USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)
_underway_on_22_December_1943_(NH_97269).jpg) USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | February 16, 1942 |
| Keel laying | August 11, 1941 |
| Launch | December 6, 1942 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | March 31, 1943 |
| Decommissioning | January 13, 1947 |
| Whereabouts | Reserve fleet |
| 2. Period of service |
|
| Commissioning | December 23, 1953 |
| Decommissioning | September 12, 1960 |
| Whereabouts | scrapped |
| 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 |
1943: |
| Planes |
24 F6F Hellcat , 9 TBF Avenger |
| Callsign |
November - Foxtrot - Golf - November |
The USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) (originally CV-24 ) was an American light aircraft carrier and the third Independence- class ship that was created by converting existing Cleveland- class cruiser hulls . As the first ship with this name in the United States Navy , it performed its service in the Pacific theater of the Second World War and was transferred to the reserve fleet after the end of the war. From 1953 to 1960 the Belleau Wood served as Bois Belleau in the French Navy and took part in the Indochina and Algerian Wars. Belleau Wood aircraft fired the last shots in World War II.
technology
More about the technology can be found in the article on the class under Independence class .
The Belleau Wood was around 190 meters long and over 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 for the more massive superstructures, which it was hoped would considerably 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 these mainly in its powerful drive, which meant that its range of applications was similar to that of the large fleet aircraft carriers. 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 .
The rectangular flight deck common at the time was approximately 174 meters long and 22.3 meters wide and had two deck elevators and a catapult . The island had to be kept small for reasons of stability, so that a single, integrated chimney was dispensed with and four smaller ones were attached separately instead. This striking structure only accommodated the navigating bridge , while the operations center was located below the flight deck. The airborne squadron consisted mainly of two dozen F6F Hellcat fighters and nine Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers during their active service time .
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 Belleau Wood'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.
In the service of the French Navy, the air group consisted of Avengers and mainly Chance Vought Corsair fighter bombers. In addition to more modern versions of the aforementioned US radar systems, the Bois Belleau was later retrofitted with the French DRBV 22 .
Service in the US Navy
Construction and commissioning
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The ship was originally commissioned as a light cruiser New Haven (CL-76) in September 1940 and laid down on August 11, 1941 at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation 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. As a result, in January 1942 a plan that had been drawn up before the war was put into practice, according to which the existing cruiser hulls were to be converted into aircraft carriers. On February 16, 1942, the New Haven's fuselage was selected for conversion to an aircraft carrier.
After months of intensive renovation, the ship was christened and launched as USS Belleau Wood (registration number CV-24 ) on December 6, 1942 by Mrs. Beatrice Miller Clover, wife of the then Commandant of the Marine Corps , Thomas Holcomb . The name recalls the battle in the Belleau Forest in June 1918 as part of the German spring offensive during the First World War . With the completion of the last construction work, the ship was transferred to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and, after further refitting, put into active service there on March 31, 1943 as the third carrier of the Independence class.
Baker and Wake
After completing the last test and training trips in the Caribbean , the Belleau Wood moved via the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean, where it arrived in Pearl Harbor on July 26, 1943 . Previously, on July 15, she was re-registered as a light aircraft carrier (ID CVL ), which was also carried out by her sister ships USS Independence (CVL-22), USS Princeton (CVL-23), USS Cowpens (CVL-25) and USS Monterey (CVL) -26) concerned. There she met Rear Admiral Willis A. Lee's Task Force 11 (TF 11) on the 25th of the month and was assigned to Task Group 11.2 (TG 11.2). In addition to her sister ship USS Princeton (CVL-23), this association also included the destroyers USS Spence (DD-512), USS Trathen (DD-530), USS Boyd (DD-544) and USS Bradford (DD-545) as well as two Transport ships. In the first week of September, the association provided air security during the occupation and construction of the airfield on Baker Island and Howland Island . During this security task, the Belleau Wood crossed the equator a few kilometers to the south 32 times. After a short stay in Pearl Harbor, the Belleau Wood, together with the sister ship USS Princeton (CVL-23) and the fleet carrier USS Lexington (CV-16), was placed under Rear Adm. Charles A. Pownalls TF 50 on September 18 and 19 Attacked Japanese positions on Makin and Tarawa Atolls. Thereafter, the Belleau Wood was part of the 33 ships, TF 14 under Rear Admiral Albert E. Montgomery , which carried out a two-day air strike against Wake from October 5 . Well-known ships of this force included the aircraft carriers USS Essex (CV-9), USS Lexington (CV-16), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Independence (CVL-22) and USS Cowpens (CVL-25).
Operations Galvanic to Hailstone
After refreshing fuel, ammunition and provisions in Hawaii, the Belleau Wood took part in the Gilbert Island operations , where it acted within the TF 50 large association. Together with the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Monterey (CVL-26) as well as the battleships USS Indiana (BB-58) and USS North Carolina (BB-55) and the destroyers USS Radford (DD-446), USS Jenkins (DD-447) and USS Brown (DD-546) supported the Belleau Wood under Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford (commander of TG 50.2) the landings on the Makin Atoll, which ended on November 24th after several days of fighting . During and after this time, the association was exposed to several Japanese air raids, with the Belleau Wood being spared the enemy torpedoes and bombs. After a relaxing turn of the year in Hawaii, she was placed under TG 58.1 of Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58 , which was entrusted with carrying out the amphibious landings on the Marshall Islands . In addition to the Belleau Wood , the task force also included the carriers Enterprise and USS Yorktown (CV-10), the cruisers USS Santa Fe (CL-60), USS Mobile (CL-63), USS Biloxi (CL-80) and USS Oakland ( CL-95) as well as the destroyers USS Cotten (DD-669), USS Dortch (DD-670), USS Gatling (DD-671) and USS Ingersoll (DD-652). Most of the entire force left Pearl Harbor on January 16 and attacked strategic targets. TG 58.1 bombed the Japanese airfield on the Maloelap Atoll , among other things , before there was direct fire support for the invasion of Kwajalein , which began on January 31 . After just a few days, the fighting on the atoll could be declared over, so that the task force of the Belleau Wood could take supplies and fuel in the nearby and safe Majuro Atoll .
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After a few days of rest, TG 58.1 and TG 58.2 (aircraft carriers USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Essex (CV-9) and USS Cabot (CVL-28)) and TG 58.3 ( USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), USS Monterey (CVL-26) and USS Cowpens (CVL-25) launched a massive air strike against the Japanese naval and air base on the Caroline Atoll Truk as part of Operation Hailstone . During the two-day bombardment by their carrier aircraft, over 30 Japanese cruisers, destroyers and transport ships were sunk, and over 200 aircraft were destroyed or damaged. A few days later, on February 21 and 22, 1944, the fleet attacked the Mariana Islands to the north in order to prepare the landing operations planned for June. The focus of this action was on the islands of Saipan , Tinian , Rota and Guam . The Japanese counterattack on the US fleet that followed on February 22nd could be repulsed, whereby the carrier aircraft of the TG 58.1 were able to shoot down more than 200 enemy combat aircraft with 45 losses of their own.
After resting for a few days on the Majuro Atoll, the Belleau Wood headed south and met a larger fleet at Espiritu Santo on March 7th . In the coming weeks, the association's carrier aircraft launched attacks against Japanese posts in the western Caroline Islands and the Palau Islands. On March 30, 31 ships were sunk and 18 ships damaged on Palau, while over 200 Japanese planes were destroyed. The Belleau Wood fighter planes contributed to this statistic with three shot down and two damaged aircraft as well as the sinking of a cargo ship and a mine-layer. Other destinations were Ngulu , Ulithi , Yap and Woleai . Under Rear Admiral Joseph "Jocko" Clarks TG 58.1 and in association with the naval carrier USS Hornet (CV-12), the sister ships USS Cowpens (CVL-25) and USS Bataan (CV-29), the battleship USS New Jersey (BB- 62) and among others the cruisers USS San Juan (CL-54), USS Santa Fe (CL-60), USS Mobile (CL-63) and USS Oakland (CL-95) supported the Belleau Wood in mid-April General Douglas MacArthur's army units during the landings on the islands of Sawar and Wakde and at Hollandia in northern New Guinea . On the way back to Kwajalein, there was a second attack on Truk and on May 1st on the Caroline Island of Ponape .
Mariana Islands
Operation Forager , scheduled for mid-June, was to be carried out by Admiral Raymond Spruance's 5th US Fleet , which was under Mitscher's Task Force. Like the entire fleet, TG 58.1 was also reinforced, including a. with the fleet carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) instead of the USS Cowpens (CVL-25) and the heavy cruisers USS Baltimore (CA-68), USS Boston (CA-69) and USS Canberra (CA-70). The force, comprising 15 aircraft carriers, left its assembly point at Majuro Atoll on June 6 and opened the battle for the Mariana Islands four days later. After air strikes against Japanese positions on the islands of Guam and Rota, four task groups, including the Belleau Wood Association , were sent north to attack Japanese airfields and ports on the Bonin Islands of Haha Jima , Chichi Jima and Iwojima . The US fleet was ordered back because an enemy task force under Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa was on the way to the Mariana Islands to destroy the Allies. During the battle in the Philippine Sea , which lasted from June 19 to 20, three Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk, including the Hiyō by four Avengers of Belleau Wood and other ships. Because the Japanese had to cope with the loss of more than 450 of their fighter planes, this battle was also known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot ("The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot "). The Belleau Wood supported the fierce fighting on Saipan and Tinian for the days that followed and returned to the Bonins again. Towards the end of the month she was ordered to Pearl Harbor and has therefore been able to cross US waters again for over a year.
After an overhaul in dry dock from June 29 to July 31, the Belleau Wood returned to the embattled Mariana Islands. Together with the USS Essex (CV-9), USS Langley (CVL-27) and u. a. The battleships USS Indiana (BB-58), USS Alabama (BB-60), USS Iowa (BB-61) and USS New Jersey (BB-62) formed TG 58.4 under Rear Adm. William Harrill and gave direct fire support in the last Phase of the battle on the still contested island of Guam. After the fighting ended, the fleet moved to Eniwetok , where it was regrouped for the upcoming Palau and Philippines operations.
Philippines
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The Belleau Wood was subordinated to Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's 3rd US Fleet and stood next to the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6), the newer USS Franklin (CV-13) and the sister ship USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) in Rear Adm. Ralph E. Davisons TG 38.4. The fleet consisting of four task groups left Eniwetok on August 29, 1944 in the direction of Palau. The Belleau Wood ship made a detour via the Bonin Islands to bomb Japanese airfields and ports again there before reaching the Palau archipelago. After attacks against the islands of Cebu , Negros and Zamboanga , among others , their carrier aircraft supported the invasion of Peleliu , which began on September 15 , before TG 38.4 was ordered to Manus to bunker supplies. On September 25, the fleet left the Admiralty Islands and bombed strategic targets on the Ryūkyū Islands , including the main island of Okinawa , as well as on Formosa (today's Taiwan) and Luzon from October 10th . The Belleau Wood was able to repel a total of 47 Japanese air raids on the night of October 12th to 13th. Task Groups 38.1 and 38.4 were located east of the Gulf of Leyte and gave direct air support to the invasion of Leyte Island in the Philippines, which began on October 20 , while the other two Task Groups carried out air strikes on strategic Japanese positions in the rest of the Philippines. On October 24, land-based Allied reconnaissance aircraft sighted a Japanese fleet of four aircraft carriers about 200 nm north of Luzon and traveling south. Admiral Halsey immediately ordered all available ships of his task force north to intercept the enemy fleet. In a sea battle lasting several hours, the US carrier aircraft sank all four Japanese aircraft carriers the following day, including the Zuikaku , the last of the six carriers involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, the invasion fleet was attacked by Admiral Takeo Kurita's battleship fleet, which had approached the night before through the San Bernardino Strait north of the Leyte Gulf . Halsey's TF 38 was rushed back to aid Rear Adm. Clifton Sprague's defending escort aircraft carriers and destroyers. Although the Japanese fleet was stronger in terms of firepower, it withdrew after a few hours, so that the carrier aircraft of the Belleau Wood on October 26th could only sink three previously damaged enemy cruisers.
The TG 38.4 took up position east of Leyte again the following days and was able to move on the 28th together with the destroyers USS Gridley (DD-380) and USS Helm (DD-388) at position 10 ° 56 ' N , 127 ° 13' E sink the Japanese submarine I-46 . Two days later, the Belleau Wood formation was 90 nm east on patrol when Japanese fighter planes attacked. A kamikaze managed to hit the flight deck of the naval carrier USS Franklin (CV-13). Shortly afterwards, another Japanese plane started to attack the burning Franklin . When its bombs missed the carrier, it took course for the Belleau Wood and could not be shot down by the anti-aircraft defense. It broke through the aft flight deck, where Hellcat fighter planes and Avenger torpedo bombers were being prepared for take-off, and started a fire that took hours to extinguish. The attack severely damaged the flight deck of the Belleau Wood and claimed 92 lives. Together with the equally badly damaged USS Franklin (CV-13), the two aircraft carriers were escorted to Ulithi , where the damage was classified as too severe to be repaired on this base. The Belleau Wood was able to head for the west coast on its own and reached the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on November 29th .
Air raids on the main Japanese islands
After completion of the repairs, the Belleau Wood was able to leave California on January 20, 1945 and ran with the new fleet carrier USS Randolph (CV-15) to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived six days later. Three days later she left Hawaii with four other aircraft carriers and among others the new large cruiser USS Alaska (CB-1) with destination Ulithi. There, Belleau Wood was placed under Task Group 58.1 of Rear Adm. Joseph Clark, who also included the Essex-class aircraft carriers USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Wasp (CV-18) and USS Bennington (CV-20). Task Force 58 left the Caroline Islands on February 10, heading north to conduct the first Allied air strike on Tokyo since the Doolittle Raid of April 1942 as part of Operation Jamboree . Other targets were again the Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands with an emphasis on supporting the invasion of Iwojima . After the fuel, provisions and ammunition supplies on the Ulithi Atoll were replenished, with the Belleau Wood fleet being supplemented by its sister ship USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), further air strikes against the main Japanese islands as well as preparatory attacks and finally support followed Operation Iceberg , which begins April 1 , is the Allied landing on Okinawa. In the course of this task, carrier aircraft of the Belleau Wood were able to sink a Japanese convoy , consisting of three transport ships and among other three destroyers, about 200 nm northwest of Okinawa on March 24th . In a time marked by Japanese kamikaze attacks, further air strikes were mainly concentrated on the main islands of Kyūshū , Shikoku and Honshū , where airfields and ports, etc. a. Kure and Kobe , victims of Allied air raids. After a reorganization on May 27, whereby the TF 58 was renamed again to TF 38, the operations continued as before. On June 4, the Belleau Wood, like other ships in its fleet, was only slightly damaged by Typhoon Connie ( 22 ° 45 ′ 0 ″ N , 132 ° 10 ′ 0 ″ E ). A week later, Operation Iceberg could be declared over, and the Belleau Wood entered the Gulf of Leyte to allow the crew a well-deserved shore leave.
After completing minor repair work on the ship and after intensive training by the new Air Group 31 , the Belleau Wood was able to leave the Philippines on July 1st. Together with the sister ship USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) and the fleet carriers USS Bennington (CV-20), USS Hancock (CV-19) and USS Lexington (CV-16) as well as the battleships USS Indiana (BB-58), USS Massachusetts (BB-59) and USS Alabama (BB-60), five cruisers and 21 destroyers in Rear Adm. Thomas Spragues TG 38.1 of the TF 38, commanded by Vice Adm. John "Slew" McCains , was again heading for Japan. In the weeks up to the truce announced on August 15, 1945, the focus of the attacks on airfields and naval bases was on Honshū and the main northern island of Hokkaido, which had been largely spared by Allied air raids . On that day, Ensign Clarence "Bill" A. Moore , a pilot of the Belleau Wood VF-31 fighter squadron , shot down a Japanese Judy dive bomber . This shooting is considered to be the last of the Pacific War and thus of the entire Second World War.
post war period
After the formal surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay , the aircraft of the Belleau Wood took part in a mass overflight of Allied naval aircraft. She left Japanese waters on October 13 and entered Pearl Harbor two weeks later . As early as October 31, the Belleau Wood set out with a further 1248 soldiers on board for San Diego on her first voyage as part of Operation Magic Carpet . Until the end of January 1946, the aircraft carrier shuttled between Saipan / Guam and San Diego to bring more American soldiers home. The Belleau Wood spent the next few months in numerous ports on the US west coast before it was officially taken out of service on January 13, 1947 at Naval Air Station Alameda , San Francisco Bay .
During her service in the United States Navy, the Belleau Wood covered a distance of 216,682 nm (~ 401,295 km) and was awarded twelve Battle Stars and a Presidential Unit Citation . The total of four air groups on board the carrier sank twelve heavy and 36 light enemy warships and caused 83 further damage. A total of 502 Japanese fighter planes shot down in aerial combat or destroyed on the ground were recorded.
Service in the French Navy
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The Belleau Wood remained in the reserve fleet until it was handed over to France on September 5, 1953 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act . After repair and modernization work at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on the US east coast, the ship was put into active service in the French Navy on December 23 as Bois Belleau (R97) . After installing French electronics, the aircraft carrier left Toulon for French Indochina in April 1954 to replace the aircraft carrier Arromanches (R 95) (former HMS Colossus ), which took part in the Indochina War . On May 20, the Bois Belleau drove into Halong Bay , whereby its carrier aircraft could no longer intervene in the already lost battle of Điện Biên Phủ . Up until the official end of the war on July 21, their carrier aircraft were flying mainly attacks against the Viet Minh in the north and in the greater Huế and Dong Hoi areas . Subsequently, the Bois Belleau evacuated around 6000 civilians from what was then North Vietnam to Cam Ranh and Tourane in what was then South Vietnam by September . On December 16, she returned to Toulon.
The following year participated in the Bois Belleau the Algerian war and in numerous maneuvers of NATO . In the last few months before its final decommissioning, it transported a total of 296 aircraft intended for the Armée de l'air from Norfolk to Brest and Saint-Nazaire . In the seven years in the service of the Marine nationale française, she has covered a total of 183,216 nm (~ 339,316 km).
The Bois Belleau was returned to the United States on September 12, 1960 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , the site of its first commissioning, and was removed from the Naval Vessel Register by the US Navy on October 1 . On November 21, 1960, the Belleau Wood was sold to the Boston Metals Company for scrapping.
Commanding officers
| Rank | Surname | Beginning of the appointment | End of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | AM Pride | January 4, 1943 | April 12, 1944 |
| Captain | John A. Perry | April 12, 1944 | January 26, 1945 |
| Captain | Tomlinson flat share | January 26, 1945 | December 15, 1945 |
| Captain | John B. Moss | December 15, 1945 | 1946 |
| Rank | Surname | Beginning of the appointment | End of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea captain | Louis Mornu | 5th September 1953 | 7th August 1954 |
| Frigate captain | Raymond Rouméas | 7th August 1954 | 5th September 1954 |
| Sea captain | André Menvielle | 5th September 1954 | May 19, 1956 |
| Sea captain | Jacques Traub | May 19, 1956 | October 31, 1957 |
| Sea captain | Philippe de Scitivaux de Greische | October 31, 1957 | November 19, 1958 |
| Sea captain | Henri Pacaud | November 19, 1958 | October 1, 1959 |
| Sea captain | Pierre Hurbin | October 1, 1959 | September 12, 1960 |
Additional information
See also
- USS Belleau Wood , for other ships of that name
- List of historical aircraft carriers
- List of US Navy aircraft carriers
literature
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch : US Navy aircraft carrier - fleet aircraft carrier / escort aircraft carrier . 3. Edition. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 2001, ISBN 3-7637-6200-0 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b CVL-24 Belleau Wood. In: pacific.valka.cz. Retrieved February 17, 2008 .
- ^ Air Group 31. Retrieved February 17, 2008 .
- ↑ www.netmarine.net. Retrieved February 17, 2008 .
- ^ USS Belleau Wood Association of Shipmates. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 10, 2004 ; Retrieved February 19, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ www.netmarine.net. Retrieved February 19, 2008 .
Web links
- Photos of Belleau Wood (CVL-24) to the Naval Historical Center (English)
- USS Belleau Wood Association of Shipmates (English)
- Article about the USS Belleau Wood after the Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project (English)
- Air Group 31 (CAG-31) aboard USS Belleau Wood (English)
- USS Belleau Wood as Bois Belleau R97 in the French Navy (French)
- Bois Belleau in the port of Toulon (video)
- Arrival in French Indochina (video)
