US Fleet Carriers from Langley to Ford Class

At this point we have shown four of the five carriers that ultimately became

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:

USS Yorktown, CV-10, Commission: Apr 1943 Decom: June 1970 Disposition: Museum
USS Intrepid, CV-11, Commissioned: Aug 1943 Decomm: Mar 1974 Disposition: Museum
USS Hornet, CV-12, Commissioned: Nov 1943 Decomm: Jun 1970 Disposition: Museum
USS Lexington, CV-16, Commissioned: Feb 1943 Decomm: Nov 1991 Disposition: Museum

The fifth will be the USS Midway...with an even longer career than these. But we will get to her later.

Some rare data mainly for comparison btw WWII aircraft carrier :

Essex
As i have mentionned out very few CV during WWII get an armored flight deck, it was generally in wood, the hangar deck in fact the ground was armored for protect vital parts ammunition/fuel bunkers, which was the case for the Essex.
Their lateral elevator was collapsible for crossing the Panama canal.
Only Lexington and Midway has a armored flight deck 19/51 mm and Midway 89 mm.

Newports News have built the majority, could build two simultaneously in 1940 and after four.
Delay between the laying of the keel and armament 18/20 months !

Carried 635 t ammo, 900000 l fuel aviation ( Nimitz 3000t / 11200000 l )
Hangar 199 x 21 x 5.4 m : 4200 m2
Cat 30 m, could launched to 140 km/h max an aircraft of 7 t, in 1945 9 t.

Others classes for ammo and fuel aviation :
Independence 540000 l, 330 t
Saipan 540000 l, 370 t
CVE dépends 340000/600000 l

Hangars in m
Lexington : 129 x 23 x 6.4 initialy build for to be BB had less important aviation facilities for a CV of her size, more big mainly more heavy with her armor as Essex.
Ranger 168 x 20 x 5.8
Yorktown 166 x 19 x 5.2
Wasp 159 x 19 x 5.2
Independence 79 x 16 x 5.4
Saipan 87 x 21 x 5.4
CVE depends 60/80 x 17/21 x 5.3

Unusual on her final deployment, Roosevelt embarked to test the concept of including aircraft in a carrier air wing.

Please if you Jeff or Mr Popeye get an aerial view can be nice.

FORBIN said:

Unusual on her final deployment, Roosevelt embarked

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to test the concept of including

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aircraft in a carrier air wing.

Please if you Jeff or Mr Popeye get an aerial view can be nice.

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No problem my friend. I posted these 4 May 2013..

PLAN Carrier Strike Group and Airwing

In 1976 Harriers deployed aboard the USS Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA 42) to the Mediterranean as an experiment.



The Harriers were deck launched from a point amidships.

More!

The U.S. Marine Corps Hawker Siddley AV-8A Harriers from Marine Attack Squadron VMA-231 Ace of Spades approach the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42). VMA-231 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19) for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from 4 October 1976 to 21 April 1977, FDR´s last deployment before her decommissioning on 30 September 1977. his cruise marked the first operations of the Vertical Short Take Off and Landing (VSTOL) aircraft from a carrier.

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A U.S. Marine Corps Hawker Siddley AV-8A Harrier of Marine attack squadron VMA-231 Ace of Spades intercepting a Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 (Nato code "Bear") in 1976/77. VMA-231 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from 4 October 1976 to 21 April 1977.

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A Hawker Siddley AV-8A Harrier of Marine attack squadron VMA-231 Ace of Spades landing on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in 1976/77. VMA-231 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 19 (CVW-19) aboard the FDR for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from 4 October 1976 to 21 April 1977.

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AV-8A Harrier of Marine attack squadron VMA-231 Ace of Spades landing on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in 1976/77

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Oh great !
Merci

I have see the video for the Roosevelt deployment in the Mediterranean Sea from 4 October 1976 to 21 April 1977 but i have see only 2/3 sec one AV-8A.
Video on Roosevelt site.

USS Boxer, CV-21, Commissioned: Apr 1945 Decomm: Dec 1969 Disposition: Scrap 1971


USS Bon Homme Richard, CV-31, Commissioned: Nov 1944 Decomm: Dec 1971 Disposition: Scrap 1992


USS Leyte, CV-32, Commissioned: Apr 1946 Decomm: May 1959 Disposition: Scrap 1970


USS Kearsage, CV-33, Commissioned: Mar 1946 Decomm: Feb 1970 Disposition: Feb 1974


USS Oriskany, CV-34, Commissioned: Sep 1950 Decomm: Sep 1976 Disposition: Scuttled (Reef) 2006

USS Antetiem, CV-36, Commissioned: Jan 1945 Decomm: May 1963 Dsipostion: Srap 1974


USS Princeton, CV-37, Commissioned: Nov 1945 Decomm: Jan 1970 Dispostion: Scrap 1971


USS Shangri-la, CV-38, Commissioned: Sep 1944 Decomm: July 1971 Dispostion: Scrap 1988


USS Lake Champlain, CV-39, Commissioned: Jun 1945 Decomm: May 1966 Dsipostion: Scrap 1972


USS Tarawa, CV-40, Commissioned: Nov 1945 Decomm: May 1960 Dsiposition: Scrap 1968

USS Valley Forge, CV-45, Commissioned: Nov 1946 Decomm: Jan 1970 Disposition: Scrap 1971


USS Philippine Sea, CV-7, Commissioned: May 1946 Decomm: Dec 1958 Dispostion: Scrap 1971

That's the last of the twenty four commissioned Essex class carriers. Twenty one of them were commissioned from 1942 to 1945. The US was churning these out at the rate of seven large fleet carriers per year during the wartime years. That is simply amazing.

Now on to the Midway Class carriers.

The Midway class were 45,000 ton carreies when intiially launched and commissioned. They were larger, improved Essex class carriers, able to carry an asotunding 130 aircraft in their air wing. All ultimately underwent extensive modernization.

The resulting modernized Midway was the first US carrier to begin to take on the super carrier look. Her post-modernization dsiplacement went to 64,000 tons. Her oringial configuration had a 136 foot wide flight deck. After modernization and the addition of her angled deck and new elevators, the flight deck grew to 238 feet wide. Here are thosee three carriers:


USS Midway CV-41, Commissioned: Sep 1945 Decomm: Apr 1992 Disposition: Museum


USS Franklin D. Rooseevelt, CV-42, Commissioned: Oct 1945 Decomm: Sep 1977 Dispostion: Scrap 1978


USS Coral Sea, CV-43, Commissioned: Oct 1947 Decomm: Apr 1990 Disposition: Scrap 2000

The Midway and the coral Sea served into the modern era, the 1990s.

The Midway was not decommissioned until after the 1st Gulf War and she and her air wing saw action in Desert Storm.

USS Lexington, CV-16, Commissioned: Feb 1943 Decomm: Nov 1991 Disposition: Museum

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At the end used as training CV, replaced after by a Forrestal.
Midway and obviously Essex could not host F-14.