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USS Intrepid (CVA-11)

USS Intrepid (CVA-11)

The fourth USS Intrepid (CV/CVA/CVS-11) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. Intrepid participated in the Pacific War, most notably the Battle of Leyte Gulf, recovered space capsules of the Mercury and Gemini projects, served in the Vietnam War, and as of 2005 is a museum ship in New York City called Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. The ship was launched 26 April 1943 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, sponsored by Mrs. John Howard Hoover, and commissioned 16 August 1943, Captain Thomas L. Sprague in command. The Intrepid's moto on setting sail was "In Mare In Coelo."

World War II

Marshalls, Jan. – Feb. 1944

After training in the Caribbean, Intrepid departed Norfolk 3 December 1943 for San Francisco, then to Hawaii. She arrived Pearl Harbor 10 January and prepared for the invasion of the Marshall Islands, the next objective in the Navy's massive island-hopping campaign. She sortied from Pearl Harbor with carriers Cabot and Essex 16 January to raid islands at the northeastern corner of Kwajalein Atoll 29 January 1944 and pressed the attack until the last opposition had vanished, 2 February. The raids destroyed all of the 83 Japanese aircraft based on Roi-Namur before the first landings were made on adjacent islets 31 January. That morning Intrepids aircraft strafed Ennuebing Island until 10 minutes before the first marines reached the beaches. Half an hour later that islet, which protected Roi's southwestern flank and controlled the North Pass into Kwajalein Lagoon, was secured, enabling marines to set up artillery to support their assault on Roi. Her work in the capture of the Marshall Islands finished, Intrepid headed for Truk, the tough Japanese base in the center of Micronesia. Three fast carrier groups arrived undetected daybreak of the 17th, sinking two destroyers and 200,000 tons of merchant shipping in 2 days of almost continuous attacks in Operation Hailstone. Moreover, the carrier raid demonstrated Truk's vulnerability and thereby greatly curtailed its usefulness to the Japanese as a base. The night of 17 February 1944 an aerial torpedo struck Intrepids starboard quarter, 15 feet below her waterline, flooding several compartments and jamming her rudder hard to port. By racing her port screw and idling her starboard engine, Captain Sprague kept her on course until 2 days later strong winds swung her back and forth and tended to weathercock her with her bow pointed toward Tokyo. Sprague later confessed: "Right then I wasn't interested in going in that direction." At this point the crew fashioned a jury-rig sail of hatch covers and scrap canvas which swung Intrepid about and held her on course. Decorated by her crazy-quilt sail, Intrepid stood into Pearl Harbor 24 February 1944. After temporary repairs, Intrepid sailed for the West Coast 16 March and arrived Hunter's Point, California, the 22d. She was back in fighting trim in June and departed for 2 months of operations out of Pearl Harbor, then to the Marshalls.

Palaus and Philippines, Sept. – Nov. 1944

Intrepids aircraft struck Japanese position in the Palaus 6 and 7 September concentrating on airfields and artillery emplacements on Peleliu. The next day her fast carrier task force steamed west toward the southern Philippines to strike airfields on Mindanao 9 and 10 September. Then, after raids on bases in the Visayan Sea 12 through 14 September, she returned to the Palaus 17 September to support marines in overcoming opposition from hillside caves and mangrove swamps on Peleliu. When the struggle settled down to rooting Japanese defenders out of the ground on a man-to-man basis, Intrepid steamed back to the Philippines to prepare the way for liberation. She struck throughout the Philippines, also pounding Okinawa and Formosa to neutralize Japanese air threats to Leyte. As Intrepids aircraft flew missions in support of the Leyte landings 20 October 1944, Japan's Navy, desperately striving to hold the Philippines, was converging on Leyte Gulf from three directions. Ships of the U.S. Navy parried thrusts in four major actions collectively known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The morning of 24 October, an Intrepid aircraft spotted Admiral Takeo Kurita's flagship, Yamato. Two hours later, aircraft from Intrepid and Cabot braved intense antiaircraft fire to begin a day-long attack on Center Force. Wave after wave followed until by sunset American carrier-based aircraft had sunk mighty battleship Musashi with her 18 inch (457 mm) guns and had damaged her sister ship Yamato along with battleships Nagato and Haruna and heavy cruiser Myoko forcing the latter to withdraw. That night Admiral William Halsey's 3rd Fleet raced north to intercept Japan's Northern Force which had been spotted of the northeastern tip of Luzon. At daybreak aircraft took off to attack the Japanese ships then off Cape Engaño. One of Intrepids aircraft got a bomb into light carrier Zuiho. Then American bombers sank her sister ship Chitosi, and an aircraft from either Intrepid or San Jacinto scored with a torpedo in large carrier Zuikaku knocking out her communications and hampering her steering. Destroyer Ayitsuki sank and at least 9 of Ozawa's 15 aircraft were shot down. On through the day the attack continued and, after five more strikes, Japan had lost four carriers and a destroyer. The still potent Center Force, after pushing through San Bernardino Strait, had steamed south along the coast of Samar where it was held at bay by a small escort carrier group of six "baby flattops", three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts until help arrived and it went back towards Japan. As Intrepids aircraft hit Clark Field 30 October a burning kamikaze crashed into one of the carrier's port gun tubs killing 10 men and wounding 6. Soon skillful damage control work enabled the flattop to resume flight operations. Intrepids aircraft continued to hit airfields and shipping in the Philippines. Shortly after noon 25 November a heavy force of Japanese aircraft struck back at the carriers. Within 5 minutes 2 kamikazes crashed into the carrier killing 6 officers and 5 crew. Intrepid never lost propulsion nor left her station in the task group; and in less than 2 hours, had extinguished the last blaze. The next day, Intrepid headed for San Francisco, arriving 20 December for repairs.
Okinawa and Japan, March – April 1944
Back in fighting trim in mid-February 1945, the carrier steamed for Ulithi, arriving 13 March. The next day she pushed on eastward for powerful strikes against airfields on Kyushu, Japan, 18 March. That morning a twin engine G4M "Betty" broke through a curtain of defensive fire turned toward Intrepid and exploded only 50 feet (15 m) off Intrepids forward boat crane. A shower of flaming gasoline and aircraft parts started fires on the hangar deck, but damage control teams quickly put them out. Intrepids aircraft joined attacks on remnants of the Japanese fleet anchored at Kure damaging 18 enemy naval vessels including super battleship Yamato and carrier Amagi. Then the carriers turned to Okinawa as L-Day, the start of the most ambitious amphibious assault of the Pacific war approached. Their aircraft attacked the Ryukyus 26 and 27 March, softening up enemy defensive works. Then, as the invasion began 1 April, they flew support missions against targets on Okinawa and made neutralizing raids against Japanese airfields in range of the island. During an air raid 16 April, a Japanese aircraft dove into Intrepids flight deck forcing the engine and part of her fuselage right on through, killing 8 men and wounding 21. In less than an hour the flaming gasoline had been extinguished, and only 3 hours after the crash, aircraft were again landing on the carrier. The following day, Intrepid retired homeward via Ulithi and Pearl Harbor arriving San Francisco 19 May for repairs. Intrepid stood out of San Francisco 29 June and enlivened her westward voyage 6 August as her aircraft smashed Japanese on bypassed Wake Island. The next day she arrived Eniwetok where she received word 15 August to "cease offensive operations." The veteran carrier got under way 21 August to support the occupation of Japan. She departed Yokosuka 2 December and arrived San Pedro, California, 15 December 1945.

Post-war service

Intrepid shifted to San Francisco Bay 4 February 1948. Her status was reduced to "in commission in reserve" 15 August before decommissioning 22 March 1947(?) and joining the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Intrepid recommissioned at San Francisco 9 February 1952 and got underway 12 March for Norfolk. She decommissioned in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard 9 April 1952 for conversion to a modern attack aircraft carrier. Reclassified CVA-11 1 October, she recommissioned in reserve 18 June 1954. She became the first American carrier to launch aircraft with steam catapults on 13 October 1954. Two days later she went into full commission as a unit of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

1955 – 1961

After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay in 1955, Intrepid departed Mayport, Florida, 28 May 1955 for the first of two deployments in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet. She returned to Norfolk from the second of these cruises 5 September 1955. The carrier got under way 29 September for a 7-month modernization overhaul in the New York Navy Yard, followed by refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay. New York Navy Yard Boasting a reinforced angled flight deck and a mirror landing system, Intrepid departed the United States in September 1957 for NATO's Operation Strikeback, the largest peacetime naval exercise up to that time in history. Operating out of Norfolk in December she conducted Operation Crosswind, a study of the effects of wind on carrier launches. Intrepid proved that carriers can safely conduct flight operations without turning into the wind and even launch aircraft while steaming downwind. During the next 4 years Intrepid alternated Mediterranean deployments with operations along the Atlantic coast of the United States and exercises in the Caribbean.

1962 – 1965

On December 8, 1961 she was reclassified to an anti-submarine warfare carrier, CVS-11. She entered the Norfolk Navy Yard March 10, 1962 to be overhauled and refitted for her new antisubmarine warfare role. She left the shipyard 2 April carrying Air Antisubmarine Group 56. After training exercises, Intrepid was selected as the principal ship in the recovery team for astronaut Scott Carpenter and his Project Mercury space capsule. Shortly before noon on May 24, 1962, Carpenter splashed down in Aurora 7 several hundred miles from Intrepid. Minutes after he was located by land-based search aircraft, two helicopters from Intrepid, carrying NASA officials, medical experts, Navy frogmen, and photographers, were airborne and headed to the rescue. One of the choppers picked him up over an hour later and flew him to the carrier which safely returned him to the United States. After training midshipmen at sea in the summer and a thorough overhaul at Norfolk in the fall, the carrier departed Hampton Roads January 23, 1963 for warfare exercises in the Caribbean. Late in February she interrupted these operations to join a sea hunt for Venezuelan freighter, Anzoátegui whose mutinous second mate had led a group of pro-Castro terrorists in hijacking the vessel. After the Communist pirates had surrendered at Rio de Janeiro, the carrier returned to Norfolk March 23, 1963. Intrepid operated along the Atlantic Coast for the next year from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean perfecting her antisubmarine techniques. She departed Norfolk June 11, 1964 carrying midshipmen to the Mediterranean for a hunter-killer at sea training with the 6th Fleet. While in the Mediterranean, Intrepid aided in the surveillance of a Soviet task group. En route home her crew learned that she had won the coveted Battle Efficiency "E" for antisubmarine warfare during the previous fiscal year. Intrepid operated along the East Coast during the fall. Early in September she entertained 22 NATO statesmen as part of their tour of U.S. military installations. She was at Yorktown October 18-19, 1964 for ceremonies commemorating Lord Cornwallis' surrender 183 years before. During a brief deployment off North Carolina, swift and efficient rescue procedures on the night of November 21, 1964 saved the life of an airman who had plunged overboard while driving an aircraft towing tractor. Early in the next year Intrepid began preparations for a vital role in NASA's first manned Gemini flight, Gemini 3. On March 23, 1965 Lt. Comdr. John Young and Maj. Gus Grissom in Molly Brown splashed down some 50 miles from Intrepid after history's first controlled re-entry into the earth's atmosphere ended the pair's nearly perfect three-orbit flight. A Navy helicopter lifted the astronauts from the spacecraft and flew them to Intrepid for medical examination and debriefing. Later Intrepid retrieved Molly Brown and returned the spaceship and astronauts to Cape Kennedy. After this mission Intrepid entered the Brooklyn Navy Yard in April for a major overhaul to bring her back to peak combat readiness.

1965 – 1974

This was the final Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) job performed by the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York, slated to close after more than a century and a half of service to the nation. In September, Intrepid, with her work approximately 75 percent completed, eased down the East River to moor at the Naval Supply Depot at Bayonne, New Jersey, for the completion of her multi-million dollar overhaul. After builder's sea trials and fitting out at Norfolk she sailed to Guantanamo on shakedown. Mid-1966 found Intrepid with the Pacific Fleet off Vietnam. Here her pilots scored what is believed to be one of the fastest aircraft launching times recorded by an American carrier. Nine A-4 Skyhawks and six A-1 Skyraiders, loaded with bombs and rockets, were catapulted in 7 minutes, with only 28 seconds between launches. A few days later aircraft were launched at 26-second intervals. After 7 months of outstanding service with the 7th Fleet off Vietnam, Intrepid returned to Norfolk having earned her Commanding Officer, Captain John W. Fair, the Legion of Merit for combat operations in Southeast Asia. In June of 1967, Intrepid returned to the Western Pacific by way of the Suez Canal just prior to its closing during the Arab-Israeli crisis. In mid-1970, Intrepid was home ported at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, relieving Yorktown (CV-10) as the flagship for Commander Carrier Division 16. Intrepid was decommissioned for the final time 15 March 1974. Destined to be scrapped shortly thereafter, a campaign led by real estate developer Zachary Fisher and the Intrepid Museum Foundation saved the carrier, and established it as a museum ship which opened in New York City in August 1982 as the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. In 1986, Intrepid was officially designated as a National Historic Landmark. On July 4, 1993, the World Wrestling Federation held the "Stars and Stripes Challenge" aboard the vessel with numerous sports atheletes attempting to bodyslam WWF Champion Yokozuna, who was billed as weighing more than 500 pounds.

Reference

- Larry Sowinski, USS Intrepid Album (Levittown, New York: Gerard Graphics, 1976)

External links

- [http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/ Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum homepage]
- [http://www.wa3key.com/intrepid.html USS Intrepid Association homepage]
- [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-i/cv11.htm US Navy photos of Intrepid]
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/11.htm NavSource photos of Intrepid]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.764771,-74.001245&spn=0.004087,0.007617&t=k&hl=en Interactive satellite view of the museum site] See USS Intrepid for other Navy ships of the same name. Intrepid Intrepid Category:Battle of Leyte Gulf

Essex class carrier

Class	The USS Essex
The USS Essex The USS Essex in heavy seas
Lead Ship:	Essex (CV-9)
Builders:	Newport News Shipbuilding (CV 9-13), Bethlehem Steel Company (CV 16-18), New York Navy Yard (CV 20, 31)
Number of Ships:	15 ordered, 15 laid down, 10 commissioned as Essex ships 5 completed as Ticonderoga class ships
Preceded by:	Yorktown-class aircraft carrier
Succeeded by:	Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier
General Characteristics
Displacement:	27,200 tons (27,600 t)/ 34,880 tons (35,440 t) (standard)
Armor:	1.5 in (38 mm) hangar deck, 2.5 to 4 in (64 to 102 mm) belt
Length:	820 ft (250 m)
Beam:	93 ft (28 m)
Height:	147 ft (45 m)
Extreme Width:	147.5 ft
Draft:	23 ft (7.0 m)
Speed:	33 knots (61 km/h)
Range:	15,000 nautical miles (28,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Patrol Endurance:	75 days
Propulsion:	Westinghouse geared turbines; 8 - Babcock & Wilcox boilers connected to four shafts
Performance:	150,000 horsepower (110 MW)
Complement:	340 Officers/ 2900 Enlisted
Armament:	12 x 5-inch guns
Aircraft:	80-100 planes

The United States Navy's ten aircraft carriers of the Essex class, with the thirteen directly-related Ticonderoga-class carriers (often these are classified as Essex class vessels and their development was intertwined with the Essex class) and the Oriskany (CV-34), a highly modified sister-ship that was the prototype of the SCB-27 modernization program, constituted the industrial age's largest class of heavy warships. In fact, a total of thirty-two were ordered, with twenty-four actually entering service between 1942 and 1950. Two more were cancelled while under construction and six others before their keels had been laid down.

Overview

The preceding Yorktown class carriers formed the basis from which the Essex class was developed. Intended to carry a larger air group, and unencumbered by the naval limitations treaties then recently-obsolete, USS Essex (CV-9) was over sixty feet longer, nearly ten feet wider in beam and more than a third heavier. A longer, wider flight deck and a deck-edge elevator facilitated more efficient aviation operations, enhancing the ships' offensive and defensive air power. Machinery arrangement and armor protection was greatly improved from previous designs. These features, with 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 of them, Franklin (CV-13) and Bunker Hill (CV-17), came home under their own power even after being grievously damaged. US carriers had deck armor, though less than that carried by their British counterparts. The difference was that American ships carried their armor on the hangar floor, designed such that the flight deck and all above it were superstructure. This allowed for larger hangar bays, while their Royal counterparts carried their armor at the flight deck level. The British solution allowed more effective defense from bombs and particularly kamikazes. Later USN carriers would adopt the British approach making the flight deck rather than the hangar deck the strength deck leaving only the island as superstructure. Their construction greatly accelerated, the Essexes and the first few Ticonderogas formed the backbone of the Navy's mobile air striking power during the climactic years of the Pacific War. With their larger contemporaries of the Midway class, these carriers sustained the Navy's air power through the rest of the 1940s, during the Korean War era and beyond. Even after the arrival of the Forrestal-type "super carriers", the Essex class and its sisters remained vital elements of naval strength. By the mid-1950s, fourteen of them of them had been modernized along the lines of Oriskany (CV-34), with all but one of those being further updated under the SCB-125 program to facilitate operation of high-performance fighters and heavy attack aircraft. Korean War and subsequent Cold War needs ensured that twenty-two of the twenty-four ships had extensive post-World War II service, all initially with attack air groups. As bigger carriers entered the fleet, seven of the Essex class and eleven Ticonderogas were reassigned to the anti-submarine warfare mission. Unmodernized ships began to leave active service in the late 1950s, but three had about a decade of additional duty as helicopter assault transports for the Marine Corps. The updated units remained active until age and the increasing fleet of supercarriers drove them from the high seas from the late 1960s into the middle 1970s. However, one of the very first of the type, Lexington (CV-16), ran on until 1991 as the Navy's training carrier. She then became a museum, a new role that also employs three of her siblings, Yorktown (CV-10), Intrepid (CV-11), and Hornet (CV-12).

Development

After the abrogation by Japan from disarmament treaties, the U.S. took a realistic look at its naval strength. With the Naval Expansion Act of Congress passed on May 17, 1938, an increase of 40,000 tons in aircraft carriers was authorized. This permitted the building of USS Hornet (CV-8) and USS Essex (CV-9) which was to become the lead ship of its class. CV-9 was to be the prototype of the 27,000-ton (standard displacement) aircraft carrier, considerably larger than the Enterprise (CV-6) yet smaller than the Saratoga (CV-3). These were to become known as the Essex class carrier, although this classification was latter dropped in the '50’s. On September 9, 1940, eight more of these carriers were ordered and were to become the Hornet (CV-12), Franklin (CV-13), Ticonderoga (CV -14), Randolph (CV-15), Lexington (CV-16), Bunker Hill (CV-17), Wasp (CV-18) and Hancock (CV-19). The last two of the 13 originally programmed CV-9 class aircraft carriers, Bennington (CV-20) and Boxer (CV-21), were ordered on December 15, 1941. It should be noted that the Lexington, Wasp, Hornet and the Yorktown names were not their originally intended ones, but were used in line with the Navy’s intent to carry on the traditions of the fighting predecessors (ships lost in combat). It should also be noted that of the original 13 ordered "Essex class" ships, several of them, the Ticonderoga (CV-14), Randolph (CV-15), Hancock (CV-19), and Boxer (CV-21) were modified during design and construction and became those of the directly-related Ticonderoga or "long hull" class carriers. December 15 In drawing up the preliminary design for USS Essex (CV-9), 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 fighters and bombers being developed. Most of the first-line carriers of the pre-war years were equipped with flush deck catapults, 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; crew size aboard the planes also increased. By the war’s end in 1945, catapult launchings would become more common under these circumstances with some carrier commanding officers reporting that as much as 40 per cent of launchings were effected by the ships’ catapults. The hangar area design came in for many design conferences between the naval bureaus. Not only were the supporting structures to the flight deck to carry the increased weight of the landing and parked aircraft, but they were to have sufficient strength to support the storing of spare fuselages and parts (50 per cent of each plane type aboard) under the flight deck and still provide adequate working space for the men using the area below. A startling innovation in the Essex (CV-9) was a port side deck edge elevator in addition to two inboard elevators. Earlier, experiments with a ramp arrangement between the hangar and flight decks, up which aircraft were hauled by crane proved too slow. The Naval Bureau of Ships and the Chief Engineer of A.B.C. Elevator Co., designed the engine for the side elevator. Essentially, 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 over carriers prior to the Essex. Since there was no large hole in the flight deck when the elevator is in the ‘down’ position, a critical factor if the elevator were to ever become inoperable during combat operations, the development of the side elevator was a significant improvement in flight 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 percent 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. Nineteen more Essex class ships were ordered or scheduled, starting with ten of them on August 7, 1942. Though only two of the ships, the Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) and the Oriskany (CV-34) where laid down as Essex "short hull" keels. The remainder became the Ticonderoga or "long hull" class ships. The USS Lexington (CV-16); originally to be laid down as the "Cabot" but was renamed "Lexington" during construction after the Lexington (CV-2) was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, was commissioned on February 17, 1943, followed by USS Yorktown (CV-10); originally to be named the "Bon Home Richard", but changed after the Yorktown (CV-5), was lost at the Battle of Midway on June 7, 1942, on April 15, the Bunker Hill (CV-17) on May 25, the Intrepid (CV-11) on August 16, the Wasp (CV-18); name changed from "Oriskany" after the Wasp (CV-7) was sunk in September 1942 in the South Pacific while escorting a troop convoy to Guadalcanal, on November 24, and the Hornet (CV 12); name changed from "Kearsarge" when the Hornet (CV-8) was lost in October 1942 in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, on November 29 that year. In 1944, Franklin (CV-13) was commissioned on January 31 and the Bennington (CV-20) on August 6. In recap, after WW II erupted and until its successful conclusion by Allied forces, the U.S. Navy ordered 32 aircraft carriers of the Essex and the related Ticonderoga class, of which the keels of 26 were laid down, 24 actually being commissioned. 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. 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, Ticonderoga and Independence class carriers became available, tactics changed. Experience taught the wisdom of combined strength. Under attack, the combined anti-aircraft fire of the task group 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 force. 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.

Armaments

fast carrier task force "Sunday Punch"
The pride of the carrier known as the "Sunday Punch" was the offensive power of 36 fighters; 36 dive bombers and 18 torpedo planes. Known to the Japanese as the "Whistling Death",the F6F Hellcat would prove to be a plane superior to that of the Japanese Zero. It was twice as powerful as the Zero and could therefore climb higher and fly faster. Due to the increase in power, the Hellcat could carry an enormous amount of firepower. The Hellcat boasted six .50 caliber (~12.7 mm) machine guns with a rate of fire of over 1000 rounds per minute. The SB2C-1 Helldiver, was a dive-bomber with a capacity of 2650 pounds (1,200 kg) of ordnance or one torpedo. Designed solely as a torpedo plane, Avenger (TBF-1) was produced by Grumman Aircraft. Guns, Radar, & Radios
The defensive plan for the carriers was to use radio and radar in a combined effort to concentrate anti-aircraft fire. The ship boasted seventeen quad-barrel, 40 mm, anti-aircraft guns and 65 single, 20 mm, close-in defense guns. The main defensive weapons were the five-inch guns. With a range of ten miles and a rate of fire of fifteen rounds per minute these guns launched the deadly VT shells. The VT shells, know as the proximity fuzed-shells, would detonate when they came within 70 feet (21 m) of an enemy aircraft. The Essex Class 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 radar. The Position Plan Indicator (PPI) radar 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. The Identification Friend-or-Foe (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 effort to prevent enemy interception of transmissions. A four-channel radio also allowed for simultaneous radio contact with other ships and planes in the taskforce.

The Essex class ships

:(note: The USS Oriskany, though laid down as an Essex class ship, was mothballed during construction and completed as a highly modified Ticonderoga class.)

United States Navy

The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. The U.S. Navy consists of 281 ships and over 4,000 aircraft. It has over half a million men and women on active or ready reserve duty. The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which the Continental Congress established during the American Revolutionary War. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1789, empowered Congress "to provide and maintain a navy." Acting on this authority, Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates; one of the original six, USS Constitution, familiarly known as "Old Ironsides," survives to this day. The War Department administered naval affairs from that year until Congress established the Department of the Navy on April 30, 1798. The Navy became part of the Department of Defense upon its establishment in 1947.

History of the Navy

Main article: History of the United States Navy History of the United States Navy The Continental Navy was established in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress on October 13, 1775, which authorized the procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatch of two armed vessels to search for munitions ships supplying the British Army in America. The legislation also established a Naval Committee to supervise the work. The Continental Navy operated some 50 ships over the course of the American Revolutionary War, but no more than about 20 at one time. After the war, Congress sold the surviving ships and released the seamen and officers. Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates on March 27, 1794, and three years later welcomed into service the first three: USS United States, Constellation and Constitution. The frigates became famous in the War of 1812, where they unexpectedly defeated British Royal Navy forces several times. During the American Civil War, the Navy was an innovator in the use of ironclad warships, but after the war slipped into obsolescence. A modernization program beginning in the 1880s brought the U.S. into the first rank of the world's navies by the beginning of the 20th century. 20th century (middle) and USS Annapolis (SSN 760) (front)]] The Navy saw little action during World War I, but grew into a formidable force in the years before World War II. Japan unsuccessfully attempted to allay this strategic threat with a late-1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. During the next three years, the U.S. Navy grew into the most powerful in the world. It is widely accepted that currently the United States Navy remains the most powerful in the world.

Organization

The Navy is administered by the Department of the Navy, led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The senior naval officer, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), is the four-star admiral immediately under the Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations are responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Navy so the Navy is ready for operation under the command of the Unified Combatant Commanders. (Also see United States Armed Forces Organization.) President | SECDEF | ------------------- | | SECNAV | | | CNO Unified Combatant Commanders | | -------------------- | | | | Shore establishment Operating Forces (including fleets)

Fleets

The two main fleets are the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet. Under these two organizations fall the numbered fleets.
- 1st Fleet - no longer active
- 2nd Fleet – Atlantic Ocean — Flagship Iwo Jima, Norfolk, Virginia
- 3rd Fleet – Eastern and Northern Pacific Ocean — Flagship Coronado, San Diego, California (In peacetime the Third Fleet has no ARG and the carriers in the area are either on their way to the Seventh Fleet or conducting training cruises, after an overhaul for example.)
- 4th Fleet – Disbanded.
- 5th Fleet – Middle East — Headquartered at Manama, Bahrain
- 6th Fleet – Mediterranean Sea — Flagship Mount Whitney, Gaeta, Italy
- 7th Fleet – Western Pacific and Indian Ocean — Flagship Blue Ridge, Yokosuka, Japan

Shore commands

In addition to afloat fleets, the Navy maintains several "Naval Forces Commands" which operate naval shore facilities and serve as liaison units to local ground forces of the Air Force and Army. Such commands are answerable to a Fleet Commander as the shore component of the afloat command. During times of war, all Naval Forces Commands augment to become task forces of a primary fleet. Some of the larger Naval Forces Commands include:
- Commander Naval Forces Korea (CNFK)
- Commander Naval Forces Marianas (CNFM)
- Command Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ)

Staff corps

In addition to the regular line commands of the navy, several staff corps are also maintained which augment the line community and whose personnel are assigned to both line and staff commands. The current staff corps of the United States Navy are as follows:
- Navy Supply Corps
- Navy Medical Corps
- Navy Medical Service Corps
- Navy Nurse Corps
- Navy Chaplains Corps
- Navy Civil Engineer Corps (Seabees)
- Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG)

Weapons

Ships

Main article: U.S. Navy ships See also List of ships of the United States Navy for a more complete listing of ships past and present. The names of commissioned ships of the U.S. Navy start with USS, meaning 'United States Ship'. Non-commissioned, civilian-manned vessels of the U.S. Navy have names that begin with USNS, standing for 'United States Naval Ship'. A letter-based hull classification symbol is used to designate a vessel's type. The names of ships are selected by the Secretary of the Navy. The names are usually those of U.S. states, cities, towns, important people, famous battles, fish, and ideals. The U.S. Navy pioneered the use of nuclear reactors aboard naval vessels; today, they power most U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines. See United States Naval reactor. As of January 2004, a relatively small number of ship classes accounted for the bulk of the U.S. naval fleet. These include:

Aircraft carriers

United States Naval reactor on November 3, 2003. Approximately fifty aircraft can be counted on deck.]] Aircraft carriers are the major strategic arm of the Navy. They put U.S. air power within reach of most land-based military power. The US Navy's carriers are much larger and more powerful than those of the rest of the world. See also: List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy and List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Modern aircraft carriers since CV-67 are typically named for living or dead politicians; previous aircraft carriers were named for battles and famous fighting ships of the Navy.
- Kitty Hawk class (1 ship)
- Enterprise — Norfolk, Virginia
- John F. Kennedy — Mayport Naval Station, Florida
- Nimitz class (9 ships, 1 under construction)
- USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
- USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
- USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
- USS George Washington (CVN-73)
- USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
- USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)

Amphibious assault ships

The largest of all amphibious warfare ships amphibious assault ships resemble small aircraft carriers; capable of V/STOL, STOVL, VTOL tiltrotor and rotary wing aircraft operations; contains a welldeck to support use of Landing Craft Air Cushion and other watercraft. Amphibious assault ships are typically named after World War II aircraft carriers, a name source kept over from the earliest ones, which were converted WWII carriers.
- Wasp class (7 ships)
- Tarawa class (4 ships active, 1 decommissioned)

Amphibious transport docks

Amphibious transports are warships that embark, transport, and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions. Amphibious transport docks are named for cities, except for USS New York (LPD-21), which is named for the state of New York and USS Somerset (LPD-25), which is named for Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
- San Antonio class (3 launched, 2 under construction, 3 planned, 2 projected)
- Austin class (10 ships active, 1 Decommissioned, 1 converted to AGF)

Submarines

:Main article: Submarines in the United States Navy There are two major types of submarines, ballistic and attack. Ballistic subs have a single, strategic mission: carrying nuclear SLBMs. Attack submarines have several tactical missions, including sinking ships and subs, launching cruise missiles, and gathering intelligence. Sea attack submarines are typically named for cities; land attack submarines (Virginia and Ohio-class boats) are typically named for states. Earlier attack submarines were named for fish, while earlier ballistic missile submarines were named for "famous Americans" (although many of these were actually foreigners).
- Ohio class (18 in commission) — ballistic missile submarines, 4 to be converted into guided missile submarines
- Virginia class (1 in commission, 3 under construction, 2 on order) — attack submarines
- Seawolf class (3 in commission) — attack submarines
- Los Angeles Class (51 in commission) — attack submarines

Cruisers

Guided missile cruisers can conduct air warfare, surface warfare and undersea warfare. All modern cruisers are named for battles. Previous cruisers were either named for cities (until CG-12), the redesignated frigates were named for naval heroes (CG-15 to CG-35) or states (CG-36 to CG-42).
- Ticonderoga class (23 in commission) — first ships to carry the Aegis combat system

Destroyers

See also the List of destroyers of the United States Navy. All destroyers have been named for naval heroes since USS Bainbridge (DD-1).
- Arleigh Burke class (44 in commission as of June 2005) — first ship class with comprehensive design for stealth technology.

Frigates

Modern frigates mainly perform anti-submarine warfare and escort other ships. The U.S. Navy is gradually retiring its frigates; some of their jobs will be performed by the nascent littoral combat ship. [http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/lcs/] Named, like the destroyers, for naval heroes.
- Oliver Hazard Perry class (30 ships in commission)

Battleships

All U.S. battleships have been retired, although two Tomahawk-capable ships remain in "Inactive" Reserve. They are maintained in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996. Current plans in the United States Navy call for keeping the battleships on the NVR until the naval surface fire support gun and missile development programs achieve operational capability, which is expected to occur sometime between 2003 and 2008. All battleships except USS Kearsarge (BB-5) were named for states.
- Iowa class

Early vessels

- USS Constitution — "Old Ironsides," oldest commissioned warship afloat
- USS Monitor — first US ironclad warship, also first rotating turret
- USS Merrimack — a wooden warship rebuilt by the Confederates as the ironclad CSS Virginia
- USS Alligator — the first submarine of the Civil War, but sunk while being towed during a storm.
- CSS Hunley — First submarine to sink a ship in a combat engagement, though it sunk in the aftermath as well. Built by the Confederates near the end of the Civil War. Sank USS Housatonic with a spar-mounted torpedo.

Naval aircraft

torpedo, 2003]]
- A-4 Skyhawk
- AV-8B Harrier II
- C-2 Greyhound
- E-2C Hawkeye
- E-6B Mercury
- EA-6B Prowler
- ES-3 Shadow
- FH-1 Phantom
- F-14 Tomcat
- F-15 Eagle
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- F/A-18 Hornet
- F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
- EA-18G Growler
- F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
- H-3 Sea King
- CH-46 Sea Knight
- CH-53 Sea Stallion
- SH-2 Seasprite
- SH-60 Sea Hawk
- P-3C Orion see also Multimission Maritime Aircraft
- S-3B Viking
- V-22 Osprey
- T-6A Texan II
- T-45 Goshawk
- Aerial Common Sensor (no designation yet)

Harbor defense

The United States Navy has, in the last few years, greatly expanded its harbor defense forces in response to the War on Terrorism. The main components of Naval Harbor Defense include:
- Inshore Boat Units (IBUs)
- Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Units (MIUWUs)
- Special Boat Units (SBUs)

Special warfare

The Navy Seals are the U.S. Navy's primary special warfare units whose purpose is to engage in "special activities other than war". The Navy also maintains an EOD Corps (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) as well as a small corps of Surface Warfare personel known by the designator "Special Operations Underway".

Missiles, guns, equipment

- Trident missile
- Poseidon missile
- Tomahawk missile
- Polaris missile
- Naval Space Surveillance System
- CIWS

Submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence

The submarine has a long history in the USN. It began in the late 19th century, with the building of the SS-1, USS Holland. The boat was in service for 10 years and was a developmental and trials vessel for many systems on other early submarines. The submarine really came of age in World War I. The USN did not have a large part in this war, with its action mainly being confined to escorting convoys later in the war and sending a division of battleships to reinforce the British Grand Fleet. However, there were those in the USN submarine service who saw what the Germans had done with their U-boats and took careful note. Doctrine in the inter-war years emphasised the submarine as a scout for the battle fleet, and also extreme caution in command. Both these axioms were proven wrong after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The submarine skippers of the fleet boats of World War II waged a very effective campaign against Japanese merchant vessels, doing to Japan what Germany failed to do to the United Kingdom. They were aggressive and effective, and operated far from the fleet. In addition to their commerce raiding role, submarines also proved valuable in air-sea rescue. There was many an American aircraft carrier pilot who owed his life to the valour of USN submarine crews, including future U.S. President George H. W. Bush.

Navy revolutions

After WWII, things continued along much the same path until the early 1950s. Then a revolution, that was to forever change the nature of the submarine arm occurred. That revolution was USS Nautilus. The Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine. Up until that point, submarines had really been, at their most basic level, torpedo boats that happened to be able to go underwater. They had been tied to the surface by the need to charge their batteries using diesel engines relatively often. The nuclear power plant of the Nautilus meant that the boat could stay underwater for literally months at a time, the only limit in the end being the amount of food that the boat could carry. Another revolution in submarine warfare came with USS George Washington. Nuclear powered, like Nautilus, George Washington added strategic ballistic missiles to the mix. Earlier submarines had carried strategic missiles, but the boats had been diesel powered, and the missiles required the boat to surface in order to fire. The missiles were also cruise missiles, which were vulnerable to the defences of the day in a way that ballistic missiles were not. George Washington's missiles could be fired whilst the boat was submerged, meaning that it was far less likely to be detected before firing. The nuclear power of the boat also meant that, like Nautilus, George Washington's patrol length was only limited by the amount of food the boat could carry. Ballistic missile submarines, carrying Polaris missiles, eventually superseded all other strategic nuclear systems in the USN. Deterrent patrols continue to this day, although now with the Ohio class boats and Trident missiles. Trident missile]] Given the lack of large scale conventional naval warfare since 1945, with the USN's role being primarily that of power projection, the submarine service did not fire weapons in anger for very many years. The development of a new generation of cruise missiles changed that. The BGM-109 Tomahawk missile was developed to give naval vessels a long range land attack capability. Other than direct shore bombardment, and strikes by aircraft flying off carriers, the ability of naval vessels to influence warfare on land was limited. Now, instead of being limited to firing shells less than 20 miles inland from guns, any naval vessel fitted with the Tomahawk could hit targets up to 1,000 miles inland. The mainstay of the Tomahawk equipped vessels in the early days of the missile's deployment were the Iowa class battleships, and the submarine fleet. The Tomahawk was first used in combat on 17 January 1991, on the opening night of Operation Desert Storm. On that day, for the first time since the surrender of Japan in 1945, an American submarine fired in combat, when Tomahawks were launched by US boats in the eastern Mediterranean. Since then, the Tomahawk has become a staple of American campaigns. It has seen use in no less than three separate wars. It has also been exported to the United Kingdom, which has also fitted it to submarines. The Tomahawk has seen a change in the design of attack submarines. At first it was fired through torpedo tubes, but more recent US boats have been fitted with vertical launch systems to enable them to carry more of the weapons. In the early 21st century, the USN submarine fleet is made up entirely of nuclear powered vessels. It is the most powerful of its type in the world. However, there are those who worry that there are not enough boats in the fleet. As with other branches of the US military the budget cuts of the late 1980s and the early 1990s, as the Cold War ended, followed up by the War on Terrorism, have left little or no slack in the system. This point is illustrated by the fact that in 2003, for the first time since 1945, a US submarine made two back-to-back war patrols.

Major naval bases

- Complete list of US Naval facilities
- Norfolk, Virginia — The largest Naval base in the world, situated in southeastern Virginia. This is the main port on the Eastern Seaboard.
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — A deep water naval base and headquarters of the Pacific Fleet
- San Diego, California — A large complex of Navy bases, and the primary port for ships on the West Coast of the United States
- Naval Base Kitsap, Washington — Home base for Ohio Class nuclear missile submarines in the Pacific Ocean
- Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia — Home base for Ohio Class nuclear missile submarines in the Atlantic Ocean
- Naval Station Mayport, Florida
- Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada
- Guantanamo Bay — A small section on the south coast of Cuba is leased by the United States and used as a naval base.
- U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Largest overseas Naval facility.

Personnel

Commissioned officer

Commissioned officers in the Navy have paygrades from O-1 to O-10. Officers with superior performance may be promoted. Officers between O-1 and O-4 are called junior officers, O-5 and O-6 are called senior officers, and O-7 to O-10 are called flag officers. See U.S. Navy officer rank insignia for a complete list of paygrades and corresponding ranks. Commissioned officers belong to one of the following communities:
- Unrestricted line: Surface Warfare, Aviation Warfare, Submarine Warfare, Special Warfare, Nuclear
- Restricted line: Engineering Duty, Aerospace Engineering Duty, Aerospace Maintenance Duty, Cryptologic, Naval Intelligence, Public Affairs, Meteorology and Oceanography, Information Professional, Human Resource
- Staff Corps: Supply Corps, Medical Corps, Medical Service Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, Chaplain Corps, Civil Engineer Corps, Judge Advocate General Corps, Navy Band Corps The term "line" officer means someone who may command a warship or an aviation unit. It is a carryover from the 18th-century British tactic of employing warships in a "line" to take advantage of cannons on each side of the ship. The captains of such vessels commanded "ships of the line." Today, all Navy line officers wear a star on the sleeves of uniforms near the cuff braid that denotes rank. Staff officers wear different insignias. Note: Marine Corps officers, also part of the Department of the Navy, are all considered "line" officers because they are qualified as troop commanders in addition to their specialties. Commissioned officers originate from the United States Naval Academy, Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), Officer Candidate School (OCS), direct commission, and other commissioning programs (such as [https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/ Seaman to Admiral-21] and Limited Duty Officer programs).

Enlisted

Enlisted members of the Navy have paygrades from E-1 to E-9. Enlisted members with superior performance may be advanced in paygrade. Two notably significant advancements are Seaman to Petty Officer Third Class (E-3 to E-4) and Petty Officer First Class to Chief Petty Officer (E-6 to E-7). Advancement to Chief Petty Officer is especially significant, marked by a special initiation ceremony. See U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia for a complete list of the paygrades. All new active-duty enlisted members receive basic training ("boot camp") at the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois. Those who have a contract for a specific rating continue onto "A" schools for training in the rating. Those who don't have a specific rating go into the fleet to learn on the job and later strike for a rating. Some members may go to additonal training in a "C" school either before a tour of duty, or after a tour of duty. A "C" school assigns a member a Navy Enlisted Classification code, or NEC, which shows that a sailor is able to perform a specific task requiring that NEC, such as NEC 2780 - Network Security Vulnerablity Technician. Enlisted members of paygrades E-4 and above are said to be "rated" and have a rating: an occupational specialty. As of June 2005, there are more than 50 ratings, including Boatswain's Mate, Quartermaster, Engineman, Damage Controlman, Electronics Technician, Information Systems Technician, Air Traffic Controller, Fire Control Technician, Gunner's Mate, Sonar Technician, Construction Mechanic, Hospital Corpsman, Yeoman, Disbursing Clerk, Culinary Specialist, Photographer's Mate, Musician, Master-at-Arms, Aviation Electronics Technician, and Cryptologic Technician. Some ratings have subspecialties acquired either through an initial "A" school for training (such as Cryptologic Technician Technical and Cryptologic Technician Collection) or through a separate "C" school (such as Aviation Electronics Technician Organizational and Aviation Electronics Technician Intermediate.)

Qualifications

Sailors prove they have mastered skills and deserve responsibilities by completing Personal Qualification Standards (PQS) tasks and examinations. Among the most important is the "warfare qualification," which denotes a journeyman level of capability in Aviation Warfare, Special Warfare, Surface Warfare, or Submarine Warfare. Many qualifications are denoted on a sailor's uniform with U.S. Navy badges and insignia.

Sea Warrior

Launched in 2003 as part of the Navy's [http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/proceedings.html Sea Power 21] transformation plan, Sea Warrior is intended to link the fleet's personnel processes (recruiting, training, and assigning) with acquisition processes (buying ships, aircraft, etc.) in a way that also improves each individual sailor's ability to guide his or her own career in a satisfying direction. The aim is to more efficiently muster the right number of sailors with the right skills and seniority at each ship, squadron, and duty station. Sea Warrior is led by the Chief of Naval Personnel[http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/people/flags/biographies/hoewinggl.html], and the commander of the [https://www.cnet.navy.mil/netc/netc.html Naval Education and Training Command].

Naval culture

Navy sailors are trained in the core values of Honor, Courage, Commitment. Sailors cope with boredom on long cruises of six months to a year, and cherish their time in their home ports, as well as vacations at ports abroad.

Naval jack

Chief of Naval Personnel Chief of Naval Personnel Chief of Naval Personnel The naval jack of the United States is the First Navy Jack, first used during the American Revolutionary War. On May 31, 2002, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England directed all U.S. naval ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism. Many ships chose to shift colors on September 11, 2002. The jack is flown from the bow of the ship and the ensign from the stern when the ship is moored or anchored. When underway, the ensign is flown from the main mast. The former naval jack was a blue field with 50 white stars, identical to the canton of the ensign, both in appearance and size. A jack of similar design was first used in 1794, though with 13 stars arranged in a 3–2–3–2–3 pattern.

Naval jargon

Main article: Military slang A distinct jargon has developed among sailors over the course of the last four centuries. Naval jargon is spoken by American sailors as a normal part of their daily speech. There are three distinct components of Naval jargon:
- Words that are unique to sailing and have no use in standard English, such as yardarm, bow, and stern.
- Archaic English that remains common in naval jargon, such as "aye" (the common English word for "Yes" until the 16th century), "Fo'c'sle" (from Fore Castle), and Bo'sun (from "Boat Swain", swain being Middle English for a young man or a servant).
- Modern jargon, such as "Bird" to refer to missiles, or 1MC. See U.S. Navy slang for more information. Also see Covey Crump.
Notable members of the U.S. Navy
Covey Crump Officers
- Vern Clark — former Chief of Naval Operations
- Robert Dennison — retired admiral, presidential aide
- George Dewey — Hero of the Battle of Manila Bay in Spanish-American War; first and only Admiral of the Navy
- David Farragut — American Civil War Admiral, first officer to become an Admiral in the U.S. Navy
- Wilson Flagg — retired Admiral, killed in Sept 11 attack
- William Halsey, Jr. — Third Fleet Commander, won battles off Guadalcanal and the Solomons; attained rank of Fleet Admiral (5 stars)
- Esek Hopkins — first Commander in Chief of the navy during the Revolutionary War
- Grace Hopper — early computing pioneer, attained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Navy Reserve
- John Paul Jones — commander during the American Revolutionary War, considered to be the founder of the American Naval tradition
- Ernest King — Fleet Admiral; former Chief of Naval Operations
- William D. Leahy — first Fleet Admiral; first head of the Chiefs of Staff (before the post was renamed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff); former Chief of Naval Operations; former Governor of Puerto Rico; former U.S. ambassador to France
- Richard Marcinko — author, founder and commander of SEAL Team Six
- Chester Nimitz — Fleet Admiral; former Chief of Naval Operations; signed for the U.S. when Japan formally surrendered onboard the USS Missouri, class of carriers named after him
- Matthew Perry — Commodore who forced the opening of Japan
- Eli Thomas Reich — Vice Admiral, only submariner to sink a Japanese battleship unaided during WW2.
- Hyman G. Rickover — Admiral, "Father of the Nuclear Navy"
- Raymond A. Spruance -Commander at the Battle of Midway, led the Fifth Fleet in the Central Pacific and Okinawa. Rebuilt the Naval War College after World War II Politicians
- George H. W. Bush — former U.S. President; youngest Naval Aviator in World War II; former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Jimmy Carter — former U.S. President; Cold War submariner and Peace Prize laureate
- Glenn Robert Davis — former member of the US House of Representatives
- Gerald Ford — former U.S. President; served aboard carrier during World War II
- Lyndon B. Johnson — former U.S. President; worked as a bomb observer with the Army during World War II
- John F. Kennedy — former U.S. President; decorated PT Boat commander in World War II
- John Kerry — junior U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate; swift boat commander during the Vietnam War
- John McCain — senior U.S. Senator from Arizona and Republican presidential primary candidate in 2000; former naval aviator and POW
- Richard M. Nixon — former U.S. President; supply officer in World War II Astronauts
- Neil Armstrong — astronaut, first man on the moon
- James Lovell — naval aviator, astronaut, pilot of first lunar orbit flight (Apollo 8) and commander of Apollo 13 mission
- Alan Shepard — naval aviator, first American in space (Mercury-Redstone 3) and Apollo 14 commander
- John Young — naval aviator and Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle astronaut Others
- Bill Cosby — actor, comedian and educational philanthropist
- Lenny Bruce — American comedian
- Robert A. Heinlein — science fiction author
- L. Ron Hubbard — science fiction author and founder of the Church of Scientology
- David Robinson — former NBA star (San Antonio Spurs), commonly nicknamed "The Admiral"
- Bill Sharman — basketball Hall of Famer
- Roger Staubach — football hall of Famer, Vietnam veteran
- Jesse Ventura — actor, professional wrestler, Governor of Minnesota
See also

- Continental Navy
- Electronics Technician rating
- Information Systems Technician rating
- Seabees, US Navy Construction Battalions, hence CBs
- Navy SEAL, special forces
- BUPERS
- Fleet Week
- WAVES
- Ship-Submarine recycling program
- U.S. Navy officer rank insignia
- U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia
- Unrestricted Line Officer
- Restricted Line Officer
- Limited Duty Officer
- Awards and decorations of the United States military
- Military badges of the United States
- United States armed forces
- United States Secretary of the Navy
- Comparative military ranks
- List of United States Navy bases
- List of ships of the United States Navy
- List of active Navy ships, sorted by homeport
- List of units of the United States Navy
- U.S. Navy munitions
- Navy Band
- Eternal Father Strong to Save (the U.S. Navy hymn)
References

- [http://www.navy.mil Official U.S. Navy Website]
- [http://www.hq.navy.mil/ Department of the Navy Website]
- [https://www.nko.navy.mil Navy Knowledge Online]
- [http://www.seawarrior.navy.mil Sea Warrior]
- [http://www.nosi.org Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)] — a digital library of world naval operational news, curated from open source intelligence, and intended to serve as a source of continuing education on naval and military affairs
- [http://www.microworks.net/pacific/ U.S. Navy in WW II] — a web site devoted to the U.S. navy in the Pacific theater during World War II
External links

- [http://www.navsource.org NavSource Naval History - Photographic History Of The U.S. Navy ] — a source of thousands of photographs of US Navy ships.
- [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/us_battleship_list.htm Maritimequest US Battleship photo gallery]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ The Offical Chronology of the US Navy In World War II]
- Category:Navies ja:アメリカ海軍

Battle of Leyte Gulf

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, fought in the seas around the island of Leyte in the Philippines from 23 October to 26 October 1944. The Japanese intended to repel or destroy the Allied invasion of Leyte. Instead, the Allied navies inflicted a major defeat on the outnumbered Imperial Japanese Navy which took away Japan's strategic force in the Pacific War. The battle is widely considered to be the largest naval battle in history. Leyte Gulf also saw the first use of kamikaze aircraft by the Japanese. The Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia was hit on 21 October, and organized suicide attacks by the "Special Attack Force" began on 25 October.

Strategic background

The battles of 1943 drove the Imperial Japanese Army from its bases in the Solomon Islands, and in 1944 a series of Allied amphibious landings supported by large carrier forces captured the Marianas Islands. The Allied victory in the battle of the Philippine Sea in June destroyed the Japanese carrier power and established Allied air and sea superiority over the Western Pacific. This gave the Allies freedom to choose where to strike next. Admiral Chester Nimitz favoured blockading Japanese forces in the Philippines and attacking Formosa (now Taiwan). Possession of Formosa would give the Allies control of the sea routes to Japan from Southern Asia, severing Japan's links with its garrisons, which would then perish from lack of supplies. General Douglas MacArthur favoured an invasion of the Philippines, which also lay across the supply lines to Japan. Leaving the Philippines in Japanese possession would be a blow to American prestige, and a personal affront to MacArthur, who in 1942 had famously vowed to return. President Roosevelt was called in to adjudicate the dispute; he chose the Philippines. The Allied options were equally apparent to the Imperial Japanese Navy. Combined Fleet Chief Toyoda Soemu prepared four "victory" plans: Shō-1 (捷１号作戦 Shō ichigō sakusen) was a major naval operation in the Philippines, Shō-2, -3 and -4 were responses to attacks on Formosa, the Ryukyu Islands and the Kurile Islands respectively. The plans were uncompromising, complex, aggressive operations committing all forces to a decisive battle. Thus, when on 12 October 1944 Nimitz launched a carrier raid against Formosa to make sure that planes based there could not intervene in the Leyte landings, the Japanese put Shō-2 into action, launching wave after wave of attacks against the carriers, losing 600 planes in three days, almost their entire air force, and leaving the Japanese navy without air cover. Shō-1 called for Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's force to lure the US Third Fleet away from the landings using an apparently vulnerable force of carriers. The Allied landing forces, now lacking air cover, would then be attacked from the west by three Japanese forces: Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's force, based in Brunei, would enter Leyte Gulf and destroy the Allied landing forces. Rear-Admiral Shoji Nishimura's force and Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima's force would act as mobile strike forces. The latter three forces would consist of surface ships. The plan was likely to result in the destruction of one or more of the forces, but Toyoda later justified it to his American interrogators as follows: : Should we lose in the Philippines operations, even though the fleet should be left, the shipping lane to the south would be completely cut off so that the fleet, if it should come back to Japanese waters, could not obtain its fuel supply. If it should remain in southern waters, it could not receive supplies of ammunition and arms. There would be no sense in saving the fleet at the expense of the loss of the Philippines.
Kiyohide Shima

Overview of the battle

The battle consisted of four distinct engagements. See the map to the right. #Kurita's force entered the Sibuyan Sea, northwest of Leyte, on 24 October. In the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea it was attacked by carrier aircraft and Musashi was sunk. When Kurita turned around the American pilots thought he was retreating, but he turned again and made his way through the San Bernardino Strait in the night, to appear off Samar in the morning. #Nishimura's force headed for the Surigao Strait to the south, where at 03:00 on 25 October it ran into an American battlegroup. In the Battle of Surigao Strait the Japanese battleships Fuso and Yamashiro were sunk, Nishimura was killed, and his surviving force retreated west. #Halsey learned of the approach of Ozawa and took the bait, taking his carriers in pursuit on 25 October. In the Battle off Cape Engaño four Japanese carriers were sunk by air attacks. Ozawa's surviving ships fled for Japan. #Kurita arrived off Samar at about 06:00 on 25 October. With Halsey away in pursuit of Ozawa, the only American forces between Kurita and the landing beaches were three groups of escort carriers and their destroyers. But in the Battle off Samar, desperate American destroyer torpedo attacks, relentless air attacks and bad weather bluffed Kurita into turning back.

Battle of the Sibuyan Sea

25 October Kurita's powerful "Center Force" consisted of five battleships (Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongo, and Haruna), and twelve cruisers (Atago, Maya, Takao, Chokai, Myoko, Haguro, Noshiro, Kumano, Suzuya, Chikuma, Tone, and Yahagi), supported by thirteen destroyers. As Kurita passed Palawan Island shortly after midnight on October 23, his force was spotted by the submarines USS Dace and Darter. Although the submarines' report of the sighting was picked up by the radio operator on Yamato, the Japanese failed to take anti-submarine precautions. Kurita's flagship Atago was sunk by Darter and Maya by Dace. Takao was damaged and turned back to Brunei with two destroyers, shadowed by the submarines. On October 24, Darter grounded on the Bombay Shoal. All efforts to get her off failed, and she was abandoned. Kurita survived and moved his flag to Yamato. At about 08:00 on October 24, the force was spotted entering the narrow Sibuyan Sea by planes from USS Intrepid. 260 planes from Intrepid, Bunker Hill and other carriers of Task Group 38.2 attacked at about 10:30, scoring hits on Nagato, Yamato, Musashi and severely damaging Myoko. The second wave of planes concentrated on Musashi, scoring many direct hits with bombs and torpedoes. As she retreated, listing to port, a third wave from Enterprise hit her with eleven bombs and eight torpedoes. Kurita turned his fleet around to get out of range of the planes, passing the crippled Musashi as he retreated. He waited until 17:15 before turning around again to head for the San Bernardino Strait. Musashi finally rolled over and sank at about 19:30. Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Onishi Takijiro had directed his First Air Fleet of 80 planes based on Luzon against the carriers Essex, Lexington, Princeton and Langley of Task Group 38.3. Princeton was hit by an armour-piercing bomb and burst into flames. At 15:30 the aft magazine exploded, killing 200 sailors on Princeton and 80 on the cruiser Birmingham which was alongside assisting with the firefighting. Birmingham was so badly damaged that she was forced to retire, and other nearby vessels were damaged too. All efforts to save Princeton failed, and she sank at 17:50.
Birmingham

Battle of Surigao Strait

Nishimura's "Southern Force" consisted of the battleships Yamashiro and Fuso, the cruiser Mogami, and four destroyers. They were attacked by bombers on October 24 but sustained only minor damage. Because of the strict radio silence imposed on the Central and Southern Forces, Nishimura was unable to synchronise his movements with Shima and Kurita. When he entered the narrow Surigao Strait at about 02:00 Shima was 40 km behind him, and Kurita was still in the Sibuyan Sea, several hours from the beaches at Leyte. As they passed the cape of Panaon Island they ran into a deadly trap set for them by the 7th Fleet Support Force. Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf had six battleships (Mississippi, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania), eight cruisers (including the heavy cruisers Louisville, HMAS Australia and HMAS Shropshire), 29 destroyers and 39 PT boats. To pass the strait and reach the landings, Nishimura would have to run the gauntlet of torpedoes from the PT boats, evade two groups of destroyers, proceed up the strait under the concentrated fire of six battleships in line across the far mouth of the strait, and then break through the screen of cruisers and destroyers. At about 03:00 Fuso and the destroyers Asagumo, Yamagumo, and Mishishio were hit by torpedoes. Fuso was broken in two, but did not sink. Then at 03:50 the battleships opened fire. Radar fire control meant that American battleships could hit targets at distance at which the Japanese could not reply. Yamashiro and Mogami were crippled by 16-inch (406 mm) armour-piercing shells. Shigure turned and fled but lost steering and stopped dead. Yamashiro sank at 04:19. At 04:25 Shima's force of two cruisers (Nachi and Ashigara) and eight destroyers reached the battle. Seeing what they thought were the wrecks of both Nishimura's battleships (actually the two halves of Fuso), he realized the hopelessness of passing the strait and ordered a retreat. His flagship Nachi collided with Mogami, flooding the latter's steering-room. Mogami fell behind in the retreat and was sunk by aircraft the next morning. The bow half of Fuso was destroyed by Louisville and the stern half sank off Kanihaan Island. Of Nishimura's force of seven ships only Shigure survived. Yamashiro was the last battleship to engage another in combat, and one of very few to have been sunk by another battleship. The battle itself was the last in naval history to take place solely between all-gun warships. This was also the last battle in which one force (the Americans, in this case) were able to cross the T of their opponents, enabling the US ships to bring all their firepower to bear on the Japanese ships.

Battle off Cape Engaño

Ozawa's "Northern Force" had four aircraft carriers (Zuikaku — the last surviving carrier of the Attack on Pearl Harbor — Zuiho, Chitose, and Chiyoda), two World War I battleships partially converted to carriers (Hyuga and Ise — the aft turrets had been replaced by hangar, deck and catapult, but neither carried any planes in this battle), three cruisers (Oyodo, Tama, and Isuzu), and nine destroyers. He had only 108 planes. On October 24, Ozawa's force was not spotted until 16:40. The Americans were too busy attacking Kurita and dealing