USS Essex (CV-9)
In 1925, the former Admiral of Naval Forces Europe, William S. Sims, addressed a congressional inquistion regaridng carriers. "A small, high-speed carrier alone can destory or disable a battleship alone. A fleet whose carriers give it command of the air over the enemy fleet can defeat the latter." The fast carrier with over one hundred planes steaming at over thiry-five knots was to be the capital ship of the future. According to Sims, "in reality a capital ship [a carrier is] of much greater offensive power than any battleship. The birth of the fast carriers which were to be classified as the Essex Class Carriers would have to wait unitl the Naval Expansion Act of 17 May 1937. This act appropiated an increase in naval aviation and ship tonnage allowing the navy to go forward with the plans to create the USS Essex.
| Displacement |
27,200 tons/ 34,880 tons (standard) |
|
Lenght |
|
|
Beam |
93 feet |
|
Draught |
23 feet |
|
Height |
147 feet |
|
Machinery |
Westinghouse geared turbines |
|
Machinery |
Westinghouse geared turbines
|
|
Performance |
150,000 horsepower |
|
Speed |
33 knots |
|
Range |
15,000 nautical miles at 15 knots |
|
Crew (Officers/Enlisted) |
340/2900 |
Patterned after the Hornet (CV-8), the Essex Class Carriers were to receive some significant structural changes. The Essex would be designed to carry two squadrons of airplanes versus the normal load of one squadron. This increase in planes would necessitate and enlargment of both the flight deck and hull. More stowage space for fuel and armaments called for a thicker hull to protect these vital materials. An elevator was positioned on the side of the carrier allowing uninhibited usage during flight operations. The superstructure or "island" would comprise the command center along with the captain's bridge. This increase in size would also allow for improved visibility to aid in ship handling. Consequently, these structural changes would increase the ships displacement requiring an expansion is ship power requiring eight Babcock and Wilcox boilers. These boilers would be used to produce enough horsepower to propell the ship at over 30 knots.
"Sunday Punch"
F6F-Fighter
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 had twice the horsepower of the Zero and could therefore climb higher and fly faster. Due to the increase in power, the Hellcat could carry and enormous amount of firepower. The Hellcat boasted six .50 caliber macnine 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 of ordanace or one torpedo. Designed solely as a torpedo plane, Avenger (TBF-1) was produced by Grumman Aircraft.
Guns, Radar, & Radios
20mm
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 defenseive 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 fused-shells, would detonate when they came within 70 feet of an enemy aircraft. The Essex Class made use of advanced technological and communications equiptment. 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 tarck 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 shiops 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.
Essex Class Ship Listing Ship Builder Comissioned
Essex (CV-9) Newport News December 31, 1942
Yorktown (CV-10) Newport News April 15, 1943
Intrepid (CV-11) Newport News August 16, 1943
Hornet (CV 12) Newport News November 29, 1943
Franklin (CV-13) Newport News January 31, 1944
Ticonderoga (CV -14)* Newport News May 8, 1944
Randolph (CV-15) * Newport News October 9, 1944
Lexington (CV-16) Bethlehem February 17, 1943
Bunker Hill (CV-17) Bethlehem May 25, 1943
Wasp (CV-18) Bethlehem November 24, 1943
Hancock (CV-19)* Bethlehem April 15, 1944
Bennington (CV-20) Newport News August 6, 1944
Boxer (CV-21)* Newport News April 16, 1945
Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) New York November 26, 1944
Leyte (CV-32)* Newport News April 11, 1946
Kearsarge (CV-33)* New York March 2, 1946
Oriskany (CV-34)* New York September 25, 1950
Antietam (CV-36)* Philadelphia January 28, 1945
Princeton (CV-37)* Philadelphia November 18, 1945
Shangri-La (CV-38) Norfolk September 15, 1944
Lake Champlain (CV-39)* Norfolk June 3, 1945
Tarawa (CV-40) Norfolk December 8, 1945
Valley Forge (CV-45) Philadelphia November 3, 1946
Philippine Sea (CV-46) Bethlehem May 11, 1946
* The lenght of the hull within the Essex class differs slightly. The so-called long versions include: CV-14, CV-15, CV-19,CV-21, CV-32-37 & CV-39; the long hull ship were 68 feet longer than the short hull ships for a total lenght of 888 feet.
