USS White Plains (CVE-66)

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USS White Plains (CVE-66)
USS White Plains (CVE-66)
Overview
Type Escort aircraft carrier, Casablanca class
Shipyard

Kaiser Shipyards

Keel laying February 11, 1943
Launch September 27, 1943
1. Period of service flag
Commissioning November 15, 1943
Decommissioning July 10, 1946
Whereabouts July 29, 1958, sale to be scrapped
Technical specifications
displacement

7800  ts (standard)
10,400 ts (application)

length

156.2 m

width

32.9 m

height

34.5 m (mast)

Draft

6.9 m

crew

860

drive

4 piston steam engines, 9000 HP on two propellers

speed

19 kn

Range

10,200 nm at 15 kn

Armament
Planes

28

The USS White Plains (CVE-66) was an escort carrier of the Casablanca-class of the United States Navy . The carrier entered service with the US Navy in November 1943 and remained in service until July 1946. The ship was used in the Battle of Samar during the sea ​​and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in October 1944. The ship was named after White Plains , where an important battle in the US War of Independence , the Battle of White Plains, took place on October 28th Held in 1776, named.

technology

Detailed information on the technology can be found in the article Casablanca class .

The White Plains was 156.2 meters long and a maximum of 32.9 meters wide, the draft was 6.9 meters, the operational displacement was 10,400 tons . The drive from four piston steam engines acting on two shafts with a total output of 9,000 hp brought the ship to a top speed of 19 knots . The range was 10,200 nautical miles at 15 knots cruising speed . In addition to the barrel armament consisting of a 127 mm gun, eight 40 mm twin flaks and 20 20 mm automatic cannons, the carrier had a Carrier Air Wing with around 25 to 30 aircraft, mostly a "composite squadron" (Eng. "Combined Staffel ”) of fighter planes and torpedo bombers for anti-submarine missions .

history

Calls

The first real use of the USS White Plains in the war was transporting aircraft to Tarawa Atoll, where it arrived on January 11, 1944. You will continue to transport planes for the near future. In March and April operational training for combat missions was carried out on the west coast of the USA and it was given its own dedicated air unit, Composite Squadron 4 , consisting of 16 Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters and 12 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo aircraft. In May, flight operations and amphibious relief training were conducted from Pearl Harbor .

From May 31, the ship took part in the Battle of the Mariana Islands as part of Task Group 52.17 . During the voyage to the Mariana Islands , their planes carried out anti-submarine patrols and part of the combat air patrol. During the Battle of Saipan , their planes continued to cover the fleet against submarine and air raids. Their planes helped repel at least three major enemy air strikes. On June 17, their anti-aircraft guns scored their first kill of an enemy aircraft. Early July brought a short break in Eniwetok . On July 14th she took the support missions in the Battle of Tinian and the Battle of Guam .

The White Plains and ten other aircraft carriers sailed into the vicinity of Palau in the second week of September . Their planes provided some of the foreland bombing and air support for the ground forces as the US forces landed on September 15.

USS White Plains under fire at the Battle of Samar on October 25, 1944

Battle of Samar

During the sea ​​and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in October 1944, the carrier belonged to Task Force 77 consisting of 16 escort aircraft carriers with 450 carrier aircraft and destroyer escorts . It belonged to Task Unit 77.4.3 (abbreviated to Taffy 3) with six of these carriers. On October 25, the battle of Samar with Japanese capital ships that wanted to attack the US Navy landing companies in the Philippines took place.

On October 25, the battle of Samar broke out when Admiral Kurita Takeo's task force met with four battleships , including the Yamato , the largest battleships in history, seven heavy cruisers , two light cruisers and 19 destroyers on Taffy 3 . Taffy 3 learned of Kurita's presence when a pilot on a routine air patrol at 6:37 a.m. discovered Kurita's bandage and attacked the bandage. Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague , commandant of Taffy 3 , was initially in disbelief over the presence of the Japanese Navy. He asked for clear identification. This was no longer necessary as the masts of the enemy battleships appeared on the horizon.

The Yamato opened fire at 6:59 a.m., at an estimated range of 34,544 yards , and aimed its first four volleys at White Plains . A Yamato shell from the third volley at 7:04 am struck close to the port bilge near frame 142 of the starboard aft engine room of the carrier. Although the ship was not hit directly, the effects of the blast underneath the keel severely damaged her hull. She disrupted her starboard engines and cut the power supply. Prompt and effective repair of the damage restored the ship's power supply and communication within three minutes. The porter was able to keep the direction of travel by over-revving its port engine to compensate. The black smoke made the ship's command of the Yamato and Nagato , who also fired their main battery on the White Plains , suspect that they had scored a direct hit on the carrier, and they shifted fire to other enemy targets. For the next two and a half hours, the Japanese chased Taffy 3 south and fired at the porters with their large-caliber cannons. The aircraft carriers' warplanes resisted and carried out attacks with their bombs and torpedoes.

During the phase of the fight, the 5-inch gun crews of the White Plains claimed six hits on the heavy cruiser Chōkai . These hits are said to have detonated eight Type 93 torpedoes stored on the deck of the Chōkai . The Type 93 torpedo has become known in the western world as the Long-Lance Torpedo . It was both the longest range torpedo and the one with the largest warhead used in World War II. The claim made by the gun crews of the White Plains is not confirmed by Japanese sources.

The Japanese capital ships broke off their pursuit between 9:12 and 9:17 a.m. After a 90-minute break, Taffy 3 was attacked at 10:50 am by a formation of nine Japanese Mitsubishi A6Ms , known as Zero , with a simultaneous kamikaze attack. Two of the Zeros chose the White Plains as their target. Her anti-aircraft shells hit a Zero , which immediately changed course and crashed into the USS St. Lo (CVE-63) . The USS St. Lo was hit so badly that it later sank. The second Zero continued to fly towards White Plains , but its anti-aircraft guns detonated this Zero aft (behind) the ship. The explosion scattered debris all over the ship's deck and sides, but caused only 11 relatively minor damage. This attack turned out to be the USS White Plains' final combat action in the war.

Further missions

The USS White Plains steamed with the other remaining carriers to the naval base in Manus and arrived there on October 31st. After an inspection of the damage, it was decided that the ailing carrier should return to the United States for full repair. Accordingly, she left Manus on November 6th and made her way to the west coast to arrive at the port of San Diego on November 27th . the repair began immediately.

Operational again, the USS White Plains sailed out of San Diego on January 19, 1945. However, concerns about the impact of the explosion on the hull and engine damage at Samar kept the ship away from the front lines. The carrier was tasked with transporting replacement aircraft from the United States to bases in the western Pacific for the remainder of the war. In the final months of the war, White Plains visited Kwajalein , Hollandia , Ulithi (Atoll) , Saipan , Guam , Leyte and Pearl Harbor .

During Operation Magic Carpet , the ship began to transport American soldiers home from the Pacific Theater on September 6. First 554 soldiers were driven to San Francisco. Where it arrived on October 19th. Further transport trips to Pearl Harbor and Okinawa ended on January 12, 1946 in San Pedro (Los Angeles) . Twenty days later, the ship took over 800 passengers on board in Okinawa for the voyage to the United States. On September 28th the trip led to San Diego. The White Plains reached the port of San Diego on October 16. After nine days in port, she made her way to Pearl Harbor and from there to return to the west coast. On November 27th, the ship was in Guam, embarking passengers. The return journey began on November 30th. White Plains arrived in Seattle on December 14, 1945 . She stayed there until January 30, 1946, when she set out on the trip across the Panama Canal to Boston . The White Plains reached Boston Harbor on February 17, 1946 and then began preparations for decommissioning.

The USS White Plains was decommissioned on July 10, 1946 and added to the reserve fleet . She stayed with the reserve fleet for 12 years. Finally, on July 1, 1958, her name was deleted from the ship's register. It was sold to the Chicago Hyman Michaels Company for scrapping on July 29th .

Awards

The White Plains received five Battle Stars for their service during World War II . All ships of Task Unit 77.4.3 were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation Badge for use during the Battle of Samar .

Additional information

literature

  • Daniel V. Gallery: Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea . Henry Regnery Company, Chicago 1956. (Reprinted: US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 2001, ISBN 1-55750-806-2 )

Web links

Commons : USS White Plains (CVE-66)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf