Tarawa, CV-40, was commissioned on 8 December 1945. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Tarawa operated extensively in the western Pacific. She was decommission in June 1949, but in less than 18 months was ordered reactivated in response to the Korean War. In February 1951, Tarawa was recommissioned but did not make it to the war zone. Instead she filled in for deploying carriers. On 1 October 1952, Tarawa became an attack aircraft carrier, CVA-40. The warship finally made it to the Asiatic war zone in the spring of 1954, but long after the July 1953 armistice had ended hostilities. Tarawa was decommissioned in May 1960 and in retirement reclassified an Auxiliary Aircraft Transport Carrier, AVT-12.