Essex was a class of
aircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s of the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
, which constituted the 20th century's most numerous class of heavy warships, with 24 ships built in both "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Thirty-two were originally ordered, however six were canceled before construction, and two were canceled after construction had begun. The
Essex-class carriers were the backbone of the Navy's combat strength during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and along with the addition of the three
Midway-classThe Midway class aircraft carrier was one of the longest lived carrier designs in history. First commissioned in late 1945, the lead ship of the class, was not decommissioned until 1992, shortly after seeing service in the Gulf War.-History:...
carriers just after the war continued to be until the
supercarrierSupercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons. Few countries operate medium carriers of 40,000 tons . Light carriers closer to 20,000 are more typical...
s began to come into the fleet in numbers during the 1960s and 1970s.
Overview
The preceding
YorktownThe Yorktown class aircraft carriers consisted of three carriers built by the U.S. and completed shortly before World War II. They bore the brunt of early action in that war, and the sole survivor of the class was to become the most decorated ship in the history of the U.S...
s formed the basis from which the
Essex class was developed. Designed to carry a larger air group, and unencumbered by pre-war naval treaty limits, was over sixty feet longer, nearly ten feet wider in beam, and more than a third heavier. A longer, wider
flight deckThe flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
and a deck-edge elevator facilitated more efficient aviation operations, enhancing the ship's offensive and defensive air power. Machinery arrangement and armor protection was greatly improved from previous designs. These features, plus the provision of more anti-aircraft guns, gave the ships much enhanced survivability. In fact, none of the
Essex-class carriers were lost and two, and , came home under their own power even after receiving heavy damage and were successfully repaired.
U.S. carriers had the same amount of deck armor as their British counterparts. While debates raged, and continue to this day, regarding the effect of strength deck location (
flight deck level on British ships vs. hangar deck level on American shipsThe Comparison of armoured to unarmoured flight deck designs is often made between some of the aircraft carrier designs of the Royal Navy and the United States Navy. The two navies followed differing philosophies in the use of armour on the carrier flight decks...
), British designers' comments tended to disparage the use of deck armor, but some historians, such as D.K. Brown in
Nelson to Vanguard, see the American arrangement to have been superior, until the larger size of the first
supercarrierSupercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons. Few countries operate medium carriers of 40,000 tons . Light carriers closer to 20,000 are more typical...
s necessitated a deeper hull, and thus moving the strength deck to the flight deck. Locating the strength deck at hangar deck level in the
Essex-class ships reduced the weight located high in the ship, resulting in smaller supporting structures and more aircraft capacity for the desired displacement.
Development
After the abrogation of disarmament treaties by
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1936, the U.S. took a realistic look at its naval strength. With the Naval Expansion Act of Congress passed on 17 May 1938, an increase of 40,000 tons in aircraft carriers was authorized. This permitted the building of and , which became the
lead shipThe lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. Almost always, this is only applicable for military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of her class.
CV-9 was to be the prototype of the 27,000-ton (standard displacement) aircraft carrier, considerably larger than , yet smaller than (a
battlecruiserBattlecruisers were large warships in the first half of the 20th century that were first introduced by the Royal Navy. The battlecruiser was developed as the successor to the armoured cruisers, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleships...
converted to a carrier). These were to become known as
Essex-class carriers, although this classification was later dropped in the 1950s. On 9 September 1940, eight more of these carriers were ordered: , , , , , , , and . The last two of the 13 originally programmed CV-9 class aircraft carriers, and , were ordered on 15 December 1941.
Lexington,
Wasp,
Hornet, and
Yorktown were renamed during construction, in keeping with the Navy's intent to carry on the traditions of their fighting predecessors, sunk in combat in 1942. Of the original 13 ordered
Essex-class ships, four (
Ticonderoga,
Randolph,
Hancock, and
Boxer) were modified during construction as part of the "long hull" group, with the bow extended into a "clipper" shape to provide room for additional anti-aircraft armament.
Nineteen more
Essexes were ordered or scheduled, starting with ten on 7 August 1942. Only two, and were laid down as
Essex "short hull" ships. The remainder became
Ticonderoga-class or "long hull" ships.
was originally laid down as
Cabot, but was renamed during construction after the original was lost in the
Battle of the Coral SeaThe Battle of the Coral Sea, fought during May 4–8, 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers...
in May 1942; she was
commissionedShip commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 17 February 1943. , originally to be named
Bon Homme Richard, was renamed after the original was lost at the
Battle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and seven months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
on 7 June 1942. 's name was changed from
Oriskany after the original was sunk in September 1942 in the South Pacific while escorting a troop convoy to
GuadalcanalGuadalcanal is a 2,510-square mile island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. The World War II Guadalcanal Campaign took place on and around the island...
, and 's name was changed from
Kearsarge after the original was lost in October 1942 in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands. The names of the and the were swapped while they were under construction. The
John Hancock life insurance companyJohn Hancock Financial is a loose term for a major United States insurance company which existed, in various forms, from its founding on April 21, 1862, until its acquisition in 2004 by the Canadian insurance company Manulife Financial. It was named in honor of John Hancock, a patriot...
had offered to conduct a bond drive to raise money for the
Hancock if that name was used for the carrier under construction in the company’s home state of Massachusetts.
In summary, during World War II and until its conclusion, the US Navy ordered 32 aircraft carriers of the
Essex and
Ticonderoga classes, of which 26 were laid down and 24 actually commissioned.
Design
In drawing up the preliminary design for
Essex, particular attention was directed at the size of both her flight and hangar decks. Aircraft design had come a long way from the comparatively light planes used in carriers during the 1930s. Flight decks now required more takeoff space for the heavier aircraft being developed. Most of the first-line carriers of the pre-war years were equipped with flush deck
catapultsAn aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft.Older...
, but owing to the speed and size of these ships very little catapulting was done except for experimental purposes.
With the advent of war, airplane weights began to go up as armor and armament got heavier; aircrew complements also increased. By the war's end in 1945, catapult launches would become more common under these circumstances, with some carrier commanding officers reporting up to 40% of launches by catapult.
The hangar area design came in for many design conferences between the naval bureaus. Not only were the supporting structures to the flight deck required to carry the increased weight of landing and parked aircraft, but they were to have sufficient strength to support the storing of spare fuselages and parts (50% of each plane type aboard) under the flight deck and still provide adequate working space for the men using the area below.
One innovation in
Essex was a portside deck-edge elevator in addition to two inboard elevators. The deck-edge elevator was adopted in the design after it proved successful on the . Experiments had also been made with hauling aircraft by crane up a ramp between the hangar and flight decks, but this method proved too slow. The Navy's
Bureau of ShipsThe United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
and the Chief Engineer of A.B.C. Elevator Co. designed the engine for the side elevator. It was a standard elevator, 60 by 34 ft (18 by 10 m) in platform surface, which traveled vertically on the port side of the ship. The design was a huge success which greatly improved flight deck operations.
There would be no large hole in the flight deck when the elevator was in the "down" position, a critical factor if the elevator ever became inoperable during combat operations. Its new position made it easier to continue normal operations on deck, irrespective of the position of the elevator. The elevator also increased the effective deck space when it was in the "up" position by providing additional parking room outside the normal contours of the flight deck, and increased the effective area on the hangar deck by the absence of elevator pits. In addition, its machinery was less complex than the two inboard elevators, requiring about 20% fewer man-hours of maintenance.
Ongoing improvements to the class were made, particularly with regards to the ventilation system, lighting systems, and the trash burner design and implementation.
These carriers had better protecting armor than their predecessors, better facilities for handling ammunition, safer and greater fueling capacity, and more effective damage control equipment. Yet, these ships were also designed to limit weight and the complexity of construction, for instance incorporating extensive use of flat and straight metal pieces.
The original design for the class assumed a complement of 215 officers and 2,171 enlisted men. However, by the end of World War II most crews were 50% larger than that.
The tactical employment of U.S. carriers changed as the war progressed. In early operations, through 1942, the doctrine was to operate singly or in pairs, joining together for the offense and separating when on the defense—the theory being that a separation of carriers under attack not only provided a protective screen for each but also dispersed the targets and divided the enemy's attack. Combat experience in those early operations did not bear out the theory, and new proposals for tactical deployment were the subject of much discussion.
As the new
Essex- and
IndependenceThe Independence class aircraft carriers were a class of light carriers built for the United States Navy that served during World War II.This class were a result of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's interest in Navy shipbuilding plans...
-class carriers became available, tactics changed. Experience taught the wisdom of combined strength. Under attack, the combined anti-aircraft fire of a
task groupA task force is a temporary unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
's carriers and their screen provided a more effective umbrella of protection against marauding enemy aircraft than was possible when the carriers separated.
When two or more of these task groups supported each other, they constituted a
fast carrier task forceThe Fast Carrier Task Force, known at different times as Task Force 38 and Task Force 58, was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the latter half of the Pacific War...
. Lessons learned from operating the carriers as a single group of six, as two groups of three, and three groups of two, provided the basis for many tactics which later characterized carrier task force operations, with the evolution of the fast carrier task force and its successful employment in future operations.
"Sunday Punch"
The pride of the carrier, known as the "Sunday Punch", was the offensive power of 36
fighterA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. Fighters are small, fast, and maneuverable...
s, 36
dive bomberA dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy and limit the exposure to and effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire...
s and 18 torpedo planes. The
F6F HellcatThe Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the...
would be the standard fighter, the
SB2C-1 HelldiverThe Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. Despite its size, the SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced...
the standard scout aircraft and dive-bomber, and the
TBF AvengerThe Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world. It entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during the Battle of Midway.-Design and development:Douglas' TBD...
was designed as a torpedo plane but often used in other attack roles. Some late
Essexes, such as , also included squadrons of
F4U CorsairThe Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built aircraft F3A. The Corsair served in smaller air forces until the 1960s, following the longest production...
s in fighter-bomber squadrons (VBFs), the precursor to modern fighter-attack squadrons (VFAs).
Guns, radar and radios
The defensive plan was to use radio and
radarRadar is an object detection system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 as an acronym for RAdio Detection And...
in a combined effort to concentrate anti-aircraft fire.
The design boasted four twin 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber gun
turretA barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening...
s, seventeen quadruple 40mm Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and 65 single
20 mm Oerlikon close-in defense gunThe Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original designed by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
s. With a range of ten miles and a rate of fire of fifteen rounds per minute, the 5-inch guns fired the deadly VT shells. The VT shells, known as
proximity fuzeA proximity fuze is a fuze that is designed to detonate an explosive device automatically when the distance to target becomes smaller than a predetermined value or when the target passes through a given plane....
d-shells, would detonate when they came within of an enemy aircraft. The 5-inch guns could also aim into the water, creating waterspouts which could bring down low flying aircraft such as torpedo planes. The Bofors 40 mm guns were a significant improvement over the 1.1 in/75 caliber guns mounted in the earlier
LexingtonThe Lexington class aircraft carriers were the first operational aircraft carriers in the United States Navy . The ships were laid down and partly built as battlecruisers before being converted to carriers while under construction...
and
YorktownThe Yorktown class aircraft carriers consisted of three carriers built by the U.S. and completed shortly before World War II. They bore the brunt of early action in that war, and the sole survivor of the class was to become the most decorated ship in the history of the U.S...
classes.
The
Essex class also made use of advanced technological and communications equipment. The Mark 4 sweeping radar was installed but could not track incoming low-level intruders and was quickly replaced with the improved Mark 12. A
Plan Position IndicatorThe plan position indicator , is the most common type of radar display. The radar antenna is usually represented in the center of the display, so the distance from it and height above ground can be drawn as concentric circles...
(PPI) display was used to keep track of ships and enabled a multi-carrier force to maintain a high-speed formation at night or in foul weather. The new navigational tool known as the Dead Reckoning Tracer was also implemented for navigation and tracking of surface ships.
Identification Friend or FoeIn telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is a cryptographic identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military, and national interrogation systems to distinguish friendly aircraft, vehicles, or forces, and to determine their bearing and range...
(IFF) was used to identify hostile ships and aircraft, especially at night or in adverse weather. The four-channel Very High Frequency (VHF) radio permitted channel variation in an effort to prevent enemy interception of transmissions. It also allowed for simultaneous radio contact with other ships and planes in the task force.
The "long-hull" Essexes
Modifications were made throughout the
Essex building program. The number of 20mm and 40mm anti-aircraft guns was greatly increased, new and improved radars were added, the original hangar deck catapult was removed, the ventilation system was substantially revised, details of protection were altered, and hundreds of other large and small changes were executed. In fact, to the skilled observer, no two ships of the class looked exactly the same.
Beginning in March 1943, one visually very significant change was authorized for ships then in the early stages of construction. This involved lengthening the bow into a "clipper" form. The increased rake and flare provided deck space for two quadruple 40mm mounts. Waterline length remained unchanged. Thirteen ships were completed to this design, four in 1944. The rest entered commission between early 1945 and late 1946. These ships have been variously referred to as the "long-bow units", the "long-hull group", or the "
Ticonderoga class". However, the U.S. Navy never held any institutional difference between the long-hull and short-hull
Essex ships, and postwar refits and upgrades were applied to both groups equally.
Post-war rebuilds
The large numbers of new ships, coupled with their larger
Midway-classThe Midway class aircraft carrier was one of the longest lived carrier designs in history. First commissioned in late 1945, the lead ship of the class, was not decommissioned until 1992, shortly after seeing service in the Gulf War.-History:...
contemporaries, sustained the Navy's air power through the rest of the 1940s, the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
era, and beyond. While the spacious hangars accommodated the introduction of jets, various modifications significantly improved the capability of the ships to handle the jets’ increased weight and speed. These modifications included an angled flight deck (a British innovation); jet-blast deflectors (JBDs); greater aviation fuel capacity; and stronger decks, elevators, and catapults.
Five of the long-hulls were laid up in 1946–47, along with all of the short-hulls. Eight stayed on active duty to form, with three
Midways, the backbone of the post-war Navy's combat strength. Though the
Truman administrationHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
's defense economies sent three of the active
Essexes into "mothballs" in 1949, these soon came back into commission after the Korean War began. Ultimately, all thirteen had active
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
service.
was completed to an improved design in September 1950, and eight earlier ships were thoroughly rebuilt to the improved
Oriskany 27A design under the
SCB-27SCB-27, or "27-Charlie" was the United States Navy designation for a series of upgrades to the Essex class aircraft carriers , conducted between 1947 and 1955...
program in the early 1950s. Six more of the earlier ships were rebuilt to an improved 27C design as the last stage of the SBC-27 program. received an experimental 10.5 degree angled deck in 1952. An improved angled flight deck became a distinctive feature of the
SCB-125SCB-125 was the United States Navy designation for a series of upgrades to the Essex class of aircraft carriers , conducted between 1954 and 1959...
program, and was applied concurrently with the last three 27C conversions and later to all 27A and 27C ships except .
Oriskany got a combined SCB-27 and SCB-125 refit. became the first operational United States angled deck aircraft carrier in 1955.
Korean War and subsequent Cold War needs ensured twenty-two of the twenty-four ships had extensive post-World War II service, all initially with attack air groups. By 1955, seven unconverted
Essexes were operating under the
anti-submarine warfareAnti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
carrier (CVS) designation established in August 1953. As the
Forrestal-classThe Forrestal-class aircraft carriers were a four-ship class designed and built for the United States Navy in the 1950s.- Design :The Forrestal class was the first completed class of "supercarriers" of the Navy, so called because of their then-extraordinarily high tonnage , full integration of the...
"
supercarrierSupercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons. Few countries operate medium carriers of 40,000 tons . Light carriers closer to 20,000 are more typical...
s" entered the fleet, seven 27A conversions were designated CVS to replace the original unconverted ships. Six of the 27As received specialized CVS modifications, including bow-mounted SQS-23
sonarSonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels. There are two kinds of sonar: active and passive. Sonar may be used as a means of acoustic location and of measurement of the echo characteristics of "targets" in the water...
. Two 27C conversions were designated CVS in 1962 and two more in 1969. Unmodernized ships began to leave active service in the late 1950s. The updated units remained active until age and the growing number of supercarriers made them obsolete, from the late 1960s into the middle 1970s. However, one of the very first of the type, , served until 1991 as a training ship.
Of the six unmodernized long-hull
Essexes, three decommissioned in the late 1950s and early 1960s and were promptly reclassified as aircraft transports (AVT), reflecting their very limited ability to safely operate modern aircraft. , , and were redesignated Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH)
amphibious assault shipAn amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault...
s for the
Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and remained in commission with their original straight decks until about 1970. The two least-modernized units went into reserve in the mid-1960s, and the rest passed out of the active fleet between 1969 and 1976. All were scrapped, most in the 1970s, although
Shangri-La survived until the late 1980s.
Evolution of the air wing
For a typical attack carrier configuration in 1956–57 aboard , the air wing consisted of the following one squadron each of the following:
FJ3 FuryThe North American FJ-2/-3 Fury were a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Based on the United States Air Force's F-86 Sabre, these aircraft featured folding wings, and a longer nose landing strut designed to both increase angle of attack upon...
,
F2H BansheeThe McDonnell F2H Banshee was a military carrier-based jet fighter aircraft, used by the United States Navy from 1948 to 1959 and by the Royal Canadian Navy from 1955 until 1962. The Banshee had unswept wings, a single seat, and two engines. Together with the F9F Panther, the Banshee was one of the...
s, F9F Cougars,
AD-6The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the 1950s and early 1970s. It was a propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a World War I fighter...
,
AD-5NThe Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the 1950s and early 1970s. It was a propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a World War I fighter...
, and
AD-5WThe Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the 1950s and early 1970s. It was a propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a World War I fighter...
Skyraiders,
AJ2 SavageThe North American AJ Savage was a carrier-based bomber aircraft built for the United States Navy by North American Aviation...
s, and F9F-8P photo Cougars.
By the mid to late 1960s, the attack air wing had evolved.
Oriskany deployed with two squadrons of
F-8J CrusaderThe F-8 Crusader was a single-engine aircraft carrier-based air superiority fighter aircraft built by Vought. It replaced the Vought F-7 Cutlass. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955, and was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, principally serving in...
s, three squadrons of
A-4E SkyhawkThe Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The delta winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas...
s,
E-1 TracerThe E-1 Tracer was the first purpose built airborne early warning aircraft used by the United States Navy. It was a derivative of the C-1 Trader and first entered service in 1958. It was replaced by the more modern E-2 Hawkeye in the early 1970s....
s, EKA-3B Skywarriors, and
RF-8G photo CrusaderThe F-8 Crusader was a single-engine aircraft carrier-based air superiority fighter aircraft built by Vought. It replaced the Vought F-7 Cutlass. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955, and was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, principally serving in...
s. In 1970, the three A-4 squadrons were replaced by two squadrons of
A-7A Corsair IIThe Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War. The Corsair was later adopted by the United States Air Force, to include the Air National Guard, to...
s. The
F-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the United States...
was considered too heavy to operate from
Essexes.
Tasked and fitted out as an ASW carrier, the air wing of an
Essex such as
Bennington in the 1960s consisted of two squadrons of
S-2F TrackerThe Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare aircraft to enter service with the US Navy....
s and one squadron of Sikorsky SH-34 ASW helicopters (replaced in 1964 by SH-3A Sea Kings). Airborne early warning was first provided by modified
EA-1EThe Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the 1950s and early 1970s. It was a propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a World War I fighter...
s; these were upgraded in 1965 to E-1s. A squadron of A-4Bs were also embarked to provide daylight fighter protection for the ASW aircraft.
LPH-converted ships flew only helicopters such as the UH-34 and
CH-46 Sea KnightThe Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
. The LPHs were sometimes also used as aircraft ferries for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. The AV-8A arrived into Marine Corps inventory too late to see regular fixed wing operations return to these ships. It was possible to launch and recover small aircraft like the
OV-10 BroncoThe North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is a turboprop-driven light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for Counter insurgency combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control aircraft...
without need of catapult or arresting wires, but this was very rarely permitted on these straight-deck ships for safety reasons and to avoid interruption of helicopter operations.
Military contributions
One author called the
Essex class "the most significant class of warships in American naval history", citing the large number produced and "their role in making the aircraft carrier the backbone of the U.S. Navy."
Essex-class ships played a central role in the
Pacific Ocean theater of World War IIThe Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, that pitted forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
from 1943 through the end of the war, participating in battles from the
Gilbert IslandsThe Gilbert Islands are a chain of 16 atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of the Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert...
through the end of the war. The ships successfully performed a number of missions, included air superiority, attacking the Japanese fleet, supporting landings, fleet protection, bombing the Japanese home islands, and transporting aircraft and troops. Along the way, the carriers survived
bombA bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. The word comes from the Greek word βόμβος , an onomatopoetic term with approximately the same meaning as...
s,
torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target...
es,
kamikazeThe were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
s, and
typhoonsThe terms hurricane and typhoon are regionally specific names for a strong "tropical cyclone". A tropical cyclone is the generic term for a non-frontal synoptic scale low-pressure system over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection The terms hurricane and typhoon are regionally...
without one ship being sunk.
Eleven of the
Essex carriers participated in the Korean War. These ships played a major role throughout the entire war. Missions included attacks on all types of ground targets, air superiority, and antisubmarine patrols.
Thirteen of the 24 carriers originally built participated in the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
, including the prelude and follow-up. However, their inability to support the latest aircraft constrained some of those ships to specialized roles as helicopter carriers or antisubmarine platforms. The ships still performing an attack mission generally carried older aircraft types than the supercarriers. Yet, the
Essex class still made significant contributions to all aspects of the U.S. war effort. In one notable event, during the
Gulf of Tonkin IncidentThe Gulf of Tonkin Incident is the name given to two separate incidents involving the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, 1964 two American destroyers engaged three North Vietnamese torpedo boats, resulting in one of the torpedo...
, aircraft from the
Ticonderoga fired at North Vietnamese torpedo boats that had attacked a U.S. destroyer.
The carriers also contributed between the wars, projecting U.S. power around the world and performing antisubmarine patrols. When the Cold War heated up, the
Essex carriers were often involved, including Quemoy and the
Matsu IslandsThe Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Not all of what is historically part of Lienchiang county is under the control of the ROC...
, the
Bay of Pigs InvasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion , was an unsuccessful attempt by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with support from US government armed forces, to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F...
, and the
Cuban Missile CrisisThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962, during the Cold War. In Russia, former Eastern Bloc, and communist countries , it is termed the "Caribbean Crisis" , while in Cuba it is called the "October Crisis"...
. Also, from 1957 through 1991 an
Essex-class ship served as the Navy's training carrier—the
Antietam from 1957 through 1962 and the
Lexington for the remainder of the time.
The space program
Several
Essex-class ships played a part in the United States'
human spaceflightHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
program, as recovery ships for unmanned and manned spaceflights, between 1960 and 1973.
Valley Forge was the recovery ship for the unmanned flight of
Mercury-Redstone 1AMercury-Redstone 1A was launched on December 19, 1960 from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission objectives of this unmanned suborbital flight were to qualify the spacecraft for space flight and qualify the system for an upcoming primate suborbital flight. The spacecraft tested its...
on 19 December 1960. The first spaceflight by an American was on
Mercury-Redstone 3Mercury-Redstone 3 was a U.S. Mercury program human crewed space mission launched on May 5, 1961 using a Redstone rocket, from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury spacecraft was named Freedom 7 which performed a suborbital flight piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard, who became...
, recovered by
Lake Champlain on 5 May 1961.
Randolph recovered the next flight,
Mercury-Redstone 4Mercury-Redstone 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket.Its spacecraft was named Liberty Bell 7 and performed a suborbital flight piloted by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom. It reached an altitude of over 118.26 mi and traveled about...
, on 21 July 1961, and she was the primary recovery ship for
Mercury-Atlas 6Mercury-Atlas 6 was a human spaceflight mission conducted by NASA, the space agency of the United States. As part of Project Mercury, MA-6 was the successful first attempt by NASA to place an astronaut into orbit. The MA-6 mission was launched February 20, 1962...
. The next manned flight,
Mercury-Atlas 7Mercury-Atlas 7 was a Mercury program American manned space mission launched May 24, 1962.The Mercury spacecraft was named Aurora 7 and made three earth orbits, piloted by astronaut Scott Carpenter....
, was picked up by
Intrepid on 24 May 1962, and recovered the last two Mercury spacecraft,
Mercury-Atlas 8Mercury-Atlas 8 was an early manned space mission, part of NASA's Mercury program. Astronaut Wally Schirra made six orbits of the Earth in the Sigma 7 spacecraft on 3 October 1962, in an almost completely flawless nine-hour flight focused primarily on "engineering evaluation" rather than on...
, on 3 October 1962, and
Mercury-Atlas 9Mercury-Atlas 9 was the last U.S. Mercury spaceflight manned space mission, launched on May 15, 1963 from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft was named Faith 7 and it completed 22 Earth orbits piloted by astronaut Gordon Cooper...
, on 16 May 1963.
When the Mercury program's successor,
Project GeminiProject Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini operated between Projects Mercury and Apollo, with 10 manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966...
, got underway,
Essexes were again closely involved.
Lake Champlain recovered the second unmanned flight,
Gemini 2Gemini 2 was the second spaceflight of the American human spaceflight program Project Gemini. Gemini 2, like Gemini 1, was an unmanned mission intended as a test flight of the Gemini spacecraft. Unlike Gemini 1, which was placed into orbit, Gemini 2 made a suborbital flight, primarily intended to...
, on 19 January 1965; and
Intrepid recovered the first manned flight,
Gemini 3Gemini 3 was a 1965 manned space flight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the first manned Gemini flight, the seventh American flight and the 17th manned spaceflight from Earth of all time .-Crew:-Backup crew:...
.
Wasp recovered the crew of Gemini IV on 7 June, and on 29 August,
Lake Champlain picked up
Gemini 5Gemini 5 was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 3rd manned Gemini flight, the 11th manned American flight and the 19th spaceflight of all time .-Crew:...
after eight days in space. In December 1965,
Wasp made history by picking up two spacecraft in just over two days: Gemini VI-A on 16 December, and
Gemini 7Gemini 7 was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 4th manned Gemini flight, the 12th manned American flight and the 20th spaceflight of all time .-Crew:...
on 18 December, after their orbital rendezvous test flight. She also recovered
Gemini 9AGemini 9A was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 7th manned Gemini flight, the 13th manned American flight and the 23rd spaceflight of all time .- Crew :...
on 6 June 1966 and the final Gemini spaceflight,
Gemini 12Gemini 12 was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini. It was the 10th manned Gemini flight, the 18th manned American flight and, including X-15 flights over 100 km, the 26th spaceflight of all time.-Crew:...
on 15 November.
The successful use of the carriers as recovery ships continued into the Apollo program. On 26 February 1966,
Boxer recovered the command module from
AS-201AS-201 was the first flight of the Saturn IB launch vehicle.-Objectives:This was not only the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket but the first real flight of a production Command and Service Module . It was a Block I version though, whereas all manned missions after the ill-fated Apollo 1 would...
, the first unmanned flight of a production
Apollo Command and Service ModuleThe Command/Service Module was a spacecraft built for NASA by North American Aviation. It was one of the two spacecraft that were utilized for the Apollo program, along with the Lunar Module, to land astronauts on the Moon. Together they were called the Apollo spacecraft...
.
AS-202AS-202 was a sub-orbital test flight of the Saturn IB and Command and Service Module. It is sometimes informally called Apollo 3.-Objectives:...
, another sub-orbital test flight of the command module, was recovered in August by
Hornet; the command module from that flight is currently on display aboard
Hornet.
Bennington recovered the command module of
Apollo 4Apollo 4 was the first flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, carrying no crew. It was also the first flight of the S-IC and S-II stages of the rocket.-Objectives:...
, the first unmanned flight of the
Saturn VThe Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. In total NASA launched thirteen Saturn V rockets with no loss of payload. It remains the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status from a...
launch vehicle, on 9 November 1967.
Eleven months later,
Essex recovered the astronauts of
Apollo 7Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. It was an eleven-day Earth-orbital mission, the first manned launch of the Saturn IB launch vehicle, and the first three-person American space mission. The crew consisted of Mission Commander Walter M. Schirra, Command...
, the first manned mission in the Apollo program, after eleven days in orbit.
Yorktown recovered the astronauts of
Apollo 8Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight mission to achieve a velocity sufficient to allow escape from the gravitational field of planet Earth; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to planet Earth from...
, after their historic flight around the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
in December 1968; and
Princeton recovered the second crew to orbit the Moon, aboard
Apollo 10Apollo 10 was the fourth manned mission in the Apollo program. Its purpose was to be a "dry run" for the Apollo 11 mission, testing all of the procedures and components of a moon landing without actually landing on the Moon itself. The mission included the second crew to orbit the Moon and an...
, in May 1969.
Hornet rejoined the program and recovered the astronauts from the first two moon landing missions,
Apollo 11The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr...
in July 1969 and
Apollo 12Apollo 12 was the sixth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. The mission was commanded by Charles "Pete" Conrad. It was launched on 14 November 1969, four months after Apollo 11. Pete Conrad and Alan L. Bean performed just over one day and seven hours of lunar...
in November. The first steps on Earth of returning astronauts
Neil ArmstrongNeil Alden Armstrong is an American aviator and a former astronaut, test pilot, university professor, and United States Naval Aviator. He was the first person to set foot on the Moon. His first spaceflight was aboard Gemini 8 in 1966, for which he was the command pilot...
,
Edwin AldrinBuzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing...
, and
Mike CollinsMichael Collins is an Irish American former American astronaut and test pilot. Selected as part of the third group of fourteen astronauts in 1963, he flew in space twice. His first spaceflight was Gemini 10, when he and command pilot John W. Young performed two rendezvous with different...
, are marked on her hangar deck, as part of her Apollo program exhibit. The three subsequent missions utilized amphibious assault ships as support vessels;however,
Ticonderoga recovered the astronauts of the last two moon missions,
Apollo 16Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program, the fifth mission to land on the Moon and the first to land in a highlands area. The mission was launched on April 16, 1972, and concluded on April 27. It was a J-class mission, featuring a Lunar Rover and it brought back 94.7 kg of...
and
Apollo 17Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo program. It was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the sixth and final lunar landing mission of the Apollo program. The mission was launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, and concluded on December 19. It...
in April and December 1972.
In the post-Apollo era,
Ticonderoga again acted as a recovery ship for the astronauts of
Skylab 2Skylab 2 was the first manned mission to Skylab, the first U.S. orbital space station. The mission was launched on a Saturn IB rocket and carried a three-person crew to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission...
, the first
mannedHuman spaceflight is spaceflight with a human crew and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike robotic space probes or remotely-controlled satellites...
mission to
SkylabSkylab was the United States' first space station, and the second space station visited by a human crew. It was also the only space station NASA launched alone...
, the first
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
orbital
space stationA space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. To date, only low earth orbital stations have been implemented, otherwise known as orbital stations...
, in June 1973.
The ships today
Four
Essex-class ships have been preserved, and opened to the public as museums:
- Yorktown, at Patriot's Point
Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston, SC.Patriot's Point is home to four museum ships:* , an aircraft carrier...
, Mount Pleasant, South CarolinaMount Pleasant is a suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, within the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina, and for several years it was one of the state's fastest...
- Intrepid, in New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
- Hornet, in Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on a small island of the same name next to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. An additional part of the city is Bay Farm Island, which is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. The city has a small town feeling...
- Lexington, at Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties.MSA population in 2008 is 416, 376. The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the US Census...
.
Until opened at San Diego, every preserved aircraft carrier in the U.S. was an
Essex.
Oriskany was sunk in 2006 to form an artificial reef off the coast of
Pensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2007, the estimated population was 54,283....
.
The Essex class
| Ship | Keel laid | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|
|
| April 1941 |
July 1942 |
December 1942 |
June 1969 |
Scrapped (June 1975) |
|
| December 1941 |
January 1943 |
April 1943 |
June 1970 |
Museum (October 1975) |
|
| December 1941 |
April 1943 |
August 1943 |
March 1974 |
Museum (August 1982) |
|
| August 1942 |
August 1943 |
November 1943 |
June 1970 |
Museum (July 1989) |
|
| December 1942 |
October 1943 |
January 1944 |
February 1947 |
Scrapped (August 1966) |
|
| February 1943 |
February 1944 |
May 1944 |
September 1973 |
Scrapped (September 1975) |
|
| May 1943 |
June 1944 |
October 1944 |
February 1969 |
Scrapped (May 1975) |
|
| July 1941 |
September 1942 |
February 1943 |
November 1991 |
Museum (June 1992) |
|
| September 1941 |
December 1942 |
May 1943 |
January 1947 |
Scrapped (May 1973) |
|
| March 1942 |
August 1943 |
November 1943 |
July 1972 |
Scrapped (May 1973) |
|
| January 1943 |
January 1944 |
April 1944 |
January 1976 |
Scrapped (September 1976) |
|
| December 1942 |
February 1944 |
August 1944 |
January 1970 |
Scrapped (January 1994) |
|
| September 1943 |
December 1944 |
April 1945 |
December 1969 |
Scrapped (February 1971) |
|
| February 1943 |
April 1944 |
November 1944 |
July 1971 |
Scrapped (March 1992) |
|
| February 1944 |
August 1945 |
April 1946 |
May 1959 |
Scrapped (March 1970) |
|
| March 1944 |
May 1945 |
March 1946 |
February 1970 |
Scrapped (September 1970) |
|
| May 1944 |
October 1945 |
September 1950 |
September 1976 |
Scuttled (May 2006) |
|
| March 1943 |
August 1944 |
January 1945 |
May 1963 |
Scrapped (February 1974) |
|
| September 1943 |
July 1945 |
November 1945 |
January 1970 |
Scrapped (May 1971) |
USS Shangri-La (CV-38)USS Shangri-La was one of 24 s completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy.Commissioned in 1944, Shangri-La participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II, earning two battle stars...
|
January 1943 |
February 1944 |
September 1944 |
July 1971 |
Scrapped (August 1988) |
|
| March 1943 |
November 1944 |
June 1945 |
May 1966 |
Scrapped (April 1972) |
|
| March 1943 |
May 1945 |
November 1945 |
June 1967 |
Scrapped (October 1968) |
|
| September 1944 |
November 1945 |
November 1946 |
January 1970 |
Scrapped (October 1971) |
|
| August 1944 |
September 1945 |
May 1946 |
December 1958 |
Scrapped (March 1971) |
was ordered and laid down as an
Essex-class vessel, was completed in 1950 to the much modified SCB-27A design.
, laid down in July 1944 at the New York Navy Yard and launched in 1945, was scrapped incomplete after tests; and was laid down at
Newport News ShipbuildingNorthrop Grumman Shipbuilding Newport News , formerly called Northrop Grumman Newport News or Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , was the largest privately-owned shipyard in the United States prior to being purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001...
yards in January 1945 but cancelled in August 1945 and broken up on the slipway.
Six fiscal-year 1945 ships, none of which received names, were assigned to Bethlehem Steel Company (CV-50), New York Navy Yard (CVs 51 & 52), Philadelphia Navy Yard (CV-53) and Norfolk Navy Yard (CVs 54 and 55). Their construction was cancelled in March 1945.
See also