Essex (CVS 9) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 21 text:

THE PEACEFUL PACIFIC .,..- . Orff K ky.. I : ESSEX slips under the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco Bay, following the completion of their second Korean Cruise. During the balance of 1953, and during all of 1954, ESSEX operated between the San Diego Operational area, and the Philippines, where she conducted launching exercises in the South China Sea and Manila Bay. In this period of activity, she operated with many other ships, including PHILIPPINE SEA, TARAWA, PRINCETON, WASP, HELENA, KEARSAGE, and others, conducting carrier qualifications and other training de- signed to maintain the maximum readiness of the embarked air group and crew should ESSEX be needed anywhere for active combat. During July, 1955, she again entered Puget Sound Navy Yard for overhaul, and remained there for the balance of the year and during the winter months of 1956. When she left the Bremerton Yard in March, she emerged with a longer deck of 889 feet, an angled deck, a hurricane bow, a second deck-edge elevator, as well as a larger displacement. She resumed operations in the San Diego Operations Area, conducting air defense exercises and other maneuvers and drills off the California coast. Then, on 16 July, 1956, she departed San Diego for a peace-time cruise to the Western Pacific. ESSEX made calls at Pearl Harbor, Kobe and Sasebo, Japan, and Subic Bay, Philippines, before returning to the States in January, 1957. ESSEX then rounded Cape Horn, to ioin the Atlantic Fleet. En route from one coast to the other, she stopped at Balboa, Valparaiso and Rio de Janeiro, arriving in Mayport, Florida, her new home port, on 1 August 1957. Wives of ESSEX crew members wave good-bye -again-as ESSEX departs for a peaceful cruise to WESTPAC. 1 I., I I f-. 'UU If M

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, ,,f..,,-L, V. Mg.-,.m-V-11-:fr-1-Q-vcw'ff:rm2f12vs9725gi1e :bc J, -. 1- ev .,s-,fb 151 gud- 'viii-afhkgg.: -1a'fiJ':7'Yf' ,J-s -7'Jf5':!i 'ff ' 1 '28 Q ff rf . t A - 1, W, - asss or-'fs r in Z , ' , be xxx. . .i On 16 September, a damaged F2H, in at- tempting to land, cleared all three barriers and crashed into parked planes on the star- board bow, starting a serious fire. After successfully bombing targets over North Korea, two F2H Ban- shees prepare to approach for landing on board ESSEX. An at-sea blizzard slowed operations of Task Force 77 and flight deck crews had to pause in their cycle of launching and re- covering air craft to shovel ice and snow from the flight deck. 4 gm!

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' fu Lia, A . . , ,, A N. ,. -rf, v, i, ', '9' ,mv + -gy,--W A gf , . -.nh 1. - ,,. , ,,.A3.l- ESSEX af anchorage in Sasebo, Japan and af Cubi Point Pier, in Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, during her final cruise to the Pacific. yi muy f wifffiifw I 'Q '77 7. -+ ul Y ' 'V . an Ulla V84 '1