After a long stay in port, "Bougainville" once again departed on 28 November, heading to Eniwetok, via Pearl Harbor. She returned to San Diego on 12 January 1946, whereupon she steamed northwards, arriving at Tacoma, Washington in late-January. There, inactivation work was conducted, and she was placed in reserve on 29 July. She was decommissioned on 30 November, and mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, as part of its Tacoma Group. Whilst in reserve, she was reclassified as a utility aircraft carrier (CVU-100) on 12 June 1955. She was further reclassified as an aircraft ferry (AKV-35) on 7 May 1959. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1960, and she was sold on 9 September to the Cole Export Corp. Delivered on 7 November, she was ultimately broken up in Japan later that year. "Bougainville" received two battle stars for her World War II service.