The world's most comprehensive encyclopedia of the militarry weapons of the 20th centurT

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IR$1 Aus$1.95 NZ$2.25 SA R1.95 Sins $4.50 USA&Can $1.95

USS Intrepidin Action with giart coiow 4-view and cutaway

Battle of Midway Battle of the Muianas -;

rt'f' {1rr

Effi*Forcesortheworld:A fully rllutrated gurde to AmericanAircraft Caniers of the PacificWu

Yotqne I Issue 4

corffEt{TsAmerican Aircraft Carriers of thePacific War

l:.e "T

Pacrfic CamerFleet l94l-5

-$-argiey-$ie&ngfon"Siaraloga'-SS Tcrholml.eBarjeof Midway

-:SInlerprue-TSfornel-lSl7asp-SSEssex

-IS ln trepid tn Action

,SSFrat,kln,ISPnncetonl:.e Battle of Leyte Gulf

"5S8ogue.$Sargamon5Stloi:Je of the PilippineSeakJe I'lap of Pacific Curier Operations

)ecember I94 l-Augusl 1945

Armed Forces of the World'::dar,

Pictnre acknowledgements

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72

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Published byOrbis Publishing Ltd@ Aerospace Publishlng Ltd 1 983

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=-::::j :icclled by US National Archive and US Navy

Collect these Weapon Fforthcoming issues of

The US PcrcrtrcCarrier Fleet l94l-5OnJy the enormous industrial capacity of the United StatescouJd have produced the canier task forces which broke thelapanese fleet. Bythe endof the war 75 Essex'-classcarrietswere in sereice, with utother I I in consttttction. In additionnamerous light caniers (CVL) had heen built, together withneaily 80 escort catriers (CW1. These'Jeep'caniersprovided vital anti-submarine cover, as well as afucrafttransport, convoy escorts andfleet carrier supply duringtheadvance on flapan, The table below record,s the actions of thecawiers that sewed in the Pacific war. Those ships listed inbold ate featured in this publication.

CABRIEB

Aboard US^S Essexin May 1943.ltwas the advenl ofEssexandherststersftipswhich finally swung the Pacificwar infavour of the United States.

COMMISSIONED BECORD CAB RI ER COMMISSIONED BECOBD CARRIER COMMISSIONED RECORD

AV.3 I.ANGI-EY

t)(cv 1)

'Lexington' class

(AVl 1937 Sunkbyb0nbingoil la\a2712142(cv) 1 922

cv-z rtxtNGToN 14.12.21

cv-3 SARAToGA 16 11 27

'Yorktown'class

cv-5 YoRKT0WN 30.9.3i

cv-6 ENTERPRTSE 12.5.38

CV-8 HoR]'ltI ?0 10 41

'Wasp'class

cv-7 wAsP 25.4.40

'Essex'class

cv-g EssEx 31.12.42

Pacilic raids 1 942. Sunk ar Coral Sea

Bt5t47

Torp€doed olf Hawaii 1 1/1/42,

Cuadalcara , lorpedoed Solomons

31/8/42, E S0l0mof s, B0ugainville,

Gilbe( ls, Kwaj€lein, Efiwer0k, Paciiic

ra ds 1!44. operared wirh Br rish t.Fleer I944 severe damaUe (Kamikazel

lwo Jina21l2l45

Pacific raids 1 942, damag€d al C0ral

Sea. sunkar [.4idway 7/6/42

Pearl Harbor {aircralt on yl, Midway,

Guadalcanal land ngs, Kwajalein. Truk

ra d, Hol andla, Saipan, Philippine Sea.

Palau, Leyle. lwoJ ma, damagedrwice

(l(amikazel ar 0kinawa 1 1 /4/45 and

1314145

000linle raid 1 8/4/42. lvl dway, sunk al

Santa Uuz 21 11 0 | 42

Guadalcanal l6ndings, sunk al E.

Solomons 1 5/g/42

Bougainv I e, Gilbe( ls, Kwajalein,

Tr!k ra d, l\4ar anas, Palau, Leyte, lwo

Jima, damaged (Kamikaze) 25/1 1 /440ilben ls, Kwaja e n, Truk raid,

Hollandia, lVarianas, lwo Jima

Kwalalein, l0rpedoed Truk raid, Palau

Leyre. s€vere damage {Kamikaze} 01l

Luzon 25/l 1 /44 and also oll 0kinawa

r 6/4/45

Maranas Paiau. Leyle. lwo JrraGuam, Pala!, Leyre, damaged

(Kamikaze) Luzor 1 5/1 0/44 aid

30/1 0/44, severe damage (bombs i i:Kyushu I 9/3/45

Pala!, LeFe sever€ damage

{Kamikaze) Formosa 2l /1 /i5lwoJ ma

0ilbe( ls Ho andra rorpedoed cfl

l(waja e n 4ll 2/43 Mar anas Pa au

Leyle. (as I agslr p damage

lKamikaze) luzon 5/l 1114 !{J ma

Eouga nv e.6 lb€ri s. Kwara e I i'ilra d, Ho and a, I\y'ariaias Pala! Leylg

lwoJima, severe damage (Kamrkaze

0kinawa 1 1 /4/45New Guirea, [,4ar anas, Palau, LeIe,

lwoJima, damaged (bomb) olf KyushL

1 9/3/45

Phrl ippines, lwo Jima, damaged

(explosion) 21 /1 /45 and aqain

(Kamikare) 7/4/45

lwo Jima

BaidsonJapan

CV 10 YOBK]OWN

CV.lI INTBEPID

CV,] 2 HORNEI

CV.1 3 FRANKL N

CV 14 TICONDEROCA

CV. I 5 BANDOLPH

CV.1 6 1 FXINGTI]N

1 5.4.43

1 6.8.43

25.11.43

31.1.44

B 5.44

s.1 0.44

11243

CV.] 7 EUNKER HILL 20.5,43

CV 18 WASP

CV.1 9 HANCOCK

24.11.43

15 4.44

CV 20 BTNNINGTON 6 8,44

cv.31 BoN Ht]lvtNlE BTCHABD 26 1 1 .44

62

c\, i:

'lndependence'class

CVt-23 PFlNCtT0l -: - r:

CVL 2r ::--:r : .::

CVt-25 :-,',::',, -:.:)

CVL 26 '.'.',-:r: -::l

C\| 21 -:', i-: :' : :l

CVL 28 l:: ' ,: :l

:: Fr:s!f: ai Ja!anese s!trender ii T0kyo

9ar

:: :3 isl!j5

'Long lsland'classil: -. ,- .-,

'Bogue'class

CVE.g BOGUE

C,!., .::-::

:,: : :--:'.':_:

l,: -: :::-,',

Bouga nvi le, s€ver€ damage (t0rpedo)

G be( s 20/1 I /43, Palau, L€yre

Eouga nvi le, Gi ben ls. Kwajalein,

Fniwer0k, H0 andia, I\4arianas, Palau,

sunk a1 Levre 25/l 0/44

G be( ls, Kwaialein, Truk road, New

Gurnea i\,4afafas, Pala!. severe dama!€

lKamika?e j at Leyre 30/1 0/44. w0 J ma

G lbe( ls, Kwajalein, Iruk raid, New

Gr nea, Mar anas, Palau, Levte,

Philippines, woJim€

Gi ben ls, Kwajalein, Truk raid, New

G! nea, l\.4ar anas, Palau LeIe(wajalein. Eniwelok, [,4ariaias, Pa au,

Lefle, Phtl ppifes, lwoJima

Kwalalein, Trukraid, Philippine Sea.

6uam, Palau, Ley1e. Philipplnes, lwo

J ima

Hollandia. lvlarianas

l,rlarianas, Palau, Leyrs, Philippines,

lwoJ ma

Aircraft transpon, 6uada canal

ASW 0perati0ns Allanric, lranspofl and

supply Pacilic 1o €nd ol war

Aitctall lransponto combat areas

1 942-45

Marsh6 I lslands, 0lh€Nise aircrail

taf,sp0n

ASW 0p€rari0ns, supply and lranspoil

Aircrall ranspon lo combal areas

Ai.crafl Ianspoil

Aircralr ranspon l1 943 and 44 in

Pacific)

N. Alrica. Gilben ls. Kwaialein,

Eniwer0k, l\,4arianas, damag€d ar Leyle

25/1 0/44, damaged {Kamikaze)0kinawa 4/5/45

N. Ahica. Gi ben ls, Kwaialeio,

[niwetok, New Guinea, Saipan,

damaged ar Leyre 26/1 0/44, 0kinawa

N. Africa, Gilbeil ls, Kwajalein,

Enlw€rok, Saipan, 6uam, Levre, okinawa

N. Africa, Guam, severe damage al

Leyre 25/l 0/44, 0kinawa

Jranspon afd [ainingSunk (submarinel 2411 1 /43 in S0l0m0ns

l\y'akln, Kwajalein, New Guinea, Saipan.

Guam

CVt 2! ::-::',CVL :0 ::', -:

'- t3

'i642

20842

15942

2424312443s443

'Sangamon'class

cvE-26 SANGAMoITI ?5842

C\rt.27 SLI\{ANt:

CVE.28 CNENANGO

CVT 23 SANTEE

'Gasablanca'class

CVE.55 CASABLANCA

CVE 56 LISCOI\,1E BAY

CVI 57 ANZIO

24942

19I42

24.8 42

8.7.43

7.8.43

?1843

CVE,58 CORBEGIDOR

CVE.61 MANILA BAY

CVE.62 NATO[,1A BAY

cvt-53 sT. r"0

CVE.65 WAKE ISLANO

CVE 66 WHI][ PLAINS

CVT.68 KALININ BAY

CVE-69 KASAAN BAY

3'l 8.43 Gilben ls, l\y'arshall ls, New G!inea,

Sarpan, Guam

5.1 0.43 Ma.shall ls. Kwajalein, Eniwerok.

Kavienq, Solomons, Rabaul, Leyte,

Phi ipp nes, damaged (Kam k6z€)

Linqayen 5/1/451 4 I 0 43 i\ila6ha ls, Kav eng, New C!inea,

Leyle Philippines, lwo J ma, 0kinawa

damaged (Kamikaze) 7/6/45

23 10 43 Saipan, Pa au,sunk{byJapanes€l eer

ar Samar acrion) Leyle 25/1 0/44

4 I 1 43 Ph pprfes, lwoJima, damaged

lKamikaze) 0klnawa 3/4/45

1 5 I 1 43 Sa oan Rora. Trnran. Palau. damag.

1 gunfire and Kamikaze al Samar acll0f)tevte 29/l 0/44

27 ll j3 Severedamage(Kamikazeandg!nl real

Samar act on) Leyte 25/1 0/44

4 I 2 13 P !r rra ninq and transpo( (all€r

- Al antic Seruic€)

CVE'70 FANSHAW BAY "o

1 2 .1: Sa pan. damaged (bombs) Philipp ne

Sea. damaged (gunlire ar Samar acli0n)

leyte25l10l441 5 I 2 J3 Sa !an, T nrai, Guam, damaqed

Kam kaz€ -Samar action) Leyre

25t14t44

wo Jima. 0k nawa

Sa pan Tinian, Palau, sunk (qunfir€) ar

leyre 25/1 0/44

Sa par Guam, Pala!, damag€d

1 iyph00nsl December I 944, 0kin6wa

\4ar anas. Phil ppires,0kinawa

Pa au Leyre. s€vere damage (Kam kaze)

L ngay€f 8/1/45

Palau. Leyre. Adm ra ry lslands

Pelelreu. Leile drmage (Kam kaz€) ln

Ph I ppines5/1/45,0k nawa

Palau. Levre. Phi ippines, sunk (bV own

s de afrer Kam kaze damaqel 4/1/45

Lele,0krnawa

Pa au, Leyre,0k nawa

Philipp nes, lwoJ ma,0kinawa

Philipp nes, lwo Jlma. 0kinawa

0kifawa

Transpon and s!pply

Transpon and supply

Transpon and supply

Trans!0il and su0plV

Trafspon and supply

IransFon and supplV

Training and Ianspo(LeIe, lwoJ ma,0kinawa

Philipp nes, damag€d {Kamikaze) al

lwoJima.0k nawa

Sunk (Kamikaze) wa lina 21 12l 45

Phi ipp nes, severe damage (Kamikaze)

L nqayen 1 3/1 /45, 0kinawa

Transpon and supply

Transpon aid supply

Transpoil afd s!!DlV

Transoon and suDply

Transpon and supp y

Transpo( and s!pply

Transpon aid s!pply

Jranspo( and supply

CVI.71 KITKUN BAY

CVE.72 TULAGI

CVE 73 GAN1BIEF BAY

CVE 74 NENTNTA BAY

21 12t32812;r

;rl:- i:l

'3 r::CVE

CVE

CVE

CVF

75 HOGGATT BA\

76 KAOASHAN BAY

c\/E.7s

CVE 80

c\/E.82

cvE.83

CVE-84

c\/t.85c\/t-86cvE-87

CVE 88

cvE,89

CVF.9O

CVE 91

[\/E.g2

cvE.!3cvt-94

cvt 95

CVE 96

MARCUS SLql\D 2i ] 1ISAVOISLAND 32J]

OMIVIANTY 8AY 'i 2 14

PETFOF 8AY i8 7 44

SAGINA\,IBAY 2344SAFGENT 8AY 9.3 44

SHAN4ROCKBAY ]5344SH]PLEY BAY 21.3 44

SITKON BAY 28.3.44

STEAIVER BAY 4.4 44

CAPE ISPTRANCE 9.4 44

TAKANIS BAY .15.4.44

THITTS BAY 21.4.44

t\ilAKAssAf STRATT 29 4 44

WINDHAI\4 BAY 3.5.44

t\,lAKtN|SLANO S544LUNGAPOINT 14 5.44

B|SMABC( sEA 20.5.44

SALA|IIAUA 26.5.44

cvE.97 H0LLAN0|A 1.6.44

CVE 98 KWAJALEIN 1.8.44

CVE 9g AO[/IBALTY ISLANDS 1 3,6.44

CVE,1 OO BOUGAINVILLE 1 8.6.44

CVE,I 01 I\iIATANIKAU 24.8.44

cvE 1 02 ATTU 30.6.44

cvE,l 03 fl01 6.1.44

cvt,r 04 MUN0A I 1 44

'Gommencement Bay' class

CVE 106 BL0CKISLAN0 30 l2 44 0k nawa

CVE.107 GILBIRI ISLANDS 5 2 44 0k nawa

CVE.I09 CAPTGL0UCESTEF 534,J Arcove'i.,tr'l'r!Vessels

A,mericcrnAircrqrlt Carriersof fhePacificWdrThe Pacific War was to a large extent the war of the aircraftcanier; from Pearl Earbor to Okinawa, it was the effectiveuse of the carrier forces which proved decisive. Fot the firsttime, battles were fought with hundreds of miles of oceanbetween the c ombatants.

From the moment that Japanese carrter aircraft struck at the US PaciflcFleet's anchorage on 7 December 1941, a new era in naval wariare wasborn. Although naval air power had already proved its ability to strtke atan enemy fleet sheltering in its own harbours, Pearl Harbor was thedawn of carrier warfare across the broad oceans, in a way that pre-wartheorists had never imaedned.

The reason for this Iay in the fact that the battleships with whichaircraft-carriers had been meant to fight were now sunk or disabled. Forat ieast six months the US Paclflc Fleet could only take the offensive withrts carriers, and so the concept of the fast carrier task force was created,using the carriers' dive-bombers and torpedo-bombers as long-rangesubstitutes for the 406-mm (16-rn) gnrn. Because the tactics and thearrcraft were comparatively primitive, the flrst attempts by the US Na\,ry

to carry the war to the Japanese were barely effectrve, and there wasiittle that could be done to stop the Japanese carriers from overrunningrthe Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. The USS Homef flew off adaring rard by North American B-25 Mitchell bombers against Tokyo tnApril i942, and a series of pinprlck raids was made on Wake Island andother outposts,

The first pitched battle, in the Coral Sea, was fought in May i942 to stopthe Japanese from gaining a foothold in Port Moresby, New Gutnea, Itcost the Americans one of their biggest carriers, the USSlexmglon, but:he amphibious operation was called off after the smali carrier Siorlo',,ras sunk, What distingulshed the battle was the fact that the opposingfleets never came within sight of one another: it was the first carrier-versus-carrier battle.

The full strength of the AmericanF ast Carrier Tas k force in the P acifi c :the light fleet carrier Langley /eadsthe big carrier Ticonderoga andthree battleships.

A rash attempt by rhe Jap=-.=.=the next battle in June i:-2 : *:much improved tactrcs r.:::Japanese lost therr four frcr.:--::.;them the best{rained aircre'.','s -:-

='.' -s.a:-d brought on:=:- -::eritgenCe and:'.'.'=.- iecrsive. The:..lr:ss:.r. and with:-: :-:as :nal followed

Japanese naval aircrews. Ti.= l::=' l.l ,: , .,slaughterof hundreds of ser:-:-s'--:: :.-:': ::. lthe remnants of the Impena. \=.-.",'.'=:= .. ..- : .:.'there were hardly any pilo:s .=:' ::: ':.=

-- -::.=: =

Survlvols of the once-migh:. : - : t= - - : - :i.:!.. - :- i.:t j .'. :t: j-.:.( i: -:S

moorings inJapan, unable:, :.-.= :=:: :: ,-',-.='--r.- --:.::::uel

f6FHellcatswaitingfororders tostar:e.:!-€-. i:.-;rs:r'e::eislandof theYorktown (C7. J 0 ). S he w as th e secon c c: :i e is.- e: :-':.-s. a:: d 'rrascommrssioned in April 1943. Only thrx ::.c::.'s .::er s.ie ;+'a s on her way tothe Pacific.

E USA

: USS LangleyThe potentiai of naval aviation was soclearly seen at the end of World War Ithat the US Navy wanted to pressahead with the construction of aircraftcarriers. But to grain practical experi-ence before building new ships it wasessential to carry out experrments, andthe quickest and cheapest way was toconvert an existrng ship,

The biq fleet coliier/uplter (AC,3)was taken in hand in March 1920. Amonth later she was renamed USSLangley (CV.l) and started trials inJuly 1922. The ship which emergedwas flush-decked, with two hingedfunnels on the port side, The formercoal holds had been converted toworkshops, accommodation andstorerooms, while the former upperdeck was now the hangar. The biggestdrawback to the.Lang)ey was her lowspeed, for the 5335-kW (7, i50-shp) tur-bo-electric machinery was badlyunderpowered, In sewice the.Langleycould only make 14 knots, whrch wassome 7 knots below the speed of thebattle fleet. However in spite of thishandicap she sewed with the fleet,and for five years she played the rolewhich was to be taken over so success-fully by lhe Lexington and Saralogafrom I92B onwards,

Although originally designed tooperate 24 aucrafl, her capacious han-gar allowed a maxrmum of 33 to beaccommodated. She did not stop oper-ating aucraft until 1936, when she wasconverted to a seaplane carrier andredesignated AV.3. AJter a short refitshe reappeared in April 1937 wlth ashort flight deck, as the forward parthad been removed,

One most important contributionsmade to naval aviation by Ihe I'angleywas to test various systems of arrester

American Aircraft Ca:riers of the Pacific War

gear. When she was first commis-sioned she had a British system of lon-gihldinal wues, which were intendedto engage hooks in the landing gear ofthe aircraft, and prevent it from slew-ing ftom srde to side, However, the USNavy added a back-up system oftrans-verse wues, whose retarding actionwas achieved by hangring sand-filledshellcases on the ends. This system(refined into a proper hydraulic arres-ter system) ultimately proved better,and rc the basis of all modern carrierlandings, Another innovation was apair of flush-mounted pneumatic cata-pults on the flight deck; intended forseaplanes, they later proved that theycould speed up the launching of con-

ventional aucra.ft, and iike the arres:::gear, this procedure is still stancia::today.

The veteran 'Covered Wagon'spen:her short war sewice as a humble au-craft transport. On 27 February lg42 agroup of Japanese naval bombersoperating from Bali caught her enroute for Tjilatjap in Java, and sank herwith five bombs,

SpecificationUSS langrJey (CV.l)Displacement: i1,050 tons standard,14,700 tons fl:l] loadDimensions: Ienqth 165.3 m (542 ft 4 in)overall; beam 19,96m (65ft 6in);draught 7.32 m (24 ft 0 in)

Complement: -i-- :::=-. - :men

r USA

: USS LexingtonUnder the Washingrton Treaty the USNavy was allowed to conveil two in-complete 33,000-ton battle-cruisersinto aucraft-carriers, The ships chosenwere the -Lexinglon and Saratoga, andthe opporrunity was taken to incorpo-rate many ideas from a cancelled car-rier desigm of 1919. When completedin 1925 the USS.Lexmgrton (CV,2) was aremarkable ship, with a massive 'is-land' superstructure on the starboardside, flanked by hvo twin 203-mm (8-in) gnrn turrets forward and two alt.

At the time of Pearl Harbor the shipwas delivering aircraft to the USMarines on Midway Island, and soescaped the disaster. She was hurried-ly refitted, losing her cumbersome203-mm (B-in) guns and four l27-mm(S-in) quns, although she received afew single 20-mm Oerlikon guns tosupplement her meagne close-rangeanti-aircraft amament.

The Lexington's fust operation wasan abortrve attempt to relieve WakeIsland immediately after Pearl Harbor,but at the end ofJanuary 1942 she pro-vided drstant cover for a raid on the

Marshall Islands and thereafter saw li-mited actron in the South West Pacific,Not until she was joined by the newercatter Yorhown in March 1942 didlhe Lexington really begin to flex hermuscles,

After a short refit at Pearl Harbor theship retwned to the Coral Sea, wherethe Japanese cariers were supportingan attack on Port Moresby, NewGuinea. On 8 May her Douglas SBDDauntless dive-bombers attacked theSiokaku and Zuikaku, but wrthoutscoring any hits, Unfortunately whrlethis attack was in progness a Japanesecounter-strike succeeded in hitting theLexington with huo torpedoes on theport side, and the ship also sufferedhvo bomb hits and several near mis-ses, The whip' of the 270,7-m (888-ft)

hull ftom the explosions ruptured theavlation gasoline tanks, so that evenafter the fires had been extinqmishedthe lethal vapour continued to seepthrough the ship. About an hour afterthe attack a chance spark ignrted thisvapour, and the ship began to suffera series of devastating internal ex-plosions. Six hours after the first hit theorder was given to abandon ship, andafter escofiing destroyers had res-cued as many of her crewmen aspossible the blazing vweck was torpe-doed. Surprisingly only 216 lives out of2,95I were lost.

In her short war career the lexrng-foir had failed to inflict severe damageon the enemy, largely as a result of theinexperience of her air gnoup and be-cause of faulty tactical US Navy doc-trine, and the loss ofa big carrier was aheavy price to pay for the Coral Seavictory,

SpecificationUSS trexrngton (CV 2'Displacement: :: ,-- --.. :-: -: -47,700 tons i:* -:=:Dimensions: .=:.:-.-. --.:: - :iiU ln) OVeraU ::l:- :: : - -. . : . -over flighto::i ::,-;.-.- :.: - ._ -O in)Machinery: {-s:-.::- .'electric de--','+:-:- :(210,000 shp)Speed: 34 k-:-Armour: bel: -:l:::- : --25 mm (i rnl :-:,:- :=:-.' ilower deck 2:---: :::: -',38-76mm'-.--:.:, ::::: ::152 mm (6 ;..Armament: --. --:i- =.;.-.'---.--' :

tn) AA 3C Z---:::..:-!-:-.r j- rj - -ple 27 94-r,-::. - -----. -:-:. :--.Aircraft: .-:;: --:=-:'=:= :: -bombe:s a:.: -- :-::+::.::--:::-

ffi usA

= USS Saratoga

-Lke her srster l,exrngton, the USSSarctoga (CV.3) was launched in 1925

after three years of conversion from anrncomplete battle-cruiser hull, Likeher srster she played a major role indeveloping the concept ofthe fast car-rier task force, and from 1928 the woships took part in the annual 'FleetProblem' or war game of the PacificFIeet.

At the trme of Pearl Harbor the 'Sara'was back at San Diego on the US westcoast undergoing a short refit, but shesailed shortiy afterwards and took partwith her sister 'l:ex' in an aborttveattempt to relieve Wake Island. Duringher reflt the four twin 203-mm (B-in)turrets were removed, and in theirplace she received four twin 127-mm(S-in) dual-purpose mountings, Shewas torpedoed by a JaPanese sub-marine off Hawaii, on I I ianuary 1942,

and needed four months of rePairs.The 'Sara' was used to ferry fresh

aircraft out to the Central Paciflc, andso mrssed the Battle of Midway, but shewas a welcome reinforcement bY B

June, the day after the sinkrng of theYorktown. Her fiqhters and dive-bombers were given the task of soften-ing up the defences of Guadalcanal on7 Augrust 1942 before the big amphi-brous landing by the US Marines, TheJapanese responded vigorously to thischallenge, and by 20 Augnrst a power-fr:l carrier task force was nearing theEastern Solomons.

The Saratoga, Enterprtse and l4laspwere heavily engaged rn the Battle cfthe Eastern Solomons, but the Saraescaped lightly, Not untrl 3I Augnxt dLdshe sustain damage, when she was tor-pedoed by the submarine 1-68 just af-ter dawn, The carrier was not badlYdamaged by the hit, in spite of havingone boiler room flooded and anotherpartly flooded, but an electrical failuresoon put her machrnery out of action.TWo hours later she qot back limited

Tlre USS Saratoga(CY.3) in March1932 with a large part ot her airgroup at the forward end of the tlightdeck. She and her sister'tought' eachother in annual manoeuvres.

power, and reached Pearl Harbor sixdays later; repairs took sx weeks tocomplete.

In- 1943-4 the Saratoga took part inthe great'island-hopping' drtve acrossthe Pacific, and in 1944 was detachedto the East Indies, where she cooper-ated with the British and Free Prenchin attacking Japanese positions in Javaand Sumatra, On 2l February 1945 shewas hit by a kamikaze while support-rng the landings on Iwo Jima. BY nowshe was showing her aqe, andalthough repaired was restricted totraininq duties at Pearl Harbor,

On 25 July 1946 the striPPed hull ofthe Saratoga was sunk in Bikini Atollduring a series of nuclear tests,

SpecificationUSS,Saratoga (CV.3)Displacement: 36,000 tons standard,47,700 tons tuI] ioadDimensions: length 270.66m (BBBftO in) overall beam 32.2 m (105 ft 6 in)hull; draught 9 75 m (32 ft 0 in)Machinery: 4-shaft steam turbo-electrlc delrverrng 156660 kW(21C 00C snp)Speed: 34 knotsArmow: belt 152 mm (6 in); flight deck25 nn i- Ln). matn deck 51 mm (2 in):Ic.,';er deck 25-76 mm (1-3); barbettes152 rr:- (t n)Armament: (rn 1945) eighttwin 127-mm(5-rr) dual-purpose 24 quadruple 40-mm Bciors AA fvvo twln 40-mm AA and16 20-rur AA gutrsAircraft: (1945) c7 hghters and l8 tor-nann-hnmhcr:

At"*pi";;"ii- -91: I iz3 orficers andenlisted men

'Sara'rnSeptem ber 1944, painted inCamouflage Measure 32 / I I A. Twin 5'inch and lightAAgvns have

replaced the 9-inch guns. DesPiteher age she was still the biggest UScarrier, if not the most capacious.

USS YorktownThe USS Yorktown (CV.S) was theIead-ship of a new class of aircraJt-carrier authorized out of PresidentRoosevelt's fublic Works Administra-tion, the Federal unemployment reliefagency, She and her sisterEnterpnse(CV,6) were authorized in 1933, andwere followed by the Hornet (CV.B)five vears later.

The design was a develoPment ofthat of the Ranqer, vnth an 'open' han-gar rather than the 'closed' type of theLexington and Saraloga, to allow up to30 aircraft to be carried, This arrange-ment proved htghly successful, andformed the basis for the even moresuccessful'Essex' class.

The ship was commissioned inSeptember 1937, and was hurriedlY

lFft e Yorktown (CIl.5) andiersr'sferswere prototypes for the successful'Essex' class. Much smaller than the' L e x ing tons', they cou ld actu allYcarry more aircratt.

transferred to the Pacific aJter PearlHarbor, Under Rear Admlral Frank J.

Fletcher she was sent to the SouthWest Pacific in the spnnq ol 1942 andtook part in the Battle of the Coral SeaHer Arr Group 5, comprising 20 Glum-man F4F Wildcat fighters, 38 DouglasSBD Dauntless dive-bombers and 13

Douglas TBD Devastator torPedo-bombers, played a major role in thebattle, sinhng the light carrrer Siohoin a brilliant attack lasting only I0 mi-nutes. On the next daY, B MaY, herdive-bombers inflicted damage on thecafiier Zuikaku, but in return a force ofNakajrma BSN'Kate' torpedo-bombersand Aichi D3A 'Val' dive-bomberspenetrated a dense screen of flghtersand enrnfte to score a devastating hit

on the flight deckThe bomb went through three

decks before exploding and numer-ous fires were stafied The damagecontrol parties brought the fires undercontrol, and the shlp was able lo returnto Pearl Harbor for repalrs.

Working around the clock. the re-pair teams were able Ia gel Yorktownback in actlon in only fow days, just intrme for the Battle of Midway ln June1942. At a crucial point in the battleYorktown's dive-bombers took part lnthe attack on the Japanese carriers,and her aircraft were the only onesable to mount a search for the survivingJapanese canier Hiryu. Even after theYorktownwashit by three 250-kg (551-1b) bombs she was able to operate heraircraft, and it was not until she was hitby tvvo torpedoes that she was fu]ly outof action.

The Yorktown might have suwivedeven this heauy damage, for bY flrstILght on 6 June salvage pafiies had putout the fires and had started to pumpout flooded compartments, But thesubmarrne 1-168 put two more torpe-does into her, and early next morningshe capsized and sank.

SpecificationUSS lorktown (CV.8)Displacement: 19,800 tons standard,27,500 tons tu]I loadDimensions: length246.1m (809 ft 6 in)overall; beam 25,3m (83ft 0in);draught 8.53 m (28 ft)Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam tur-bines delivering 89520 kW(120,000 shp)Speed: 33 knotsArmour: belt 102 mm (4 in); main deck76 mm (3 in); lower deck 25-76 mm (1-3 in)Armament: (1942) eiqht 127-mm (0,5-

in) AA, four quadruple 27,94-mm (1,1-

in) AA and 16 12.7-mm (0.S-in)machine-gunsAircraft: (1942) 20 flghters, 38 dive-bombers and 13 torPedo-bombersComplement: 2,919 officers and en-listed men

The Bcilfle oI tlidwag

*

tF& r

Above: Flight deck crew preparing for take-otf.Their efficiency determined the number of sortieswhich could be flown from each carrier.

Left:TheYoth.ownieels assle turns to port toavoidJapanese dive-bmbers during theBatile o!Midway. A desttoyer keeps station on herstarbardbw.

The attack on the Solomon Islands and NewGuinea was only a phase in the grand strategrcdesign to maintain a vast defensive perlmeterof Japanese bases across the Pacific. As theAmerican carriers had not been caught atPearl Harbor and as the wily Admiral ChesterW. Nimitz had refused to be drawn into any ofthe traps laid for the Pacific Fleet, his opponentAdmiral Isoroku Yamamoto determined toforce his hand,

The objectlve was to be Midway Island, half-way across the Pacific and vital as an outpost inthe defences of Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto wasaware that rf he did not succeed in eliminatingthe Pacific Fleet before the end ol 1942 the USAwould get stronger and stronger until she couidoverwhelm Japan by sheer industrial might.Midway, he was convinced, was a prize forwhich Nimitz must fight, and he planned todraw the Americans into a cunningly baitedtrap.

What Yamamoto did not reckon wrth was thedegree to which US intelligence had pene-trated the Imperial Japanese Navy's codes,Although the final objective was not clear untilthe last minute, Nimitz had a fairly clear idea ofthe nature of the operations, In contrast theJapanese were badly inficrmed; on one pornt in

TBDs of W-6 parked aft on the flight deck of theEnterprisg at tle start of the Battle of Midway. Onlyfour of these aircraft returned to the ship.

particular, they bele'.'=: :.": = s=:::-: t:::-::at the Coral Sea ba::-e ::aj ::::- 1.";'; j=::--aged, if not sunk, anj :.:: :.:::-: :.:: ::-'.' :,',-:US carriers would be :=::-; ---.::.

Midway Island u'-s :*::-:: :.:: -. -:_.---_<.able carrter' by fly.t:'; -:- :: :.:j-.'.' :-:::J ::possible, and on 2E \1:'.' -:-- --.=='--:-:::-:iFrank Fletcher sailec :::: i==:- li-:.:: ;,--:Task Force 16 (En::;.:-.: -.: -:-'---=:: -.jTask Force 17 (Ycr-<-',',:- ',',-=--. :::-_: .'.'.rjoined early on 4 lvla-,- :-: -=!-:-:-i: p':--:edMidway very hari i-: :. :::-::. :.: s::re-basedarrcraJtwere t:-: .: --' :. :'_: ::i:-aJeNor was any grea:-=: s-::::-r =::-:'.-=: c',- jrefirst three waves c: :.=r-:: =-:-=:: :: ,'.:archonly four planes s'-:.-'.':j :-'.-= :: jte nlnestrike squadrons -,.,'e::

=--:--:-:-a:=j -.nJrout in-

flicting any dan:a;: ::-:: -=:::.eseThe fowth ailac-< :.:'.',-=-.-=: -<:::ked out the

.4|kagt, Kaga ani -r:--, - :. : ','.':- co-ordrnatedattack, This left =e --:--,:- ::l: :r.ly undamagedbut undetected -: :-=: .^rcraft foliowed theUS aircraft back:: -:-: --33'i:rktown

Thls timethe Americans ::-:-< := :ar,i knocks, but inspite of severe i.::--=;= ':e Yorktown did notsink, and she -,';as ai-= :: ccntinue operatingher aircraft. Bu: -r. _.:-ese had been led intothe fatai deduc::::- --:-=: 'rere were now no UScarriers afloa: -:r :< '-r.3:- had assumed therewas only one, a: j -:-:-.- :.ai seen that one on fireand apparen:l-,- s-:-.--lr :: was logical to de-duce that ther: '.'.'::: :-:ne left, Only when it

An air-dropped torpedo explodes agarnsl lieYorktown3 srde amidsllps; ffie end for her. Afterfurther torpedo hits from a J apanese submarrneshesank

The Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bomberwas thedecisive weapon in the Batfle of Midway.

The Grumman F4F Wildcat performed wellagainst the more agileJapanese opposition duringthebattle.

65

: TTqqLJ \.' IJ Enterprise

bombers fintshed off the damaged bat-tleshrp Hiei, and next day devastated a

troop convoy of I I ships with no fewerthan 26 bomb and sx torPedo hits

Enlerpnse was finally given lenelthyrepairs in the United States and did notreiurn to the Pacifrc until mid-1943. On25 November 1943 one of her Aven-eters achieved the world's first nightktll at sea. She took part In the massivestrike on Truk in February 1944, and inthe famous 'Martanas Turkey Shoot'during the Battle of the Philippine Seathe followrng June, She continued inaction into 1945, suwivinq two kami-kaze attacks. A thtrd kamrkaze strikeon 14 May flnally brought her career to

an end, ior she had to return to theUnited States for ma.lor repatrs

As the holder of 19 Battle Stars the'Big E' was a candldate for Presewa-tion as a memortal but eifcns to saveher came to nothlng and Lr: l95B shewas sold for scrap. releasing her namefor the first nuclear carr.er

Right: The U SS Enterprise (C7.6') ttdflaircratt ranged on the after partofthe flight deck. N o flying operationsare in progress; the crewmen areclearly relaxing on deck.

Below: Hellcats spotted on the Portand starboard catapults. Althoughaircraft could take off in the ordinaryway, catapulting them sPeeded uPthe launch of a large strike andenabled more of the flightdeck tobe used.

::s s:andard

-

USA

USS Hornet force. Althougr: i''-::. l:1-.'.':. :: FsplrltuSanto to avc-d ::-.-.1 :-:-k 'c'.- sub-marines, she sc::-:: :i:-'.' -:, l:l:berto attack Japa:,:s: :l:;:=:s ::.d c: 25

October me:':.=_-:: :1.=i= llIIl€rSOnCe mOIe r-'.:.: :="-'-:::='-.:: CIUZ

On 26 Oclob:: ='::: ::.: :"": sldeshad locateC ::.: 1,*.:::-: : ':-e lwoAmerican caII-::s .=-:.::.:i ar- aLr

strike (a total cl -:: :.:::a:. ',';:,-le ihefour Japanese car:-ets ia'.:.::ei mostof their 2OZ atrcrail E-: ':::.-I='.:.e Hor'net's torpedo-Lc r:.i s:-' ::. i otve-bomberi wele - r. '.:...: ":a'1

27

Japanese strike atrcrail b:cke throughifr-e fighter screen and sccred sixbomb and two torpedo :'llis :n the Hor-nel, Although herotc eiiorts weremade to extlngnxsh the flres anci getthe carrter under way, fow hours lateranother Japanese strlke scored a tor-pedo hil and two more bomb hlts BY

now the American destroyers screen-ing the Hornet were dangterously ex-poled, with the Japanese searchLng forihem in the darkness. The dectsionwas taken to scuttle the Hornet but to

the Americans' dismay several torpe-does failed to detonate, and a total of430 127-mm (S-ln) shells fired at thecarrier's waterline had no appreclableeffect. The waterlogqed hulk wasabandoned, but the Japanese found itimpossible to tow her' and finally twoTapanese destroyers gave the Hornelher death-blow in the early hours of 27

October.

SpecificationUSS Hornet (CV.8)Displacement: 19,000 tons standard,29,100 tons full loadDimensions: lenglh 252,2 m (827 ft 5 inoverall; beam 34,8 m (114 ft 2 in) overflight deck; draught 8.84 m (29 ft 0 in)Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam tur-bines delrvering 89520 kW(120,000 shp)Speed: 33 knotsArmour: belt 64-102 mm (Zt/z-4in):main deck 76 mm (3 in); lower deck25-76 mm (l-3 in)

Armament: (1942) eiqht 127 mm (S-in)AA, four quadruple 27.94-mm (1.]-in)AA, 30 20-mm AA and nine 12 7-mm(0. 5-in) machtne-gnrnsAircraft: (1942) 36 fighters, 36 dive-bombers and 15 torpedo-bombersComplement: 2,919 officers and en-Iisted men

The new carrierHomet(CV.8) ontrials in l94l . Shewas commissionedsevenweeks before Pearl Harborand left for the Pacific inMarch 1942.

USS WaspUnder the terms of the WashingrtonNaval Treaty the US NavY was res-tricted to 135,000 tons of aircraft-carriers, and so could onlY build a

funher 14,?00 tons ofcarriers after thecompletion of Lexington, Saratoga'Ranger, Yorktown and EnterPriseThG in 1935 an improved version ofthe Ranger was ordered, also withmodest speed and light armour but bigaircraft chpacity. The opportunrty wastaken to eiadrcate the worst faults ofthe Ranger, and the new carrier wasgiven a proper island supentructureand better compartmentatlon

The USS WasP (CY.T) was comms-sioned in April 1941, and from the au-h-mn of that year was in the Atlantic ontraining duties. Late in March 1942 shewent tb the Mediteranean to feryRAF SDitfues to Malta. At the begin-ninq of July she left San Diego for thePacific and took part in the Guadalcan-al landinqs, where her aircraft flewmore than 300 sorties. She mrssed theBattle of the Eastern Solomons as shehad been detached to refuel and shereturned to Noumea to take on board a

consignment of flghter aircraft for theUS Marines on Guadalcanal

Early in the afternoon of 15 Septem-ber 1942 the lzVasp flew off her fiqhtersbut shofily afterwards she was htt bythree torpedoes fired by the Japanesesubmarine 1-19. T\ivo of the torpedoesstruck her on the Port side near theaviation gasoline tanks, while the third

Port protile ol the WasP.I/er tal/funiel made her unique among UScarriers. Y{

1:

worthy of all American carriers, andher loss provided important lessons forthe future, A board of enquiry showedthat the majority of the damage wascaused by the third torpedo-hit, for thelrst two hits had Ieft the machinery anda,.rxrlLary power undamaged. Howev-er the shock of the exploslons and the'.'. hLD of the hull had knocked out elec-::---al swrtchboards and the damage:cntrol oretanization, Thereafter asenes of subsidiary explosions ofi:ombs, torpedoes, ammunttion andaucraft fuel tanks lwecked the ship.

T he W asp (CY.Z ) at Pearl H ar bor on IAugust 1942, a month before she wassunk

SpecificationUSS L|asp (CV.?)Displacement: i4,700 tons standarr20,500 tons tuI] loadDimensions: length 225.93m (74-::3in) overall; beam 24.61 m (80 ft 9 --.draught 8,53 m (28 ft 0 in)Machinery: 2-shaft geared stearn :-:'bines delivering 55950 k',"'(75,000 shp)Speed: 2972 knotsArmour: belt 102 mm (4 in): mall: :-.llower decks 38 mm (l/z in)Armament: (1942) eight 127-mm (!-*AA, fow quadruple 27,94-mm (l --:.AA and 30 20-mm AA qunsAircraft: (1942) 29 fighters, 36 d:'

American Aircraft Carriers of the Pacific War

bombers and I5 torpedo-bombe:sComplement: 2,367 officers a:.c =.-.listed men

E tns EssexThe 'Essex' class can claim to be themost cost-effective and successfui air-craft-carriers ever built. The specifica-tron, issued in June 1939, was for animproved 'Yorktown' class' but withdisplacement increased by 7,000 tonsto provrde stronger defensive arma-ment, thicker armour, more Power andabove all, more aviation fuel Withmore than 6,300 tons of oil fuel the en-durance was 27360 }rn (17,000 miles)at 20 knots, while 690 tons of gasolineand 220 tons of ammunitron pushed upthe number of sorties which could beflown, Above all, the same number ofaircraJt could be carried, although inpractice many more could be carried;ihe nominal strenqth was 82 but bY1945 IOB ofthe latest aircraft could beembarked,

Eleven of the class were ordered in1940 and a further i3 were burlt duringWorld War II. Building times were ex-tremelv short; USS Essex (CV 9) wasbuilt in 20 months, and the wartlmeaverage was cut to l77z months

The lead-shlp ofher class, theEssexreached the Pacific in MaY 1943' bYwhich time the worst was over, but shesaw considerable heavy fighting with

,:. actlon only three units of the class'.'.':re damaged by enemy action; apart:::m the Franklin (CV. 13) all returned:. :c-lve service after sustaintng se-'.':re battle damage.

SpecificationUSS Essex (CV.9)Displacement: 27,100 tons standard,ll ,00 tons full loadDimensions: Iength 267.21 m (876ft: -:) overall; beam 45.0 m (147 ft B in):'.'.r flLght deck; draught 8.69 m (28 ft: -:)Machinery: 4-shaft qeared steam tur-i:res delivering 1 I 1900 kW-:.1 C00 shp)

Speed: 33 knotsAlmour: belt 64-i02 mr. '2 :-- ---.

fliqht deck 38mm 1l .--. .--:-;::Aect ZO mm (3 rn), mal:. :=:,' l: ---(l7zin); turrets and La:::::: ::. --(11/z in)Armament: (1943),2 -:--:::. :',-AA, 11 quadruPle i--:,::. :-. :. -:-:-and 44 20-mm AI' ;-::Aircraft: (1943 a :.;:.-::j :: :

=

bombers and .i'-::=:-': - ::-:=:iUomplemenl: : -:- .* --:: : - -listed men

U.SS Essexbem g:::e= : -' ='. ?='-:Harbor in I942.

USS lntrepid in Action

The USS lnlreprd (CV I l) was the third ship ofthe Essex' class, not only the largest class ofmajor warships ever built but also the mosteffectrve. She and four of her sisters wereordered under Fiscal Year 1940 programmes,while the remaining six were ordered underFY 1941 A further 15 were iard down duringthe war. and l7 of them entered service beforeVJ-Day

The Intreptd rruas floated out of her butldingdock on 26 AprLl 1943, and such was the speedol n'arirme cc:s:ruction that she was commis-sroned cn .5 Aulsi less than four months la-:er and :r-.; 2l :::nlhs after being laid downHer firs: :as< ','.'as :: inish her sea trials andallcr,-rer ra-.'.' lr=','.' :: shake down', and whenthe sh:r s --:;::..-1:-:: 'r'as ready lhe ttmecame tc eni:ar< :,.r 1,r ;rrcup By late 1943 theflyrng sc:rcc's rai :,'-c::jed enormously andthere was nc srar:lie :: '.'.-e.i-:raLned aircrewto make Eocd ihe -:sses -: ba::le cut they stillneeded a perroci :i tr:::.se :ra-nl:ig at seaCombat expenence r:d s:r:-,"i, ::e need fornew tactics, partrcularli- -r a-r i=:erce andthese tacltcs could onl; i:e =i-er--

-= j ,','-::t anembarked air group.

The Intrepid left for the Pac;nc ai:er a

shakedown cruise lasting barely rcur mon:hsAfter passing through the Panama Canal sheheaded westwards across the Paclflc, arrivtngat Pearl Harbor on l0 January 1944. There she

;oined the lead-ship oiher class, the USSEssexand a converted ex-light crulser, the USS

Cabot, tn Task Group 58.2, part of Task Force58 (TF 58). Their first task was to attackJapanese bases in the Marshall Islands, to pro-vide support for the landrng on Kwajalern Atollon 3l January, and they were under a newcommander, Admiral Marc A. Mitscher' Dur-lng these operations lhe Intrepid and TG 58.2attacked Ror, but her air group suffered nocasualties.

On 17 February TF 58 started a more riskyoperation, a three-day raid on the main enemybase, Truk in the Caroline Islands. As before,the purpose was to prevent the Japanese fromlnflrcting severe losses on a planned amphi-bious landing, in this case the Eniwetok land-ings. Despite the strong defences of Truk theraid was a gireat success. US Navy aircraft sank47 shrps, including a light cruiser, three des-troyers and a large tanker, and in addition des-troyed I25 aircraft. The cost was not excessive,

6B

25 aircraft, but during a night atiack on the taskforce Nakajima B5N 'Kate' torpedc-bombersequipped with one of the flrst Japanese radarsets succeeded rn hitting the r;'recrd. Theshrp's own nrght-frghters were ccnple:ely out-witted.

The torpedo hrt right aft and ',',':ecked therudder. Thanks to her heavy under.'.'::er pro-tectron 1n lrepld was in no danger c: s r:.kin g butto enable her to be steered a rna<esnli: satl'had to be erected at the forwarc =:-i :f lheflight deck, The damaged carrier iinc: j s-,:-".'-

ly back to Majuro, covered by the 1Lg:r: l::r-.rCabot, a pair of ctuisers and four aies:r:'.':rsThere further repairs were carrted c:: -:i :lelonq haul back to Pearl Harbor for :'x.:-:r ::-pairs. The ship went into dry dock ": ,-:::.Harbor on 26 I'ebruary, nine days a::=r :::attack. A month later she was back rn :i= - -rted States, at Hunter's Potnt in San Fr=:.:.s:'for a three-month refit and rePair

Return to the PacificThe opportunrty was taken to upda:= ::.:

radars and provide more anti-atrcraf: ;:::-s\\-hen /ntreprd sarled on 9 June her fligh: :::.:-.'.'as packed wrth vehicles and a varre:-'' :: -SArm,,-and US Navy aircraft, Shipptnq'.'.'as .:,preaLcus lo allow the vast hangar ani :-;:.:deck space of a carrier to be wasted. a:.i .:.=ln\eptC ''vould not become fully opera::::=.runtrl she'was back in the Central Paciftc C:.:=at Pearl Harbor her air group began ihe .ai:-rious task of workrng up to full effrcrenc;'' -:-i

Tfie U.SS Intrepid(C'V.l I) trailing smoke after akamikazehit.ln all shewas hitthree times bykamikazes and torpedoed once, butsuwived.

after two months the ship was ready to join hersister Bunker Hill and the CVLs Cabol ancIndependence in TG 38.2, part of Task Force38

On 28 Auqust 1944 the task group sailed fronEniwetok to start the process of softening up

Japanese delences as a prelrrde to the landingson Morotai and Palau, and early the followinqmonth Palau itself was attacked. On 12-13September the attacks switched to the centra-Phihpprnes, to keep the defenders guessingThe results of this strike were devastating: 59

shrps sunk and 478 aircraft destroyed, On 6

Cc:ober TG 38 2 sailed from Ulrthi to begtr-:::acks on Formosa, rernforced by another:sser cLass carrier, USS Hancock.

fre fasl carners ranged far and wide in therr:-:s: icr :argets On I0 October TG 38.2 hi:1s:s t:: Anamr-O Shima, Okinawa anci:-<-sr-:r-a C'ln:c' i'wo days later the target wasr::: ::- i:rnosa (Tarwan); bY lB October

:r l=:s -:. ;.1 in the Philippines were being". nrmraa rrrac nrrrood:... l:-:: ::r1:i encrmous damage was caused

,: :: s a::a:k cn Luzon on 21 September re-s*-:: j .:- :re deslructton of 35 merchant ships

=:-: :-, a-rcrali The whole operation agains:::,: F:-.rccli:es cost TF 38 a total of 54 aircraft:.=:.-,- :: :hem tn deck accidents, but in return- : - Jacanese ships and 1,000 aircraft were des-:r:'_.'- i

:tion

- :-. :,: :ask The USSIntrepid(CY.I I) trailing smoke after a: : : ::_: ers kamikaze hit. In all she was hit three times byr:-:: ::jar kamikazes and torpedoed once, but survived.

The Intreptd played an lmportant role ln theBattle of Leyte Guli On 23 October TG 38.2 wasposrtioned east of San Bernardrno Strait inorder to defend the landing beaches from anassault by the powerful Japanese surfacefories approaching from the west, In fact one ofIntreptd's Curtiss SBZC Helldlvers was the flrstto srght Admiral Kurita's Force 'A'at dawn, andthis led to the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, The,Infreprd and the small carrier Cabot flew off theflrst strike, which crippled the heavy cruiserMyoko with a torpedo hit and hit the 64,000-tonbattleship Musashi wrth one torpedo and onebomb, lnlrepid's air group also took part in theflnal strike, together with those of the Enter-prise, Essex, Franklin and Cabot. Their re-peated torpedo and bomb hits finally sank theMusashi, and after the loss of the battleship theremainder of the force retired.

KamikazeOn the next day the /nfrepid took part in the

Battle of Cape Engano when TF 38 mrstook theJapanese decoy group, the Frrst Mobile Force,for the main group. However most of the re-maining Japanese carriers were sunk, theZuiho, Zuikaku, Chitose and Chiyoda goingdown to carrier strikes, After two days of almostcontrnuous action the fast carriers were show-ing signs of strain, but with the destruction ofthe Japanese surface forces the worst seemedto be over, But the Japanese were about toinitrate suicide or kamikaze attacks, and thesewere to test the morale of the task force to theutmost. Off Luzon on 29 October Ihe Inlreptdwas the first to be hit, when a damagedJapanese aircraft crashed on the deck. Fortu-nately damage was slight, but l0 men werekilled and six wounded. She was able to con-tinue in action, On the next day TG 38 4 was notso lucky, and the Franklin and Belleau Woodwere both set on flre by atrcraft deltberatelydiving onto their packed decks.

The task force was pulled back to Ulithi torest and effect repairs, but soon after the shipsarrived on 2 November they were hurriedlyrecalled to Luzon to provide support for thetroops fighting ashore. On 25 November theIntrepid was still at sea, providing continuousground support and drawing fuel and storesfrom the Fleet Train. Durrng a series of airattacks a burning Japanese aircraft suddenlyplummeted into the lnlreprd's flrght deck, start-ing fires amongr the planes and ordnance.

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after two months the ship was ready to jorn hersister Bunker Hill and the CVLs Cabol andIndependence in TG 38.2, part of Task Force38

On 28 Augnrst 1944 the task group sailed fromEniwetok to start the process of softening upJapanese defences as a prelude to the landrngson Morotai and Palau, and early the followinetmonth Palau itself was attacked, On 12-13September the attacks switched to the centralPhrlippines, to keep the defenders guessing,The results of this strike were devastating: 59shrps sunk and 478 aircraft destroyed, On 6October TG 38 2 sailed from Ulithi to beqinattacks on Formosa, reinforced by another'Essex' class carrier, USS Hancock.

The fast carriers ranged far and wrde in theirquest for targets, On l0 October TG 38,2 hitbases on Anami-O-Shrma, Okinawa andSakishima Gunto; two days later the target wasbases on Formosa (Tarwan); by IB Octobertargets rn lruzon rn the Phrlippines were beinghit, Once again enormous damage was caused,TF 38's attack on Luzon on 21 September resulted in the destruction of 35 merchant shipsand 300 aircraft. The whole operatton againstthe Philippines cost TF 38 a total of 54 aircraft,many of them in deck accidents, but in returnI 50 Japanese ships and 1,000 aircraft were des-troyed,

21

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-..= ,lntreptd played an important role in the-. -= :: Leyte Gulf. On 23 October TG 38,2 was.,-s-:-:ned east of San Bernardino Strait in-: j=: :c defend the landrng beaches from an....:.: by the powerful Japanese surface. - ::=s approaching from the west. In fact one of,,. --=;rds Curtiss SBZC Helldivers was the first'- s- lnt Admiral Kurita's Force 'A' at dawn, and,-.,. ,ed to the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, The

.'. . :.:prd and the small carrier Cabof flew off the

-:s: strrke, which crippled the heavy cruiser.'..'.':<o with a torpedo hrt and hit the 64,000-ton: =::Leship Musasht with one torpedo and one..::D. Intrepid's air group also took part in the--:-al strrke, together with those of the Enler-_:.'.-.e, Essex, Frankltn and Cabof, Their re-:=a:ed torpedo and bomb hits flnally sank the,'.,'--sasir, and after the loss of the battleshrp the::narnder of the force retired.

KamikazeOn the next day the lnlreprd took part in the

iattle of Cape Engano when TF 38 mrstook the_iapanese decoy group, the Frrst Mobile Force,::r the main group. However most of the re-narninq Japanese carriers were sunk, theZuiho, Zuikaku, Chitose and Ciiyoda goingjown to carrier strikes. After two days of almostcontinuous action the fast carriers were show-rng siqns of strain, but with the destruction ofrhe Japanese surface forces the worst seemedio be over, But the Japanese were about tornrtrate suicide or kamikaze attacks, and thesewere to test the morale of the task force to theutmost. Off Luzon on 29 October the Inlreptdwas the first to be hit, when a damagedJapanese aircraft crashed on the deck. Fortu-nately damage was shght, but l0 men werekrlled and six wounded. She was able to con-tinue in action. On the next day TG.38.4 was notso lucky, and the Franklin and Belleau Woodwere both set on fire by aircraft deltberatelydrving onto therr packed decks.

The task force was pulled back to Ulithi torest and effect repairs, but soon after the shipsarrived on 2 November they were hurriedlyrecalled to Luzon to provide support for thetroops fighting ashore. On 25 November thelntrepid was still at sea, provrdtng continuousqrround support and drawrng fuei and storesfrom the Fleet Train. During a sertes of airattacks a burning Japanese aircraft suddenlyplummeted into thelntreprd's flrght deck, start-ing fires among the planes and ordnance.

Whiie fireflghters and damage control partiesstruggled to contarn ihe fires a second kaml-kaze smashed into the cleck about 23 m (75 ft)farther aft. The bomb carrred by the aircraftwent through the wooden flL-qht deck and ex-ploded in the hangar. caustng even more des-tructron, The fire raged ior iwo hours before rtwas got under control and damage was sosevbre that the shrp r.r'culd ha,.'e to be sent backto the United States In a-l 69 men were killedand 85 wounded. The screll wounded carrierreturned to Ulithi for e:i-etgency repairs be-

ATBF Avenger torpedo-bomber leaves theIntrepid'sport catapult, while two more wait withwingsfolded.

fore starting the long haul back to Pearl Harborand San Francisco, arriving on the US westcoast in January 1945,

Such was the efficrency of the navy yardorganization that the Intreptd sailed from Hun-ter's Point on 20 February, bound for the warzone once more, and she arrived at U1ithi on 13

March, She now formed part of TG 58.4 wrth the

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mountrngMK5l directorSix s nglc 20-mm Oe' . : -M gun mountingsThree 40-mm Boforsquadruple mount nqs(three alt)36-in searchlrghtSing c 20 mm Oerl Lc- .:,-gunThree single 20 nrnlOerlikon AA gunmountingsTrash burnersmoke D c:Stack hood

r, C'ane j br- l.la n ifr hooki: L ie rafts: i : fe net rack:r Artennadown leads

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stowage5-o Br ge water machinery and

65 Detentioncells66 Aviation lubricating oil tank

pump room67 40-mm and 20-mm M

ammunrtron stowage68 Bombstowage69 Bombvanesstowage70 Rol ercurtainopeningsrn

hangar sides71 Avration ubricatingoil72 40-mm AA ammun tron

stowage73 Rocketmotorstowaqe74 Crew's berthing75 DamagecontrolHO76 Crew s mess77 CIC (Combat lnformation

Ccnt re)78 Pottrnqroom79 BombiuzemagazrneB0 FoMard auxrlrary machrne

toomB1 Generalorpatform82 Medicalstores83 No 1 boilerroom84 Bo ier uptake space85 No 2boilerroom86 No.1 machineryroom87 No.3boilerroomBB Clothesand sma lstores89 Firebrickstowage90 Barbers shop9T Ath eticgearstowage92 Genera workshop93 Crew's toilet94 Crew'swashroomand

showers95 No.4boierroom96 No.2 machineryroom97 Aftauxilarymachnery

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111 Motorconlrolroom112 Steeringgearroom1 1 3 Aviation eng ne stowageI I 4 Foulblade screws and

prope ler shaft115 Rudder1 16 Slern40-mmquadruple

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USS /ntrepid in Action

Yorktown, Langley and lndependence. Nextday they sailed to begin operations against theJapanese home islands, the final phase of thePacific war. Now Ihe kamikaze aircraft werethe only serious threat from the Japanese, forthe once-mighty fleet of submarines and sur-face ships was largely immobilized by lack oftuel.

On 18 March the ship suffered sllght damaqewhen a kamikaze exploded only 15 m (50 ft)away showering her with burnlng debris,However on 16 Aprrl she was not so lucky: twokamikaze aircraft chose her as their target, andatthough one missed by a few feet the secondcrashed into her flight deck, The engtneplunged through the planking tnto the hangar,causing a big fire and puttrng her out of actiononce more. This tlme, however, casualtieswere lighter: 10 men killed and 87 wounded

It was the end of the war for the 1n freprd. Shereturned to San Francisco and was back wrthTF 38 in July in time for the Japanese surrenderon 15 Augnrst.

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Left: Smoke pours from tlre Intrepidduring heavy air raids on Kyushu intheJapanese home islands. AburningJapanese bomber burst intoflame 50Ieet away Irom thecarrier,showering her with fuel and debris.From the light crur'ser Santa Fe jlIooked as if the carrier had blown up,but her damage control parties dealtswiftlywith the fires.

Below and right: Starboard profiIeand bow and stern views of the USSIntrepid. .Sft e ls painted inCamouflage Measure 32/3A, whichshe carried from J une ) 944, when shereturned to the Pacific after repairs.D uring her th ree mon f/rs ln dock slereceived three additional quad 40-mm Bofors gunmountings below theisland, and twomorewere resitedtoimprove sky arcs.

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--'t | 'L eft : S m oke pour s from fft e Intrepidduring heavy air raids on Kyushu inthe Japanese home is/ands. Aburning J apanese bomber burst intoflame 50 feet away from the carrier,showering her with fuel and debris.F rom the light cruiser Santa Fe jflooked as if the carrier had blown up,but her damage control parties dealtswittly with the fires.

Below and right: Starboard profileand bow and stern views of the USSIntrepid. Sft e r's p ainted inCamouflage Measure 32/34, whichshe carried trom J une I 944, when shereturned to the Pacific after repairs.During her three months in dock sher eceiv ed three ad ditional qu ad 40 -

mm Botors gun mountings below theisland, and two more were resited tounprove slq arcs.

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: USS FranklinThe flfth unit of the 'Essex' class wasauthorized in 1940 but was not starteduntil a year after Pearl Harbor as therewere no shpways of the right lengrthavailable. However, her builders,Newport News Shipbuilding Com-pany, made up for the delay by com-pleting her in less than 14 months.

The USS Franklh (CV, 13) was com-missioned at the end of January 1944and joined Task Group 58,2 exactly sxmonths later for an attack on the Bonu:rIslands, From then on she was con-stantly in action: during an attack onFormosa and the Ryukyus in Octobershe was hit by a bomber whichcrashed on deck, and hvo days laterher deck-edge lift was hit by a bombwhich killed three men,

During the Battle of Surigao Strait on24 October 1944 the Franklin's aircraftsank a destroyer, and then attackedthe giant battleship Musas}j in theSibuyan Sea, On the next day, duringthe Battle of Cape Engano, they crip-

pled the light carrier Chiyoda andflnished off the Zwkaku. The Franklin'srun ofgood luck ended on 30 October,While defending the Leyte Gulf land-ing area she and the light carrier wereattacked by five kamikaze aircraftwhich had broken through the flghterscreen: she lost 56 dead and 60 wound-ed, while 33 aircraft were destroyedby the fue which followed. She had toreturn to Bremerton Navy Yard for ma-jor repairs, and did not renrn ro activeservice untrl February 1945

As part of TF 58 the .FranlJrn attack-ed Kyushu in the Japanese home is-lands on 18 March. On the next day twoYokosuka D4Y'Judy bombers made adaring low-level attack and hit theFranklin with two 25C-kg (551-lb)bombs just as she u'as prepanng her

Tfie Franllin (C7. 13) was wtted byfire alter being hitby bombs offKyushu on I 9 March I 945, but still gothome.

second strike. At first the damage didnot seem serious for the bombs had notpenetrated below the hangar deck,but as the aircraft caught fire theirbombs and rockets, as well as thespare ordnance in the hangar, startedto explode. Toxic smoke was drawnthrough the ship's ventilation system,with the result that many of the 724dead were suffocated (another 265were wounded). The ship lay dead inthe water for three hous as the enginerooms and boiier rooms could not bemanned,

Finally the fires were put out and onthe next day the Frankljn was able toget up steam once agarn, She limpedback to Pearl Harbor and then acrossthe Pacific to New York Navy Yard forIengthy repairs, She did not reappearuntil after the end of the war, and neverreturned to full commission, being laidup permanently in resewe in Febru-ary 1947.

SpecificationUSS Franklrn (CV.13)D-isplacement: 27, 100 tons standard,36,500 tons tull loadDimensions: length 267.21 m (867 ftBin); beam 45.0m (147ft 8in)'overfllght deck; drausht 9.40 m (30 ft l0 in)Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam tur-bines delivering I I 1900 kW(I50,000 shp)Speed: 33 knotsArmour: belt 64-102 mm (2t/z-3in);flight deck 38mm (l/zin); hangardeck 76 mm (3 in); main deck 38 mm(ltlzin); turrets and barbettes 38mm(IVzin)Aircraft: (1945) 74 fighters, 15 dive-bombers and 30 torpedo-bombers.Complement: 3,240 oftcers and en-listed men

Although cleaned up, tfte Franklinstill shows her battle scars on herreturn to the USA. Shewas neverrecommissioned.

USA

USS PrincetonTo meet the acute shortage of carriersafter Pearl Harbor the US Navy de-ctded to complete nine 'Cleveland'class light cruisers as carriers. TheAmsterdam (CL.59) Tallahassee(CL.61), New Haven (CL.76), Hunting-ton (CL.77), Dayton (CI',78), Fargo(CL.B5), Wilminston (CL.79), Buffalo(CL.99) and lVewark (CL.100) thus be-came the USS lndependence(CVL.22), Princeton (CVL.23), BelleauWood (CYL.24), Cowpens (CVL.25),M onterey (CYL,26), Langley (CYL,27),Cabot (CVL.28), Bataan (CVL.29) andSan Jacinto (CVL.30). Although rt wasan ingenious conversion, the resultswere disappointing, for the small han-qar (65.5 m/215 ft by 17.7 ftt/58 ft) couldaccommodate fewer aircraft than thatof the 'Sangamon' class CVEs, 33 in-stead of the 45 planned, However, this

T h e P rinceton ( CY L. 2 3 ) w a sconverted on the stocks from the hullof the light cruiser Tallalassee.Although cramped, the CVLs werefast and could keep up with the FastCarrier Groups. Later they operatednightfighters.

the Prrncelon, The bombs oassedthrough three decks before exploding,and the blast started fierce fires in thehangar. Sx armed Avengers caughtfire, and their torpedoes exploded,adding to the carnage, At 10.10, abouthalfan hour after the attack, other shipswere ordered alongside to take off allbut essential fireflgrhters and damagecontrol personnel.

The light cruisers Birmingham andReno lay alongside, pumping waterand providing power for pumps, andall the while ships and friendly aucraftfought off Japanese air attacks, At 14.45it appeared that all flres were out, butat 15.23 lhe Princeton blew up rn ahuge explosion. The blast swept thecrowded decks of lhe Birmingham,killing 229 men and wounding another420; the carrier herself had over I00men killed and 190 injured. Surprising-ly the shattered hulk of the Princetonwas still alloat, but wrecked beyondany hope ofsalvage. At 16,00 she wasabandoned and the crurser Reno wasordered to sink her with two torpe-

does, after the destroyer lrwin hadmissed her with four.

SpecificationUSS Pnnceton (CVL.23)Displacement: 11,000 tons standard,14,300 tors full loadDimensions: length 189.74 m (622f|6 in) overall; beam 33,3 in (109 ft 3 in)over flight deck; draught 7.92m (26ft0 in)Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam tur-brnes delivering 74600 kW(100,000 shp)Speed: 3172 knotsArmour: belt 38-127mm (l/z-S-in):main deck 76 mm (3 in); lower deck51 mm (2 in)Armament: (1943) hvo 127-mm (S-in)AA, hvo quadruple 40-mm Bofors AA,nine twin 40-mm Bofors AA and 12 20-mm AA gmnsAircraft: (1943) 24 Grumman F4F Wrld-cat fighters and nine Grumman TBFAvenger torpedo-bombersComplement: 1,569 officers and en-listed men E

n

The Bqtfle of legfe GulfThe so-called Battle of Leyte Gulf was in fact aseries ofair-sea battles spread over a vast area,it was not only the climax of the war in thePacific but also the greatest naval battle ofhistory. All the classic warship types were en-gaged, from battleships and carriers down todestroyer escorts, all fulfillinq their designedroles.

Once the Marianas had fallen in Augmst 1944the Japanese high command knew that deieatstared the country in the face, A1l that could behoped for was a gambler's throw, an all-outoffensive by the remaining capital ships andcarriers agalnst the next big amphibious land-rng, As soon, therefore, as Aliied forces werereported moving into Leyte Gulf in the Phrlip-pines, Plan 'Sho-l'was put into action. It calledfor the Japanese forces in North Borneo andeisewhere to divide into three forces. FromBorneo, Force 'A', a portion of the First StrikeForce under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, was topass through the San Bernardino Strait to attackthe US landing forces from the north off Samar;a Second Strike Force, commanded by ViceAdmiral Kiyohide Shima, was to join with Force'C' (also from Borneo and part of the First StrikeForce) under Vice Admiral Shaji Nishimura) topass through Surigao Strait to attack the land-ings from the south, finally the main carrierforce, the First Mobile Fleet from Japan underVice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa (whose carriershad hardlv anv aircraft) was to lure the Amer-ican carriers iway from the Phihppines whilethe First and Second Strike Forces dealt withthe landings and their warship support beforedealing with the returning US carriers with the460-mm (18. I-1n) guns of the super-battleshipsYamato and Musashl, part of Force 'A',

Like other complex Japanese battle plans, itwent wrong almost from the beginning. OffPalawan Force 'A' was ambushed by two USsubmarines, which radioed the news and also

Right: A blazing kamikaze plane hurtles towardsthe flight deck of ffte Essex assfi e vainly tries toalter course.

Below:Japanese shells falling arnong the escort --

carrieis of Carrier Division 25 during the battle offSamar. On tfie riglt St 1,6 ca n be seen burning.

torpedoed three heavy cruisers, Admiral Kun-ta's ships came under heavy air attack as theypassed through the Sibuyan Sea, and eventual-ly the mighty Musashi succumbed to an esti-mated total oi 19 torpedo hits. However, hersister )zamalo and the smaller battleshipsNagato, Kongo and Haruna survived and con-tinued to plough towards San Bernardino Strait.

Thanks to a mix-up in communications, theUS fast carriers left the small escort carriers offSamar to face a ferocious bombardment fromKurita's ships while they chased after Ozawa'sempty carriers, Fortunately for the Americanstherr Jeep carriers', destroyers and destroyer-escorts put up such a stout resistance that Kuri-ta eventually withdrew and missed the chanceto destroy the vulnerable invaston force.

The Americans now took a terrible revenqeon the Japanese Ozawa's carriers were hunteddown off Cape Engano the Chjtose, Chiyoda,Zuikaku andZuiho w-ere all sunk. While tryingto force their way through Surigao Stralt Nishi-mura's and Shrma s forces came under a with-enng nlght attack frcm Admiral Oldendorlsoid battleships, some ci :nem salvaged veter-

A signalman on the tlight deck of a carrier of theFast Carrier Group, with a 'Washington'-classbattleship in the background.

ans of Pearl Harbor, andwere all butwiped out.Leyte was the end of the Imperial Japanese

Navy as an effective force, With no fuel foroperations and no aircrew to man new aircraft,the remaining carriers were reduced to swing-ing idly at thelr moorings, waiting for the inevit-able air attacks which would sink them.

ffi-= USA

USS BogueThe urgent need for air cover for con-voys in the Battle of the Atlantic wasmet by converting mercantile hullsrnto small aircraft-carriers. In the sum-mer of 1941 both the British and theAmericans converted merchantmeninto the flrst experimental 'escort car-rrers or CVEs, and when these Provedt.lreir worth orders went out for the fllstoroduction class of 21 CVEs from US.:hLpyards. Of these I I went straight to::re Royal Navy as the 'Attacke/ class,'.','hile ihe rematnder became the USlrlavy s 'Bogme' class, Being conver-sioni of partially completed hulls' theBoqrue' class was a great improvement:n the prototypes, and had a full-lenqth:anoai. with tvvo centreline lifts TheUSS-8ogue (CVE.9) and her sisterslard (CVE, 11) and Core (CVE 13)

:','en had tv\ro catapults, They carried:3 aircraft, and the Bogue was laun-:red tn January 1942.

Wrth a good outfit of air-warning::dar and more space than the des-': -'lers and frtgates, the escort carrlers:.ade giood flagships for'hunter-killer':: antt-submartne suPPort groups,'.',:rch were betng established rn the1-rrlrr1r of 1942. The Boque and her

support grroup sank no fewer than 13

U-boats, while planes from her sistersCard, Core, B\ock Island andCroatanhelped to sink another 20.

The USS Bogue joined the AtlanticFleet in February 1943 as the Battle ofthe Atlantic reached crisis point. Onher fourth crossing of the Atlantic heraircraft sank their first U-boat; twomore followed on her next trip. On theseventh crulse, lale in July 1943, heraircraft sank one U-Boat, and one ofherescorting destroyers sank another,

The worst point of the battle wasnow over, and the tide had turnedagainst the U-boats. The hunter-killergioups could not take the offensiveagainst U-boats farther out in the Atlan-tic, and in November-December 1943

the Bogue and her qEoup accountedfor three U-boats, After a short breakearly in 1944 to ferry aircraft to the UKshe returned to submarlne-hunting,and in March helPed to sink U-575Three more U-boats were sunk bYSeptember 1944, when the Bogue re-tumed to the United States for a periodon traintng duties, Her last hunter-killer mission in April 1945 accountedfor the Iast of 13 U-Boats, U-546, when

she was operatrng as part of Captarn G.

J. Dufek's Second Barrier Force.In the closinq months of the war the

Bogrue was sent to the Paciflc, ferrytngarrcraft and slores to oullylng garri-sons, but wrth the collapse of Japan shewas re-assrgned to the 'Magrrc Carpet'operations, ferryrng PoWs and ser-vicemen back to the United States,

SpecificationUSS 8osrue (CVE.9)Displacement: I1,000 tons standard,

Port profile of the 'Bogae' class,showing the ex-mercantile hullclearly. Despite lft eriaustere desr'gnthey were agreal success,p ar ticularly in a n ti- s u bm arinewarfare in the Atlantic.

The escort carrier Bogne (CVE.9)with Grumman Avenger TBFs on herwooden flight deck.

l5 400 tons full loadDimensions: Iength 151. I m (495 ft B rn)

overall; beam 34.0 m (l 1 1 ft 6 in) overfliqht deck; draught 7.92 m (26 ft 0 tn)Machinery: l-shaft geared steam tur-brne delivering 6340 kW (8,500 shP)Speed: iB knotsArmoru: noneArmament: two 127-mm (S-rn) AA, fourtwin 40-mm Bofors AA and 12 2O-mmAA gnrnsAircraft: (1943) 12 Grumman F4F Wtld-cat frghters and 12 Grumman TBFAvenger torpedo-bombersComplement: 890 officers and enlistedmen

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USS Sangamonings in North Afrrca in October andNovember 1942, and then transferredto the Pacific, where they operatedwith CarDiv 22 in the South Pacific, TheSanlee returned to the Atlantic inMarch 1943, operating south of theAzores and off the coast of Brazil with ahunter-killer gEoup, but rejoined hersisters in the Pacific in February 1944,

as the great 'island-hopping' driveacross the Pacific got under waY.

All four took part in the Battle ofLeyte Gulf, forming'Taffy One' (underRear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague) aspart ofTask Group 77.4. On 25 Octoberthe .Santee was badly damaqed bY akamikaze attack, and shortly after-wards by a torpedo hit from the sub-marrne ,l-56, but managed to survive,Then a kamikaze hit the Suwannee,having missed the Sangramon, In spiteofthese hits all three were operationalby the spring of 1945. The Sangamonwas badly damaged by a kamikaze hitoff Okinawa on 4 May i945, and lost I ldead, 2l serrously wounded and 25missing, but like her sisters, proved

rugqed enough to be returned to ser-vlce.

SpecificationUSS Sangamon (CVE.26)Displacement: 10,500 tons standard,23,875 tons fuI] loadDimensions: lenqth 168,71 m (553 ft6 in) overall; beam 34,82 m (l14 ft 3 in)over fligiht deck; draught 9.32 m (30 ft7 in)Machinery: 2-shaft gteared steam tur-bines delivering 10070 kW(13 500 shp)Speed: IB knotsArmour: noneAmament: two l27-mm (S-in) AA, 1woquadruple 40-mm Bofors AA, seventu/1n 40-mm Bofors AA and 21 20-mmAA gnrnsAircraft: (1942) i2 Grumman F4F Wild-cat fighters, nine Douglas SBD Daunt-Iess dive-bombers and nine GrummanTBF Avenger torpedo-bombersComplement: 1,100 officers and en-Iisted men

- : .-"'::sLon of escort carrters was- :- -: :rtorlty in 1942, but the rate: ...:.-. -:.=se useful utility carriers

-: :: ar:rght Lnto service was li-- . - r : '. :-:: ,-.':mber of hulls available: :.-'.'.',-, r':rlt US Narry oilers, the--: - - :: --.: -:.3 2B), Santee (AO 29), . . ,; - -:-l 3l) and Suwannee

- :: ' :1?:l oul of commssion

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Iess interference wlth flying opera-tions. Provision was made ior two cata-pults, although the second unit was notinstalled untll 1944, and a number ofIarge openings in the sides providedgood ventilation for the hangtar'-

The Sanlee (AVG.29, later CVE29)was the first to be commissioned, on 24

Auenrst 1942, followed a day later bythe USS Sangamon (CVE.26); theSuwannee (CVE.27) was commls-sioned on 24 September, five daYs af-ter the Ciena.nEro (CVE.2B), The acuteshortage of cairiers in late 1942 andearlv 1943. combined wlth their goodturn of speed and aircraft capacitymeant that these new carliers wereused with the main fleet more thanother CVEs, and frequently operatedtogether. AII four supported the land-

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uss st LoThe success of the converted CVEs.:d to a fresh destgn being preparedlom the keel up', using a mercantileiesign as a basrs but tailorinq it to meetIVE needs, rather than adapting a hull:r the slipway, These adaptations'.','ere more concerned with ease of:rnstruction than any radtcal improve-:.ent in operational capability. In all, 50::rts of the 'Casablanca' class (CVE.55-. 14) were authorized late in 1942.-:-lihough the flight deck was shortr00 fV152,4 m by 108 fV32,9 m), two

- -is and a catapult were provided, andrs there were two propeller shafts.:.ere was qreater manoeuvrability::.an with one shaft. To speed up manu-:acture, triple-expansion steam:-achinery was chosen, but in other::spects the'Casablanca' design took:.e best of the'Sanqamon', 'Bogue'and?rLnce Wrlliam' classes, and was a::nsiderable success,

The USS Sf ,6 (CVE,63) was laidj:wn as the Chaptn Bay (AVG,63) at:enry Kaiser's Vancouver shrpyard in-:nuary 1943, but in April she was re-:zmedMidway in honow of the recent:attle and entered sewice under that.=.ame in October 1943, The name was.:.:n allocated to a much bigger car-:-er as it was considered too important::r such a minor warship, and on 15

September 1944 CVE,63 became theISS StI6. The little carrier had already:ade two ferry tdps out to the Pacific

American Aircraft Carriers of the Pacific f/uand had supported the amphibiouslandings in Sarpan, Eniwetok, Tinianand Morotai. In October 1944 sheformed part of 'Taffy Three', part of thevast armada which fought the Battle ofLeyte Gulf, 'Taffy Three', the mostnorthern group of escort carrierscovering the amphibious landing, hadalready suffered a qrmellinq bombard-men from Japanese surface warshipsfor the best part of 3 hours durinq themorning of 25 October i944, After a Iullofabout t hour thekamrkazes made alow-level attack, flve Zeros comtng inat low level before climbing rapidly toI525 m (5,000 ft) and then drvingstraight onto the flight deck. One of aparr attacking the Fanshaw Bay sud-denlv switched to the Sf 16, strikrngher ilioht deck aft. The two bombsslung u"nderneath the Zero set offgaso-line, bombs and ammunitron in thehangar, and wrecked the ship,

The kamikaze hil at 10.53, and fiveminutes later a hugte explosion devas-tated the carrier. She sank about I hourlater, with 100 dead and many injured,the first American shrp sunk by kamt'kaze attack.

Specificationuss sr 16 (cvE.63)Displacement: 7,800 tons standard,10,400 tons full loadDimensions: length 156. 13 m (512 ft3 tn) overall; beam 39,92 m (108 ft 0 in)over flight deck; draught 6,BO m (22 ft6 in)Machinery: 2-shaft vertical triple-expansion delivering 6715 kW(9,000 ihp)Speed: 19 knotsArmour: none

Below: The port profile of the'C asablanca' class,' fhese shrps werean improved version of fhe Bogn:edesign, tailored for fasterconstruction.

The new escort carrier-!,7tara':(CVE.63), which was subseq;.:'-trenamedSt L6 to release tie.::-:e{or a bigger carrier.

Armament: one ----::.:erght twin 40-mm B::::: -:-:. , : -20-mm AA gunsAircraft: (October 19;; .- l:* .: :

F4F Wrldcat fighters ar.: . - l: --:..- '-TBF Avenger torpedc-: :: :.:,Complement: 860 ofhcc:-: ::.r :- .

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B ottom : The Sl L6 blow s u p af t e :being set on fire byJapanese v:::::during the battle off Samar nOctober 1944.

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stead the Amerrcan Admiral RaymondSpruance had launched heavy attacks on the

Japanese arrfields, wiprng out the aircraft onGuam and Rota, What remains unexplained tothrs day is the fact that Kakuta failed to warnOzawa of this failure rn the plan, and continuedto reassure him that the Americanswere suffer-ing a heavy rate of attrition. Nor were theAmericans short of intelltgence about Ozawa'smovements, for their submarines had spottedthe carriers moving through the Phtlipptnes,

The Japanese carrier force was out instrength: the light carriers Zuiho, Chttose,Chiyoda, Hiyo, Junyo andRyuho and the fleetcarners Tatho, Shokaku and Zuikaku, as well asfrve battleshrps, 12 crutsers and 27 destroyers,and 24 submarines. But this force was dwarfedby Task Force 58: the light carriers Langley,Cowpens, San Jacinto, Pnnceton, Monterey,Cabot, Belleau Wood andBataan, the fleet car-riers Hornet, Yorktown, Bunker Hill, Wasp, En-terpnse, Lexington andEssex, as well as seve!battleshrps, 21 cruisers, 62 destroyers and 25

submarrnes. Even these heavy odds werelengthened by the superior trainrng of theAmerican aircrews, for the Japanese ptlot-tralning progrramme had totally failed to keepup wrth wartime attntion, and many of Ozawa's

A Japanese aircraft plummets into the sea over thesinall carrierKitkun Bay (CIIE.71) during theinvasion of S aipan in J une I 9 44.

The Japanese carrier Zuho under attack from theair group of the Enterprise durin g the Batt]e of thePhilippine Sea. Note the unusual camouflage anddeckmarkings.

!ilots were barely capable of landing on board-_rerr carrlers.

Spruance divided his force into four taskjrroups (TGs 58.I, 58.2, 58.3 and 58.4) and atsattle Line (TG 58.7) under Admiral Willis A'

-ee, To attack the carriers the Japanese air-:raft would first have to fly through a barrage of::rti-aircraft fire ftom the Battle Line, and thenight off each carrier task group's combat aircatrol and face the fire from their escorts. The-and attacks had done nothing to weaken thislefence in depth, but Ozawa had no idea of-,vhat sort of opposition his pilots would be fac-ng.

On 18 June the main Japanese force moved:rto position to the west of the Marianas, andcetached the van force of three ligtht carriers':nder Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, with the in-:ention of launching the first strikes next morn-ng. When the Van Force launched its strike of16 fighters and 53 bombers it was detected byjre Battle Line on radar, givlng time for the UScarriers to launch every available fighter. They:nflicted grievous losses on the Japanese (42aircraft) and the only damage achieved was abomb hit on the battleship South Dakota.

The Marianas Turkey ShootA second strike was launched from the six

carriers of the Main Body: 48 fighters and 62bombers, but 10 minutes after the launch-seguence had begnrn, the US submatrne Alba-core torpedoed the carrier Tarho. Once againihe massed anti-aircraft fire of the Battle Lineslaughtered the air strike, shooting dovm 79 outof the tIO aircrafl and all that was achievedwas a near-miss. A third strike of 47 aircraftmanaged to avoid the Battle i:ine but foundvery few targets, and lost only seven planes. Afourth strike launched from 11,30 also lost itsway; only 33 out of82 aircraft iound TG 58.2, andsulfered heavy losses,

The Japanese carriers had made thestrongest possibie effort and had failed to inilictmore than trifling damage on TF 58. Al 12.22Ozawa suffered a further setback when thesubmarine USS Cavalla put four torpedoes intothe Sfiokaku, She blew up and sank at 15.10,foilowed shortly afterwards by the Talho. ButOzawa had no intention of giving up, for he stillbelieved that Kakuta's land-based forces hadinilicted heavy casualties, and he therefore feltthat his 102 remaining aircraft could turn thetables on Spruance. In addition Kakuta had toldhim that many of the survivors of the carrierstrikes had landed safely on Guam.

Next day the two opposing fleets were mov-ing to the north west on roughly parallelcoruses. When Spruance learned of Ozawa'sposition it was late in the afternoon, and he wasfaced with a difficult choice. A strike againstthe Japanese carriers would be at maximumdistance, and the return flight to the carrierswould have to be made in darkness. Neverthe-less at 16.20 he ordered an all-out strike by 85fighters, 77 dive-bombers and 54 torpedo-bombers,

The Japanese could oniy launch 80 aircraftbef,ore TF 58's tempest overwhelmed them,The light cawier Hiyo was sunk by two torpe-does; the Zuikaku, Junyo and Chiyoda werebadly damaged, and other ships were dam-aged. Ozawa managed to extricate the rem-nants of his forces without further loss, but hehad lost what he knew to be the iast chance ofadecisive victory. His inexperienced pilots hadbeen shot down in such numbers that theAmerican pilots had called the air battle on 19

American AircraftJune the 'Great Marianas Turkey Shoot'. Evenwhen stretched to the limit, the US Navy's pilotswere more skilled: after the strike on 20 Junethe aircraft returned to their carriers al 22.45,many of them virtually out of fuel. In a ciassicsiqnal Vice-Admiral Mitscher ordered the car-riers to turn on their landing iights, to makeswe that the pilots could find a friendly deck inthe darkness. Losses were heavy, but 116 air-craft landed safely. The remaining 80 crash-landed or 'ditched' nearby, allowing des-troyers to pick up the majority of the aircrew.

Double talk, double thinkIn retrospect it is difficult to criticize Ozawa's

handling of the battle. The major tactical error,attacking the Battle Line, was the result of thenaval pilots' Iack of experience. The extraor-dinary lies told by Kakuta led Ozawa to believethat his four strikes would have much moreeffect than they did, and he was even misledinto believing that his aircraft were safe inGuam, whereas in fact they had been des-troyed, Given those circumstances, and thefact that he was vastly outnumbered it wouldhave been difficult to do better,

Even iJ Ozawa had been biessed with betterIuck and a more capabie subordinate he wouldhave needed a miracle to give him victoryagainst TF 58. The best that could have hap-pened would have been a few US carriersbadly damaged ot even sunk, That would haveresulted in a short respite, but the Japanesewere now being overwhelmed by sheer num-bers. Not only were trained pilots in short supp-Iy; even the raw materiais and oil for whichJapan had gone to war were difficult to trans-port to Japan, because of the lack of shipping. Itwas now impossible for Japanese shipyards tomaintain shipping at pre-war levels. The fleetcould not get sufficient refined oil, and wasforced to use volatile oil from Borneo - a majorcause of the explosions which destroyed theTalho and Sho.kaku,

On the American side there were bitter re-criminations against Spruance, particularly byAdiniral William Halsey and his supporters.They felt that the caution of Spruance had lostTF 58 the opportr:nity to sink all Ozawa's car-riers, and thus eliminate the ImperialJapaneseNavy, What the critics cotild not accept wasthat Spruance's dispositions at all times tookaccount ofthe overriding need to prevent Oza-wa from evading his task erroups and getting atthe vulnerable amphibious forces off Saipan,No mercy would have been shovrn to Spruanceil his carriers had lost Ozawa, and massive

Abomberloses awing after being stilckby a

S-inch shell from lIe carrierYorktown of tieIsland otKwaialein.

Carriers of the Pacific War

Curtiss SB2C H elldiver dive- bombr.

Yokosuka D4Y I J udy' dive - bom ber.

MitsubishiAiM3 'Zero', based in the Philippines.

Dicrg of the I'larionas Turkeg Shoot

The lapanese paid dearly for thefu attempt to ofuttzd the invasion of theMaianas. T ask F oree 5 8 utder Admiral Sptaance held off and then stttckback at Ozawa's Fitst Mobile Fleet. While the Anterj,can viclory may nothave seemed decisive in view of the fact that the lapanese managedtoexticate most of their fotce, the fact that the maiortty of Eained Japaneseaituew lay with thefu aircraft wrder the Philippine Sea meant that theImperdlal Narry would never again he able to wage effective canier wat.

2, Aftertwo days ofaerial essault US navaltnits clqsed into bombardJapanese grotnd

defences. Seven battleships and more than 20cruisers pounded the enemy positions

for 48 hours prior to the assault.

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6. Unseen by the Japanese, two US su.bmafineshad been shadowing the opposing fleet

At 09.00 on 19 June the submarines torpedoedthe cafii$ Taiho (6A) and at 12.18 a similarfate

befel Shokaku (68). Both sank by mid-afternoon.

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J ap ane s e - he ld islands.

lSJune l944JapaneselstMobileFleetsails fromPhilippines500mileswest.

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Task Force 58 spearheadsUS inv asion o f Marianas.

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Armed Forces of the World

Theancient kingdom ofJordan has possessedan established army from the time when mostEuropean nations were still throwing shar-pened stones at one another, and over thecenturies the kingdom has remained a remark-able bastion of stability in a turbulent region.Today the Jordanian 'armed forces are"stillmanned on an all-volunteer basis for welltrained units that are now in a state of transi-tion from what was once a British-orientatedestablishment into a more outwardJookingformation using equipment from the USSR onone side and from the USA and UK on theother side of the superpower divide.

The Jordanian armyln terms of equipment ihe Jordanian army isone of the most powerful in the Middle East,and is mechanized to a high degree. lt hasrecently undergone a major re-equipmentprogramme with new American M60 MBTs,and with new 155-mm and 203-mm self-propelled artillery, and still has some M60MBTs to be delivered. However, the main tankforce still consists of M47 , M48 and CenturionMBTs, though these are currently being re-placed by the British RoF Khalid MBT, an ex-port model of the Chieftain MBT. These tanksare backed up by Ferret scout cars, a largeforce of about 850 M113 tracked APCs and-asmall remaining batch of Saracen wheeledAPCs. Some towed artillery still remains, as dolarge numbers of heavy mortars and recoillessrif les, but air def ence depends on a mix of 'l 00Vulcan 20-mm cannon, M42 40-mm self-propelled Bofors guns, Redeye and SA-7'Grail' man-portable missiles, and a force oflmproved HAWK, 54-6 'Gainful' and SA-9'Gaskin' batteries. Anti-tank defence is pro-vided by TOW and Dragon ant -tank missiles.The primary striking forces using theseweapons are organized mainly at brigadestrengths. One of these brigades is an lnde-pendent Royal Guards Brigade, whrle the bulkof the armour is centred in the f ive arnro;redand six mechanized briqades. n receri Vearsthe army has been mucli concerned w tn .ter-nal security, chiefly concern'rg t^e aci \ r esof the PLO, and recently sorie 3,OOO ar--1volunteers have been involved on the lracside in the lran-lraq conflict. lnternally thearmy can call upon some 65,000 regular per-sonnel, 3,550 wellarmed and comprehens ve-ly organized Mobile Police Force personneland a further 7,500 Civil Militia.

The Jordanian navvThe naval element of the Jordanian forces issmall (300 personnel) and based at the south-ern port of Aqaba. lt has nine small patrol craftwith a further three about to be delivered.

The Jordanian air forceThe Jordanian air force has some 7,500 per-sonnel, and is currently in the process of con-verting its three interceptor squadrons to amix of Dassault-Breguet Mirage F.1s andNorthrop F-5Es and F-SFs, and the last fewNorthrop F-5As are about to be retired. A furth-er F-SE squadron is devoted to the ground-attack role. At the same time all air force basesare being 'hardened'and extra dispersal fieldsare being constructed. 54-6'Gainful'and SA-9

'Gaskin' missile sites are being established todefend the airfields alongside lmprovedHAWK missiles and gun installations A singletransport squadron uses an unusual mix-ofaircraft including Lockheed C-130 Hercrles,CASA C-212 Aviocars and Rockwel Sabrel ner75As. The Royal Flrght has a Boerng 727 ae,d aRiley Dove for King Hussein's use. A /argehelrcopter squadron is based on rre Aerosoa-tiale Alouette lll, Siko's<y S-76s ano a nrrmberof Hughes 500D trainers Helrcopters on orderinclude 24 Bell AH-'l S Cobras to be f itted withTOW anti-tank missiles Training aircraft n-clude Cessna T-37C let rra rers, a number ofBAe Bulldogs and six Pitts S-2s; Jordan hasone of the few air forces to operate this lasttype, a highly aerobar c tra ner.

The f ull combat aircraft strength of theJordanian air force ls 94 aircraft. As far as isknown none of tl-,ese are used in lraq, butsome transport aircraft have been operated insLpport of Jorda^ a^ troops with the lraqi'o'ces Vo'e l-proreo Hawk missiles havebeen offered bV tre U.ited States for airfielddefence to oJSt tne ex-Soviet missiles now inserv ce.

The CASA C-2I2 Aviocar provides thelighttansport element of ]ordan's single air transportsquadron. The aircraft is well suited to 'hot andhigh' operations in the Middle East.

Order of BattleArmyOne independent Foyal Guards BrigadeFive armoured brigadesSix mechanized brigadesTwo infantry brigades16 artillery battalionsTwo anti-aircraft defence brigadesThree airborne battalionsAir ForceThree interceptor squadrons (F-5, Miraqe F.1 )

One strike squadron (F-5)One OCU (F-5)One transport squadronOne helicopter squadronOne Royal Flight

Jordanian Khaltd fanks are som e of the mostpowerful armoured tighting vehicles in the MiddleEast. Essentially a late model Chieftain modified tosuitJordanian requirements, the Khalid has the/aleslandmost accurate of fire control systems.