIP WITH CLOSE TO FULL CARRIER SPECIFICATION, ROOSEVELT DEMANDED THAT IT SETTLE FOR SOMETHING LESS ELABORTE, REALIZING THAT SPEED WAS OF THE ESSENCE. IN THE EVENT, THE SHIP LEAVING THE YARD ON JUNE 2ND, 1941, LONG ISLAND (EX-MORMACMAIL) HAD A FLIGHT DECK FROM AFT TO SLIGHT BEFORE MIDSHIP, A CATAPULT TO LAUNCH PLANES, RETAINEDTHE ORIGINAL MERCHANT SHIP BRIDGE BELOW THE FORWARD EDGE OF THE FLIGHT DECK, AND CARRIED 5" L/51 GUNS, TWO 3" L/50 ANTI-AIR GUNS AND A MACHINE GUN BATTERY OF FOUR .50-CALIBER GUNS. SHE RETAINED HER MERCHANT SHIP CHARACTERISTICSAS TO VULNERABILITY AND SPEED, BUT SINCE SHE DISPLACED SLIGHTY LESS, MADE A HIGHER SPEED IN SERVICES. SHORTLY AFTER COMMISSIONING, AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS HAD MADE IT OBVIOUS THAT THE ORIGINAL SHORT FLIGHT DECK WAS POINTLESS, AND IT WAS ENLARGED TO 77 FEET AT NORFOLK IN SEPT 1941 SHE ALSO RECEIVED BETTER SUBDIVISION TO RESIST DAMAGE. IN EARLY 1942, SHE SURRENDERED HER .50 CALIBER MACHINE GUNS FOR 20MM GUNS. IN LATE 1942, SHE SPORTED 20-20MM GUNS.

Submitted by Dale Harris