USS Monterey (CVL-26)

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USS Monterey in 1951 in the Gulf of Mexico
USS Monterey in 1951 in the Gulf of Mexico
Overview
Keel laying December 29, 1941
Launch February 28, 1943
1. Period of service flag
Commissioning June 17, 1943
September 15, 1950
Decommissioning February 11, 1947
January 16, 1956
Whereabouts Reserve fleet;
May 15, 1959: re-registration as AVT-2;
June 1, 1971: removed from NVR and sold for scrap
Technical specifications
displacement

11,000 ts ( standard )
13,000 tn.l. (Commitment)

length

189.7 m

width

21.8 m (waterline)
33.3 m (flight deck)

Draft

7.9 m

crew

1,569

drive

4 steam boilers
4 steam turbines with single gear
100,000  shaft HP on 4 propellers

speed

31.6  kn (≈59 km / h)

Range

5,800  nm (≈10,700 km) at 25 kn (≈46 km / h)

Armament

1945:
26 ×  40 mm-L / 60
8 ×  20-mm-L / 70

Planes

24 F6F Hellcat , 9 TBF Avenger

Callsign

November - Foxtrot - November - Delta

Nickname

Monty

The USS Monterey (CVL-26) (originally CV-26 ) was an American light aircraft carrier and the fifth Independence- class ship that was created by converting existing Cleveland- class cruiser hulls . As the third 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. After the outbreak of the Korean War, the Monterey was reactivated and served as a training aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Mexico. After the disastrous Hurricane Gilda , the ship provided disaster relief on the Caribbean coast of Honduras in October 1959 . Between 1943 and 1944, the future US President Gerald Ford , who almost went overboard in Typhoon Cobra , served on the Monterey .

technology

More about the technology can be found in the article on the class under Independence class

The Monterey was about 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 mainly differed from the escort aircraft carriers by its powerful propulsion system, 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 about 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 board squadron was during their active service mainly of two dozen F6F Hellcat -Jagdflugzeugen and nine torpedo bombers of the type Grumman Avenger .

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 Monterey'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

USS Monterey on the Delaware River after its commissioning

The ship was originally commissioned as the light cruiser USS Dayton (CL-78) and laid down on December 29, 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 March 21, 1942, the Dayton's fuselage was selected for conversion to an aircraft carrier.

After months of intensive renovation, the ship was re- registered as the USS Monterey (registration number CV-26) on February 28, 1943 by Mrs. PNL Bellinger, wife of Rear Adm. Patrick NL Bellinger , Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the US Navy, Adm. Ernest J. King ) baptized and launched . The name recalls the Battle of Monterrey in the Mexican-American War between September 21 and 24, 1846 , which was won by the American forces under Zachary Taylor . 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 on June 17, 1943 as the fifth carrier of the Independence class.

Gilbert and Marshall Islands

Monterey (right) during the Gilbert Operations November 12, 1943. USS Alabama (BB-60) (left) and USS Indiana (BB-58) in the background.

On July 15, 1943, 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 Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and USS Cowpens ( CVL-25). After numerous training trips off the east coast and in the Caribbean, the Monterey relocated to the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal .

During its first combat mission, the Monterey took part in the Gilbert Island operations , where it acted within the large task force 50 group . In Rear Adm. Arthur W. Radfords Task Group 50.2, which also includes the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), 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) were assigned, the association left the US naval base on Pearl Harbor on November 10, 1943. The next few days followed air strikes on strategic Japanese positions in the operational area and direct fire support for the invasion of the Makin Atoll, which began on November 19 . The Monterey remained, among other things, with the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) in Rear Admiral Frederick "Ted" Shermans TG 50.4 in the area of ​​operation, before she and the USS Bunker Hill and six battleships and seven other destroyers, RAdm. Willis A. Lees TG 50.8 was assigned. This unit bombed Nauru on December 8th to distract attention from the upcoming Marshall operations and arrived at the naval base on Espiritu Santo four days later . There the Monterey was together with USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), USS Washington (BB-56), USS Charrette (DD-581), USS Conner (DD-582), USS Bell (DD-587), USS Bradford ( DD-545), USS Brown (DD-546) and USS Cowell (DD-547) "Ted" Shermans TG 37.2 assigned. On December 21, the fleet left Espiritu Santo and attacked the Japanese air and naval bases on Kavieng four days later and again on January 1 and 4 .

Thereafter, the Monterey Admiral Marc A. Mitschers TF 58 was assigned for the upcoming invasion of the Marshall Islands . Specifically, the ship was assigned to Rear Admiral "Ted" Shermans TG 58.3, which again included the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), the USS Cowpens (CVL-25), the newer battleships USS Iowa (BB-61) and USS New Jersey (BB-62) as well as the USS Wichita (CA-45) belonged. On January 16, 1944, the fleet left Pearl Harbor and carried out air strikes against Kwajalein , Eniwetok and Engebi in late January and early February . On February 3, TG 58.3 entered the previously conquered Majuro Atoll and a week later, like TG 58.1 (Rear Admiral John W. Reeves ) and TG 58.2 (Rear Admiral Albert E. Montgomery ), were used in the upcoming operation Hailstone chosen. In this series of massive air strikes on February 16 and 17 on the Japanese naval and air force base on the Karolinen- Atoll Truk , around 50 ships and over 200 fighter planes were destroyed. This event went down in history as the "Japanese Pearl Harbor". After a stopover in Majuro Atoll, the Monterey arrived in Pearl Harbor on February 25th.

Mariana Islands

Monterey maneuvering to pick up their carrier aircraft in the Bismarck Sea, March 1944. The photo was taken by the escort aircraft carrier USS Santee (CVE-29). The bow of the destroyer USS Erben (DD-631) can also be seen.

There she was subordinated to TG 58.2 of Rear Admiral Albert Montgomery, who also included the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Cabot (CVL-28) and USS San Francisco (CA-38) ) were subject. The unit left Hawaii in mid-March and attacked Japanese strategic positions on the Palau Islands between March 28 and April 1 . A few days later, TG 58.2 left Monterey , USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Cabot (CVL-28), USS San Francisco (CA-38), USS Wichita (CA -45) and about ten destroyers as escort to the Marshall Islands on New Guinea . There, towards the end of the month, the association supported General Robert Eichelberger's army units with the landings on the islands of Sawar and Wakde and at Hollandia in northern New Guinea. On the way back to Majuro there was a second air raid on Truk, with the Monterey carrier aircraft on April 30th together with the destroyers USS Macdonough (DD-351) and USS Stephen Potter (DD-538) at position 6 ° 13 ′  N , 151 ° 19 '  O the Japanese submarine RO-45 could sink.

A Hellcat fighter plane took off during the Mariana Islands operations in June 1944

For the upcoming invasion of the Mariana Islands , the Monterey was in turn assigned to Rear Admiral Alfred Montgomery TG 58.2, which also carries the aircraft carriers USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Franklin (CV-13) and the Sister ship USS Cabot (CVL-28), which included cruisers USS Santa Fe (CL-60), USS Mobile (CL-63), USS Biloxi (CL-80) and USS San Juan (CL-54) and numerous destroyers. On June 6, 1944, the fleet lifted its anchor in the Majuro Atoll and set course for the Mariana Islands . A few days later, the association attacked the island of Guam, which was occupied by Japanese troops, and provided direct fire support for the landings on Saipan . After the sighting of a Japanese fleet under Admiral Ozawa , which was heading for the Mariana Islands from the northwest, the US commander Admiral Raymond Spruance ordered his fleet to withdraw from its actual missions and joined the Japanese in the naval battle in the Philippine Sea (June 19 and 20 ), which the Allies could win. The Monterey remained with her formation in the area and was ordered to Eniwetok on June 23, where Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison took command of the newly formed task group. A few days later, the association drove to the Bonin Archipelago, south of the main Japanese islands , where air strikes were carried out on strategic fortifications on Chichi Jima , Hahajima and Iwojima in early July .

Philippines and Typhoon Cobra

Monterey at anchor in Ulithi Atoll on November 24, 1944

The Monterey then drove to Pearl Harbor, where it underwent a necessary overhaul in dry dock before it was able to set sail again on August 29. Rear Admiral AE Smiths TG 12.5 with the cruisers USS Pensacola (CA-24), USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), USS Chester (CA-27) and the destroyer USS Cummings (DD-365), USS Reid (DD- 369) and USS Dunlap (DD-384), the unit bombed Wake Island in the central Pacific, which was occupied by Japanese troops on September 3, 1944 . A few days later, the Monterey met the Fast Carrier Task Force again in Eniwetok , where it was assigned to TG 38.1 ( Vice Admiral John McCain senior ) (including the carriers USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Hornet (CV-12 ), USS Hancock (CV-19)).

Attacks on the Palau archipelago followed in preparation for the landings on Peleliu and Angaur , which will take off there in mid-September . Attacks on strategic positions on the Philippines islands of Mindanao , Visayas , Cebu and Negros were followed by air strikes on the island of Morotai , part of the Moluccas (in what is now Indonesia ) , where it supported the invasion that began on September 15 . Then, from September 20, the association attacked targets on Luzon and Japanese ships in Manila Bay and the former US Army airfields Nichols Field and Clark Field . After replenishing the fuel and provisions supplies on the island of Manus , north of New Guinea, the fleet turned to the Ryūkyū Islands (including Okinawa ) and Formosa (now Taiwan), where they caused serious damage to airports and ports caused. From October 18, the Philippines turned back and air strikes on Japanese positions in the greater Manila area intensified. After monitoring the landing of General Walter Krueger's 6th US Army on the Philippine island of Leyte , which began two days later , TG 38.1 was ordered to the advanced naval base on the Ulithi Atoll on October 22 to pick up the necessary supplies.

On October 24, a strong Japanese fleet coming from the north was sighted, which forced Admiral William F. Halsey , the commander of Task Force 38, to oppose the Japanese with all available forces (TG 38.2-4). The ensuing battle, however, was a diversionary maneuver, as two other enemy naval formations were heading from two sides towards the invasion fleet anchored in the Gulf of Leyte . The Monterey Association immediately turned around, rushed to the aid of the beleaguered fleet and on October 25th and 26th helped defend Admiral Kurita's cruiser and battleship fleet (→ Sea and Air Battle in the Gulf of Leyte ). Finally, TG 38.1 was able to enter Ulithi on October 30th. The next few weeks the attacks against strategic Japanese positions in the Philippines with a focus on Luzon continued and the landings on Mindoro were supported.

On December 18, the fleet was surprised by Typhoon Cobra . Due to its structural deficiencies , the Monterey rolled heavily in the sea , which was lashed by hurricane gusts (for more on this see chapter "US President Gerald Ford and the USS Monterey" ). In the end, the typhoon claimed 793 lives in the United States and lost three destroyers and approximately 150 aircraft.

The damaged Monterey left the fleet and entered Ulithi on December 21. After crossing to the US west coast, the aircraft carrier was repaired over the next few weeks at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton , Washington state .

Okinawa and main Japanese islands

The Monterey rejoined the Fast Carrier Task Force in early May 1945 and was assigned to Rear Admiral Frederick C. Shermans TG 58.3, which also temporarily carried the carriers USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Randolph ( CV-15) and sister ships USS Langley (CVL-27) and USS Bataan (CVL-29) sailed. The association spent the entire month around the hotly contested island of Okinawa, which has been hotly contested since the end of March, and provided direct fire support to the ground troops there. During this time, the US fleet was exposed to heavy Japanese air strikes, in which numerous kamikaze planes were used. On May 11, two self-sacrificed aviators hit the USS Bunker Hill in just one minute and put it out of action for several weeks. At the beginning of June, the association to which the Monterey belonged was renamed Task Force 38 and intensified air strikes on the Japanese main island of Kyushu . On June 10, the association was ordered to Leyte to collect the necessary provisions and fuel and to prepare for the upcoming massive attacks against Japan.

In early July, the Monterey stabbed Rear Adm. Gerald Bogans TG 38.3 together with the ships USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), USS Essex (CV-9), USS Randolph (CV-15), USS Bataan (CVL-29), and USS North Carolina (BB-55), USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Oakland (CL-95), USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103), USS Pasadena (CL-65), USS Springfield (CL-66), USS Astoria (CL-90) and a dozen destroyers at sea and attacked Tokyo on July 10 . The coming days followed air strikes on industrial centers, airfields and docks on the islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō and, from the end of July, on shipping in the Japanese inland sea and large cities such as Nagoya , Kure and Osaka . After the surrender on August 15, 1945 , more reconnaissance and surveillance flights were carried out over Japan. a. looked for POW camps .

Post war and second career

The Monterey left Japanese waters on September 7th and arrived in New York City via the Panama Canal on October 17th , where she and US President Harry Truman attended the Navy Day celebrations ten days later . She then visited Europe for the first time and drove back and forth several times between Naples, Italy and Norfolk , Virginia on the occasion of the home transport of US troops as part of Operation Magic Carpet . On February 11, 1947, the Monterey was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in the US state of Pennsylvania and placed under the US reserve fleet .

The crew of the Monterey formed the lettering "Mardi Gras 1953" on the flight deck during a training run in the Gulf of Mexico on January 29, 1953. Note the distant anti-aircraft guns.

With the outbreak of the Korean War at the end of June 1950, the Monterey was put back into active service on September 15, repaired in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and modernized accordingly. On January 3, 1951, she left the east coast for the Gulf of Mexico , where she served for the next few years from the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida as a training aircraft carrier, on which hundreds of aspiring marine pilots completed their first landings and take-offs on an aircraft carrier. Up to 477 landings on the carrier were registered on intensive training days. Between October 1 and October 11, 1954, Monterey provided disaster relief on the north coast of Honduras, which was flooded by Hurricane Gilda . With helicopters and medical personnel on board, the ship arrived in the port city of Puerto Cortez . The operation saved numerous lives and the outbreak of cholera in San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortez was combated. On June 9, 1955, the Monterey left Pensacola and was placed in the reserve fleet in Philadelphia, where it was taken out of service on the following January 16. On May 15, 1959, the ship was renamed the aircraft transport ship with registration number AVT-2 , but was never used in this new task. The Monterey remained in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard until June 1, 1971, when it was removed from the Naval Vessel Register and sold for scrapping.

For its service in World War II, the USS Monterey received eleven Battle Stars and was awarded the American Campaign Medal , Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal , World War II Victory Medal , Philippine Presidential Unit Citation , Philippine Liberation Medal , Navy Occupation Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal (Korea) awarded.

US President Gerald Ford and the USS Monterey

Lieutenant Gerald R. Ford (seated, 2nd from right) with other officers of the USS Monterey on October 24, 1943
Basketball game in the forward flight deck elevator June 1944. Gerald Ford jumps for the ball (left).

The future 38th President of the United States , Gerald Ford , was inducted into the US Navy Reserve with the rank of Ensign on April 13, 1942 and transferred to active service a week later. From then on, he worked at the Navy Preflight School in Chapel Hill , North Carolina before applying for naval command in May 1943. The now lieutenant (lieutenant captain) Ford was appointed to the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey, where he found service in the pre-service detachment of the USS Monterey (CVL-26). After the light aircraft carrier went into service in mid-June, he served as deputy navigation , sports and air defense officer on board this ship.

In the early morning of Dec. 18, 1944, Ford had from midnight to 4 am watch on the bridge , as the Monterey the first foothills of Typhoon Cobra was made to feel. Heavy rain and waves up to 21 m high as well as wind peaks of 60 kn (~ 111 km / h) were the usual conditions during these hours that Ford had never seen during his previous service. After his watch he went to his cabin and went to sleep before the alarm siren woke him up a few hours later. The commanding officer of the Monterey , Captain Stuart Ingersoll, immediately ordered the crew to go to their stations, whereupon Ford also went to the bridge. As he was about to climb the ladder to the bridge, the ship was hit on the starboard side by a 20 m breaker which tilted the aircraft carrier about 25 ° to port . Ford lost his footing, skidded over the sloping, slippery flight deck, and was barely able to hold on to the port rail before he was thrown into the rough seas. After the ship rolled back, Ford was able to get to the navigating bridge via the flight deck. At this point the aircraft, which were firmly lashed to the hangar deck, had loosened from their anchorages and slid over the deck with every movement of the ship. An aircraft's fuel tank that leaked in the process ignited and started a violent fire that threatened to spread to the other levels of the ship via the ventilation shafts.

Due to the extent of the fire, the commanding officer of the task force, Admiral William Halsey , ordered the Monterey to be abandoned and the crew to be brought to safety. But Captain Ingersoll disagreed, believing he could put out the fires, and entrusted Lieutenant Ford with the task. For the next few hours, Ford led a fire-fighting team that finally managed to get the fires under control.

Lieutenant Ford left Monterey, anchored in Ulithi Atoll, a few days later on Christmas Eve and was ordered to the Navy Pre-Flight School at St. Mary's College in Moraga , California . After further posts, Ford's active naval career ended on February 23, 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander . In June 1963 he finally left the reserve.

Commanding officers

USS Monterey
Rank Surname Beginning of the appointment End of appointment
Captain Lester T. Hundt June 14, 1943 April 10, 1944
Captain Stuart H. Ingersoll April 10, 1944 January 28, 1945
Commander Frank B. Miller a) January 28, 1945 March 20, 1945
Captain John B. Lyons March 20, 1945 February 11, 1946

a) : during the repairs in Bremerton

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : USS Monterey (CVL-26)  - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CVL Radio & Flag Call Signals. In: ninesisters.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013 ; Retrieved March 3, 2008 .
  2. ^ Owen Gault: Saga of The Sundowners: The Independence-Class Light Carriers . 2005, p. 5 ( findarticles.com [accessed March 3, 2008]).
  3. ↑ CVL-26 Monterey - WW II combat actions. In: pacific.valka.cz. Retrieved March 18, 2008 .
  4. ↑ HIJMS Submarine RO-45. In: combinedfleet.com. Retrieved March 18, 2008 .
  5. ↑ a b USS Monterey. In: morristown.org. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; Retrieved March 21, 2008 .
  6. ↑ USS Monterey (CV-26). In: navsource.org. Retrieved March 21, 2008 .
  7. ↑ USS Monterey (CV-26) - Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons. In: navsource.org. Retrieved March 21, 2008 .
  8. ^ Ford and USS Monterey (CVL-26). In: ninesisters.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008 ; Retrieved March 20, 2008 .
  9. ^ Robert Drury, Tom Clavin: How Lieutenant Ford Saved His Ship . December 28, 2006 ( nytimes.com [accessed March 20, 2008]).
  10. ^ USS Monterey (CV-26) - Commanding Officers. In: navsource.org. Retrieved March 21, 2008 .