US carriers of WW2. USS Saratoga, Enterprise, Hornet and San Jacinto, of 4 different classes, at Naval Air Station Alameda, circa September 1945. [5729 × 4281]
US carriers of WW2. USS Saratoga, Enterprise, Hornet and San Jacinto, of 4 different classes, at Naval Air Station Alameda, circa September 1945. [5729 × 4281]
At the end of WW2 the United States had assembled the greatest fleet the world had ever seen. At the core of its naval power were its carriers, and this photo gives us a good look at them. From the front to the back:
USS Saratoga (CV-3) – Lexington Class: Lexington and Saratoga were originally battlecruisers converted to aircraft carriers. The US Navy gained valuable experience in the design and operation of aircraft carriers from them. Lexington’s early loss at the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 was a big blow, though even her death gave valuable lessons.
Saratoga was one of three prewar US carriers to survive WW2. An unlucky ship, she was badly torpedoed twice in 1942, thus missing out on most of the big carrier battles. Her shining moment came when she and Princeton attacked the major Japanese base at Rabaul at the end of 1943 and badly damaged several Japanese cruisers, dashing their plans to attack the Allied landings at Bougainville.
She was sent on exchange to the British Eastern Fleet in 1944 and on her return was relegated to a training ship. She was sent back to the frontlines in 1945 as a dedicated night carrier, but her poor luck reared its head again and she was hammered by 5 bombs and 3 kamikazes off Iwo Jima. Increasingly clapped out and obsolescent, she was permanently rerolled as a training carrier, and post war she was nuked at Bikini as part of Operation Crossroads.
USS Enterprise (CV-6) – Yorktown Class: The Yorktowns were the US Navy’s first “proper” carriers (I’m ignoring Ranger’s existence, much like the US Navy). Reflecting the efficiency of a purpose-built design, despite their smaller size to the Lexingtons they packed essentially the same number of aircraft. The Yorktowns bore the brunt of the fighting in 1942. Yorktown fought at Coral Sea and was sunk at Midway. Hornet (CV-8) took part in the Doolittle Raid, Midway (for all the good she did there) and Guadalcanal and met her end at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942.
Enterprise was also one of the three prewar US carriers to survive WW2 (the last was Ranger). The Big E needs no introduction. Pearl Harbor, Doolittle, Midway, Guadalcanal, Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, she saw it all. She fought at every carrier battle except Coral Sea, earning herself 20 battle stars, a Presidential Unit Citation and a place in history as the most decorated US Navy ship of World War II. Her story is legendary, but despite all efforts she was scrapped post-war.
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At the end of WW2 the United States had assembled the greatest fleet the world had ever seen. At the core of its naval power were its carriers, and this photo gives us a good look at them. From the front to the back:
USS Saratoga (CV-3) – Lexington Class: Lexington and Saratoga were originally battlecruisers converted to aircraft carriers. The US Navy gained valuable experience in the design and operation of aircraft carriers from them. Lexington’s early loss at the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 was a big blow, though even her death gave valuable lessons.
Saratoga was one of three prewar US carriers to survive WW2. An unlucky ship, she was badly torpedoed twice in 1942, thus missing out on most of the big carrier battles. Her shining moment came when she and Princeton attacked the major Japanese base at Rabaul at the end of 1943 and badly damaged several Japanese cruisers, dashing their plans to attack the Allied landings at Bougainville.
She was sent on exchange to the British Eastern Fleet in 1944 and on her return was relegated to a training ship. She was sent back to the frontlines in 1945 as a dedicated night carrier, but her poor luck reared its head again and she was hammered by 5 bombs and 3 kamikazes off Iwo Jima. Increasingly clapped out and obsolescent, she was permanently rerolled as a training carrier, and post war she was nuked at Bikini as part of Operation Crossroads.
USS Enterprise (CV-6) – Yorktown Class: The Yorktowns were the US Navy’s first “proper” carriers (I’m ignoring Ranger’s existence, much like the US Navy). Reflecting the efficiency of a purpose-built design, despite their smaller size to the Lexingtons they packed essentially the same number of aircraft. The Yorktowns bore the brunt of the fighting in 1942. Yorktown fought at Coral Sea and was sunk at Midway. Hornet (CV-8) took part in the Doolittle Raid, Midway (for all the good she did there) and Guadalcanal and met her end at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942.
Enterprise was also one of the three prewar US carriers to survive WW2 (the last was Ranger). The Big E needs no introduction. Pearl Harbor, Doolittle, Midway, Guadalcanal, Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, she saw it all. She fought at every carrier battle except Coral Sea, earning herself 20 battle stars, a Presidential Unit Citation and a place in history as the most decorated US Navy ship of World War II. Her story is legendary, but despite all efforts she was scrapped post-war.