USS Bataan (CVL-29)
_underway_at_sea_on_22_May_1953_(NH_95808).jpg) USS Bataan (CVL-29) 1953 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Keel laying | August 31, 1942 |
| Launch | August 1, 1943 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | November 17, 1943 |
| Decommissioning | April 9, 1954 |
| Whereabouts | September 1, 1959: deleted from NVR ; May 1961: sold for scrapping |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement | |
| length |
189.7 m |
| width |
21.8 m (waterline) |
| height |
14 m (flight deck) |
| Draft |
7.9 m |
| crew |
1,569 |
| drive |
4 steam boilers |
| speed |
31.6 kn (~ 59 km / h) |
| Range |
5,800 nm (~ 10,700 km) |
| Armament |
|
| Planes |
24 F6F Hellcat , 9 TBF Avenger , from 1950 33 Chance Vought F4U |
The USS Bataan (CVL-29) was an American light aircraft carrier . It was the eighth ship of the Independence class that through conversions of existing cruiser hulls of Cleveland class emerged. The ship served in the Pacific theater of the Second World War from 1944 to 1945 and in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.
technology
The USS Bataan was approximately 190 meters long and 33 meters wide and, with an operational displacement of 13,000 ts, had a draft of almost eight meters. Her hull was based on that of the Cleveland- class cruiser and had to be widened due to the more massive superstructures, which it was hoped would significantly reduce the top-heaviness . Despite all the constructive measures, this could never be fully compensated. Although it was only a little larger than the escort aircraft carrier as an Independence-class carrier , it differed from them mainly in its powerful drive. The 100,000 hp engine system taken over from the cruisers drove four propellers and brought the ship to a top speed of 31.6 knots . Therefore, their range of applications was similar to that of the large fleet aircraft carriers . The rectangular flight deck common at the time was around 174 meters long and 22.3 meters wide, had two deck elevators and a catapult . The island had to be kept small for reasons of stability, which is why there was no single, integrated chimney and instead four smaller ones were attached separately. This superstructure only accommodated the navigating bridge , while the operations center was located below the flight deck. The board squadron was during their active service in World War II mainly of two dozen F6F Hellcat -Jagdflugzeugen and nine torpedo bombers of the type Grumman Avenger . During the Korean War, mainly Chance Vought F4U machines were stationed on the ship. In the course of the war were long wave - radars SK and SC-2 as well as the SG - microwave -Radar installed on the ship. Mounted on the island and on an additional mast between two of the chimneys, these devices enabled early warnings up to 180 km away. The Bataan's defensive armament consisted of 40 mm L / 60 and 20 mm L / 70 anti-aircraft guns, the number of which varied continuously during the war. In 1944, the 40 mm quadruple flak installed on the fuselage and stern was retrofitted with the Mk 51 fire control system , which could target aircraft up to 3.5 km away and thus fight them more effectively.
period of service
Construction and commissioning
The ship was originally laid down as the light cruiser USS Buffalo (CL-99) on August 31, 1942 at the New York Shipbuilding Co. in Camden , New Jersey , USA . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent entry of the United States into World War II , there was a shortage of aircraft carriers in the US Navy. Therefore, a plan that had been drawn up before the war was put into practice, according to which existing cruiser hulls were to be converted into aircraft carriers. On August 1, 1943, the ship USS Bataan (registration number CVL-29 ) was christened and launched . On November 17, 1943, the USS Bataan entered active service as the eighth Independence- class carrier .
- Picture gallery
Flight deck of the USS Bataan 1944
USS Bataan 1944
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commitment
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The USS Bataan was assigned to the Fast Carrier Task Force . On April 13, 1944, the carrier's aircraft participated in six air raids on Japanese troops in Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea . Fighters of the carrier claimed to have shot down two Japanese planes in Combat Air Patrols . On April 29, carrier aircraft launched attacks on Truk Atoll . In June, the ship was used in the Battle of the Mariana Islands . Attacks on the Ogasawara Islands followed on June 15 and 16 . From June 19 to June 22, the porter participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea . It took place in the Mariana Islands and was the largest porter battle in history. On June 22nd, attacks were carried out on the island of Pagan . In March 1945, the Bataan was deployed to support the Battle of Okinawa . On April 7, 1945, pilots of Grumman TBF torpedo bombers of the carrier claimed to have hit the battleship Yamato with four torpedoes during the Japanese Operation Ten-gō . Furthermore, one torpedo hit each on the light cruiser Yahagi and two destroyers are said to have been achieved. As the fighting on Okinawa continued, attacks were carried out on Kyushu and other islands on mainland Japan. One crew member was killed and 24 wounded in four Japanese air strikes on the ship. In Kamikaze -Angriffen on May 14, eight men were killed and wounded 26th
From July 1 to Victory over Japan Day on August 15, 1945, she was in service off the coast of Japan. On July 10th, attacks were carried out on airfields in the Tokyo area. Attacks on Honshu and Hokkaido took place on July 14th and 15th . On July 18, 1945, the battleship Nagato , along with carrier aircraft from other US carriers, was attacked and badly damaged by bombs. On July 24th, the carrier's planes were present during the attack on the Japanese Navy in Kure. The battleship Hyūga and 15 smaller ships were sunk during the attacks . After that, a typhoon forced the attack to pause. On August 9th the Misawa air base and on August 10th the city of Aomori were attacked. Targets in the Tokyo area were attacked again from August 13th to 15th.
Post-war deployment
On September 6, 1945, the ship drove with 549 US soldiers from Japan via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to New York City . As part of Operation Magic Carpet , the Bataan went to Naples on November 21, 1945 to bring 2,121 US soldiers from Europe to the USA. She cast off on November 29th and reached Norfolk on December 8th. This was followed by the return of 890 Italian prisoners of war to Naples by December 23. Already on December 24th, the ship with 2,089 US soldiers cast off again to reach Norfolk on January 2nd, 1946.
Korean War
The ship was in service in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. The carrier's Chance Vought F4U aircraft flew along with carrier aircraft from US and British carriers mainly providing air support to ground forces using air-to-surface missiles and bombs , including napalm bombs. Once there was an aerial battle with North Korean fighters.
On December 22, 1950, aircraft from the USS Bataan , along with aircraft from the US carrier USS Sicily and USS Badoeng Strait , flew in and around Hungnam to provide air support for ground forces. In late December, enemy troop concentrations were attacked around Seoul . In January 1951, air support was provided from the west coast of Korea. Between January 16 and 26, three of the porter's corsairs were shot down by enemy troops with small arms. Two pilots were killed. In February and March, the ship was active in attacks in the Namp'o area . At times the carrier aircraft worked together with the light cruisers USS Saint Paul and HMS Belfast . During the operations three Corsairs were shot down by enemy flak . Two of the pilots could be rescued with helicopters . On April 21, four enemy Yakovlev Jak-3 attacked two of the porter's corsairs. All four enemy planes could be shot down. On June 3, the USS Bataan moved to the USA.
On April 29, 1952, aircraft of the USS Bataan were again active in Korea. On that day, 30 attacks were carried out on supply depots, roads and railways. On May 22nd, a Corsair was shot down by flak north of Pyongyang . Two other Corsair gave fire protection with a helicopter when the pilot was rescued. On the same day, a landing Corsair fired an air-to-surface missile on the flight deck . Three members of the flight deck crew were injured when the missile exploded. The ship continued to be involved in fighting in June and July. On August 4th it drove back to the USA. San Diego was reached via Pearl Harbor on August 26th.
From February 15, 1952, the USS Bataan and the British carrier HMS Glory were in combat use off the coast of Korea. Concentrations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army south of Namp'o and in the Ongjin area were attacked from the air. Attacks on ground targets were carried out between March 7th and May 5th. On May 10, the ship moved back to San Diego.
The ship was named after the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines . During the Battle of the Philippines , Bataan was the last area where U.S. forces resisted Japanese invading forces from December 1941 to January 1942. The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) has been in service since 1988 .
Awards
The ship received the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with six Service Stars , also known as Battle Stars, and the Korean Service Medal with seven Service Stars.
Additional information
See also
literature
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch: US Navy aircraft carrier - fleet aircraft carrier / escort aircraft carrier . 3. Edition. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2001, ISBN 3-7637-6200-0 .
Web links
- USS Bataan (CVL-29) on the side of the Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project
- USS Bataan (CVL-29) on the side of Naval History and Heritage Command
