USSEssex(CV-9)

For other ships with the same name, seeUSS Essex.

USSEssex(CV/CVA/CVS-9)was anaircraft carrierand the lead ship of the 24-shipEssexclassbuilt for theUnited States NavyduringWorld War II.She was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in December 1942,Essexparticipated in several campaigns in thePacific Theater of Operations,earning thePresidential Unit Citationand 13battle stars.Decommissioned shortly after the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), eventually becoming anantisubmarine aircraft carrier(CVS). In her second career, she served mainly in the Atlantic, playing a role in theCuban Missile Crisis.She also participated in theKorean War,earning four battle stars and theNavy Unit Commendation.She was the primary recovery carrier for theApollo 7space mission.

USSEssexin June 1967
History
United States
Name	Essex
Namesake	USSEssex(1799)
Ordered	3 July 1940
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down	28 April 1941
Launched	31 July 1942
Commissioned	31 December 1942
Decommissioned	9 January 1947
Recommissioned	15 January 1951
Decommissioned	30 June 1969
Reclassified	CVA-9, 1 October 1952 CVS-9, 8 March 1960
Stricken	1 June 1973
Fate	Scrapped,1973
General characteristics
Class and type	Essex-classaircraft carrier
Displacement	27,100long tons(27,500t) (standard) 36,380 long tons (36,960 t) (full load)
Length	820 feet (249.9 m) (wl) 872 feet (265.8 m) (o/a)
Beam	93 ft (28.3 m)
Draft	34 ft 2 in (10.41 m)
Installed power	8 ×Babcock & Wilcox boilers 150,000shp(110,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × gearedsteam turbines 4 ×screw propellers
Speed	33knots(61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	14,100nmi(26,100 km; 16,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	2,600 officers and enlisted men
Armament	12 ×5 in (127 mm)DP guns 32 ×40 mm (1.6 in)AA guns 46 ×20 mm (0.8 in)AA guns
Armor	Waterline belt:2.5–4 in (64–102 mm) Deck:1.5 in (38 mm) Hangardeck: 2.5 in (64 mm) Bulkheads:4 in (102 mm)
Aircraft carried	36 ×Grumman F4F Wildcat 36 ×Douglas SBD Dauntless 18 ×Grumman TBF Avenger

She was decommissioned for the last time in 1969 and sold by theDefense Reutilization and Marketing Servicefor scrap on 1June 1973.

Construction and commissioning

Essexwaslaid downon 28April 1941 byNewport News Shipbuildingand Dry Dock Co. After thePearl Harbor attack,her building contract (along with the same forCV-10andCV-12) was reworked. After an accelerated construction, she waslaunchedon 31 July 1942, sponsored by Alice Trubee Davison, the wife of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air. She wascommissionedon 31December 1942, withCaptainDonald B. Duncancommanding.

Service history

World War II

Following her accelerated builder's trials andshakedown cruise,Essexmoved to the Pacific in May 1943. Departing fromPearl Harbor,she participated withTask Force 16(TF 16) in carrier operations againstMarcus Island.On 31August 1943, she was designated theflagshipof TF14 and struckWake Islandon 5and6 October. On 11November, she took part in carrier operations during theRabaulstrike, alongsideBunker HillandUSSIndependence.She then launched an attack with Task Group 50.3 (TG50.3) against theGilbert Islandswhere she took part in her firstamphibious assaultduring theBattle of Tarawa.Afterrefueling at sea,she cruised as the flagship of TG50.3 to attackKwajaleinon 4 December. Her second amphibious assault delivered in company with TG50.3 was against theMarshall Islandson 29January to 2February 1944.

Essex,in TG50.3, now joined with TG58.1 and TG58.2 to constituteTask Force 58,the "Fast Carrier Task Force", launched anattack against Trukbetween 17and 18February 1944 during which eight Japanese ships were sunk. While en route to theMariana Islandsto sever Japanesesupply lines,the carrier force was detected and subjected to a prolonged aerial attack which it repelled successfully. It then continued with the scheduled attack uponSaipan,Tinian,andGuamon 23February 1944.

Essexis hit by akamikazeoff the Philippines, 25 November 1944.

After this operation,Essexproceeded toSan Franciscofor her single wartime overhaul, after which,Essexbecame the carrier for Air Group 15, the "Fabled Fifteen" commanded by the U.S. Navy's top ace of the war,David McCampbell.She then joined carriersWaspandSan Jacintoin TG12.1 to strike Marcus Island on 19to 20May 1944, and Wake, on 23May 1944. She deployed with TF58 to support the occupation of the Marianas on 12June to10 August; sortied with TG38.3 to lead an attack against thePalau Islandson 6to 8September, andMindanaoon 9to 10September with enemy shipping as the main target, and remained in the area tosupport landings on Peleliu.On 2October, she weathered atyphoonand four days later departed with Task Force 38(TF 38) for theRyukyus.

For the remainder of 1944, she continued her frontline action, participating in strikes againstOkinawaon 1October, andFormosafrom 1to 14October, covering the Leyte landings, taking part in theBattle of Leyte Gulf24to 25October, and continuing the search for enemy fleet units until 30October, when she returned toUlithi,Caroline Islands,for replenishment. She resumed the offensive and delivered attacks onManilaand the northernPhilippine Islandsduring November. On 25November, for the first time,Essexreceived damage. Akamikazehit the port edge of herflight deck,landing among planes fueled for takeoff, and causing extensive damage, killing 15, and wounding 44.

Following quick repairs, she operated with the task force off Leyte supporting the occupation ofMindoro14to 16December 1944. She rode outTyphoon Cobraand made a special search for survivors afterward. With TG38.3, she participated in theLingayen Gulfoperations, launched strikes against Formosa,Sakishima,Okinawa,and Luzon. Entering theSouth China Seain search of enemy surface forces, the task forcepounded shipping and conducted strikeson Formosa, theChinacoast,Hainan,andHong Kong.Essexwithstood the onslaught of the third typhoon in four months on 20and 21January 1945 before striking again at Formosa,Miyako-jima,and Okinawa on 26and 27January.

For the remainder of the war, she operated with TF58, conducting attacks against theTokyoarea on 16and 17February. On 25February 1945, she was deployed to neutralize the enemy's air power before the landings onIwo Jimaand to cripple the aircraft-manufacturing industry. She sent support missions against Iwo Jima and neighboring islands, but from 23March to 28May, was employed primarily to support the conquest of Okinawa. In the closing days of the war,Essextook part in the final telling raids against the Japanese home islands on 10July to 15August 1945. Following thesurrender of Japan,she continued defensivecombat air patrolsuntil 3 September, when she was ordered toBremerton, Washington,for inactivation. She arrived atPuget Soundon 15 September.

1950s

On 9January 1947, she wasdecommissionedand placed in reserve. Modernization endowedEssexwith a new flight deck, and a streamlined island superstructure on 16 January 1951, when she was recommissioned, with Captain A. W. Wheelock commanding.After a brief cruise in Hawaiian waters, she began the first of three tours in Far Eastern waters during theKorean War.She served as flagship forCarrier Division 1andTask Force 77.She was the first carrier to launchF2H Bansheeson combat missions; on 16September 1951, one of these planes, damaged in combat, crashed into aircraft parked on the forward flight deck, causing an explosion and fire, which killed seven. After repairs atYokosuka,she returned to frontline action on 3October to launch strikes up to theYalu Riverand provideclose air supportfor U.N. troops. Her two deployments in the Korean War were from August 1951 – March 1952 and July 1952 – January 1953. On 1December 1953, she started her final tour of the war, sailing in theEast China Seawith what official U.S. Navy records describe as the "Peace Patrol".

Essexafter the SCB-125 modernization, 1956

In the spring of 1954, she was dispatched along with theUSSBoxerto the South China Sea, betweenIndochinaand thePhilippines,while the United States considered whether to use carrier aircraft to support French troops during theBattle of Dien Bien Phu,a key battle in theFirst Indochina War.The United States eventually decided to not join the fighting.From November 1954 – June 1955, she engaged in training exercises, operated for three months with theUnited States Seventh Fleet,assisted in theTachen Islandsevacuation, and engaged in air operations and fleet maneuvers off Okinawa.

In July 1955,EssexenteredPuget Sound Naval Shipyardfor repairs and extensive alterations. TheSCB-125modernization program included installation of an angled flight deck and an enclosed hurricane bow, as well as relocation of the aft elevator to the starboard deck edge. Modernization completed, she rejoined thePacific Fleetin March 1956. For the next 14 months, the carrier operated off the West Coast, except for a six-month cruise with the 7th Fleet in the Far East. Ordered to join theAtlantic Fleetfor the first time in her long career, she sailed fromSan Diegoon 21June 1957, roundedCape Horn,and arrived atNaval Station Mayporton 1 August.

In the fall of 1957,Essexparticipated as an antisubmarine carrier in theNATOExercise Strikebackand in February 1958, deployed with the6th Fleetuntil May, when she shifted to the easternMediterranean.Alerted to the Middle East crisis on 14July 1958, she sped to support the US landings inBeirut,Lebanon,launching reconnaissance and patrol missions until 20August. Once again, she was ordered to proceed to Asian waters and transited theSuez Canalto arrive in the Taiwan operational area, where she joined TF77 in conducting flight operations before rounding the Horn and proceeding back to Mayport.Essexjoined with the2nd FleetandBritishships in Atlantic exercises and with NATO forces in the eastern Mediterranean during the fall of 1959. In December she aided victims of a disastrous flood atFréjus,France.

Essexunderway in 1962

In the spring of 1960, she was converted into an ASW Support Carrier and was thereafter homeported atQuonset Point,Rhode Island.Since that time, she operated as the flagship ofCarrier Division 18and Antisubmarine Carrier Group Three. She conducted rescue and salvage operations off the New Jersey coast for a downedblimp,cruised with midshipmen, and was deployed on NATO andCENTOexercises that took her through the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean. Her ports of call includedKarachiand the British Crown Colony ofAden.In November, she joined the French navy in Operation Jet Stream.On 7November 1960, theSovietresearch vesselVityazwas reported byTASSto have been buzzed in theArabian Seaby aGrumman S-2F TrackerfromEssex.The United States Navy denied that the aircraft was buzzing the ship, claiming it was merely establishing her identity.

Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis

In April 1961,Essexsteamed out of Quonset Point on a two-week "routine training" cruise, purportedly to support the carrier qualification of a squadron of Navy pilots. TwelveA4D SkyhawksfromVA-34stationed atNAS Cecil Field,Florida, flew aboard. VS-34 aircraft had been removed to make room for VA-34's aircraft. VA-34's support enlisted crew flew aboard inC1A CODaircraft. The A4D-2 were armed with two20 mm Mk-12cannons loaded with "service" ammo and one LAU-3a 19 shot 2.75 FFAR pod with "antitank" warheads mounted on the centerline ejector rack, Station 3. After several days at sea, all their identifying markings were crudely obscured with flat gray paint. They began flying two aircraft missions by day only. Not generally known to theEssexcrew, they had been tasked to provide air support to CIA-sponsored bombers during the ill-fatedBay of Pigs Invasion.Cuba's leader Castro knew theEssexwas off the Cuban coast, but the US Navy denied that claim. The naval aviation part of the mission was aborted byPresident John F. Kennedyat the last moment and theEssexcrew was sworn to secrecy. Returning home and while at sea, VA-34's aircraft were hastily repainted "national stars and bars" by all available enlisted personnel, then flew off and landed atNAS Jacksonville,and underwent professional repainting at the NARF Naval Aviation Rework facility. The planes then flew a few miles over to her home base at NAS Cecil Field. The entire VA-34 crew was sworn to secrecy. In 1967–68, VA-34's crew was awarded theNavyandMarine Expeditionary medals.

Later in 1961,Essexcompleted a "People to People" cruise to Northern Europe with ports of call inRotterdam,Hamburg,andGreenock.During the Hamburg visit, over one million visitors touredEssex.During her departure,Essexalmost ran aground in the shallowElbe River.On her return voyage to the United States, she ran into a severe North Atlantic storm (January 1962) and suffered major structural damage. In early 1962, she went into dry dock in theBrooklyn Navy Yardfor a major overhaul.

Essexhad just finished her six-month-long overhaul and was atGuantanamo Bay Naval Basefor sea trials when President Kennedy placed a naval "quarantine" on Cuba in October 1962, in response to the discoveredpresence of Soviet missilesin that country. The word "quarantine" was used rather than "blockade" for reasons of international law, Kennedy reasoned that a blockade would be an act of war, and war had not been declared between the U.S. and Cuba.Essexspent over a month in the Caribbean as one of the US Navy ships enforcing this "quarantine", returning home just before Thanksgiving.

Later career

TheApollo 7crew is welcomed aboardEssex,1968.

While conducting replenishment exercises with NATO forces on 10 November 1966,Essexcollided with the submerged submarineNautilus.The submarine sustained extensive sail damage, returning to port unassisted. AboardEssex,the hull was opened, and the ship's speed indicator equipment was destroyed, but the carrier was still able to make port unassisted.Essexsubsequently reported to theBoston Naval Shipyardfor an extensive overhaul and hull repairs.

On 25 May 1968,Essexwas underway in theNorwegian Seawhen she was buzzed four times by a SovietTupolev Tu-16heavy bomber. On the fourth pass, the plane's wing clipped the surface of the sea, and the aircraft disintegrated. TheEssexlaunched rescue helicopters, but none of the crew on board survived. Three bodies and wreckage were recovered and transferred to a Russian destroyer via life boat.

Essexwas scheduled to be the prime recovery carrier for the ill-fatedApollo 1space mission. She was to pick up Apollo1 astronauts north ofPuerto Ricoon 7March 1967 after a 14-day spaceflight. However, the mission did not take place because on 27January 1967, the Apollo1's crew was killed by aflash firein their spacecraft onLC-34at theCape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.Essexwas the prime recovery carrier for theApollo 7mission. She recovered the Apollo 7 crew on 22October 1968 after asplashdownnorth of Puerto Rico.Essexwas the main vessel on which futureApollo 11astronautNeil Armstrongserved during the Korean War.

Essexwas decommissioned on 30June 1969atBoston Navy Yard.She was struck from theNaval Vessel Registeron 1June 1973 and sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping on 1June 1975.Essexwas scrapped atKearny, New Jersey.

Awards

• Navy Unit Commendation
• Meritorious Unit Commendation
• Navy Expeditionary Medal
  (3)
• China Service Medal
• American Campaign Medal
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
  (13battle stars)
• World War II Victory Medal
• Navy Occupation Service Medal
  (with Asia clasp)
• National Defense Service Medal
  (twice)
• Korean Service Medal
  (4 battle stars)
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
  (2 battle stars)
• Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
• Philippine Liberation Medal
  (2 battle stars)
• United Nations Korean Medal
• Republic of Korea War Service Medal

Gallery

• 
  USSEssexon 15 April 1944
• 
  BurningAD-4aboard USSEssexin 1954
• 
  USSEssexin 1955
• 
  AJ-2aboard USSEssexin 1956
• 
  F9F-8Pover USSEssexin 1960

References

Bibliography

• Streb, Richard W. (1999).Life and Death Aboard the USS Essex.Pittsburgh: Dorrance Publishing.ISBN978-0-8059-4605-5.
• "Essex (CV-9) iv".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Navy Department,Naval History and Heritage Command.15 January 2015.
• Hansen, James R.(2005).First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN0-7432-5751-0.
• Kennedy, Robert F.(1969).Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis.New York: W. W. Norton & Company.ISBN978-0-333-10312-8.
• "Nautilus (SSN-571) iv".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Navy Department,Naval History and Heritage Command.27 May 2014.
• Wyden, Peter (1979).Bay of Pigs: The Untold Story.New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN978-0-671-24006-6.
• This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.

Further reading

• Thorne, Phil (March 2022). "Battle of the Sibuyan Sea".Warship International.LIX(1):34–65.ISSN0043-0374.

External links

• Navy photographs ofEssex(CV-9)
• Photo galleryof USSEssex(CV-9) at NavSource Naval History
• USSEssexAssociation
• War Service Fuel Consumption of U.S. Naval Surface Vessels FTP 218