Mark Stille • Illustrated by Tony Bryan
ORIGINS
DEVELOPMENT
CHRONOLOGY
THE ESSEX CLASS
THE INDEPENDENCE CLASS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
COLOR PLATE COMMENTARY
The US Navy’s seven prewar carriers had halted the Japanese advance in the Pacific by the middle of 1942 (see New Vanguard 114, US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922–45 Prewar Classes). This book focuses on the Essex class fleet and Independence class light carriers that entered US Navy service during the war. These ships would be essential elements in the US Navy’s campaign to defeat the Japanese Empire. For the Essex class, of the 24 built, 14 saw action during the war. The ships completed after the war and the extensive postwar service and modernization of the Essex class are not covered. Of the light carriers, all nine Independence class ships saw action. Two other light carriers of the Saipan class did not see service during the war and are not discussed.
The arrival of a growing number of Essex and Independence class carriers forced the US Navy to revise its carrier doctrine. Experience from 1942 clearly showed the benefits of operating several carriers together. The early war practice of operating only one or two carriers in a task group was abandoned. Now the arrival of new ships permitted up to four separate carrier task groups to be formed under the Commander, Fast Carrier Force Pacific. Each would operate up to five carriers (usually four) – a mix of fleet and light carriers. These would be typically escorted by a division of battleships, four cruisers (including some dedicated antiaircraft cruisers), and a dozen or so destroyers. To provide the best protection against air attack, the carriers would be placed in the middle of a 4-mile (6.4km) radius circle of escorts. Task groups usually steamed in formation with 12 miles (19.3km) between their centers, leaving 8 miles (12.9km) from screen to screen. This cruising disposition was based on the effective range of the formation’s heavy antiaircraft guns. In addition to presenting any attacker with a continuous wall of antiaircraft fire, it provided enough room for maneuver. It also provided overlapping radar coverage, serving to fill in blind spots.
A study in sea power: Task Group 38.3 enters Ulithi Atoll on December 12, 1944, following operations off the Philippines. The lead carrier is Langley; she is followed by Ticonderoga, three battleships, and four light cruisers. Ulithi Atoll was seized in September 1944 and was used as the fast carriers’ primary support anchorage for the remainder of the war.
By 1943, the US Navy had transformed naval warfare in the Pacific. Not only did the numbers of carriers in service dramatically increase, but so did the effectiveness of each ship and its air group. A new generation of aircraft manned by well-trained pilots, improvements in air search and fire control radars, the effectiveness of the Combat Information Center concept that fuzed information on a real-time basis, and the growing number and effectiveness of shipboard antiaircraft guns combined to make US fast carrier task forces essentially immune to conventional air attack. This defensive capability forced the Japanese to rely on night attacks and eventually on kamikaze, or suicide, aircraft.
Together with these technological advances, there was a corresponding operational leap. A sophisticated mobile logistics capability was developed which allowed the US Navy to forward deploy to fleet anchorages and operate the Fast Carrier Force at sea for months at a time using underway replenishment. This maintained a high operational tempo, keeping the Japanese off-balance, and provided the capability not just to raid, as the Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier task force had done early in the war, but to project power on a sustained basis. It was a war-winning formula.
In 1942, carrier air groups were assigned numbers with the first being Air Group 9. In June 1944, the designation of air groups was changed to reflect the type of carrier they were assigned to. An Essex class carrier’s air group was designated CVG and an Independence class carrier’s group was designated CVLG.
The ability of the US Navy to sustain operations at sea was one of the unheralded reasons for the American victory in the Pacific. Here Hornet is shown refueling from an oiler in August 1944. As an example of the US Navy’s logistical capabilities, between October 6, 1944 and January 26, 1945, the Fast Carrier Force was at sea for 13 of 16 weeks. To maintain this effort required a dedicated force of 34 fleet oilers.
COMPOSITION OF ESSEX CLASS AIR GROUPS | |||
Fighters | Dive bombers | Torpedo bombers | |
1943 | 36 | 36 | 18 |
July 1944 | 54 (4 night) | 24 | 18 |
December 1944 | 73 (4 night) | 15 | 15 |
Essex class carriers, as commissioned, had an air group with a large fighter squadron of 36 fighters, plus 18 aircraft scout, dive bomber, and torpedo squadrons. One additional dive bomber for liaison duties was included for a total air group of 91 aircraft. There were also nine reserve aircraft, three of each type.
By 1944, the need for a dedicated scout bomber squadron was gone, so the two squadrons equipped with dive bombers were combined into a single 24-aircraft squadron. The fighter squadron grew and included special radar-equipped night fighter and photo-reconnaissance fighter variants. As the kamikaze threat became paramount, the number of fighter aircraft was again increased in December 1944. Now a single 73-aircraft fighter squadron was embarked and the number of strike aircraft reduced to 30, organized into two 15-aircraft dive bomber and torpedo squadrons. With 73 aircraft and 110 pilots, the fighter squadron had become too unwieldy. In January 1945 it was split into two squadrons, one with 36 fighters, the other with 36 fighter-bombers. In practice, the two squadrons were interchangeable. In 1945, two air groups discarded their dive bomber squadron and operated 93 fighters and 15 torpedo aircraft.
Essex in May 1943 during work-ups. This view shows her early air group that included SBD Dauntless dive bombers (the aircraft on the aft portion of the flight deck without folding wings), TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, and F6F Hellcat fighters. Early Essex class air groups were notable for their large proportion of strike aircraft at the expense of fighters. Essex appears in her early configuration with five radio masts, a single stern 40mm quadruple mount, and no starboard outboard sponsons. Interestingly, she would remain basically unaltered throughout the war.
Hellcat fighters preparing to take off from Ticonderoga. The two leading aircraft are F6F-5N variants; the pod on the wing contains a radar for night operations.
Most Essex class carriers took a number of different air groups into action. With a large pool of aviators available, the US Navy could rotate tired veteran air groups. In addition to casualties, the air groups had to contend with fatigue brought on by incessant combat. In January 1944, it was decided that complete air groups would be rotated after six to nine months of combat. This was later shortened in April to six months as the pace of the war intensified. It became necessary to rotate some air groups after only four months. This contributed to the requirement to bring US Marine Corps fighter squadrons aboard the fleet carriers in late 1944. Eventually, two air groups were planned for each carrier.
The arrival of the new carriers coincided with the arrival of new aircraft. Most prominent among these was the Grumman F6F Hellcat. The first mass-produced variant, the F6F-3, entered service in 1943 and was faster and better armored and had more firepower than its Japanese counterparts. The Hellcat was the mainstay fighter of the US Navy from 1943 to 1945, with over 12,000 built. The improved F6F-5 began to enter service in April 1944. Late in the war, some CVGs received the Vought F4U Corsair. Introduced in 1943, the Corsair would remain land-based until late 1944, when the kamikaze crisis and a fighter shortage brought it aboard fleet carriers on a permanent basis. With its speed and ruggedness, it proved to be the best carrier fighter of the war.
Into the mid-war period, the dive bomber role continued to be filled by the Douglas SBD Dauntless. The upgraded Dauntless SBD-5 was not finally replaced until July 1944. Its replacement was the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. This aircraft experienced a long gestation period before being wholly accepted for fleet use. Difficult to handle, it possessed no greater range than the Dauntless, carried a similar bomb load, and proved more difficult to maintain. It was, however, faster and more rugged. The torpedo bomber mission was handled by the Grumman TBF Avenger from mid-1942 to the end of the war. This aircraft also performed in a level bomber role. Some 7,500 were built under the TBF and the General Motors TBM designation.
Weapons
The war-built US carriers were well provided for in terms of antiaircraft protection. For long-range air defense, the mainstay weapon was the 5in/38 dual-purpose gun. This weapon had been fitted on the prewar Yorktown class and had proved itself to be an excellent gun possessing good accuracy, a long barrel life, and, most importantly, a high rate of fire. It was the finest weapon of its type in service during the war and remained in service long after. Aside from making a brief appearance on the lead ship, the Independence class did not carry the 5in/38 gun. In the middle of the war the effectiveness of the 5in was further increased when the VT (variable timed) fuze, containing a tiny radio transmitter in the nose of the shell, entered service. The fuze sensed the reflected radiation off the target and detonated the shell within 30ft (approx 9m) – a lethal range. When used with radar fire direction, it was a deadly combination.
SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE 5IN/38 GUN
Bore | 5in (127mm) |
Shell weight | 55lb (25kg) |
Muzzle velocity | 2,600ft/sec (792.4m/sec) |
Maximum range | 18,200yd (16,642m) |
Rate of fire | 15–20 rounds/min |
Long-range antiaircraft protection for Essex class carriers was provided by the redoubtable 5in/38 dual-purpose gun. Two twin mounts were located forward and aft of the island; the forward mounts on Intrepid are shown here, trained to starboard. This photograph of Intrepid was taken after June 1944, as the ship has received the modified bridge and the SC-2 radar has been moved to the starboard side of the stack.
The Mark 37 Director provided primary fire control for the 5in/38. On EssexEssex