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84-709: The first units were installed on the cruiser USS  Ticonderoga , which was commissioned in 1983. Since then, the SPG-62 has been placed in service with many U.S. and foreign navy ships that have the Aegis Combat System. The SPG-62's role in Aegis fire control is to illuminate targets in the terminal interception phase. First, the ship's main search radars—either the AN/SPY-1 or the AN/SPY-6 —detect and track

168-583: A Freedom of Navigation exercise in the Gulf of Sidra , moved south of the "Line of Death" in Libya, covered by fighter aircraft. Libya responded by unsuccessfully attacking battle-force aircraft. Ticonderoga responded by destroying several Libyan patrol boats. For her participation in the operation, Ticonderoga received her second Navy Unit Commendation and Navy Expeditionary Medal . During joint Navy-Air Force air strikes on Libyan targets on 15 April, she received

252-407: 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 that later characterized carrier task force operations, with the evolution of the fast carrier task force and its successful employment in future operations. The original aircraft complement, nicknamed the "Sunday Punch",

336-433: A nickel-chrome steel alloy that provided the same protective qualities as Class B armor plate, but which was fully structural rather than deadweight. The original design for the class assumed a complement of 215 officers and 2,171 enlisted men. However, by the end of World War II, most crews were 50% larger than that. The tactical employment of U.S. carriers changed as the war progressed. In early operations, through 1942,

420-624: A reconnaissance mission over Lebanon . Ticonderoga made a port stop in Haifa, Israel , for the New Year and then returned to Norfolk, arriving on 4 May 1984. On 8 September 1984, while Ticonderoga was conducting exercises east of Mayport, Florida , a fire broke out in her aft main engine exhaust uptake. The At-Sea and General Quarters fire parties eventually put the fire out and Ticonderoga returned to Norfolk under her own power in early October. On 23 March 1986, Ticonderoga , while conducting

504-427: A third heavier than Yorktown -class carriers. A longer, wider flight deck and a deck-edge elevator (which had proven successful in the one-off USS  Wasp ) facilitated more efficient aviation operations, enhancing the ship's offensive and defensive air power. Machinery arrangement and armor protection were greatly improved from previous designs. These features, plus the provision of more anti-aircraft guns, gave

588-485: A very narrow beam of radiofrequency (RF) radiation. This accomplishes four things: Because illumination is only needed for the last few seconds prior to interception, a ship can have more semi-active SAMs in the air than it has SPG-62s. In the event of a saturation attack , the Aegis Combat System can time-share each AN/SPG-62 to serve multiple semi-active interceptors in the air at once. USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) USS Ticonderoga (DDG/CG-47) , nicknamed "Tico",

672-612: The Essex -class aircraft carrier Ticonderoga  (CV-14) . CG-47 was launched on 25 April 1981 and christening on 16 May 1981 with First Lady Nancy Reagan , the ship's main sponsor, in attendance. Ticonderoga was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 13 December 1982 and commissioned in Pascagoula, Mississippi , on 22 January 1983 with Captain Roland Guilbault in command. CG-47 is the fifth United States Navy vessel to bear

756-877: The Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain . The entry can be found here . Essex-class aircraft carrier The Essex class is a retired class of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy . The 20th century's most numerous class of capital ship , the class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Thirty-two ships were ordered, but as World War II wound down, six were canceled before construction, and two were canceled after construction had begun. Fourteen saw combat during World War II. None were lost to enemy action, though several sustained crippling damage due to kamikaze attacks. Essex -class carriers were

840-692: The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal . In the late 1980s, she served in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Earnest Will while under the command of Captain James M. Arrison III, USN. For a time in the late 1990s, she was based at Pascagoula, Mississippi, as part of Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic 's Western Hemisphere Group. On 4 May 2004, she completed transit of the Panama Canal and then moved to cross

924-966: The Brooklyn Navy Yard and Newport News respectively. After the US declaration of war, Congress appropriated funds for nineteen more Essex -class carriers. Ten were ordered in August 1942 (CV-31 and 33-35 from Brooklyn, CV-32 from Newport News, CV-36 and -37 from the Philadelphia Navy Yard , CV-38 through -40 from the Norfolk Navy Yard ) and three more in June 1943 (CV-45 from Philadelphia, -46 from Newport News and -47 from Fore River). Only two of these were completed in time to see active World War II service. Six ships ordered in 1944 (CV-50 through -55) were canceled before construction

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1008-528: The Doolittle Raiders flew from the fictional Himalayan kingdom setting of the novel Lost Horizon . At the conclusion of the war, the six ships ordered but never laid down (CV-50 through 55) were cancelled. Of the nine still unfinished, six were completed, two ( Reprisal and Iwo Jima ) were scrapped, and Oriskany was taken in hand for modification to an improved design, completing in 1950. In summary, during World War II and until its conclusion,

1092-469: The Essex building program. The number of 20 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft guns was greatly increased, new and improved radars were added, the original hangar deck catapult was removed, the ventilation system was substantially revised, details of protection were altered, and hundreds of other large and small changes were executed. In the meantime, earlier ships were continually modified as they returned to

1176-710: The Essex carriers participated in the Korean War. These ships played a major role throughout the entire war. Missions included attacks on all types of ground targets, air superiority, and antisubmarine patrols. Thirteen of the twenty-four carriers originally built participated in the Vietnam War , including the prelude and follow-up. However, their inability to support the latest aircraft constrained some of those ships to specialized roles as helicopter carriers or antisubmarine platforms. The ships still performing an attack mission generally carried older aircraft types than

1260-489: The Essex -class ships laid down after 1942, only Bon Homme Richard followed the original "short bow" design. The later ships have been variously referred to as the "long-bow units", the "long-hull group", or the " Ticonderoga class". However, the U.S. Navy never maintained any institutional distinction between the long-hull and short-hull members of the Essex class, and postwar refits and upgrades were applied to both groups equally. Less immediately visible aspects of

1344-488: The SCB-144 program in the early 1960s. The updated units remained active until age and the growing number of supercarriers made them obsolete, from the late 1960s into the middle 1970s. However, one of the first of the type, Lexington , served until 1991 as a training ship. Four of the modernized ships ( Yorktown , Intrepid , Hornet , and Lexington ) have been preserved as museums; the remainder were scrapped starting in

1428-621: The anti-submarine warfare carrier (CVS) designation established in August 1953. As the Forrestal -class " supercarriers " entered the fleet, the eight 27A conversions were designated CVS to replace the original unconverted ships; the latter began to leave active service in the late 1950s. Two 27C conversions were designated CVS in 1962 (although CVS-11 Intrepid would operate as an attack carrier off Vietnam) and two more in 1969. The seven angle-deck 27As and one 27C received specialized CVS modifications including bow-mounted SQS-23 sonar under

1512-631: The 1970s save Oriskany , which the Navy contemplated reactivating in the 1980s and which was eventually scuttled as an artificial reef off the Florida coast in 2006. Of the unmodernized Essex es, Boxer , Princeton , and Valley Forge were redesignated Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) amphibious assault ships for the Marine Corps , and remained in commission with their original straight decks until about 1970. The remainder decommissioned in

1596-521: The 1970s. For a typical attack carrier (CVA) configuration in 1956–57 aboard Bennington , the air wing consisted of one squadron each of the following: FJ-3 Furies , F2H Banshees , F9F Cougars , AD-6 , AD-5N , and AD-5W Skyraiders, AJ-2 Savages , and F9F-8P photo Cougars . By the mid-to-late 1960s, the attack air wing had evolved. Oriskany deployed with two squadrons of F-8J Crusaders , three squadrons of A-4E Skyhawks , E-1 Tracers , EKA-3B Skywarriors , and RF-8G photo Crusaders . In 1970,

1680-479: The American arrangement to have been superior. In the late 1930s, locating the strength deck at hangar deck level in the proposed Essex -class ships reduced the weight located high in the ship, resulting in smaller supporting structures and more aircraft capacity for the desired displacement. The Midway class which followed armored both the hangar and flight deck (the latter more heavily). The larger size of

1764-824: The Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. She arrived in Norfolk on 3 June 1983, and then deployed on 20 October to the Mediterranean with the Independence carrier strike group . Although stopping in Portsmouth, England , for a brief port visit, Ticonderoga was dispatched to the coast of Beirut following the bombing of U.S. Marine barracks on 23 October 1983 . During her 48 days on station, she fired her five-inch guns at hostile artillery units attempting to shoot down two F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft performing

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1848-835: The Cold War heated up, the Essex carriers were often involved, including Quemoy and the Matsu Islands , the Bay of Pigs Invasion , and the Cuban Missile Crisis . Also, from 1957 through 1991 an Essex -class ship served as the Navy's training carrier— Antietam from 1957 through 1962 and Lexington for the remainder of the time. Several Essex -class ships played a part in the United States' human spaceflight program, as recovery ships for uncrewed and crewed spaceflights, between 1960 and 1973. USS Valley Forge

1932-512: The Dead Reckoning Tracer was also implemented for navigation and tracking of surface ships. 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 an effort to prevent enemy interception of transmissions. It also allowed for simultaneous radio contact with other ships and planes in

2016-480: The March 1943 design modification included safer ventilation and aviation-fuel systems, moving the combat information center below the armored deck, the addition of a second flight-deck catapult, the elimination of the hangar deck catapult, and a third Mk 37 fire-control director; some of these changes were also made to short-bow ships nearing completion or as they returned to the yards. Modifications were made throughout

2100-570: The Mediterranean. Over her first 10 years of service, Ticonderoga deployed multiple times to the Mediterranean , Atlantic , and Indian Oceans and the Persian Gulf . During Operation Desert Storm , she was attached to Battle Force Zulu and served as Arabian Gulf Track Coordinator. Although she was built with a 35-year service life , the limited missile capacity of Ticonderoga's twin Mark 26 missile launch systems rendered her obsolete by

2184-639: The Naval Vessel Register, for disposal. In October of the same year, The Ticonderoga Historical Society reported that the US Navy was going to scrap the ship after a number of potential museum sites were unable to add her to their collections. In June 2014, NAVSEA released a disposal reporting letter declaring the ex- Ticonderoga to be available for inspection by bidders and ready for disposal by scrapping or sinking. In September 2020, she arrived at Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping. Ticonderoga

2268-507: The US Navy ordered 32 aircraft carriers of the Essex class, including the Ticonderoga subgroup, of which 26 were laid down and 24 actually commissioned. In drawing up the preliminary design for Essex , particular attention was directed at the size of both the 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

2352-402: The advent of war, airplane weights began to go up as armor and armament got heavier; aircrew complements also increased. By the war's end in 1945, catapult launches would become more common under these circumstances, with some carrier commanding officers reporting up to 40% of launches by catapult. The hangar area design came in for many design conferences between the naval bureaus. Not only were

2436-402: The backbone of the U.S. Navy from mid-1943 and, with the three Midway -class carriers added just after the war, continued to be the heart of U.S. naval strength until supercarriers joined the fleet in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Several of the carriers were rebuilt to handle heavier and faster aircraft of the early jet age, and some served until well after the Vietnam War . Of the 24 ships in

2520-470: The basis of the actual Essex design; 9G became the ancestor of the 45,000-ton Midway class. After the abrogation of disarmament treaties by Japan in 1936, the U.S. took a realistic look at its naval strength. With the Naval Expansion Act of Congress passed on 17 May 1938, an increase of 40,000 tons in aircraft carriers was authorized. This permitted the building of Hornet , which

2604-537: The class were made, particularly with regard to the ventilation system, lighting systems, and the trash burner design and implementation. These carriers had better armor protection than their predecessors, better facilities for handling ammunition, safer and greater fueling capacity, and more effective damage control equipment. Yet, these ships were also designed to limit weight and the complexity of construction, for instance incorporating extensive use of flat and straight metal pieces, and of Special Treatment Steel (STS),

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2688-457: The class, four – Yorktown , Hornet , Lexington , and Intrepid  – have been preserved as museum ships . The preceding Yorktown -class aircraft carriers and the designers' list of trade-offs and limitations forced by arms control treaty obligations shaped the development of the Essex class – a design sparked by the Japanese and Italian repudiation of

2772-552: The command module from that flight is currently on display aboard Hornet . Bennington recovered the command module of Apollo 4 , the first uncrewed flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, on 9 November 1967. Eleven months later, Essex recovered the astronauts of Apollo 7 , the first crewed mission in the Apollo program, after eleven days in orbit. Yorktown recovered the astronauts of Apollo 8 , after their historic flight around

2856-564: The demise of the treaty limitations and the growing tensions in Europe, naval planners were free to apply both the lessons they had learned operating carriers for fifteen years and those of operating the Yorktown -class carriers to the newer design. Designed to carry a larger air group, and unencumbered by the latest in a succession of pre-war naval treaty limits , USS  Essex was over sixty feet longer, nearly ten feet wider, and more than

2940-406: 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

3024-748: The end of the Cold War . As a result, Ticonderoga adopted a primary mission of counternarcotics in the 1990s and 2000s, and made multiple patrols of the Caribbean in that role. After being decommissioned in 2004, Ticonderoga was stored at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia . She arrived in Brownsville, Texas , for scrapping in 2020. The contract to build DDG-47 Ticonderoga

3108-533: The end of the war, beginning with raids in the central Pacific and the invasion of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands . The ships successfully performed a number of missions, included air superiority, attacking the Japanese fleet, supporting landings, fleet protection, bombing the Japanese home islands, and transporting aircraft and troops. Along the way, the carriers survived bombs , torpedoes , kamikazes , and typhoons without one ship being sunk. Eleven of

3192-602: The end of the war, was completed to an improved design between August 1948 and September 1950, with a much stronger (straight) flight deck and a reconfigured island. Eight earlier ships were thoroughly rebuilt to the Oriskany design under the SCB-27 A program in the early 1950s. Six more of the earlier ships were rebuilt to an improved 27C design as the last stage of the SCB-27 program; these ships received steam catapults instead of

3276-761: The equator. Her ship crew engaged in the rites and rituals of the crossing, inducting the captain of the ship and many of the crew in to "Shell-Backs". She completed her final deployment on 3 August 2004. Ticonderoga then made liberty port visits to Cozumel, Mexico (15-17 March); Colon (27-28 March); Mayport (1-9 April); Guantánamo Bay (12-13 April); Cartagena, Colombia (27-29 May); Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Panama (6-7 May); and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala (17-19 May). She conducted counter-narcotics operations in conjunction with Colombian military authorities from April–June. Ticonderoga successfully intercepted five cigarette-shaped “go-fast” smuggling boats, and one fishing vessel, netting over 14,000 pounds of cocaine, and detaining 25 suspects in

3360-456: The final Gemini spaceflight, Gemini 12 on 15 November. The successful use of the carriers as recovery ships continued into the Apollo program . On 26 February 1966, Boxer recovered the command module from AS-201 , the first uncrewed flight of a production Apollo Command and Service Module . AS-202 , another sub-orbital test flight of the command module, was recovered in August by Hornet ;

3444-416: The first crewed flight, Gemini 3 . Wasp recovered the crew of Gemini IV on 7 June, and on 29 August, Lake Champlain picked up Gemini 5 after eight days in space. In December 1965, Wasp made history by picking up two spacecraft in just over two days: Gemini VI-A on 16 December, and Gemini 7 on 18 December, after their orbital rendezvous test flight. She also recovered Gemini 9A on 6 June 1966 and

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3528-611: The first operational United States angled deck aircraft carrier in 1955. Oriskany , the first of the modernized ships but the last angled-deck conversion, received a unique SCB-125A refit which upgraded her to 27C standard, and included steam catapults and an aluminum flight deck. Korean War and subsequent Cold War needs ensured twenty-two of the twenty-four ships had extensive post–World War II service ( Bunker Hill and Franklin had suffered heavy damage and were never recommissioned). All initially carried attack air groups; however by 1955 seven unconverted Essex es were operating under

3612-553: The first supercarriers necessitated a deeper hull and shifted the center of gravity and center of stability lower, enabling moving the strength deck to the flight deck, thus freeing US Naval design architects to move the armor higher and remain within compliance of US Navy stability specifications without imperiling seaworthiness. One of the design studies prepared for the Essex project, "Design 9G", included an armored flight deck but reduced aircraft capacity, and displaced 27,200 tons, or about 1,200 tons more than "Design 9F", which formed

3696-427: The heavier aircraft being developed. Moreover, US carrier doctrine was premised on the "deck-load strike", launching as rapidly as possible as many aircraft as could be spotted on the flight deck beforehand. 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

3780-513: The last nine ships completed stayed on active duty to form, with three Midway s, the backbone of the post-war Navy's combat strength. Though the Truman administration 's defense economies sent three of the active Essex es into "mothballs" in 1949, these soon came back into commission after the Korean War began. Ultimately, all but two short-hulls and all thirteen long-hulls had active Cold War service. Oriskany , which had been left unfinished at

3864-590: The late 1950s and early 1960s and were promptly reclassified as aircraft transports (AVT), reflecting their very limited ability to operate modern aircraft safely. An unmodernised Essex was offered to the Royal Australian Navy in 1960 as a replacement for HMAS  Melbourne but the offer was declined due to the expense of modifications required to make it operationally compatible with the RAN's primarily British-designed fleet. All were scrapped, most in

3948-459: The latest technology and communications equipment. All units were commissioned with SK air-search and SC and SG surface-search radars. Several of the class received SM fighter-direction radar. Two Mark 37 fire control directors fitted with FD Mark 4 tracking radar for the 5"/38 battery were installed; the Mk4 proved inadequate at distinguishing low-level intruders from surface clutter and

4032-455: The less powerful hydraulic units. The otherwise unmodified Antietam received an experimental 10.5-degree angled deck in 1952. An angled flight deck and enclosed hurricane bow became the distinctive features of the SCB-125 program, which was undertaken concurrently with the last three 27C conversions and later applied to all 27A and 27C ships except Lake Champlain . Shangri-La became

4116-617: The limitations proposed in the 1936 revision of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 (as updated in October 1930 in the London Naval Treaty ). Effectively, this rejection allowed all five signatories to resume the interrupted naval arms race of the 1890s-1910s in early 1937. At the time of the repudiations, both Italy and Japan had colonial ambitions, intent on or already conducting military conquests. With

4200-779: The name Ticonderoga . She was named for the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, the start of the American offensive during the American Revolution . The name "Ticonderoga" is derived from the Iroquois word tekontaró:ken , meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways". Most of the ships in the Ticonderoga class are similarly named for significant battles in U.S. history. Departing for her new homeport of Naval Station Norfolk , Virginia, soon after her commissioning in Pascagoula, Ticonderoga completed exercises in

4284-439: The position of the elevator. The elevator also increased the effective deck space when it was in the "up" position by providing additional parking room outside the normal contours of the flight deck, and increased the effective area on the hangar deck by the absence of elevator pits. In addition, its machinery was less complex than the two inboard elevators, requiring about 20% fewer man-hours of maintenance. Ongoing improvements to

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4368-405: The process. She was decommissioned on 30 September of that year. After her decommissioning, she was towed to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia . In 2010, she was offered for museum donation by the Navy. An effort was made to bring Ticonderoga to Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she was built, to serve as a museum ship. In May 2013, the vessel was formally stricken from

4452-518: The purpose built Iwo Jima -class amphibious assault ships providing floating helicopter bases for US Marines. The LPHs were sometimes also used as aircraft ferries for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. The AV-8A arrived into Marine Corps inventory too late to see regular fixed wing operations return to these ships. It was possible to launch and recover small aircraft like the OV-10 Bronco without need of catapult or arresting wires, but this

4536-482: The ship 360° coverage of the surrounding airspace. Following the cancellation of the Strike Cruiser program, flagship capabilities were added to the Ticonderoga class's design and the ship was then redesignated as a guided-missile cruiser, CG-47 on 1 January 1980, shortly before her keel was laid. Ticonderoga's keel was laid down on 21 January 1980, the 35th anniversary of the devastating kamikaze attack on

4620-532: The ships much enhanced survivability. In fact, during the war, none of the Essex -class carriers were lost and two, USS  Franklin and USS  Bunker Hill , came home under their own power and were successfully repaired even after receiving extremely heavy damage. Debates raged regarding armoring the hangar deck . British designers' comments tended to disparage the use of hangar deck armor, but some historians, such as D.K. Brown in Nelson to Vanguard , see

4704-462: The ships to handle the jets' increased weight and speed. Among these modification were jet-blast deflectors (JBDs), greater aviation fuel capacity, stronger decks and elevators. Also included were the British innovations of an optical landing system , steam catapults and, ultimately, an angled flight deck . All of the short-hulls were laid up in 1946–47 along with five of the long-hulls. Eight of

4788-422: The side elevator. It was a standard elevator, 60 by 34 ft (18 by 10 m) in platform surface, which traveled vertically on the port side of the ship. There would be no large hole in the flight deck when the elevator was in the "down" position, a critical factor if the elevator ever became inoperable during combat operations. Its new position made it easier to continue normal operations on deck, irrespective of

4872-459: The skilled observer, no two ships of the class looked exactly the same. The large numbers of new ships, coupled with their larger Midway -class contemporaries, sustained the Navy's air power through the rest of the 1940s, the Korean War era, and beyond. While the spacious hangars accommodated the introduction of jets, various modifications significantly improved the capability of fifteen of

4956-475: The subject of much discussion. As the new Essex - and Independence -class carriers became available, tactics changed. Experience taught the wisdom of combined strength. Under attack, the combined anti-aircraft fire of a task group 's carriers and their screen provided a more effective umbrella of protection against marauding enemy aircraft than was possible when the carriers separated. When two or more of these task groups supported each other, they constituted

5040-470: The supercarriers. Yet, the Essex class still made significant contributions to all aspects of the U.S. war effort. In one notable event, during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident , aircraft from Ticonderoga fired at North Vietnamese torpedo boats that had attacked a U.S. destroyer. The carriers also contributed between the wars, projecting U.S. power around the world and performing antisubmarine patrols. When

5124-408: The supporting structures to the flight deck required to carry the increased weight of landing and parked aircraft, but they were to have sufficient strength to support the storing of spare fuselages and parts (50% of each operational plane type aboard, hence 33% of carried aircraft) under the flight deck and still provide adequate working space for the men using the area below. One innovation in Essex

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5208-488: The target. The Mk 99 FCS then launches surface-to-air missile(s) to intercept. If the interceptor missile uses semi-active radar homing (SM-2 or ESSM Block 1), it will need an external radar to illuminate its target for terminal guidance, which is where the SPG-62 comes into play. The Mk 99 FCS points an SPG-62 toward the target, and it shoots a narrow radar beam that reflects off the target. The interceptor missile's passive receiver homes in on these reflected emissions. It uses

5292-422: The task force. Beginning in March 1943, one very visually significant change was authorized for ships then in the early stages of construction. This involved lengthening the bow above the waterline into a "clipper" form. The increased rake and flare provided deck space for an additional quadruple 40 mm mount; these units also had the flight deck slightly shortened forward to provide better arcs of fire. Of

5376-481: The terms of the Two-Ocean Navy Act , eight more of these carriers were programmed. Eight were ordered on 9 September, CV-12 through −15 from Newport News, and CV-16 through −19 from Bethlehem Steel 's Fore River Shipyard ; the last two, CV-20 and CV-21 , were authorized 23 December 1941, with the primary intention of keeping existing slipways busy, and were ordered eight days after Pearl Harbor from

5460-452: The three A-4 squadrons were replaced by two squadrons of A-7A Corsair IIs . The F-4 Phantom II and A-6 Intruder were considered too heavy to operate from the Essex -class. Tasked and fitted out as an ASW carrier (CVS), the air wing of an Essex such as Bennington in the 1960s consisted of two squadrons of S2F Trackers and one squadron of SH-34 Seabat ASW helicopters (replaced in 1964 by SH-3A Sea Kings ). Airborne early warning

5544-474: The war some Essex es, such as Bunker Hill , also included Vought F4U Corsairs in fighter-bomber squadrons (VBFs), the precursor to modern fighter-attack squadrons (VFAs). In the last year of the Pacific War , all of the carrier-based combat aircraft could mount several 5-inch High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs), which greatly improved their effectiveness against ground targets. The defensive plan

5628-408: The water, creating waterspouts which could bring down low flying aircraft such as torpedo planes. In addition there were seventeen quadruple Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and 65 single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon . The Bofors 40 mm guns were a significant improvement over the 1.1 in/75 caliber guns mounted in the earlier Lexington and Yorktown classes. The Essex class also made use of

5712-500: The yard for repair and overhaul. For example, Intrepid , one of the first to be commissioned, by the end of the war had received two H-4B flight deck catapults in place of her original single H-4A; three quad 40 mm mounts below the island to starboard, three more on the port side and one additional on both the starboard quarter and the stern; twenty-one additional 20 mm mounts; SM fighter-control radar; FD Mk 4 radar replaced with Mk 12/22; and an enlarged flag bridge. In fact, to

5796-702: Was a guided missile cruiser built for the United States Navy . She was the lead ship of the Ticonderoga class and the first U.S. Navy combatant to incorporate the Aegis combat system . Originally ordered as a guided-missile destroyer , she was redesignated as a cruiser after capabilities from the cancelled Strike cruiser program were implemented into the ship's design. The new AEGIS system allowed Ticonderoga to track and engage many aerial targets more effectively than any previous U.S. Navy warship. Ticonderoga entered service in 1983 and deployed later that year to

5880-404: Was a portside deck-edge elevator in addition to two inboard elevators. The deck-edge elevator was adopted in the design after it proved successful on Wasp . Experiments had also been made with hauling aircraft by crane up a ramp between the hangar and flight decks, but this method proved too slow. The Navy's Bureau of Ships and the chief engineer of A.B.C. Elevator Co. designed the engine for

5964-538: Was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding on 22 September 1978. The ship's design was based on that of the Spruance -class destroyer . While sharing the same hull, the Ticonderoga -class design featured two large deckhouses and the Aegis combat system that together increased the ship's displacement from the Spruance -class baseline of 6,900 tons to 9,600 tons. On each of the two deckhouses were two AN/SPY-1 radars that gave

6048-491: Was begun. The Essex -class carriers combined the policy of naming aircraft carriers after historic battles begun with the Lexington class with the policy of naming them for historic navy ships generally followed for the Yorktown class. The first eight hulls were originally assigned names from historic Navy ships ( Essex , Bon Homme Richard , Intrepid , Kearsarge , Franklin , Hancock , Randolph , Cabot ). Lexington

6132-579: Was changed from Oriskany after the original USS  Wasp  (CV-7) was sunk in September 1942 in the South Pacific near Guadalcanal , and Hornet 's name was changed from Kearsarge after the original USS  Hornet  (CV-8) was lost in October 1942 in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands . The erstwhile Valley Forge was renamed Princeton after USS  Princeton  (CVL-23)

6216-637: Was featured in the 1986 Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising , defending the USS ; Nimitz and USS  Saratoga combined battlegroups against, and getting seriously damaged by, the saturation antiship missile attack in the Norwegian Sea by Soviet Tu-22M bombers. Ticonderoga was mentioned in the Tom Waits song "Shore Leave" on his 1983 album Swordfishtrombones . [REDACTED]   This article includes information collected from

6300-560: Was first provided by modified EA-1Es ; these were upgraded in 1965 to E-1Bs. A small detachment of A-4Bs or A-4Cs (4 aircraft) were also embarked to provide daylight fighter protection for the ASW aircraft. Landing platform helicopter –converted ships such as Boxer never had an angled landing deck installed and flew only helicopters such as the UH-34 Seahorse and CH-46 Sea Knight . Four converted Essex -class ships served alongside

6384-608: Was originally laid down as Cabot , but was renamed during construction after the previous USS  Lexington  (CV-2) was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. Yorktown , originally to be named Bon Homme Richard , was renamed after the previous USS  Yorktown  (CV-5) was lost at the Battle of Midway on 7 June 1942. Lexington and Yorktown share the unique distinction of being named after both historic ships and historic battles. Likewise, Wasp 's name

6468-484: Was picked up by Intrepid on 24 May 1962, and Kearsarge recovered the last two Mercury spacecraft, Mercury-Atlas 8 ( Sigma 7 ), on 3 October 1962, and Mercury-Atlas 9 ( Faith 7 ), on 16 May 1963. When the Mercury program's successor, Project Gemini , got underway, Essex es were again closely involved. Lake Champlain recovered the second uncrewed flight, Gemini 2 , on 19 January 1965; and Intrepid recovered

6552-409: Was quickly replaced with the improved Mark 12/Mark 22 combination. 40mm AA batteries were controlled by Mark 51 optical directors with integrated gyro gun-sight lead-angle calculators. A Plan Position Indicator (PPI) display was used to keep track of ships and enabled a multi-carrier force to maintain a high-speed formation at night or in foul weather. The new navigational tool known as

6636-596: Was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. The names of Ticonderoga and Hancock were swapped while they were under construction: the John Hancock life insurance company had offered to conduct a bond drive to raise money for Hancock if that name was used for the carrier under construction in the company's home state of Massachusetts. USS Shangri-La was named after a facetious remark by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt suggesting that

6720-652: Was the pride of the carrier and consisted of the offensive power of 36  fighters , 36  dive bombers , and 18  torpedo bombers . The Grumman F6F Hellcat would be the standard fighter, the Douglas SBD Dauntless , the standard scout aircraft and dive bomber which was later replaced by the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver , and the Grumman TBF Avenger as the torpedo bomber, but also often used in other attack roles. Later in

6804-489: Was the recovery ship for the uncrewed flight of Mercury-Redstone 1A on 19 December 1960. The first spaceflight by an American was on Mercury-Redstone 3 ( Freedom 7 ), recovered by Lake Champlain on 5 May 1961. Randolph recovered the next flight, Mercury-Redstone 4 ( Liberty Bell 7 ), on 21 July 1961, and she was the primary recovery ship for Mercury-Atlas 6 ( Friendship 7 ), the first orbital flight by an American. The next crewed flight, Mercury-Atlas 7 ( Aurora 7 ),

6888-509: Was the third Yorktown -class carrier, and Essex , which was the lead ship of a new class. CV-9 was to be the prototype of the 27,000-ton (standard displacement) aircraft carrier, considerably larger than Enterprise , yet smaller than Saratoga (a battlecruiser converted to a carrier). The Navy ordered the first three of the new design, CV-9 , CV-10 and CV-11 , from Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock on 3 July 1940. These were to become known as Essex -class carriers. Under

6972-591: Was to use radio and radar in a combined effort to concentrate anti-aircraft fire. The class, as designed, mounted twelve 5 in (127 mm) 38 caliber gun mounts (4 enclosed twin mounts located near the island on the starboard side and 4 single open mounts located on the port side forward and port side aft), these guns had a maximum range of seven miles and a rate of fire of fifteen rounds per minute. The 5-inch guns could fire VT shells, known as proximity fuzed -shells, that would detonate when they came close to an enemy aircraft. The 5-inch guns could also aim into

7056-501: Was very rarely permitted on these straight-deck ships for safety reasons and to avoid interruption of helicopter operations. One author called the Essex class "the most significant class of warships in American naval history", citing the large number produced and "their role in making the aircraft carrier the backbone of the U.S. Navy." Essex -class ships played a central role in the Pacific theater of World War II from 1943 through

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