Essex Aircraft Carriers

Enhancing the American Pacific Fleet in World War II and Beyond

Jun 16, 2007

USS Essex at sea near Okinawa, Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center –

The addition of these large, fast carriers provided the American Pacific Fleet enhanced striking power, against the Japanese in World War II, and into the Cold War.

The USS Essex, the first of ten Essex-class Aircraft Carriers, joined the Pacific Fleet ready for combat operations in May of 1943. Her first assignment was with Task Force 16, participating in carrier operations against Marcus Island in late August 1943.This new class of ‘fast carriers’ gave naval operations a punching power enhanced over the older Yorktown-class and Lexington-class carriers by increasing speed and capacity; carrying an air fleet of ninety-one naval fighters and bombers.

The main benefit these new ships provided Admiral Nimitz was additional floating airfields, used to strike multiple targets simultaneously, or to converge in large task forces for massive strikes against Japanese held territory. The ability to provide air cover anywhere in the Pacific at anytime, whether it was to cover General MacArthur’s advance in the South Pacific or the Marine advance through the Central Pacific, provided American strategic planners overwhelming freedom.

Designs for the class began in 1939 and the first keel was laid in April 1941. The designs were an offspring of the Hornet-class carrier, expanding off that design and allowing for size, speed and technology. Several were constructed simultaneously, and the first, the USS Essex, became commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard, December 31, 1942.

In February 1944, Essex carriers participated with the largest carrier striking force to date in an attack against Japanese held Truk naval base. They would endure typhoons and air assaults by Japanese kamikazes before celebrating victory in Tokyo Harbor. Other operations for the class would include:

Bougainville
Hollandia
Gilbert Islands
Kwajalein
Marianas
Palau
New Guinea
Guam
Leyte Gulf
Iwo Jima
Okinawa
Japan

Essex carriers would see action again in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, along with a sister class of carriers, Ticonderoga. The two classes are almost identical, leaving most to catalogue them as one class, the Essex-class. They would also serve as prime recovery ships for NASA spacecraft in the 60’s and 70’s, serve in the Atlantic with NATO forces, and assist in the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Serving the fleet for almost fifty years, the Essex era came to an end in 1991 with the decommissioning of the longest serving carrier and training ship, USS Lexington. The Lexington can still be seen as a museum ship located at Corpus Christi, Texas.

Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers

CV-9 USS Essex Commissioned December 1942
CV-10 USS Yorktown Commissioned April 1943
CV-11 USS Intrepid Commissioned August 1943
CV-12 USS Hornet Commissioned November 1943
CV-13 USS Franklin Commissioned January 1944
CV-16 USS Lexington Commissioned February 1943
CV-17 USS Bunker Hill Commissioned May 1943
CV-18 USS Wasp Commissioned November 1943
CV-20 USS Bennington Commissioned August 1944
CV-31 USS Bon Homme Richard Commissioned November 1944

Sources:

USS Essex (CV-9) US Navy

Essex Class US Navy

Faltum, Andrew, The Essex Aircraft Carriers (Baltimore, MD: The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, Inc., 1996)

The copyright of the article Essex Aircraft Carriers in Military History is owned by Steve DeVault. Permission to republish Essex Aircraft Carriers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.