Operation Magic Carpet
Operation Magic Carpet
Following Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945, the Allied forces began preparing for servicemen to return to their home countries. Four days following the surrender, Task Force 11 began Operation Magic Carpet. Initial planning for the operation began in 1943, which grew as the war progressed in Europe and in the Pacific. Due to the lack of transportation, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, USN, authorized combat ships to be utilized to transport servicemen back home. The operation also transported former Axis prisoners in Allied prison camps to Europe and Japan, the the ships would take the Allied servicemen to their respective countries. The operation lasted until September 1946.
Image: 80-G-495657: Operation Magic Carpet, September 1945. Returning veterans from the Pacific fill USS Enterprise (CV-6). Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
