USN Aircraft Carriers

[courageneverdies]

USS Princeton (CVL 23)​

25 Feb 1943 / 24 Oct 1944

Sunk due to enemy action in the Sibuyan Sea.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 31 knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 22 40mm guns, 16 20mm guns
class: Independence

The fourth Princeton was laid down as Tallahassee (CL-61) by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 2 June 1941; reclassified CV-23 on 16 February 1942; renamed Princeton 31 March 1942; launched 18 October 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Harold Dodds, and commissioned at Philadelphia 25 February 1943, Capt. George R. Henderson in command.


Following shakedown in the Caribbean, and reclassification to CVL-23 on 15 July 1943, Princeton, with Air Group 23 embarked, got underway for the Pacific. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 9 August, she sortied with Task Force (TF) 11 on the 25th and headed for Baker Island. There she served as flagship, Task Group (TG) 11.2, and provided air cover during the occupation of the island and the construction of an airfield there, 1-14 September. During that time her planes downed Japanese Emily reconnaissance planes and, more importantly, furnished the fleet with photographs of them.


Completing that mission, Princeton rendezvoused with TF 15, conducted strikes against enemy installations on Makin and Tarawa, then headed back to Pearl Harbor. In mid-October 1943, she sailed for Espiritu Santo where she joined TF 38 on the 20th. With that force, she sent her planes against airfields at Buka and Bonis on Bougainville (1-2 November) to diminish Japanese aerial resistance during the landings at Empress Augusta Bay. On the 5th and 11th her planes raided Rabaul and on the 19th, with TF 50, helped neutralize the airfield at Nauru. Princeton then steamed northeast, covered the garrison groups en route to Makin and Tarawa and, after exchanging operational aircraft for damaged planes from other carriers, got underway for Pearl Harbor and the west coast.

An availability at Bremerton followed and on 3 January 1944, Princeton steamed west. At Pearl Harbor, she rejoined the fast carriers of TF 50, now designated TF 58. On the 19th, she sortied with TG 58.4 for strikes at Wotje and Taroa (29-31 January ) to support amphibious operations against Kwajalein and Majuro. Her planes photographed the next assault target, Eniwetok, 2 February and on the 3rd returned on a more destructive assignment — the demolition of the airfield on Engebi. For 3 days the ato ll was bombed and strafed. On the 7th, Princeton retired to Kwajalein only to return to Eniwetok on the 10th-13th and 16th-28th, when her planes softened the beaches for the invasion force, then provided air cover during the assault and ensuing fight.


From Eniwetok, Princeton retired to Majuro, thence to Espiritu Santo for replenishment. On 23 March 1944, she got underway for strikes against enemy installation and shipping in the Carolines. After striking the Palaus, Woleai and Yap, the force replenished at Majuro and sortied again 13 April. Steaming to New Guinea, the carriers provided air cover for the Hollandia operation (21-29 April), then crossed back over the International Date Line to raid Truk (29-30 April) and Ponape (1 May).


On 11 May 1944, Princeton returned to Pearl Harbor only to depart again on the 29th for Majuro. There she rejoined the fast carriers and pointed her bow toward the Marianas to support the assault on Saipan. From 11-18 June, she sent her planes against targets on Guam, Rota, Tinian, Pagan, and Saipan, then steamed west to intercept a Japanese fleet reported to be en route from the Philippines to the Marianas. In the ensuing Battle of the Philippine Sea, Princeton's planes contributed 30 kills and her guns another three, plus one assist, to the devastating toll inflicted on Japan's naval air arm.


Returning to the Marianas, Princeton again struck Pagan, Rota and Guam, then replenished at Eniwetok. On 14 July 1944, she got underway again as the fast carriers returned their squadrons to the Marianas to furnish air cover for the assault and occupation of Guam and Tinian. On 2 August, the force returned to Eniwetok, replenished, then sailed for the Philippines. En route, its planes raided the Palaus, then on 9-10 September, struck airfields on northern Mindanao. On the 11th, they pounded the Visayas. At mid-month the force moved back over the Pacific chessboard to support the Palau offensive, then returned to the Philippines to hit Luzon, concentrating on Clark and Nichols fields. The force then retired to Ulithi, and in early October, bombed and strafed enemy airfields, installations and shipping in the Nansei Shoto and Formosa area in preparation for the invasion of the Philippines.


On 20 October 1944, landings were made at Dulag and San Pedro Bay, Leyte. Princeton, in TG 38.3, cruised off Luzon and sent her planes against airfields there to prevent Japanese land based aircraft attacks on Allied ships massed in Leyte Gulf. On the 24th however, enemy planes from Clark and Nichols fields found TG 38.3 and reciprocated. Shortly before 1000 on 24 October 1944, a lone enemy dive-bomber came out of the clouds above Princeton. At 1500 feet the pilot released his bomb. It hit between the elevators, crashed through the flight deck and hangar, then exploded. Initial fires soon expanded as further explosions sent black smoke rolling off the flight deck and red flames along the sides from the island to the stern. Covering vessels provided rescue and fire-fighting assistance and shielded the stricken carrier from further attack. At 1524, another, much heavier explosion, possibly the bomb magazine, blew off the carrier's stern and with it the after flight deck. USS Birmingham (CL-62), alongside to fight fires, suffered heavy damage and casualties.

Efforts to save Princeton continued, but at 1604 the fires won. Boats were requested to take off remaining personnel and shortly after 1706, USS Irwin (DD-794) began to fire torpedoes at the burning hulk. At 1746, USS Reno (CL-96) relieved Irwin and at 1749 the last, and biggest, explosion occurred. Flames and debris shot up 1000 to 2000 feet. Princeton's forward section was gone. Her after section appeared momentarily through the smoke. By 1750 she had disappeared, but 1,361 of her crew survived. Included in that number was Capt. John M. Hoskins, who had been prospective commanding officer of CVL-23 and lost his right foot with her, but who, despite the loss, would become the first commanding officer of the fifth Princeton (CV-37).


Losses and damage to assisting vessels were heavy — Birmingham: 85 killed 300 wounded, a heavily damaged topside, and loss of two 5" guns, two 40mm. and two 20mm. guns; USS Morrison (DD-560): foremast lost, portside smashed; Irwin: forward 5" mounts and director out, starboard side smashed; and Reno: one 40mm. smashed.


Princeton earned 9 battle stars during World War II.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[TOPGUN]

I rem when i small kid i went aboard the USS John f kennedy ! boy wata beauty she was i still have pic's till this day!

 

[courageneverdies]

I rem when i small kid i went aboard the USS John f kennedy ! boy wata beauty she was i still have pic's till this day!

Hey so what are you waitin for cant u post em up,

waitin to c dat soon,

KIT Over n Out

---------- Post added at 11:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 AM ----------

USS Belleau Wood (CVL 24)​

31 Mar 1943 / 13 Jan 1947

Transferred to France 1953-1960. Returned. Stricken 1 Oct 1960 and sold for scrapping.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 31½ knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 22 40mm guns
class: Independence

New Haven (CL-76) was reclassified CV-24 and renamed Belleau Wood 16 February 1942. She became CVL-24 on 15 July 1943. Belleau Wood was launched 6 December 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N. J.; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Holcomb, wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned 31 March 1943, Captain A. M. Pride in command.


After a brief shakedown cruise Belleau Wood reported to the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Pearl Harbor 26 July 1943. After supporting the occupation of Baker Island (1 September) and taking part in the Tarawa (18 September) and Wake Island (5-6 October) raids, she joined TF 50 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands (19 November-4 December 1943).


Belleau Wood operated with TF 58 during the seizure of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, Marshall Islands (29 January-3 February 1944), Truk raid (16-17 February); Saipan-Tinian-Rota-Guam raids (21-22 February); Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raid (30 March-1 April); Sawar and Wakde Island raids in support of the landings at Hollandia, New Guinea (22-24 April); Truk-Satawan-Ponape raid (29 April-1 May); occupation of Saipan (11-24 June), 1st Bonins raid (15-16 June), Battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20 June); and 2nd Bonins raid (24 June). During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Belleau Wood's planes sank the Japanese carrier Hiyo.

After an overhaul at Pearl Harbor (29 June-31 July 1944) Belleau Wood rejoined TF 58 for the last stages of the occupation of Guam (2-10 August). She joined TF 38 and took part in the strikes in support of the occupation of the southern Palaus (6 September-14 October); Philippine Islands raids (9-24 September); Morotai landings (15 September); Okinawa raid (10 October); northern Luzon and Formosa raids (11-14 October); Luzon strikes (15 and 17-19 October), and the Battle of Cape Engaño (24-26 October). On 30 October 1944, while Belleau Wood was patrolling with her task group east of Leyte, she shot down a Japanese suicide plane which fell on her flight deck aft causing fires which set off ammunition. Before the holocaust could be brought under control 92 men were killed or missing.


After temporary repairs at Ulithi (2-11 November), Belleau Wood steamed to Hunter's Point, Calif., for permanent repairs and an overhaul, arriving 29 November 1944. She departed San Francisco Bay 20 January 1945 and joined TF 58 at Ulithi on 7 February. During 15 February-4 March she took part in the raids on Honshu Island, Japan, and the Nansei Shoto, as well as supporting the landings on Iwo Jima. She also took part in the 5th Fleet strikes against Japan (17 March-26 May) and the 3rd Fleet strikes (27 May-11 June). After embarking a new air group at Leyte (13 June-1 July) she rejoined the 3rd Fleet for the final strikes against the Japanese home islands (10 July-15 August).


Belleau Wood launched her planes 2 September 1945 for the mass flight over Tokyo, Japan, during the surrender ceremonies. She remained in Japanese waters until 13 October. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 28 October, she departed three days later with 1,248 servicemen for San Diego. She remained on "Magic Carpet" duty, returning servicemen from Guam and Saipan to San Diego, until 31 January 1946.

During the next year Belleau Wood was moored at various docks in the San Francisco area undergoing inactivation. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Alameda Naval Air Station 13 January 1947. She remained in reserve until transferred to France 5 September 1953 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program.


Under the name Bois Belleau, the ship served with the French navy until 1960 when she was returned to the United States. She was stricken from the Navy list on 1 October 1960 and sold for scrapping.


Belleau Wood received the Presidential Unit Citation and twelve battle stars during World War II.

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KIT Over n Out

---------- Post added at 11:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

USS Cowpens (CVL 25)​

28 May 1943 / 13 Jan 1947

Stricken from the Navy List 1 Nov 1959 and sold for scrapping.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 32 knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 26 40mm guns
class: Independence

Cowpens (CV-25) was launched 17 January 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., sponsored by Mrs. M. H. Spruance, daughter of Vice Admiral W. F. Halsey; and commissioned 28 May 1943, Captain R. P. McConnell in command. She was reclassified CVL-25 on 15 July 1943.


Departing Philadelphia 29 August 1943, Cowpens arrived at Pearl Harbor 19 September to begin the active and distinguished war career which was to earn a Navy Unit Commendation. She sailed with Task Force (TF) 14 for the strike on Wake Island on 5 and 6 October, then returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for strikes on the Marshall Islands preliminary to invasion. She sortied from Pearl Harbor 10 November to launch air strikes on Mille and Makin atolls between 19 and 24 November, and Kwajalein and Wotje on 4 December, returning to her base 9 December 1943.


Joining the vast carrier TF 58, Cowpens sailed from Pearl Harbor 16 January 1944 for the invasion of the Marshalls. Her planes pounded Kwajalein and Eniwetok the last three days of the month to prepare for the assault landing on the 31st. Using Majuro as a base, the force struck at Truk on 16 and 17 February and the Marianas on 21 and 22 February before putting in to Pearl Harbor 4 March 1944. Returning to Majuro, TF 58 based here for attacks on the western Carolines; Cowpens supplied air and antisubmarine patrols during the raids on Palau, Yap, Ulithi and Woleai from 30 March to 1 April. After operating off New Guinea during the invasion of Hollandia from 21 to 28 April, Cowpens took part in the strikes on Truk, Satawan and Ponape between 29 April and 1 May, returning to Majuro 14 May for training.

From 6 June to 10 July 1944, Cowpens operated in the Marianas operation. Her planes struck the island of Saipan to aid the assault troops, and made supporting raids on Iwo Jima, Pagan, Rota, and Guam. They also took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June, accounting for a number of the huge tally of enemy planes downed. After a brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Cowpens rejoined the fast carrier task force at Eniwetok on 17 August. On the 29th, she sailed for the pre-invasion strikes on the Palaus, whose assault was an essential preliminary to the return to the Philippines. From 13 to 17 September 1944, she was detached from the force to cover the landings on Morotai, then rejoined it for sweep, patrol, and attack missions against Luzon from 21 to 24 September.


Cowpens, with her task group, flew strikes to neutralize Japanese bases on Okinawa and Formosa from 10 to 14 October 1944, and when USS Canberra (CA-70) and USS Houston (CL-81) were hit by torpedoes, Cowpens provided air cover for their safe withdrawal, rejoining her task group 20 October 1944. En route to Ulithi, she was recalled when the Japanese Fleet threatened the Leyte invasion, and during the Battle of Surigao Strait phase of the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf on 25 and 26 October, the carrier provided combat air patrol for the ships pursuing the fleeing remnant of the Japanese fleet.


Continuing her support of the Philippines advance, Cowpens' planes struck Luzon repeatedly during December. During the disastrous typhoon of 18 December 1944, Cowpens lost one man, planes and equipment but skillful work by her crew prevented major damage, and she reached Ulithi safely 21 December to repair her storm damage.


Between 30 December 1944 and 26 January 1945, Cowpens was at sea for the Lingayen Gulf landings. Her planes struck targets on Formosa, Luzon, the Indo-Chinese coast and the Hong Kong-Canton area and Okinawa during January. On 10 February, Cowpens sortied from Ulithi for the Iwo Jima operation, striking the Tokyo area, supporting the initial landings from 19 to 22 February, and hitting Okinawa on 1 March 1945.

After overhaul at San Francisco and training at Pearl Harbor, Cowpens sailed 13 June 1945 for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on her way striking Wake Island on 20 June. Rejoining TF 58, Cowpens sailed from San Pedro Bay 1 July to join in the final raids on the Japanese mainland. Her planes pounded Tokyo, Kure, and other cities of Hokkaido and Honshu until 15 August.


Remaining off Tokyo Bay until the occupation landings began 30 August, Cowpens launched photographic reconnaissance missions to patrol airfields and shipping movements, and to locate and supply prisoner-of-war camps. Men from Cowpens were largely responsible for the emergency activation of Yokosuka airfield for Allied use. Between 8 November 1945 and 28 January 1946, Cowpens made two voyages to Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Okinawa to return veterans.


Placed in commission in reserve at Mare Island 3 December 1946, Cowpens was decommissioned 13 January 1947. She was reclassified as an aircraft transport with a new hull number of AVT 1 in May 1959, but was stricken from the Navy List on 1 November that year and sold for scrap.


In addition to her Navy Unit Commendation, Cowpens received 12 battle stars for World War II service.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Monterey (CVL 26)

17 Jun 1943 /6 Jan 1956

Stricken from the Navy List 1 Jun 1970. Sold for scrapping in May 1971.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 31.6 knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 26 40mm guns, 20 20mm guns
aircraft: 45
class: Independence

The light cruiser Dayton (CL-78) was laid down 29 December 1941 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., but was reclassified CV-26 on 27 March 1942 and renamed Monterey 31 March 1942; launched 28 February 1943;; sponsored by Mrs. P.N.L. Bellinger; and commissioned 17 June 1943, Capt. Lestor T. Hundt in command.


Monterey was reclassified CVL-26 on 15 July 1943, shortly after commissioning, and, after shakedown, departed Philadelphia for the western Pacific. She reached the Gilberts 19 November 1943, in time to help secure Makin Island. She took part in strikes on Kavieng, New Ireland, 25 December, as part of TG 37.2, and supported the landings at Kwajalein and Eniwetok until 8 February 1944. The light carrier then operated with TF 58 during raids in the Carolines, Marianas, northern New Guinea, and the Bonins from February through July 1944. During this time she was also involved in the Battle of the Philippines Sea on 29 and 30 April.

Monterey then sailed to Pearl Harbor for overhaul, departing once again on 29 August 1944. She launched strikes against Wake Island on 3 September, then joined TF 38 and participated in strikes in the southern Philippines and the Ryukyus. October through December 1944 were spent in the Philippines, supporting first the Leyte, and then the Mindoro landings. Though enemy planes had been unable to damage Monterey, she did not complete her first full year of service unscathed. In December, she steamed into the path of a howling typhoon, with winds over 100 knots. At the height of the storm, which lasted two days, several planes tore loose from their cables, causing several fires on the hangar deck. Monterey arrived Bremerton, Wash., for overhaul, in January 1945. She rejoined TF 58 and supported Okinawa operations by launching strikes against Nansei Shoto and Kyushu from 9 May through 1 June 1945. She rejoined TF 38 for the final strike against Honshu and Hokkaido from 1 July to 15 August.


She departed Japanese waters 7 September 1945, having embarked troops at Tokyo, and steamed home, arriving New York City 17 October. Monterey left behind an impressive and enviable war record. Her planes sank five enemy warships, and damaged others. She was responsible for the destruction of thousands of tons of Japanese shipping, hundreds of planes, and vital industrial complexes. She was assigned "Magic Carpet" duty, and made several voyages between Naples and Norfolk.

She decommissioned 11 February 1947, and was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group. With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Monterey recommissioned 15 September 1950. She departed Norfolk 3 January 1951, and proceeded to Pensacola, Fla., where she operated for the next four years under the Naval Training Command, training thousands of naval aviation cadets, student pilots, and helicopter trainees.


Between 1 and 11 October 1954, she took part in a flood rescue mission in Honduras. She departed Pensacola 9 June 1955, and steamed to rejoin the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group. She decommissioned 16 January 1956. Reclassified AVT-2 on 15 May 1959, she remained berthed at Philadelphia until she was sold for scrapping in May 1971.


Monterey received 11 battle stars for World War II service.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Langley (CVL 27)​

31 Aug 1943 / 11 Feb 1947

Transferred to France 1951-1963; Sold 19 Feb 1964.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 31 knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 26 40mm guns
aircraft: 45
class: Independence

Langley (CVL-27), originally named Fargo (CL-85), was laid down as Crown Point (CV-27) by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 11 April 1942; renamed Langley 13 November 1942; launched 22 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Harry L. Hopkins, wife of the Special Assistant to President Roosevelt; reclassified CVL-27, 15 July 1943; and commissioned 31 August 1943, Capt. W. M. Dillon in command.


After shakedown in the Caribbean, Langley departed Philadelphia 6 December 1943 for Pearl Harbor, where she participated in training operations. On 19 January 1944, she sailed with Rear Adm. Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58 for the attack on the Marshall Islands. From 29 January to 6 February, the carrier's air group conducted raids on Wotje and Taora to support Allied landings at Kwajalein, and repeated the performance 10 through 28 February at Eniwetok.


After a brief respite at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands, Langley hit Japanese positions on Palau, Yap, and Woleai, Caroline Islands, from 30 March to 1 April 1944. She next proceeded to New Guinea to take part in the capture of Hollandia, 25 April. A mere four days later, the tireless carrier engaged in the two-day strike against the Japanese bastion Truk, rendering the formidable naval base almost useless to the "Sons of Nippon." During the raid, Langley and her aircraft accounted for some 35 enemy planes destroyed or damaged, while losing only one aircraft herself.

Langley next departed Majuro Atoll 7 June for the Marianas campaign. On 11 June 1944, Adm. Mitscher's carrier groups took over from the land-based Army Air Force bombers. At 1300, the Task Force launched a strike of 208 fighters and eight torpedo-bombers against enemy bases and airfields on Saipan and Tinian. From 11 June to 8 August, the battle raged for control of the Marianas. The Allied assault on the key to Japan's inner defenses, 15 June, forced the enemy to engage our fleet for the first time since Midway. During the two-day Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19 to 20 June 1944, the enemy suffered such serious losses that he was not able to again seriously challenge U.S. seapower until the invasion of Leyte. When Adm. Jisaburo Ozawa retreated with his battered Mobile Fleet, he was minus 426 aircraft and three carriers. Langley had added her strength to break this Japanese effort to reinforce the Marianas.


The carrier departed Eniwetok 29 August 1944, and sortied with Task Force 38, under the command of Adm. William F. Halsey for air assaults on Peleliu and airfields in the Philippines as the preliminary steps in the invasion of the Palaus 15 to 20 September. During October, she was off Formosa and the Pescadores Islands attached to Vice Adm. Mitscher's Fast Carrier Force. Later in the month, as the Navy carried Gen. MacArthur back to the Philippines, Langley was with Rear Adm. Sherman's Task Group protecting the Leyte beachheads.


In a desperate effort to parry this deadly thrust into her inner defenses, Japan struck back with her entire fleet. On 24 October 1944, Langley's planes helped to blunt the first and most powerful prong of this counteroffensive, Adm. Kurita's Center Force, as it steamed toward the San Bernardino Strait and the American beachhead. The following day, upon word of Japanese carriers north of Leyte, she raced to intercept. In the ensuing battle off Cape Engano, Mitscher's force pulverized the enemy fleet. The Japanese lost four carriers, two battleships, four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and five destroyers.

Langley's aircraft had assisted in the destruction of the carriers Zuiho and Zuikaku, the latter being the only remaining carrier of the six that had participated in the Pearl Harbor attack. Japan's chances for final victory had been reduced to nil by the great Battle of Leyte Gulf.


During November, Langley was lending her support to the Philippine landings and striking the Manila Bay area, Japanese reinforcement convoys, and Luzon airfields in the Cape Engano area. On 1 December 1944, the flattop withdrew to Ulithi for reprovisioning.


During January 1945, Langley participated in the daring raid into the South China Sea supporting Lingayen Gulf operations. Raids were made against Formosa, Indo-China, and the China coast from 30 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. The thrust into this area, which the enemy had considered a private lake, netted a staggering number of Japanese ships, aircraft, supplies, and destroyed installations.


Langley next joined in the sweeps against Tokyo and Nansei Shoto in support of the conquest and occupation of Iwo Jima, 10 February to 18 March 1945. She next raided airfields on the Japanese homeland, and arrived off Okinawa 23 March. Until 11 May, the ship divided her attention between the Okinawa invasion and strikes on Kyushu, Japan, in an effort to knock out kamikaze bases in southern Japan which were launching desperate and deadly attacks.

After touching Ulithi and Pearl Harbor, she steamed to San Francisco, arriving 3 June for repairs and modernization. She departed 1 August 1945 for the forward area, and reached Pearl Harbor 8 August. While there, word arrived that hostilities had ended. She completed two "Magic Carpet" voyages to the Pacific, and got underway 1 October for Philadelphia. She departed from that port 15 November for the first of two trips to Europe, transporting Army troops returning home from that theater.


She returned to Philadelphia 6 January 1946 and was assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group, 31 May. She decommissioned 11 February 1947, and was transferred to France under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, 8 January 1951. In French service she was renamed Lafayette (R-96). The carrier was returned to the United States 20 March 1963 and sold to the Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md., for scrapping.


Langley received nine battle stars for World War II service.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Cabot (CVL 28)​

24 Jul 1943 / 21 Jan 1955

Transferred to Spain 30 Aug 1967; returned to private U.S. organization 1989. Auctioned by US Marshals Service to Sabe Marine Salvage, 10 Sep 1999.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 32 knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 26 40mm guns
class: Independence

The second Cabot (CVL-28) was laid down as the cruiser Wilmington (CL-79), redesignated CV-28 on 2 June 1942, renamed Cabot 23 June 1942, converted while building, and launched 4 April 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Read; reclassified CVL-28 on 15 July 1943; and commissioned 24 July 1943, Captain M. F. Shoeffel in command.


Cabot sailed from Quonset Point, R.I., 8 November 1943 for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived 2 December. Clearing for Majuro 15 January 1944, she joined TF 58 to begin the consistently high quality of war service which was to win her a Presidential Unit Citation. From 4 February to 4 March 1944 she launched her planes in strikes on Roi, Namur, and the island stronghold of Truk, aiding in the neutralization of these Japanese bases as her part in the invasion of the Marshalls.


Cabot returned to Pearl Harbor for a brief repair period, but was back in action from Majuro for the pounding raids on the Palaus, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai at the close of March 1944. She sailed to provide valuable air cover for the Hollandia operation from 22 to 25 April, and four days later began to hurl her air power at Truk, Satawan, and Ponape. She cleared Majuro again 6 June 1944 for the pre-invasion air strikes in the Marianas, and on 19 and 20 June launched sorties in the key Battle of the Philippine Sea, the famous "Marianas Turkey Shoot," which hopelessly crippled Japanese naval aviation. Cabot's air units pounded Japanese bases on Iwo Jima, Pagan, Rota, Guam, Yap and Ulithi as the carrier continued her support of the Marianas operation until 9 August.


Pre-invasion strikes in the Palaus in September 1944 along with air attacks on Mindanao, the Visayas, and Luzon paved the way for the long-awaited return to the Philippines. On 6 October 1944 Cabot sailed from Ulithi for raids on Okinawa, and to provide air cover for her task group during the heavy enemy attacks off Formosa on 12 and 13 October. Cabot joined the group which screened "Cripple Division 1," the cruisers USS Canberra (CA-70) and USS Houston (CL-81) which had been torpedoed off Formosa, to the safety of the Carolines, then rejoined her group for continued air strikes on then Visayas, and the Battle for Leyte Gulf on 25 and 26 October.

Cabot remained on patrol off Luzon, conducting strikes in support of operations ashore, and repelling desperate suicide attacks. On 25 November 1944, a particularly vicious one occurred. Cabot had fought off several kamikazes when one, already flaming from hits, crashed the flight deck on the port side, destroying the still-firing 20 mm gun platform, disabling the 40 mm mounts and a gun director. Another of Cabot's victims crashed close aboard and showered the port side with shrapnel and burning debris. Cabot lost 62 men killed and wounded but careful training had produced a crew which handled damage control smoothly and coolly. While she continued to maintain her station in formation and operate effectively, temporary repairs were made. On 28 November 1944, she arrived at Ulithi for permanent repairs.


Cabot returned to action 11 December 1944, steaming with the force striking Luzon, Formosa, Indo-China, Hong Kong, and the Nansei Shoto in support of the Luzon operations. From 10 February to 1 March 1945 her planes pounded the Japanese homeland and the Bonins to suppress opposition to the invasion of Iwo Jima. Continued strikes against Kyushu and Okinawa in March prepared for the invasion of the latter island. After these prolonged, intensive operations, Cabot was homeward bound for San Francisco for a much-needed overhaul completed in June.


After refresher training at Pearl Harbor, the carrier launched strikes on Wake Island on 1 August 1945 while en route to Eniwetok. Here she remained on training duty until the end of the war. Sailing 21 August, she joined TG 38.3 to support the landings of occupation troops in the Yellow Sea area in September and October. Embarking homeward-bound men at Guam, Cabot arrived at San Diego 9 November, then sailed for the east coast. Cabot was placed out of commission in reserve at Philadelphia 11 February 1947.

Recommissioned 27 October 1948, Cabot was assigned to the Naval Air Reserve training program. She operated out of Pensacola, then Quonset Point, on cruises to the Caribbean, and had one tour of duty in European waters from 9 January to 26 March 1952. Cabot was again placed out of commission in reserve 21 January 1955. She was reclassified AVT-3 on 15 May 1959.


In 1967, after over twelve years in "mothballs", Cabot was loaned to Spain, in whose navy she served as Dedalo. The loan was converted to a sale in 1972. Dedalo was stricken by the Spanish Navy in August 1989 and given to a private organization in the U.S. for use as a museum ship. However, that private organization was unable to pay its creditors, so, on 10 September 1999, the ship was auctioned off by the U.S. Marshal's Service to Sabe Marine Salvage.


In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Cabot received nine battle stars for World War II service.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Bataan (CVL 29)​

17 Nov 1943 / 9 Apr 1954

Stricken from the Navy List 1 Sep 1959. Sold for scrapping May 1961.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 32 knots
complement: 1,569 crew
armament: 26 40mm guns
class: Independence

The cruiser Buffalo (CL-99) was reclassified CV-29 and renamed Bataan 2 June 1942. The ship was reclassified CVL-29, 15 July 1943 and launched 1 August 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Corp. Camden, N. J.; sponsored by Mrs. George D. Murray, wife of Rear Adm. Murray. Bataan was commissioned 17 November 1943, Captain V. H. Schaeffer in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.


In her initial engagement with the Japanese, Bataan's planes supported the attack on Hollandia, New Guinea, between 21 and 24 April 1944. Following this action were strikes against Truk, Satawan, and Ponape (29 April-1 May 1944); Saipan, Marianas (11 June 10 August); 1st Bonins raid (15-16 June); Battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20 June), and the 2nd Bonins raid (24 June).

Bataan then returned to the United States for repairs. Repairs completed she joined TF 58 and participated in the fleet raids in support of the Okinawa operation (17 March-30 May 1945), during which her aircraft assisted in the sinking of the Japanese submarine I-56, 18 April 1945, in 26°42' N., 130°38' E. Retiring to the Philippines, Bataan joined the 3rd Fleet for operations against the Japanese home islands (10 July-15 August).


Bataan returned to the United States, arriving at New York 17 October 1945, and was assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty. On 10 January 1946 she arrived at Philadelphia to prepare for inactivation. Bataan went out of commission in reserve 11 February 1947.


Bataan was recommissioned 13 May 1950 at Philadelphia. In July 1950 she stood out for San Diego, upon arrival loaded Air Force cargo and personnel, and departed 16 November for Tokyo Bay. She arrived in Korean waters 15 December and until June 1951 her aircraft flew strikes in support of the ground forces.


Bataan departed for the west coast 2 June 1951 and after a brief stop at San Diego steamed to Bremerton, Wash., 9 July for overhaul. She returned to San Diego 20 November and on 27 January 1952 departed for Yokosuka, Japan, and thence to Buckner Bay, Okinawa. She conducted air exercises and other training maneuvers off Okinawa until 29 April when she sailed for Korean waters. Bataan continued operating between Japan and Korea throughout the summer of 1952 carrying personnel and supplies to the fighting area and launching strikes against the enemy. She left the fighting zone 11 August for San Diego. On 27 October 1952, the carrier once again stood out for the Far East and operated off Korea until 10 May 1953 when she departed for San Diego.


She remained in the San Diego area undergoing overhaul and training until 31 July. Then she sailed via Pearl Harbor to Kobe and Yokosuka, Japan, and then back to the United States where she reported for inactivation 26 August 1953. She went out of commission in reserve 9 April 1954 at San Francisco. She was stricken from the Navy List in September 1959 and sold for scrapping in May 1961.


Bataan received six battle stars for her World War II service and seven for her Korean service.

---

KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS San Jacinto (CVL 30)​

15 Dec 1943 / 1 Mar 1947

Stricken from the Navy List 1 Jun 1970. Sold for scrapping on 15 Dec 1971 to National Metal and Steel Co., Terminal Island, Calif.

displacement: 11,000 tons
length: 622½ feet
beam: 71½ feet; extreme width at flight deck: 109 feet 2 inches
draft: 26 feet
speed: 31.6 knots
complement: 1,549 crew
armament: 28 40mm guns, 40 20mm guns
aircraft: 45
class: Independence

The second San Jacinto (CVL-30) was laid down as the light cruiser Newark (CL-100), on 26 October 1942 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; redesignated CV-30 and renamed Reprisal on 2 June 1942; renamed San Jacinto on 30 January 1943, converted, while building, to a light aircraft carrier and reclassified as CVL-30; launched on 26 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Jesse Jones; and commissioned on 15 November 1943, Capt. Harold M. Martin, in command.


After shakedown in the Caribbean, San Jacinto sailed, via the Panama Canal, San Diego, and Pearl Harbor, for the Pacific war zone. Arriving at Majuro, Marshall Islands, she became part of the growing might of Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher's Task Force 58/38, the fast carrier striking force of the Pacific Fleet. There, San Jacinto embarked Air Group 51, whose fighters and torpedo planes would be the ship's chief weapons in battle.


After providing search patrols to protect other carriers striking at Wake and Marcus Islands, San Jacinto, by 5 June 1944, was ready to participate in the largest fleet action since the battle of Midway, almost exactly two years before. On that day, Task Force 58 sortied from Majuro and headed toward the Marianas to conduct air strikes preparatory to American seizure of Saipan and to protect the invasion forces from enemy air and naval attack.

This American thrust triggered a strong Japanese reaction; on 19 June 1944, the Japanese Fleet launched more than 400 planes against the invasion fleet and the covering carrier force. In the ensuing air battle, known to American pilots as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," more than 300 enemy planes were shot down. While San Jacinto's planes were achieving their most one-sided victory of the war, her gunners helped to down the few attackers able to get near the American ships. Then, at dusk, Adm. Mitscher dispatched an all-carrier attack after the retreating enemy fleet. The night recovery of the returning planes was accomplished amid considerable confusion. Reportedly, a Japanese carrier plane attempted a landing approach on San Jacinto, only to be waved off by the landing signal officer because its hook wasn't down.


San Jacinto then participated in strikes against Rota and Guam and furnished combat air patrol (CAP) and anti-submarine patrol (ASP) for her task group. During these raids, a San Jacinto fighter pilot was shot down over Guam and spent 17 days in a life raft trying to attract attention and 16 nights hiding on the island.


After a refueling and replenishment stop at Eniwetok Atoll, San Jacinto joined in carrier strikes against the Palaus on 15 July 1944. On 5 August, her targets were Chichi, Haha, and Iwo Jima. A brief stop at Eniwetok preceded dawn-to-dusk CAP and ASP duty while other carriers struck at Yap, Ulithi, Anguar, and Babelthuap, pinning down Japanese air forces while the Palaus were being assaulted on 15 September.

Following a replenishment stop at Manus, Admiralty Islands, San Jacinto joined in strikes against Okinawa and furnished photographic planes to get information necessary for future invasion plans. After refueling at sea, she once again supplied dawn-to-dusk air protection as other carriers sent strikes against Formosa, northern Luzon, and the Manila Bay area from 12 to 19 October 1944. During operations on 17 October, a fighter plane made a very hard landing and inadvertently fired its machine guns into the ship's island structure killing two men, wounding 24, including her commanding officer, and causing considerable damage to radar. Despite this accident, San Jacinto remained battle worthy.


As American troops landed on Leyte in the central Philippines on 20 October, San Jacinto provided close air support. On 24 October 1944, this mission was interrupted by news of the tri-pronged approach of the Japanese fleet which precipitated the largest fleet battle in naval history.


San Jacinto sent planes against the central force in the Sibuyan Sea, then raced north to launch strikes against the northern force, resulting in heavy damage to the Japanese carriers and surface combatants off Cape Engano. On 30 October, her fighters furnished air protection over Leyte while her guns shot down two planes attempting suicide attacks on the ship. After a pause at Ulithi, the carrier joined in attacks on the Manila Bay area; then took a side trip to Guam to exchange air groups, receiving Air Group 45. She received slight damage during a typhoon in December 1944.

After completing repairs at Ulithi, San Jacinto and the rest of her fast carrier force entered the South China Sea and launched massive air attacks on the airfields of Formosa and against shipping at Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, and at Hong Kong. By refueling and replenishing at sea, Task Force 38 was able to continue its pressure on the enemy and strategic support for the American invasion of Luzon by strikes against the Ryukyu Islands.


Next, San Jacinto joined in the first carrier strikes against the home islands of Japan. During the raids on 16 and 17 February 1945, carrier-based aircraft downed many enemy planes during fierce dogfights over airfields in the Tokyo area. These operations were designed to cover the imminent invasion of Iwo Jima. Next came air support for the landing Marines, followed by further strikes against Tokyo and Okinawa before San Jacinto returned to Ulithi.


While conducting operations off Kyushu, Japan, she witnessed the conflagration on USS Franklin (CV-13); and, on 19 March 1945, narrowly escaped destruction herself when a kamikaze barely missed her. More massive enemy attacks came with Operation Iceberg as the carrier force furnished air support for the invasion of Okinawa. On 5 April 1945, more than 500 planes, primarily kamikazes, attacked. Fighter planes and antiaircraft guns shot down about 300, but many got through. San Jacinto's gunners shot the wing off a would-be suicide plane, deflecting its dive, and splashed another only 50 feet off her port bow. Her mission of covering the Okinawa invasion entailed heavy air activity and kept the ship almost constantly at general quarters while supporting ground forces and repelling frequent attacks by suicide planes.


On 7 April 1945, San Jacinto's bombers torpedoed Japanese destroyer, Hamakaze, part of a naval suicide attack in which super battleship Yamato was also sunk. San Jacinto then returned to the dangerous job of defending against the suicide plane attacks, striking at the kamikaze airfields on Kyushu, and providing close air support for ground forces fighting on Okinawa.


On 5 June1945, she successfully rode out another typhoon and after replenishing at Leyte, sortied for her final raids as part of Task Force 58. Her aircraft struck at Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan, on 9 July and continued to operate off the coast of Japan until the end of hostilities on 15 August 1945 . Her air missions over Japan then became mercy flights over Allied prisoner-of war camps, dropping food and medicine until the men could be rescued. Her wartime mission completed, San Jacinto returned home and tied up at Alameda, Calif., on 14 September 1945.


She was decommissioned on 1 March 1947 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet berthed at San Diego. Reclassified as an auxiliary aircraft transport (AVT-5) on 15 May 1959, she was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1970. Her hull was sold for scrapping on 15 December 1971 to National Metal and Steel Co., Terminal Island, Calif.


San Jacinto earned five battle stars and was awarded the Presidential Unit citation.

---

KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Bon Homme (CV 31)​

26 Nov 1944 / 2 Jul 1971

Stricken from the Navy List 1989. Scrapped 4 Feb 1992.

displacement: 27,100 tons
length: 872 feet
beam: 147½ feet
draft: 28 feet 7 inches
speed: 33 knots
complement: 3,448 crew
armament: 12 5-inch guns
class: Essex

The second Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) was launched 29 April 1944 by New York Navy Yard sponsored by Mrs. J. S. McCain, wife of Vice Adm. McCain, and commissioned 26 November 1944, Captain A. O. Rule, Jr., in command.


Bon Homme Richard departed Norfolk 19 March 1945 to join the Pacific Fleet and arrived at Pearl Harbor 5 April 1945. Following additional training in Hawaiian waters, the carrier joined TF 38 off Okinawa 6 June 1945. During 7-10 June she joined in the attacks on Okino Daito Jima and then served with the 3rd Fleet during the air strikes against Japan (2 July-15 August). She remained off Japan until 16 September and after a short training period off Guam, proceeded to San Francisco, arriving 20 October.


She left San Francisco 29 October 1945 and steamed to Pearl Harbor to undergo conversion for troop transport duty. From 8 November 1945 to 16 January 1946 she made trans-Pacific voyages, returning servicemen to the United States. Bon Homme Richard then reported to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for inactivation and was placed out of commission in reserve 9 January 1947.

Bon Homme Richard was recommissioned 15 January 1951 and on 10 May departed San Diego for the Far East. She joined TF 77 off Korea on 29 May and launched her first air strikes 31 May. Bon Homme Richard continued operations with TF 77 until 20 November 1951. The carrier reached San Diego in mid-December and on 20 May 1952 was off again to the Far East.


She joined TF 77 once more on 23 June 1952 and took part in the heavy strikes against the North Korean power complex (24-25 June) and the amphibious feint at Kojo (12-16 October). She continued operations against North Korean targets until 18 December 1952 and then steamed to San Francisco where she arrived 8 January 1953. Her classification was changed from CV-31 to CVA-31, 1 October 1952.


Bon Homme Richard went out of commission 15 May 1953 preparatory to modernization. When recommissioned 6 September 1955, she had an angled and strengthened flight deck, enclosed bow, enlarged elevators, and steam catapults. She completed her conversion period 31 October 1955 and commenced sea trials in the Alameda-San Diego area.


Recommissioned in September 1955, she began the first of a long series of Seventh Fleet deployments. The initial west coast deployment of a squadron equipped with the new Sidewinder missile was with Fighter Squadron 211, equipped with FJ-3s, aboard Bon Homme Richard in September 1956.


On 6 June 1957, two F8U Crusaders and two A3D Skywarriors flew non-stop from Bon Homme Richard off the California coast to USS Saratoga (CVA 60) of the east coast of Florida. This, the first carrier-to-carrier transcontinental flight, was completed by the F8Us in 3 hours 28 minutes and by the A3Ds in 4 hours 1 minute.

Bon Homme Richard made additional western Pacific cruises in 1957, 1958-1959, 1959-60, 1961, 1962-63, and 1964, with the last including a voyage into the Indian Ocean. The ship entered the Indian Ocean on 4 April 1964 with the "Concord Squadron," composed of Bon Homme Richard, USS Shelton (DD 790), USS Blue (DD 744), USS Frank Knox (DD 742), and the fleet oiler USS Hassayampa (AO 145). The cruise lasted six weeks and went near Iran, the Arabian peninsula, down the African coast and into many ports along the way for goodwill visits.


The Vietnam war escalation in early 1965 brought Bon Homme Richard into a third armed conflict, and she deployed on five Southeast Asia combat tours over the next six years. Her aircraft battled North Vietnamese MiGs on many occasions, downing several, as well as striking transportation and infrastructure targets. Occasional excursions to other Asian areas provided some variety to her operations.


Bon Homme Richard was ordered inactivated at the end of her 1970 deployment. She decommissioned in July 1971, becoming part of the Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, Washington. The ship was stricken from the Navy List in 1989 and was sold for scrapping 4 February 1992.


Bon Homme Richard received one battle star for her World War II service and five battle stars for participation in the Korean conflict.

---

KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Leyte (CV 32)​

11 Apr 1946 / 15 May 1959

Stricken from the Navy List 1 Jun 1969.

displacement: 27,100 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 147½ feet
draft: 28 feet 7 inches
speed: 33 knots
complement: 3,448 crew
armament: 12 5-inch guns, 72 40mm guns
aircraft: 80+
class: Essex

The third Leyte was laid down as Crown Point (CV-32) by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., 21 February 1944; renamed Leyte 8 May 1945; launched 23 August 1945 sponsored by Mrs. James M. Mead, and commissioned 11 April 1946, Capt . Henry F. MacComsey in command.


Leyte joined USS Wisconsin (BB-64) on a good will cruise down the western seaboard of South America in the fall of 1946 before returning to the Caribbean 18 November to resume shakedown operations. The following three years were spent in numerous fleet exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean, training naval reservists, and four deployments in the Mediterranean: April to June 1947, July to November 1947, September 1949 to January 1950, and May to August 1950. The latter included a demonstration of air power over Beirut, Lebanon, 13 August, supporting the Middle East against Communist pressure. Leyte returned to Norfolk 24 August, and after two weeks of preparation, departed 6 September 1950 to join TF 77 in the Far East to support United Nations Forces in Korea.


Leyte arrived Sasebo, Japan, 8 October 1950 and made final preparations for combat operations. From 9 October through 19 January 1951, the ship and her aircraft spent 92 days at sea and flew 3,933 sorties against the North Korean aggressors.

On 4 December 1950, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the Navy's first black pilot, flying a close support mission from Leyte, was forced to make a crash landing near Hagaru-Ri when his plane was hit by enemy ground fire. Observing that Ens. Brown was unable to get out of his cockpit, one of his squadron mates, Lt.(j.g.) Thomas J. Hudner, fearlessly landed to assist. Ens. Brown died before he could be removed from the wreckage. Lt.(j.g.) Hudner was rescued by helicopter and later was awarded the Medal of Honor. Ens. Brown was posthumously decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross.


All told, Leyte's pilots accumulated 11,000 hours in the air while inflicting massive damage upon enemy positions, supplies, transportation, and communications. Leyte returned to Norfolk for overhaul 25 February 1951.


After fleet training exercises in the Caribbean terminated 21 August 1951, the carrier departed for her fifth tour of duty with the 6th Fleet, 3 September. She returned to Norfolk 21 December for operations out of Hampton Roads, and again steamed for the Mediterranean 29 August 1952. Reclassified CVA-32 on 1 October 1952, she returned to Boston 16 February 1953 for deactivation. On 8 August however, she was ordered to be retained in the active fleet, and, redesignated CVS-32 on the same day, work was begun converting her to an ASW support carrier.


On 16 October 1953, at 1515, while still under conversion to an antisubmarine carrier, Leyte suffered an explosion in her port catapult machinery room. Within minutes naval base and city fire trucks were on the scene. After a hard and gallant fight, the fire was extinguished at 1957. As a result of the fire, 37 men died and 28 were injured.

Conversion completed 4 January 1954, Leyte departed Boston for Quonset Point, R.I., as flagship of CarDiv 18. She conducted anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean over the next five years. She also served briefly as an interim amphibious assault ship in 1957, with her normal air group replaced with Marine Corps transport helicopters.


Leyte departed Quonset Point in January 1959 for the New York Navy Yard where she commenced preinactivation overhaul. She was redesignated AVT-10 and decommissioned both on 15 May 1959, and was assigned to the Philadelphia group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet with a berth in New York. The ship was stricken from the Navy List on 1 June 1969, and was sold for scrapping in September 1970.


Leyte received two battle stars for Korean service.

---

KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Kearsarge (CV 33)​

2 May 1946 / 15 Jan 1970

Stricken from the Navy List 1 May 1973. Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping 1 Mar 1974.

displacement: 30,800 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 93 feet; extreme width at flight deck: 136 feet
draft: 28 feet 7 inches
speed: 33 knots
complement: 2,100 crew
armament: 12 5-inch guns, 44 40mm guns, 36 20 mm.
class: Essex

The third Kearsarge (CV-33) was launched 5 May 1945 by the New York Naval Shipyard, New York; sponsored by Mrs. Aubrey W. Fitch; and commissioned 2 March 1946, Captain Francis J. McKenna in command.


Kearsarge arrived at her homeport, Norfolk, 21 April 1946, and for the next year engaged in training operations along the east coast and Caribbean. She cleared Norfolk 7 June 1947 on a midshipmen training cruise to the United Kingdom. Upon her return to the United States in August, the carrier engaged in maneuvers for 10 months before departing Hampton Roads 1 June 1948 for duty with the 6th Fleet.


During her tour in the Mediterranean, units of the 6th Fleet were placed on alert to insure peace in the Arab-Israeli area. Kearsarge returned Quonset Point, R.I., 2 October 1948, and operated along the Atlantic Coast and the Caribbean until 27 January 1950 when she sailed for the west coast. The carrier arrived Puget Sound Navy Yard 23 February, and decommissioned there 16 June 1950 for a modernization overhaul that would enable her to handle new jet aircraft.


Kearsarge recommissioned 15 February 1952, Captain Louis B. French in command. Following shakedown, the carrier cleared San Diego 11 August for intensive flight training in the Hawaiian Islands. Her readiness complete, she sailed for the Far East to engage in combat missions in the Korean War. Arriving Yokosuka 8 September 1952, Kearsarge joined the fast carrier Task Force 77 off the east coast of Korea six days later. For the next five months, the carrier's planes flew nearly 6,000 sorties against Communist forces in North Korea, unleashing considerable damage on enemy positions. She completed her tour in late February 1953, returning to her homeport, San Diego 17 March. While serving in Korea her classification was changed to CVA 33.

Kearsarge sailed again for the Far East 1 July 1953 and operated with the 7th Fleet fast carrier force during the uneasy truce in Korea. The "Mighty Kay" also kept watch over the Formosa Straits to prevent the Communists from interfering with the Chinese Nationalists on Taiwan. Kearsarge returned San Diego, 18 January 1954, to resume training operations off California.


Clearing San Diego 7 October 1954, she steamed toward her third deployment to the Far East. While operating with the 7th Fleet, the carrier stood by to assist the Nationalist Chinese in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands. From 6 to 13 February 1955, Kearsarge supported units of the fleet in the successful evacuation of 18,000 civilians and 20,000 military personnel from the islands. Her cruise ended at San Diego 12 May. The carrier was again modernized in 1956-57, receiving an enclosed "hurricane" bow and an angled flight deck to better equip her to operate high-performance aircraft.


Kearsarge was assigned a new role in October 1958, becoming an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) support aircraft carrier, with the new designation CVS-33. Following intensive training in her new role, the carrier sailed 5 September 1959 for 7th fleet operations in the Far East. Early in her tour, Japan was hit with a violent typhoon, and Kearsarge played an important role in providing relief to the victims. Her planes landed parties of medical and supply units, while her crew and air group donated clothing and money to the distressed people. After participating in SEATO exercises and 7th Fleet operations, she cleared Yokosuka, 3 March 1960, for her homeward voyage. Three days later in stormy waters 1,200 miles off Wake Island, four Russians were rescued after drifting 49 days in disabled landing craft. They were flown back to their country after Kearsarge arrived Alameda, Calif., 15 March; and the carrier received thanks from the Soviet Union for this gesture.

A year of training operations preceded her next deployment from San Diego which began 3 March 1961. The antisubmarine carrier steamed to Southeast Asian waters as the Communists intensified their effort to overthrow the government in Laos. The power and determination of the 7th Fleet was observed by the enemy and the crisis eased. Peace prevailed. After 6 months in the Far East, Kearsarge arrived Puget Sound 1 November for the second phase of her modernization. Upon completion of repairs and training, Kearsarge departed Long Beach, 1 August 1962, to station herself in the Pacific missile range as a recovery ship in the Mercury orbital space flight of astronaut Walter Schirra. In October, after a flawless flight, the carrier played her role in the space age by retrieving Schirra and his capsule and returning him to Honolulu for flight back to the States.


Kearsarge resumed training exercises, continuing these for six months before arriving Pearl Harbor 29 April 1963 to once again take part in the space program. The carrier repeated her earlier recovery by plucking astronaut Gordon Cooper on 18 May 1963, after he orbited the earth 22 times in his capsule Faith 7. She returned the space hero to Pearl Harbor, then departed 4 June on her eighth cruise to the Far East. Operations with the 7th Fleet included keeping watch on the unsettled problems in Southeast Asia. Kearsarge returned Long Beach, 3 December, for training exercises off California.


Six months later, 19 June 1964, the antisubmarine carrier was deployed on her ninth Far Eastern cruise. Arriving Yokosuka 30 July, Kearsarge was dispatched to the South China Sea, following the North Vietnamese patrol boat attack on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. While U.S. Navy planes destroyed North Vietnam oil and supply depots, Kearsarge provided antisubmarine protection for the 7th Fleet. The decisiveness of American action persuaded the Communists to delay their objectives for the time being; and Kearsarge returned Long Beach, 16 December 1964.

After overhaul during the first half of 1965, Kearsarge operated off the West Coast until sailing for the Far East 9 June 1966. Steaming via Hawaii and Japan, she reached "Yankee Station" 8 August and operated off Vietnam through 24 October. The next day she headed for the Kuala Lumpur area and anchored in the Strait of Malacca on the 30th. She returned via Subic Bay to "Yankee Station" 5 November and operated there through the 23rd. The next day, the carrier started home via Hong Kong and Japan, arriving San Diego 20 December 1966. She operated on the west coast until departing San Diego 18 August 1967 and reached Pearl Harbor 10 days later to prepare for future action.


Made redundant by the general fleet drawdown of the late 1960s and early 1970s, USS Kearsarge was decommissioned 13 February 1970. Following three years in the Reserve Fleet, she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in May 1973 and sold for scrapping in February 1974.


Kearsarge received two battle stars for Korean War service.

---

KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Oriskany (CVA 34)​

25 Sep 1950 / 20 Sep 1979

Stricken from Navy List 1989. Sold 9 Sep 1995, but contractor defaulted. Repossessed by the Navy and contract terminated 30 Jul 1997. Sunk off coast of Florida 17 May 2006 for use as articifical reef.

displacement: 27,100 tons
length: 911 feet
beam: 147½ feet
draft: 31 feet
speed: 33 knots
complement: 3,460 crew
armament: 8 5-inch guns, 14 3-inch guns
aircraft: 80
class: Oriskany

Oriskany (CVA-34), an attack aircraft carrier, was laid down 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard, launched 13 October 1945; and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. While still incomplete, her construction was suspended 12 August 1947. She remained in a state of preservation until after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950, then was rushed to completion. She commissioned in the New York Naval Shipyard 25 September 1950, Capt. Percy H. Lyon in command.


Oriskany departed New York 6 December 1950 for carrier qualification operations off Jacksonville, Fla., followed by a Christmas call at Newport, R. I. She resumed operations off Jacksonville through 11 January 1951, when she embarked Carrier Air Group One for shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


After major modifications at New York Naval Shipyard 6 March through 2 April 1951, she embarked Carrier Air Group Four for training off Jacksonville, then departed Newport 15 May 1951 for Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet.


For the next few months she added her far-reaching air arm to the strength of the 6th Fleet, the silent, flexible, and controlling weapon of deterrence to overt Soviet aggression in the Mediterranean and the Near East. The mobile 7th Fleet was deeply committed to a shooting war to help restore the independence and freedom of South Korea. Oriskany was part of the affirmative answer to the crucial question as to whether the Korean War would have an affect upon the Navy's ability to maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean.

Having swept from ports of Italy and France to those of Greece and Turkey, thence to the shores of Tripoli, Oriskany returned to Quonset Point, R. I. 4 October 1951. She entered Gravesend Bay, New York, 6 November 1951 to offload ammunition and to have her masts removed to allow passage under the East River Bridges to the New York Naval Shipyard. Overhaul included the installation of a new flight deck, steering system, and bridge. Work was complete by 15 May 1952 and the carrier steamed the next day to take on ammunition at Norfolk 19-22 May. She then got underway to join the Pacific Fleet, steaming via Guantanamo Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn, Valparaiso, and Lima, arriving San Diego, Calif. 21 July.


Following carrier qualifications for Air Group 102, Oriskany departed San Diego 15 September 1952 to aid UN forces in Korea. She arrived Yokosuka 17 October and joined Fast Carrier Task Force 77 off the Korean Coast 31 October. Her aircraft struck hard with bombing and strafing attacks against enemy supply lines and coordinated bombing missions with surface gun strikes along the coast. Her pilots downed two Soviet-built MIG-15 jets and damaged a third, 18 November.


Strikes continued through 11 February 1953, heaping destruction upon enemy artillery positions, troop emplacements, and supply dumps along the main battlefront. Following a brief upkeep period in Japan, Oriskany returned to combat 1 March 1953. She continued in action until 29 March, called at Hong Kong, then resumed air strikes 8 April. She departed the Korean coast 22 April, touched at Yokosuka, and then departed for San Diego 2 May, arriving there 18 May.


Following readiness training along the California coast, Oriskany departed San Francisco 14 September 1953 to aid the 7th Fleet watching over the uneasy truce in Korea, arriving Yokosuka 15 October. Thereafter she cruised the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the area of the Philippines. After providing air support for Marine amphibious assault exercises at Iwo Jima, the carrier returned to San Diego 22 April 1954. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard for modernization overhaul; completed 22 October when she stood out to sea for the first of a series of coastal operations.

Oriskany arrived at Yokosuka from San Francisco 2 April 1955, and operated with the Fast Carrier Task Force ranging from Japan and Okinawa to the Philippines. This deployment ended 7 September and the carrier arrived Alameda, Calif. 21 September.


The attack carrier cruised the California coast while qualifying pilots of Air Group 9, then put to sea from Alameda, 11 February 1956, for another rigorous Westpac deployment. She returned to San Francisco 13 June and entered the shipyard for overhaul, 1 October. She decommissioned there 2 January 1957 for modernization work that included a new angled flight deck and enclosed hurricane bow. New, powerful steam catapults were installed by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash.


Oriskany recommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, 7 March 1959, Capt. James Mahan Wright in command. Four days later, she departed for shakedown out of San Diego with Carrier Air Group 14 embarked. Operations along the west coast continued until 14 May 1960, when she again deployed to WestPac, returning to San Diego 15 December. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard 30 March 1961 for a five-month overhaul that included the first aircraft carrier installation of the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS).


Oriskany departed the shipyard 9 September for underway training out of San Diego until 7 June 1962 when she again deployed to the Far East with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She returned to San Diego 17 December 1962 for operational readiness t raining off the west coast.


The carrier again stood out of San Diego 1 August 1963 for Far Eastern waters, with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She arrived Subic Bay 31 August 1963; thence to Japan. She stood out of Iwakuni, Japan, the morning of 31 October en route the coast of South Vietnam. There, she stood by for any eventuality as word was received of the coup d'etat taking place in Saigon. When the crisis abated, the carrier resumed operations from Japanese ports.


Oriskany returned to San Diego 10 March 1964. After overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, she steamed for refresher training out of San Diego, followed by qualifications for Carrier Wing 16. During this period her flight deck was used to test the E-2A Hawkeye, the Navy's new airborne early warning aircraft. She also provided orientation to senior officers of eight allied nations.


Oriskany departed San Diego 5 April 1965 for Westpac, arriving Subic 27 April. By this time more United States troops had landed in South Vietnam to support Vietnamese troops against increased Viet Cong pressure to destroy the independence of that nation. Oriskany added her weight to the massive American naval strength supporting the freedom of South Vietnam. In combat operations that brought her and embarked Carrier Wing 16 the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service between 10 May and 6 December 1965, she carried out over 12,000 combat sorties and delivered nearly 10,000 tons of ordnance against enemy forces. She departed Subic Bay 30 November and returned to San Diego 16 December.


Oriskany again stood out of San Diego for the Far East 26 May 1966, arriving Yokosuka 14 June. She steamed for "Dixie Station" off South Vietnam 27 June. Wearisome days and nights of combat shifted to "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin 8 July. In the following months there were brief respites for replenishment in Subic Bay. Then, back into the action that saw her launch 7,794 combat sorties.

The carrier was on station the morning of 27 October 1966 when a fire erupted on the starboard side of the ship's forward hangar bay and raced through five decks, claiming the lives of 44 men. Many who lost their lives were veteran combat pilots who had flown raids over Vietnam a few hours earlier. Oriskany had been put in danger when a magnesium parachute flare exploded in the forward flare locker of Hanger Bay 1, beneath the carrier's flight deck. Her crewmen performed fantastic feats in jettisoning heavy bombs which lay within reach of the flames. Other men wheeled planes out of danger, rescued pilots, and helped quell the blaze through three hours of prompt and daring actions. Medical assistance was rushed to the carrier from sister aircraft carriers USS Constellation (CVA-64) and USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42).


Oriskany steamed to Subic Bay 28 October 1966, where victims of the fire were transferred to waiting aircraft for transportation to the United States. A week later, the carrier departed for San Diego, arriving 16 November. San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard completed repairs 23 March 1967 and Oriskany, with Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked, underwent training. She then stood out of San Francisco Bay 16 June to take station in waters off Vietnam. Designated flagship of Carrier Division Nine in Subic Bay 9 July, she commenced "Yankee Station" operations 14 July. While on the line, 26 July, she provided medical assistance to the fire-ravaged attack carrier USS Forrestal (CVA-59).


Oriskany returned to the Naval Air Station pier at Alameda Calif., 31 January 1968, and entered San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard 7 February for an eight month overhaul. Upon completion of work, the carrier underwent refresher training and flight qualifications before deploying to the Far East in April 1969.

Following twenty-five years of service, Oriskany was decommissioned 30 September 1975. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in July 1989, and sold for scrapping on 9 September 1995. However, the contractor defaulted and the ship was repossessed by the Navy, with the contract terminated 30 July 1997. The ship remained at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Tex., until December 2004 when she was towed to Pensacola, Fla., for preparation to be sunk as an artificial reef. Oriskany was sunk 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., on 17 May 2006. The 888-foot ship took about 37 minutes to sink below the surface.


Oriskany received two battle stars for Korean Service and five for Vietnamese service.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

Reprisal(CV 35)

-- / --

Never completed nor commissioned. Hull, 53% complete, was sold to Boston Metals Co, Baltimore, Md. and scrapped November 1949.​

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Antietam (CV 36)​

28 Jan 1945 / 8 May 1963

Stricken from the Navy List 1 May 1973. Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping 1 Dec 1973.

displacement: 27,100 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 93 feet; extreme width at flight deck: 147½ feet
draft: 28 feet 7 inches
speed: 32.7 knots
complement: 2,448 crew
armament: 12 5-inch guns, 72 40mm guns
aircraft: 80+
class: Essex

The second Antietam (CV-36) was laid down on 15 March 1943 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched on 20 August 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Millard E. Tydings, the wife of Senator Tydings of Maryland; and commissioned on 28 January 1945, Capt. James R. Tague in command.


The aircraft carrier completed fitting out at Philadelphia until 2 March 1945 when she got underway for her shakedown cruise. The ship arrived in Hampton Roads on the 5th and conducted operations from Norfolk until 22 March when she stood out of Chesapeake Bay bound for Trinidad in the British West Indies. At the conclusion of her shakedown cruise, Antietam returned to Philadelphia on 28 April to begin post-shakedown availability. She completed repairs on 19 May and departed Philadelphia that same day.


After a three-day stop at Norfolk, the warship resumed her voyage to the Panama Canal in company with USS Higbee (DD-806), USS George W. Ingram (APD-43), and USS Ira Jeffery (APD-44). She arrived at Cristobal on 31 May 1945, transited the canal the next day, and continued her voyage up the coast to San Diego. She stopped at San Diego from 10 to 13 June before beginning the first leg of her transpacific voyage. Antietam arrived in Pearl Harbor on the 19th and remained in the Hawaiian Islands conducting training missions until 12 August. On that day, she shaped a course for the western Pacific.


Three days out of Oahu, she received word of the Japanese capitulation and the consequent cessation of hostilities. Thus, by the time of her arrival in Eniwetok Atoll on 19 August 1945, her mission changed from combat to occupation support duty. On the 21st she exited the lagoon in company with USS Cabot (CVL-28) and a screen of destroyers bound for Japan. En route, she suffered some internal damage which forced her into port at Apra Harbor Guam, for inspections. The inspection party deemed the damage minimal; and the carrier remained operational, resuming her course on the 27th. By that time, however, her destination had been changed to the coast of the Asian mainland. She stopped at Okinawa between 30 August and 1 September and arrived in Chinese waters near Shanghai the following day.


The aircraft carrier remained in the Far East for a little more than three years. The Yellow Sea constituted her primary theater of operations while her air group provided support for the Allied occupation of North China, Manchuria, and Korea. During the latter stages of that assignment, her airmen conducted surveillance missions in that area as a result of the civil war in China between communist and nationalist factions which later resulted in the expulsion of Chiang Kai-shek's forces from mainland China and the establishment of Mao Tse-Tung's communist People's Republic of China. Throughout the period, however, she did depart the Yellow Sea on occasion for visits to Japan, the Philippines, Okinawa, and the Marianas. Early in 1949, she concluded her mission in the Orient and headed back to the United States for deactivation.

Antietam remained in reserve at Alameda, Calif., until communist forces from the north invaded South Korea in the summer of 1950. She began reactivation preparations on 6 December and went back into commission on 17 January 1951, Capt. George J. Dufek in command.


Initially, the carrier conducted shakedown training and carrier qualifications along the California coast, first out of Alameda and, after 14 May 1951, out of San Diego. She made one voyage to Pearl Harbor and back to San Diego in July and August before departing the latter port on 8 September and heading for the Far East. Antietam arrived in the Far East later that fall and, by late November, began the only combat deployment of her career. During that tour, she made four cruises with Task Force (TF) 77, in the combat zone off the coast of Korea.


In between fighting assignments, she returned to Yokosuka, Japan. During each of those periods, her air group carried out a variety of missions in support of United Nations forces combating North Korean aggression. Those missions included combat air patrol logistics interdiction — particularly against railroad and highway traffic — reconnaissance antisubmarine patrols, and night heckler missions. Between late November 1951 and mid-March 1952, Antietam's air group flew nearly 6,000 sorties of all types. She returned to Yokosuka on 21 March 1952 at the conclusion of her fourth cruise with TF 77 to begin preparations for her voyage back to the United States.


The aircraft carrier returned home in April and rejoined the Pacific Reserve Fleet briefly. She was reactivated later that summer and, in August, transited the Panama Canal to join the Atlantic Fleet. In September, the warship entered the New York Naval Shipyard for major alterations. In October, she was redesignated an attack aircraft carrier, CVA-36. In December 1952, Antietam emerged from the yard as America's first angled-deck aircraft carrier.

She operated out of Quonset Point, R.I., until the beginning of 1955. During the intervening years, she participated in numerous fleet and independent ship's exercises. After August 1953, at which time she was redesignated an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) carrier, CVS-36, Antietam concentrated up on honing her hunter/killer skills. In January 1955, she embarked upon a voyage to the Mediterranean Sea where she served with the 6th Fleet until March. Resuming duty with the Atlantic Fleet ASW forces, she operated along the eastern seaboard until the fall of 1956. In October of that year, she cruised to the waters of the eastern Atlantic for NATO ASW exercises and goodwill visits to ports in Allied countries.


While the carrier was in Rotterdam, the Suez crisis broke out in the eastern Mediterranean. Antietam cut short her visit to the Netherlands and headed for the "middle sea" to bolster the 6th Fleet during the evacuation of American citizens from Alexandria, Egypt. At the end of that assignment, she conducted ASW training exercises with Italian naval officers embarked before returning to Quonset Point on 22 December 1956.


After resuming operations along the eastern seaboard early in 1957, Antietam was assigned on 21 April 1957 to training duty with the Naval Air Training Station, Pensacola, Fla. Mayport, however, served as her home port because ships of her draft could not then enter port at Pensacola. For almost two years the aircraft carrier operated out of Mayport training new Navy pilots and conducting tests on new aviation equipment-most noteworthy on the Bell automatic landing system during August of 1957. She also participated in annual Naval Academy midshipmen cruises each summer.

In January 1959, after the deepening of the channel into Pensacola had been completed, Antietam's home port was changed from Mayport to Pensacola. For the remainder of her active career, the carrier operated out of Pensacola as an aviation training ship. On two occasions, she provided humanitarian services to victims of hurricane damage. The first came in September of 1961 when she rushed to the Texas coast to provide supplies and medical assistance to the victims of hurricane Carla. The second came just over a month later when she carried medical supplies, doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel to British Honduras to help with the victims of hurricane Hattie. Otherwise, she spent the final four years of her naval career in routine naval aviation training duty out of Pensacola.


On 23 October 1952, Antietam was relieved by USS Lexington (CVS-16) as aviation training ship at Pensacola and was placed in commission, in reserve, on 7 January 1963. Berthed at Philadelphia, Pa., she remained in reserve until May of 1973 when her name was struck from the Navy list. On 28 February 1974, she was sold to the Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. for scrapping.


Antietam earned two battle stars for service in the Korean conflict.

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KIT Over n Out

 

[courageneverdies]

USS Princeton (CV 37)​

18 Nov 1945 / 30 Jan 1970

Stricken from the Navy List 30 Jan 1970.

displacement: 33,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 93 feet; extreme width at flight deck: 147½ feet
draft: 28 feet 7 inches
speed: 33 knots
complement: 3,448 crew
armament: 12 5-inch guns, 44 40mm guns, 59 20mm guns
aircraft: 80+
class: Essex

The fifth Princeton was laid down as Valley Forge at the Philadelphia Navy Yard 14 September 1943, renamed Princeton 21 November 1944; launched 8 July 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Harold Dodds; and commissioned 18 November 1945, Capt. John M. Hoskins in command.


Following shakedown off Cuba, Princeton, with Air Group 81 embarked, remained in the Atlantic and operated with the 8th Fleet until June 1946. Then transferred to the Pacific Fleet, she arrived at San Diego on June 30, and departed again 3 July to carry the body of Philippine President Manuel Queson back to Luzon for burial. From Manila Princeton joined the 7th Fleet in the Marianas, becoming flagship of TF 77.


During September and October 1946, she operated in Japanese and Chinese waters, then returned to the Marianas where she remained until February 1947. Maneuvers in Hawaiian waters preceded her return to San Diego on 15 March. She cruised the west coast, Hawaiian waters, and the western Pacific (1 October-23 December) during 1948. She then prepared for inactivation and on 20 June 1948 decommissioned and joined other capital ships in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.


Reactivated with the outbreak of hostilities in Korea fifteen months later, Princeton recommissioned 28 August 1950. Intensive training refreshed her Naval Reserve crew and on 5 December she joined TF 77 off the Korean coast, her planes and pilots (Air Group 19) making possible the reinstitution of jet combat air patrols over the battle zone. She launched 248 sorties against targets in the Hagaru area to announce her arrival, and for the next six days continued the pace to support Marines fighting their way down the long, cold road from the Chosin Reservoir to Hungnam. By the 11th, all units had reached the staging area on the coast. Princeton's planes, with other Navy, Marine, and Air Force squadrons, then covered the evacuation from Hungnam through its completion on 24 December 1950.

Interdiction missions followed and by 4 April 1951, Princeton's planes had rendered 54 rail and 37 highway bridges inoperable and damaged 44 more. In May, they flew against the railroad bridges connecting Pyongyang with Sunchon, Sinanju, Kachon, and the trans-peninsula line. Next, they combined close air support with raids on power sources in the Hwachon Reservoir area and, with the stabilization of the front there, resumed interdiction. For much of the summer they pounded supply arteries, concentrating on highways, and in August Princeton got underway for the United States, arriving at San Diego on 21 August 1951.


Eight months later, on 30 April 1952, Princeton rejoined TF 77 in the combat zone. For 138 days, her planes flew against the enemy. They sank small craft to prevent the recapture of offshore islands; blasted concentrations of supplies, facilities, and equipment behind enemy lines, participated in air-gun strikes on coastal cities, pounded the enemy's hydroelectric complex at Suiho on the Yalu to turn off power on both sides of that river, destroyed gun positions and supply areas in Pyongyan; and closed mineral processing plants and munitions factories at Sindok, Musan, Aoji, and Najin.


Reclassified CVA-37 on 1 October 1952, Princeton returned to California 3 November for a two month respite from the western Pacific. In February 1953, she was back off the Korean coast and until the end of the conflict launched planes for close air support, "Cherokee" strikes against supply, artillery, and troop concentrations in enemy territory, and against road traffic. She remained in the area after the truce, 27 July 1953, and on 7 September got underway for San Diego.


In January 1954, Princeton was reclassified CVS-37 and, after conversion at Bremerton, took up antisubmarine/Hunter-Killer (HUK) training operations in the eastern Pacific. For the next five years, she alternated HUK exercises off the west coast with similar operations in the western Pacific and, in late 1957 to early 1958, in the Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf area.

Reclassified again, 2 March 1959, she emerged from conversion as an amphibious assault carrier, LPH-5. Capable of transporting a battalion landing team and carrying helicopters in place of planes, Princeton's mission became that of vertical envelopment — the landing of Marines behind enemy beach fortifications and providing logistics and medical support as they attack from the rear to seize critical points, cut enemy supplies, sever communications, and link up with assault forces landed on the beaches.


From May until January 1960, Princeton trained with Marine units from Camp Pendleton, then deployed to WestPac to train in Okinawan waters. For the next three years she followed a similar schedule, gaining experience in her primary mission. Interruptions came in October 1961 when she rescued survivors of the merchantmen Pioneer, Muse and Sheik grounded on Daito Shima and in April 1962 when she delivered Marine Corps advisers and helicopters to Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta area of the Republic of South Viet Nam.


In October 1964, Princeton exchanged WestPac training for the real thing as she returned to Viet Nam and joined the Pacific Fleet's Ready Group in operations against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. Combat operations, interrupted in November for flood relief work, continued into the new year, 1965, and culminated in May off Chu Lai as she carried out her primary mission, vertical envelopment, for the first time in combat.


Returning to her homeport of Long Beach after that operation, she transported Marine Air Group 36 to Viet Nam in August, and in February 1966 got underway for another tour in the combat zone. Relieving USS Okinawa (LPH-3) as flagship for the Amphibious Ready Group, she engaged the enemy in operations Jackstay, 26 March- 6 April, to clear the Rung Sat Special Zone of Viet Cong guerrillas, and Osage, 27 April-4 May, to protect Vietnamese in the Phu Loc area from Viet Cong "harassment."

Search and destroy missions against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army units followed as Princeton provided transportation, medical evacuation, logistics and communication support for the amphibious Operation Deckhouse I , 18-27 June 1966, in the Song Cau district and the Song Cai river valley, then supported 1st Air Cavalry and 101st Airborne units engaged in Operation Nathan Hale to the south of the Deckhouse I area. Deckhouse II and support for Operation Hastings followed as Navy, Marine, and Army units aga in combined, this time to impede enemy infiltration from the DMZ.


After Hastings, Princeton sailed for home, arriving 2 September 1966. She deployed again to Viet Nam, 30 January-19 June 1967, and again ranged along that long embattled, highly indented coast. In March 1967, she assisted in countering an enemy threat to the Marine artillery base at Gio Ling and evacuated wounded from Con Thien mountain. In April, she participated in Operation Beacon Star, in the Khe Sanh area, and supported search and destroy operations in conjunction with Operation Shawnee. In May, her helicopters lifted Marines to the DMZ to block enemy forces withdrawing across the Ben Hai river.


A much needed overhaul followed Princeton's return to the west coast and in May 1968 she again sailed west to Viet Nam. There, as flagship for Amphibious Ready Group Alpha, she provided amphibious assault carrier services for operations Fortress Attack III and IV, Proud Hunter, Swift Pursuit, and Eager Hunter.


In December 1968, she returned to the United States and in April 1969 she was designated the prime recovery ship for Apollo 10, the lunar mission which paved the way for Apollo 11 and the first landing on the moon. On 26 May, Apollo 10 astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, USAF; John W. Young, USN; and Eugene A. Cernan, USN, were recovered by a helo from HS-4 off Princeton after their eight-day orbit of the earth. Completing that mission successfully, Princeton resumed exercises off the west coast.


After two and a half decades of service, Princeton was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 January 1970. She was sold for scrapping in May 1971.


Princeton received 8 battle stars for service during the Korean Conflict.

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KIT Over n Out