Essex (CVA 9) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 12 text:

Commandir nil Captain Frank Turner, USN |||| Captain Frank Turner, USN, relieved Captain C. H. Duborg, USN, as Commanding Officer of the USS Essex on February 13, 1954, while ihe fhip was ojcialirg in the East China Sea. A graduate of the Naval Academy, ENS Tuirer seivcd aloaid the LSS Maryland for two years. In June of 1929 he reported to NAS, Pensacola, for flight trairirg. As a Naval Aviator, ENS Turner served with Scouting Squadron Six aboard the USS Detroit and USS Omaha. As a Lieutenant (junior grade;, he saw duty with Patrol Squadron Six at FAB, Pearl Harbor, and Fighter Squadron Five. Promoted to Lieutenant in June of 1936, he spent six months with Patrol Squadron Eleven, before returning to NAS, Pensacola, for two years as a flight instructor. From June of 1939 to June of 1942, he was attached to Scouting Squadron Seventy Two aboard the USS Wasp, eventually serving as Commanding Officer. LCDR Turner then reported as Air Operations Officer for the Gulf Sea Frontier. Ordered in Nove.nber of 1942 to the Moroccan Sea Frontier, LCDR Turner was awarded the Bronze Star for participation in assault landings during the North African campaign. In July of 1943, he was promoted to Commander and served as Operations Officer in the Flight Division, Navy Department. His present rank of Captain dates from March of 1945. As Commanding Officer of the USS Nassau, a CVE operating in the Pacific, Captain Turner was awarded another Bronze Star. He was Deputy Head of the Training Division in the Navy Department from 1946 to 1949. Captain Turner then commanded the Fleet All-Weather Training Unit, Pacific, and was Operations Officer on the staff of ComAirPac. He attended the National War College from August of 1951 to July of 1952. After serving on the Staff of Heavy Attack Wing One, NAS, Norfolk, Captain Turner reported to the USS Essex.

Page 11 text:

The ESSEX fulfilled Captain Duncan ' s hopes. As a unit of various task forces during World War II, she pounded Marcus Island on August 31, 1943, struck at Wake Island early in October, and surprised Rabaul on November 11. The ESSEX was one of several carriers supporting amphibious opera tions in the Mar- shall and Gilbert Islands. Later she partici- pated in strikes against Truk and Saipan before returning to the West Coast for repairs. On April 16, 1944, the ESSEX departed from San Francisco and in the following months conducted strikes against Marcus and Wake Islands, supported the occupation of the Marianas, and hit the Palau Islands. Between October 10 and November 14, she launched strikes against Nansei Shoto, Formosa, and the Philippine Islands, where she virtually annihilated the remaining shipping in Manila Bay. It was during this period that the ESSEX received the proud title of the Fightin ' est Ship in the Fleet. Unfortunately, the next operation was neither long nor successful. While operating East of Luzon Island on November 25, the ESSEX was struck by a suicide radial engine Judy at about 1300 hours. The plane caused a large gasoline explosion just forward of the Number Two elevator on the flight deck. Repair parties had the flight deck back in commission in about 30 minutes. After strikes against China, Hong Kong, and the Japanese mainland early in 1945, the ESSEX participated in the occupation of Okinawa Jima, the action beyond which all else was an anticlimax. For 79 days the ship was constantly at sea, while her group flew a total of 6,460 sorties. The ESSEX spent the month of June resting and replenishing in Leyte Gulf, before departing on July 1, 1945, to conduct strikes against the Japanese homeland lasting until the end of World War II on August 15. How- ever, it was not until September that the ship set a course for Bremerton, Washington, for a long overdue period of overhaul. She was decommissioned on January 9, 1947, having steamed 233,419 nautical miles. But late in 1949 the Cold War grew warm. The ESSEX was redesigned, remodel- led, rebuilt, and recommissioned on January 15, 1951. During her first Korean cruise, the ship launched some 6,600 combat sorties and be- came the first carrier to launch the F2H Banshee twin-jet fighter on combat strikes. She returned to the States, to depart again from San Diego on June 16, 1952, for her second Korean cruise. For eight and one half months she steamed some 72,000 miles before returning to the U. S. on February 6, 1953, for alterations and repairs at Bremerton. On December 1, 1953, the ESSEX sailed again from San Diego for her third Far Eastern cruise. Captain Frank Turner relieved Captain Christian H. Duborg on February 13, 1954, while the ship was operating in the East China Sea. The ESSEX returned to San Diego on July 12, 1954. The ship ' s fourth Far Eastern cruise began on November 1, 1954. During the latter part of January and the first half of February of 1955, the ESSEX operated with Task Force 77, launching the planes of Carrier Air Group Two on missions covering the evacuation of the Tachen Islands. One year after assuming command. Captain Turner was relieved by Captain Raymond N. Sharp, who became the twelvth commanding ofiicer of the USS ESSEX. fr.fl«wMss?4r

Page 13 text:

Officers . . . nil • Captain Raymond N. Sharp, USN llli After the evacuation of the Tachen Islands was completed. Captain Raymond N. Sharp, USN, relieved Captain Frank Turner, USN, as Commanding Officer of the USS Essex on February 13, 1955. Captain Sharp is from Johnson City, Tennessee. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy in June of 1930, the newly commissioned Ensign reported to the USS New York. In June of 1931 he under- went flight training at NAS, Pensacola, and was designated a Naval Aviator upon graduation. From July of 1932 until June of 1935 Captain Sharp was Material and Radio Officer with VF-2, then assigned to the USS Lexington. After two years as Assistant Gunnery Officer with VP-2, he spent four years aboard the USS Brooklyn as Senior Naval Aviator and aboard the USS Enterprise. His next assignment was Training Officer at NAS, Miami, until February of 1943, followed by a year as Air Officer and Navigator of the USS Yorktown. During 1944 and 1945 he was Operations Officer for Admiral J. J. (Jocko) Clark. In August of 1945 Captain Sharp became Executive Officer of NAS, Patuxent River, Maryland, and a year later he became Director of Armament Tests for two years on the same station. He next served as Executive Officer of the USS Midway from April of 1948 to July of 1949 and was promoted to Captain upon completion of this duty. Thereafter followed eleven months at the Naval War College. Captain Sharp commanded the Naval Air Reserve Training Unit, Jacksonville, until October of 1951. He then recommissioned and commanded the USS Tripoli until September of 1952. Prior to assuming command of the USS Essex, Captain Sharp served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D. C. His decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Com- mendation Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation with two stars, and a Secretary of the Navy commendation.