USS Princeton (CVL-23)

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The USS Princeton
period of service US Naval Jack
Order: February 16, 1942
Keel laying: June 2, 1941
Launch: October 18, 1942
Commissioning: February 25, 1943
Whereabouts: Sunk on October 24, 1944 in the sea ​​battle in the Gulf of Leyte
Technical specifications
Displacement: 11,000 ts ( standard )
13,000 ts (use)
Length: 189.7 m
Width: 21.8 m (waterline)
33.3 m (flight deck)
Height: 14 m (flight deck)
20.7 m (bridge)
35.7 m (mast)
Draft: 7.9 m
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)
Crew: 1569
Armament: April 1943:
2 x 12.7 cm-L / 38
18 x 40 mm-L / 60
4 x 20-mm-L / 70
Airplanes: 24 F6F Hellcat , 9 TBF Avenger
Call sign: NFDC
Nickname: Peerless P

The USS Princeton (CVL-23) (originally CV-23 ) was an American light aircraft carrier and the second Independence- class ship that was created by converting existing Cleveland- class cruiser hulls . USS Princeton was the fourth ship with that name in the United States Navy . The ship was used in the Pacific theater of the Second World War and sank on October 24, 1944 as a result of a Japanese air raid.

technology

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

The USS Princeton was about 190 meters long and over 33 meters wide and had an operational displacement of 13,000  tn.l. 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 superstructure. The engineers hoped that by widening the hull they would be able to reduce the top-heaviness considerably. All constructive measures never solved this problem satisfactorily. The USS Princeton , as an Independence-class carrier, only slightly larger than the escort aircraft carrier , differed from them in its powerful propulsion. For this reason, it could be used in a similar way to a large fleet aircraft carrier. The 100,000 hp machine system, identical in construction to the cruisers,  drove four propellers . The top speed was 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. For this reason there were four smaller chimneys instead of one large one. The island was the only navigating bridge . The operations center was below the flight deck. The airborne squadron consisted mainly of two dozen F6F Hellcat fighters and nine Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers when deployed to war .

The long wave - radars SK and SC-2 as well as the SG - microwave -Radar were installed in the course of the war on the ship. These devices, mounted on the island and on an additional mast between two chimneys, enabled early warnings up to 180 km away. The defensive armament of the USS Princeton consisted of two 12.7 cm L / 38 multi-purpose guns, eighteen 40 mm L / 60 and four 20 mm L / 70 automatic cannons mounted on the bow and stern when it was commissioned . The multi-purpose guns were already removed after two months, when their inadequacy for the purpose was determined. 40-mm and 20-mm anti-aircraft guns, the number of which was changed during the war, formed the air defense. The 40 mm quadruple flak installed in the fuselage and stern were retrofitted with the Mk 51 fire control system in 1944 . This enabled the effective combat of approaching aircraft from a distance of more than 3.5 km.

commitment

Construction and commissioning

Launched from Princeton on October 18, 1942

The ship was ordered in June 1940 as a light cruiser Tallahassee (CL-61) from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden , New Jersey , and laid down on June 2, 1941. The small number of aircraft carriers in the US Navy required accelerated action following the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II . The plan worked out before the USA entered the war, which included the conversion of existing cruiser hulls into aircraft carriers, was implemented in January 1942. The order for the conversion of the finished hull of the Tallahassee to the aircraft carrier was issued on February 16, 1942. The converted ship was built on October 18, 1942 by Mrs. Margaret Dodds, wife of the then President of Princeton University , Harold Dodds, as the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (Registration number CV-23 ) christened and launched . After completion, equipping and refitting by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , the USS Princeton was commissioned on February 25, 1943 as the second Independence class carrier .

Baptism of fire

USS Princeton drove after the completion of the last test and exercise drives in the Caribbean through the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean, where it arrived in Pearl Harbor on August 9, 1943 . The USS Princeton and its active sister ships Independence , Belleau Wood , Cowpens and Monterey had previously been re-registered as a light aircraft carrier (ID CVL ) on July 15, 1943 . USS Princeton joined Task Force 11 (TF 11) under Rear Admiral Lees on August 25, 1943 and became the flagship of Task Group 11.2 (TG 11.2). In addition to her sister ship USS Belleau Wood , Task Group 11.2 also included the destroyers Spence (DD-512), Trathen (DD-530), Boyd (DD-544), Bradford (DD-545) and two transport ships. The task of the USS Princeton as a ship of Carrier Air Group 23 , which only had Hellcat fighter planes , was the airspace security during the occupation and the construction of the airfield on the Baker and Howland Islands . USS Princeton planes shot down several Japanese Emily long-range reconnaissance flying boats in the area of ​​operations in the first two weeks of September and flew air strikes against enemy positions on Makin and Tarawa atolls on their way home to Hawaii .

USS Princeton drove to Espiritu Santo in mid-October 1943 , where it met the "Ted" Shermans TF 38 around the fleet carrier Saratoga (CV-3). In early November, their planes attacked Japanese airfields on the northern Solomon Islands of Buka and Bougainville to support the troop landings on Bougainville. The unit, renamed TG 50.4, attacked the Japanese naval base on Rabaul on November 5, 1943 and seriously damaged the cruisers Takao , Maya , Atago , Mogami and Noshiro as well as two destroyers. In a second air raid six days later, the Agano and Naganami were damaged and the Suzunami sunk. Sherman's fleet went to the Gilbert Islands after further air strikes against the island of Nauru , as air cover for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands . USS Saratoga and USS Princeton were swapped out towards the end of November 1943 with the aircraft carriers Bunker Hill (CV-17) and Monterey (CVL-16). USS Princeton returned home on the west coast of the USA via Pearl Harbor.

Marshall Islands

USS Princeton sailed to Hawaii on January 3, 1944 , after repairs and modernization work in the docks of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , and became a Task Force 58 light aircraft carrier . The USS Princeton attacked as ship TG 58.4 under the command of Rear Admiral Ginders on the side of her sister ship Langley (CVL-27), the USS Saratoga (CV-3) and the cruiser Baltimore (CA-68), Boston (CA- 69) and San Juan (CL-54) and eight destroyers from January 29 to 31, 1944, the Marshall Atolls Wotje and Taroa and supported the amphibious landing operations on the atolls Kwajalein and Majuro . At the beginning of February 1944, aircraft of the USS Princeton flew reconnaissance missions to Eniwetok Atoll and destroyed the Japanese airfield on the island of Engebi in a three-day air strike . After a short recovery period on Kwajalein, the carrier association set course for Eniwetok again in order to further prepare and support the invasion of the atoll under the code name Operation Catchpole .

The USS Princeton was assigned to TG 58.3 under Rear Admiral Joseph Reeves after replenishing fuel, ammunition and provisions on Espiritu Santo . This formation with the heavy warships Yorktown (CV-10), Lexington (CV-16), Langley (CVL-27), Alabama (BB-60) and Canberra (CA-70) attacked Japanese bases on the Carolines - and Palau - Islands. Task Group 58.3 continued to Hollandia , Dutch New Guinea , where it covered the landings of US troops under General Robert Eichelberger in the air and at sea from April 21 to 29, 1944 as part of Operation Reckless . USS Princeton carrier aircraft flew attacks on Truk on April 29 and 30, 1944 and on Ponape on May 1, 1944 . USS Princeton then set course for Pearl Harbor in the formation of TG 58.3 and entered there on May 11, 1944.

Mariana Islands and Palau Islands

Princeton during a Japanese air raid off Formosa (now Taiwan), October 14, 1944

TG 58.3 with a modified line-up ( USS Lexington (CV-16), Enterprise (CV-6), San Jacinto (CVL-30)) arrived in Majuro atoll at the end of May 1944 and joined the other units responsible for the upcoming Operation Forager had been deployed. The islands of Guam , Rota , Tinian , Pagan and Saipan were bombed from June 11th to 18th, 1944. All available carrier formations were then ordered to the east to intercept the Japanese naval formation under Admiral Ozawa . Fifteen American and nine Japanese aircraft carriers faced each other in the meeting known under the name: Naval Battle of the Philippine Sea . In the two-day battle, which ended with the victory of the Allies, the planes of the USS Princeton shot down thirty and their on-board flak three Japanese planes. USS Princeton , returned to the Mariana Islands , supported the ground forces on Saipan and the fighting on Guam and Tinian that began in July .

USS Princeton went to Eniwetok on August 2nd to pick up supplies. The ship that arrived there was incorporated into TG 38.3 under Rear Admiral Shermans , who also carried the aircraft carriers USS Lexington (CV-16), Essex (CV-9), Ticonderoga (CV-14), USS Langley (CVL-27), the battleships Alabama (BB-60), Massachusetts (BB-59), Indiana (BB-58), South Dakota (BB-57), Washington (BB-56), the cruisers Reno (CL-96), Santa Fe (CL- 60), Birmingham (CL-62), Mobile (CL-63) and fifteen destroyers under his command. Preparatory air strikes on the Palau archipelago (September 9 and 10) and on enemy airfields on the Philippines islands of Mindanao and Visayas followed. A few days later, the fleet turned against the Palau Islands again to support the landings on Peleliu and Angaur that began in mid-September . TG 38.3 left the naval base in Ulithi Atoll in October to destroy strategic targets on the Ryūkyū Islands and Formosa and to secure the imminent return of Allied ground troops to the Philippines .

Sinking

Fleet movements during the sea ​​battle in the Gulf of Leyte and the battles east of Cape Engaño (red: Japan; black: allies). TG 38.3 was on October 24, 1944 north of the field marked "1".

General Douglas MacArthur began retaking the Philippines on October 20, 1944 , when Lieutenant General Krueger's 6th US Army gained a foothold on the east coast of Leyte Island . USS Princeton was at this time in the TG 38.3 at coordinates 15 ° 21 '  N , 123 ° 31'  O , about 185 km east-northeast of the front of the main island of Luzon lying Polillo Island . Their planes attacked airfields to reduce the possibility of Japanese air strikes against the US invasion fleet anchored in the Leyte Gulf . The US carrier fleet was recognized by Japanese reconnaissance planes in the early morning of the 24th, which reported their exact position. A single enemy bomber dropped out of the clouds at around 10:00 a.m. and dropped a 500-pound high-explosive bomb (~ 227 kg) from a height of 450 meters. The bomb penetrated the deck of the USS Princeton in front of the aircraft's rear elevator and exploded inside the ship. The ship's crew fought the resulting fire. The destroyer Irwin (DD-794) came alongside the bow of the USS Princeton after ten minutes to take over wounded sailors. The rushed cruisers USS Birmingham and USS Reno supported the fire fighting.

New reports of approaching Japanese planes were received around 1:30 p.m. after the flames on the USS Princeton were contained. The port side of the USS Birmingham moved away from the USS Princeton in order to shield it with its on-board flak. The expected enemy air attack failed to materialize. The cruiser USS Birmingham was approaching the USS Princeton , which had again been hit by fire, at around 3:24 p.m. when a powerful detonation suddenly shook the carrier's stern. The superstructure of the USS Birmingham was badly damaged by the splinter rain and the shock wave of the exploding air bomb depot of the USS Princeton . The aft deck of the aircraft carrier was torn from the explosion.

Efforts to save the aircraft carrier from sinking were stepped up, but at around 4:04 p.m. the fight against the flames was visibly futile. Admiral Sherman gave the order to sink the ship. The surrounding ships took on the crew of the USS Princeton . Destroyer USS Irwin fired all of its torpedoes on the burning USS Princeton . The aircraft carrier has not yet sunk. Cruiser USS Reno continued the work of destruction until the USS Princeton was torn apart by a violent detonation at around 5:46 p.m. The rear torpedo store had exploded. A black column of smoke over 500 m high stood in the sky. The USS Princeton sank in minutes. The remains lying on the seabed at the coordinates 15 ° 12 '  N , 123 ° 36'  O .

98 sailors and ten officers of the USS Princeton were killed in the inferno. 1361 men were saved. On the cruiser Birmingham (CL-62) 85 men died and 300 were wounded. The front superstructure of the cruiser was badly damaged. The shock wave had thrown two 5-inch, two 40-mm and two 20-mm anti-aircraft guns from the ship. The cruiser was repaired in the dock of the Mare Island Navy Yard by January 1945 . The destroyer Morrison (DD-560) lost its foremast and got a shattered port side. The damage to the destroyer Irwin (DD-794) was also severe: the starboard side was shattered and the front 5-inch guns and the fire control station were destroyed. The light cruiser Reno (CL-96) got away with a destroyed 40mm anti-aircraft gun.

  • 10:01 am : The Princeton shortly after the bomb hit

  • 10:55 am : The Birmingham begins to fight the fire

  • The bulging flight deck and the forward deck elevator torn from its guidance

  • The rear elevator was thrown out of the shaft by the detonation force of the bomb and lies with the rear side on top of the flight deck

  • The Reno at the stern of the burning Princeton during the fire fighting

  • 3:24 p.m .: The Princeton flying bomb magazine explodes while the Birmingham is still alongside (in the foreground)

  • 4:04 p.m .: Escort ships move away from Princeton (right). Note the damage caused by the second explosion and the smoking destroyer (center)

  • 5:46 p.m .: The Princeton sinks after the torpedo magazine detonated after the ship was torpedoed by Irwin and Reno .

Awards

  • The Princeton was during their service with the American Campaign Medal , World War II Victory Medal , Philippine Presidential Unit Citation , Philippine Liberation Medal and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine stars battle won.
  • The flag that hung on board Princeton is on display in Princeton University's chapel .
  • John M. Hoskins, a former officer aboard Princeton , later became the first in command of the Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier Princeton (CV-37), which entered service in 1945

Additional information

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : USS Princeton (CVL-23)  - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CVL Radio & Flag Call Signals. In: www.ninesisters.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013 ; Retrieved February 24, 2008 .
  2. ↑ Owen Gault: Saga of The SUNDOWNERS: The Independence-Class Light Carriers . 2005, p. 5 ( [1] [accessed September 22, 2007]).
  3. ↑ a b CVL-23 Princeton - WW II combat actions. In: pacific.valka.cz. Retrieved September 24, 2007 .
  4. ^ Princeton CVL-23. In: www.hazegray.org. Retrieved September 24, 2007 .