USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)

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USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) 1944
USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) 1944
Overview
Keel laying October 26, 1942
Launch September 26, 1943
1. Period of service flag
Commissioning November 15, 1943
Decommissioning March 1, 1947
Whereabouts Reserve fleet ;
May 15, 1959: re-registration as AVT-5;
July 1, 1970: removed from NVR ;
December 15, 1971: sold for scrapping
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

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


28 × 40 mm-L / 60
40 × 20 mm-L / 70

Planes

24 F6F Hellcat , 9 TBF Avenger

The USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) was an American light aircraft carrier . It was the ninth and last ship of the Independence- class , which was created by converting existing cruiser hulls of the Cleveland- class . As the second ship with this name in the United States Navy , it performed its service in the Pacific theater of the Second World War .

technology

USS San Jacinto, 1944

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

The San Jacinto 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 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 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, which is why there was no single, integrated chimney and instead four smaller ones were attached separately. 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 Langley'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 San Jacinto, 1944

The ship was originally laid down as the light cruiser Newark (CL-100) 'on October 26, 1942 at the New York Shipbuilding Co. in Camden , New Jersey , USA . After the Japanese invasion of 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, 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 September 26, 1943, the ship was christened San Jacinto (registration number CVL-30 ) and launched . It was put into active service on November 15, 1943 as the ninth carrier in the Independence class.

commitment

USS San Jacinto behind the aircraft carriers USS Saratoga, USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, 1945

The USS San Jacinto was assigned to the Fast Carrier Task Force . She took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea against the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War in World War II . It took place on June 19 and 20, 1944 in the Mariana Islands and was the largest porter battle in history. The porter then participated in attacks on Rota Island and Guam . In October 1944, the carrier gave air support at the Battle of Leyte . In February 1945, the ship took part in attacks on airfields in the Tokyo area. After that, the ship was used in the Battle of Iwojima to support the landing forces there.

This was followed by the use of the carrier aircraft against Tokyo and Okinawa . On April 6, the Japanese attacked the fleet off Okinawa with 355 kamikaze planes. The USS San Jacinto was involved in repelling these attacks. The USS San Jacinto was narrowly missed by a kamikaze plane. Only in the outpost ring of the Allied fleet did the Japanese sink three destroyers , severely damage twelve and destroy two ammunition ships and ten smaller ships, but the intended destruction of the aircraft carriers was unsuccessful because the defenses were too strong. On April 7, 1945 sunk Grumman TBF - torpedo bomber of the carrier, the Japanese destroyer Hamakaze and Asashimo during the Japanese Operation Ten-Go , as the battleship Yamato with nine accompanying ships attacked the fleet off Okinawa. As a result, airfields on Kyushu were attacked, from which kamikaze attacks were launched and air support was flown for landing forces during the Battle of Okinawa . From June 5, the carrier's carrier aircraft were involved in attacks on the islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū . Until the Victory over Japan Day on August 15, 1945, the San Jacinto was in service off the coast of Japan. When the unconditional surrender of Japan was signed on the USS Missouri in Sagami Bay near Tokyo on September 2, 1945 , the San Jacinto was one of the allied ships in the bay. On September 14, 1945, she reached the Naval Air Station Alameda in San Francisco Bay . On March 1, 1947, the ship was decommissioned and transferred to the Pacific Reserve Fleet in San Diego . It was removed from the Naval Vessel Register on June 1, 1970. On December 15, 1971, it was sold for scrapping to the National Metal and Steel Corporation near Los Angeles .

Name and other Navy ships of the same name

The ship was named after the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texan Revolution . The frigate USS San Jacinto (1850) was in service from 1850 to 1865 and the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56) has been in service since 1988 .

Others

Former US President George HW Bush in 2010 on board the USS George HW Bush (CVN 77) in front of a display case about the USS San Jacinto and its service aboard

George HW Bush , the 41st President of the United States from 1988 to 1992 , served as a Grumman TBF pilot on the ship from September 1943 to September 1944.

Awards

The ship received four awards.

Additional information

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files
  • USS San Jacinto on the Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project