USS Lake Champlain (CV-39)

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Lake Champlain in July 1960
The Lake Champlain in July 1960
Overview
Keel laying March 15, 1943
Launch November 2, 1944
1. Period of service flag
Commissioning June 3, 1945
Decommissioning May 2, 1966
Whereabouts Wrecked in 1972
Technical specifications
displacement

27,100 tons

length

271 meters

width

28 meters

Draft

8.71 meters

crew

3,448 officers and sailors

drive

4 propellers, driven by 4 steam turbines; 150,000 hp

speed

33 knots

Armament

4 × 127 mm twin towers
24 × 127 mm single guns
28 × 40 mm quadruple flak
46 × 20 mm MK

The USS Lake Champlain (CV / CVA / CVS-39) was the Essex class belonging aircraft carriers of the US Navy , which was made in June 1945 in service. The ship was not involved in active combat missions during World War II , but became part of Operation Magic Carpet to repatriate American soldiers. From 1947 to 1952 the Lake Champlain was in the reserve fleet before it was modernized and re-commissioned as an attack carrier. The ship served in the Korean War and was involved in several space missions as a salvage ship in the 1960s. In 1966 the Lake Champlain was retired and in 1972 it was scrapped.

history

The Lake Champlain was laid on March 15, 1943 in the shipyard of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and was launched on November 2, 1944. The commissioning took place on June 3, 1945 under the command of Captain Logan Ramsey. The ship got its name from the Battle of Plattsburgh , also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain .

After test drives, the Lake Champlain took part in Operation Magic Carpet in October 1945 to repatriate US troops after the end of World War II. On November 26, 1945, the ship set a record when it sailed the Atlantic from Gibraltar to Norfolk at an average speed of 32,048 knots in just 4 days, 8 hours and 51 minutes. This record lasted almost 7 years before it was set by the United States liner in the summer of 1952 .

On February 17, 1947, Lake Champlain in Norfolk was retired and assigned to the reserve fleet. In August 1950, the Newport News Shipbuilding yard began modernizing the ship, which was put back into service on September 19, 1952 after 7 years of inactivity. As an attack vehicle, the Lake Champlain took part in operations during the Korean War.

In the following years, the ship was part of several NATO exercises in the Mediterranean. In July 1957, the Lake Champlain was reclassified again and was henceforth used as a carrier for anti-submarine defense.

During the Great Flood of Valencia in 1957 , Lake Champlain was off the coast of Mallorca for a training maneuver . The American Ambassador to Spain, John Davis Lodge , asked the ship's crew for assistance during the rescue operations. Several Sikorsky S-55 helicopters were then made available for this purpose.

In the following years, the Lake Champlain was in service for further training missions worldwide. In the 1960s, the ship took part in the recovery of several space capsules: 1961 Mercury-Redstone 3 , 1965 Gemini 2 and in the same year Gemini 5 . During the Cuban Missile Crisis , Lake Champlain was ready off the coast of Cuba.

On May 2, 1966, after almost 21 years of service, the ship was decommissioned and returned to the reserve fleet. After being deleted from the Naval Vessel Register on December 1, 1969, the Lake Champlain was sold for demolition on April 28, 1972.

Web links

Commons : USS Lake Champlain  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files