Essex (CVA 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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'AEK figs 'Q 5 'P av- ,rg 5 7 L Wagga.. J-'fu .JW 5 5, lime' Xffafffb' O M I ,,,,,.., flask f X f x7 ff!!! ff If tyTh n Vg version to an ironclad river gunboat and work was be gun in the summer of 1861 Her sides were covered w1th railroad rails laid side by side and covered by sheeting Even her single paddle wheel was enclosed 1n order to protect lt against damage in an engagement Perhaps the most conspicuous change reflected the concern of the Federal Government even then with hab1tab1l1ty the addition of two outhouses on the stern The emotions of her new captain upon viewing his new command are not recorded but they can only have been favorable for Commodore W D Porter USN chose to name her after his grandfathers famous frigate ESSEX Thus refurblshed the second USS ESSEX em barked upon what was to prove an eventful career as a r1ver gunboat Twice she ran the gauntlet of Vicks burg and on the second occasion after a br1ef but fur1 ous encounter she was credited with the s1nk1ng of the giant Confederate ram ARKANSAS Perhaps her greatest sobrlquet came from the pen of Adm1ral Farragut whose Union flotllla was seemingly d1v1ded by the fortress of Vicksburg Writing to a friend Farra gut observed If I had the ESSEX up here she would be worth a m1ll1on to me Wlth the end of the war the Federal Government finding it lmposslble to ma1n tain 1ts vast flotillas of gunboats returned many of them to private service and scrapped most of the rest ESSEX was sold out of the service in 1865 and l1ke her predecessor vanlshed into anonymity But the United States Navy was not to be long without the now famous name ESSEX on 1ts rolls. In 1874, when Congress approved the purchase of eight new steam frigates it was decided that one would be named ESSEX This third ESSEX, comm1s1oned in 1876, reflected in its design the era of unhappy com prom1se between the age of sail and the age of steam. Though a full rigged ship, she also carried a coal burning steam engine and was fitted with a wooden screw propeller. Her career was destined to be by a comfortable margin both the longest and most placid of any of the ESSEXES. Though she saw no important action, she was destined to remam on the naval list until 1930, serving as a training ship for naval cadets long after her sisters had been replaced by the pro gressively more modern armadas of the Spanish Amer ican War and the Great White fleet When finally re tired from the naval list ESSEX was sold for scrap for the unflattering sum of 3410 00 The birth of the ESSEX class carrier was at New port News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company where the keel of the fourth and present ESSEX was laid on 28 April 1941 Preparations for Pacific action were accomplished in the Hawaiian area following commissioning on 31 December 1942 Captain Donald B Duncan her first capta1n addressed the assembled ships company It is my intention and eXpectat1on that between us we shall make the name of ESSEX carry fear and destruc tion to our enemies with praise to our friends and be an everlasting credit to our country and our flag Thus commenced the glory of a ship whose sting would be felt from Marcus Island to the Japanese homeland Marcus was hard h1t by a fast attack carrier task force Wlth ESSEX as flagship 1n August 1943 R tirement was successfully accompl1shed by ESSEX with minor hull damage and few wounded as she skill fully avoided searching Japanese torpedo planes The Wake Island Treasurer Bougainville Operation and Gilbert Islands engagements followed In January 1944 occupatlon of the Marshall Islands marked the second amphibious operation for ESSEX and the first t1me Japan had lost her own soil The Truk raid greatly weakened the enemy s South Pac1fic support and ESSEX set course for Saipan For the first time in seven attacks ESSEX had lost the element of surprise as Jap search planes spotted the formation through the afternoon clouds Jap planes attacked during the night and during launches Their attempts were thwarted by the murderous fire sent up by destroyers of the screen Success at Saipan was followed by a trip home for Naval Yard availability On 23 May 1944 ESSEX was back in operation deal ing destruction to Marcus and Wake and then the Marianas and Palan Islands Her next operation saw a Jap J udv suicide plane skim the flight deck and crash on the port edge of the flight deck killing 15 and wound mg 44 ESSEX can do had the flight deck back 1n operation in 30 mlnutes THE THIRD ESSEX

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to make its place in naval history. Rounding Cape Horn in midwinter of 1813, the adventurous Porter took his ship in search of the rich and hitherto unmolested British commerce in the Pacific. During the next year Porter and ESSEX captured thirteen British vessels, including the privateers ATLANTIC and GREEN- WICH. These deprivations proved so costly to His Majesty's Government that the Admiralty dispatched HMS PHOEBE, 36 guns, and HMS CHERUB, 20 guns, to the Pacific to seek out and destroy the intruder. After a lengthy search up and down the coast of South America, the superior British force found its quarry anchored with her prizes in the neutral port of Val- pariso, Chile. Porter furiously prepared for sea, but his luck had run out and ESSEX, unable to clear a foul anchor, ran aground outside the harbor. In the ensuing battle Porter, outgunned and unable to ma- neuver so as to bring his battery to bear, was forced to strike after a bloody two-hour battle in which 152 members of his crew became casualties. Porter and the remnants of his crew escaped to the sanctuary of Val- paraiso, but ESSEX was refitted and renamed by the Royal Navy, whose standard she carried until 1837 when she was sold out of the service. Nothing is known of her ultimate fate. The second American naval vessel to bear the name ESSEX began its career much less impressively than its famous namesake. Launched in 1856 at St. Louis, Missouri, it was originally christened NEW ERA and was designed for service as a river ferry by its owners, the Wiggins Ferry Company. With the advent of war between the States, however, both sides began wide- spread programs of converting earstwhile peaceful vessels to men-of-war. The NEW ERA was one of those selected by the Federal Government for con- USF ESSEX 32 e Courtesy Captain Raymond J. Toner USN from a painting by Charles R. Patterson

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PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION To The U.S.S. ESSEX and her attached Air Groups participating in the following operations: August 31, 1943, Marcus, October 5-6, 1943, Wakeg November 11 to December 5, 1943, Gilberts, Rabaul: January 29 to February 23, 1944, Marshalls, Truk, Marianas: AG-9 QVF-9, VB-9, VT-95 May 19 to 23, 1944 Wake, Marcus: June 11 to August 8, 1944, Marianas, Boninsg September 6 to November 14, 1944 Philippines, Palau, Ryukyus, Formosa, Luzon: AG-15 CVF-15, VB-15, VT-15, Part of VFN-771 December 14 to 16, 1944, Luzon: AG-4 CVF-4, VB-4, VT-45 January 3 to 22, 1945, Philippines, Formosa, China Sea, Ryukyusg February 16 to March 1, 1945, Japan, Bonins: . AG-4 CVF-4, VT-4, VMF-124, VMF-2135 March 18 to May 24, 1945, Ryukyus, Japan, July 10 to August 15, 1945, Japan: AG-83 QVF-83, VBF83, VB83, VT-835 for services as set forth in the following CITATION For extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces in the air, ashore and afloat in the Pacific War Area from August 51, 1.943 to August 15, 1945. Spearhead- ing the concentrated carrier-warfare in the forward areas, the ESSEX and her air groups struck crushing blows toward annihilating Japanese fighting poiverg they provided air cover for our amphibious forces,' they fiercely encountered the enemy's aerial attacks and destroyed his planesg and they inflicted terrific losses on the Japanese in Fleet and merchant marine units sunk or damaged. Daring and dependable in combat, the ESSEX and her gal- lant officers and men rendered loyal service in achieving the ultimate defeat of the Japa- nese Empire. For the President JAMES FORRESTAL Secretary of the Navy ifitfraftiriffkitiifa K I My flifrll Fffltff Jlfr1f11mf21.hffMc,i1.n lil had chi All-sux' up hcrr. she im .ld lx- imrlla an mvllum lo mv. 'SN- The Okinawa campaign brought the war's end in sight. During it ESSEX was at sea 79 days from 14 March to 1 June 1945. Tokyo became her target as the Japanese Empire crumbled and the war ended August 1945. Home at last, ESSEX had earned her position as the Fightin'est ship in the Fleet. In 1947 she was decommissioned. ESSEX was brought out of retirement in 1949 and was literally rebuilt by the Navy Yard at Bremer- ton, Washington. On 15 January 1951 ESSEX was re- commissioned with a new 887' flight deck, a stream- wiifnifnigitirgaatfiraa lined island structure, and a greater displacement by several thousand tons. The presence of ESSEX was felt by North Korea during her two cruises between June 1951 and January 1953. On her second Korean cruise ESSEX planes participated in co-ordinated strikes all the way from the front lines to the Yalu River. With two peace patrols to the Orient under her keel ESSEX once again returned to the yard for modernization. Leaving the Bremerton Navy Yard in March 1956 ESSEX had a longer deck of 889', an angled deck, hurricane bow, a second deck edge elevator and a larger displacement. Following another cruise to West Pac ESSEX rounded Cape Horn to join the Atlantic Fleet. In Sep- tember 1957 ESSEX participated in NATO exercise STRIKEBACK as a CVS. ESSEX joined the Sixth Fleet in February of 1958. The majority of this cruise was spent in the Eastern Med. on 15 July ESSEX suddenly weighed anchor and departed Athens in the early morning hours to pro- vide air support for Marine landings at Lebanon. ESSEX was first on the scene and remained on the line until 20 August except for a short period at Rhodes, Greece.