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Begun as [[light cruiser]] ''Amsterdam'', CL-59, she was launched as CV-22 on 22 August 1942 by [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Camden, New Jersey]], sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Warner, wife of Rawleigh Warner, Sr, Chairman of [[Pure Oil|Pure Oil Co.]], and commissioned 14 January 1943, Captain [[G. R. Fairlamb, Jr.]], in command.
Begun as [[light cruiser]] ''Amsterdam'', CL-59, she was launched as CV-22 on 22 August 1942 by [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Camden, New Jersey]], sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Warner, wife of Rawleigh Warner, Sr, Chairman of [[Pure Oil|Pure Oil Co.]], and commissioned 14 January 1943, Captain [[G. R. Fairlamb, Jr.]], in command.


The first of a new class of carriers converted from [[cruiser]] hulls, ''Independence'' conducted shakedown training in the [[Caribbean]]. She then steamed through the [[Panama Canal]] to join the [[U.S. Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]], arriving [[San Francisco]] 3 July 1943. ''Independence'' got underway for [[Pearl Harbor]] 14 July, and after 2 weeks of training exercises sailed with carriers {{USS|Essex|CV-9|2}} and {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}} for a raid on [[Marcus Island]].<ref name=sandiego>{{cite web|url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~magneson/battles.html|title=Paramount Battles Involving Essex Class Carriers|publisher=History Department at the University of San Diego|accessdate=2009-07-15}}</ref><ref name=osprey>{{cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |last2=Bryan |first2=Tony |title=US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942–45 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=9781846030376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r7CLbAueL0C&lpg=PA5&dq=cvl%2022%20independence&pg=PA12}}</ref> Aircraft from the carrier force struck on 1 September and destroyed over 70 percent of the installations on the island. The carrier began her next operation, a similar strike against [[Wake Island]] 5 to 6 October as '''CVL-22''', having been redesignated 15 July 1943.<ref name=sandiego/><ref name=osprey/>
The first of a new class of carriers converted from [[cruiser]] hulls, ''Independence'' conducted shakedown training in the [[Caribbean]]. She then steamed through the [[Panama Canal]] to join the [[U.S. Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]], arriving [[San Francisco]] 3 July 1943. ''Independence'' got underway for [[Pearl Harbor]] 14 July, and after 2 weeks of training exercises sailed with carriers {{USS|Essex|CV-9|2}} and {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}} for a raid on [[Marcus Island]].<ref name=sandiego>{{cite web|url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~magneson/battles.html|title=Paramount Battles Involving Essex Class Carriers|publisher=History Department at the University of San Diego|accessdate=2009-07-15|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515075743/http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~magneson/battles.html|archivedate=15 May 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=osprey>{{cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |last2=Bryan |first2=Tony |title=US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942–45 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=9781846030376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r7CLbAueL0C&lpg=PA5&dq=cvl%2022%20independence&pg=PA12}}</ref> Aircraft from the carrier force struck on 1 September and destroyed over 70 percent of the installations on the island. The carrier began her next operation, a similar strike against [[Wake Island]] 5 to 6 October as '''CVL-22''', having been redesignated 15 July 1943.<ref name=sandiego/><ref name=osprey/>


=== Rabaul and Gilbert Islands strikes ===
=== Rabaul and Gilbert Islands strikes ===

Revision as of 12:36, 29 December 2017

For other ships with the same name, see USS Independence.

USS Independence (CVL-22)
USS Independence in San Francisco Bay, 15 July 1943
USS Independence in San Francisco Bay, 15 July 1943
History
United States
NameIndependence
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down1 May 1941
Launched22 August 1942
Commissioned14 January 1943
Decommissioned28 August 1946
FateTarget in nuclear weapons testing, 1946; scuttled 1951
General characteristics
Class and typeTemplate:Sclass-
Displacement
  • 10,662 tons standard,
  • 14,751 tons loaded
Length623 ft (190 m)
Beam
  • 71.5 ft (21.8 m) (waterline)
  • 109.2 ft (33.3 m) (extreme)
Draught24.3 ft (7.4 m)Error: has synonymous parameter (help)
Draft26 ft (7.9 m)Error: has synonymous parameter (help)
PropulsionGeneral Electric turbines, 4 shafts, 4 boilers; 100,000 shp
Speed31 knots (57 km/h)
Range13,000 nautical miles (24,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement1,569 officers and men (inc. air group)
Armament26 × Bofors 40 mm guns
Aircraft carried
  • original plan was 30;
  • 9 dive bombers
  • 9 torpedo-bombers
  • 12 fighters; for most of war operated 33–34, 24–26 fighters and 8–9 torpedo bombers.

USS Independence (CVL-22) (also CV-22) was a United States Navy light aircraft carrier, lead ship of her class and served during the Second World War.

Converted from the hull of a cruiser, she was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and commissioned in January 1943. She took part in the attacks on Rabaul and Tarawa before being torpedoed by Japanese aircraft, necessitating repairs in San Francisco from January to July 1944.

After repairs, she launched many strikes against targets in Luzon and Okinawa. Independence was part of the carrier group that sank the remnants of the Japanese Mobile Fleet in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and several other Japanese ships in the Surigao Strait. Until the surrender of Japan, she was assigned to strike duties against targets in the Philippines and Japan. She finished her operational duty off the coast of Japan supporting occupation forces until being assigned to return American veterans back to the United States as part of Operation Magic Carpet.

Independence was later used as a target during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests. After being transported back to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco for study, she was later sunk near the Farallon Islands.

Construction and deployment

Begun as light cruiser Amsterdam, CL-59, she was launched as CV-22 on 22 August 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Warner, wife of Rawleigh Warner, Sr, Chairman of Pure Oil Co., and commissioned 14 January 1943, Captain G. R. Fairlamb, Jr., in command.

The first of a new class of carriers converted from

Marcus Island.[1][2] Aircraft from the carrier force struck on 1 September and destroyed over 70 percent of the installations on the island. The carrier began her next operation, a similar strike against Wake Island 5 to 6 October as CVL-22, having been redesignated 15 July 1943.[1][2]

Rabaul and Gilbert Islands strikes

Independence sailed from Pearl Harbor for

Tarawa 18 to 20 November 1943. During a Japanese counterattack on 20 November, Independence was attacked by a group of aircraft low on the water. Six were shot down, but the aircraft launched at least five torpedoes, one of which hit the carrier's starboard quarter. Seriously damaged, the ship steamed to Funafuti
on 23 November for emergency repairs. Independence returned to San Francisco 2 January 1944 for more permanent repairs.

Refitting and training for night operations

The now-veteran carrier returned to Pearl Harbor 3 July 1944. During her repair period, the ship had been fitted with an additional

Task Force 38
during this operation.

Philippines

In September the

Okinawa. In the days that followed the carriers struck Okinawa, Formosa
, and the Philippines. Japanese air counterattacks were repulsed, with Independence providing day strike groups in addition to night fighters and reconnaissance aircraft for defensive protection.

As the carrier groups steamed east of the Philippines 23 October, it became apparent, as

Task Group 38.2, under Rear Admiral Bogan, spotted Kurita's striking force in the Sibuyan Sea 24 October and the carriers launched a series of attacks. Aircraft from Independence and other ships sank the battleship Musashi
and disabled a cruiser.

That evening Admiral

Battle for Leyte Gulf, all four Japanese carriers were sunk. Meanwhile, American heavy ships had won a victory in Surigao Strait; and a light carrier force had outfought the remainder of Kurita's ships in the Battle off Samar; Independence also assisted TF38 in the destruction of Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa
's diversion fleet off Cape Engaño. After the battle, which virtually spelled the end of the Japanese Navy as a major threat, Independence continued to provide search aircraft and night fighter protection for TF 38 in strikes on the Philippines.

Independence returned to Ulithi for long-delayed rest and replenishment 9 to 14 November, but soon got underway to operate off the Philippines on night attacks and defensive operations. This phase continued until 30 December 1944, when the task force sortied from Ulithi once more and moved northward. From 3 to 9 January 1945 the carriers supported the

Indo-China and China
. These operations in support of the Philippines campaign marked the end of the carrier's night operations, and she sailed 30 January 1945 for repairs at Pearl Harbor.

Okinawa

Independence returned to Ulithi 13 March 1945 and got underway next day for operations against Okinawa. She carried out pre-invasion strikes 30 to 31 March, and after the assault 1 April remained off the island supplying

strike aircraft
. Her aircraft shot down numerous enemy aircraft during the desperate Japanese attacks on the invasion force. Independence remained off Okinawa until 10 June when she sailed for Leyte.

During July and August the carrier took part in the final carrier strikes against Japan itself. After the end of the war 15 August, Independence aircraft continued surveillance flights over the mainland locating

Saipan and Guam
31 October.

Operation Crossroads and fate

USS Independence "Gilda" test damage aft port quarter (note two sailors on the aft deck)
USS Independence is on fire aft following the Operation Crossroads shot Able atomic bomb test, 1 July 1946

Independence joined the

Kwajalein
and decommissioned 28 August 1946.

The highly radioactive hull was later moved to Pearl Harbor and then San Francisco for further tests. It was finally scuttled near the Farallon Islands off the coast of California on 29 January 1951, by packing two torpedoes in its hull.[3]

Controversy has subsequently arisen about the sinking of Independence, as it is claimed that she was loaded with barrels of radioactive waste at the time of her sinking, and that the waste has subsequently contaminated the wildlife refuge and commercial fisheries associated with the Farallon Islands.[4] However, in 2015, it was considered that "any public health risk was small", as might be expected after this period of time.[5]

Wreck

In 2009 the position of the wreck of Independence in 2,600 feet (790 m) of water in the

hangar deck below it. No signs of radioactive contamination were detected, and a NOAA spokesman described the wreck as "amazingly intact."[6][7]

In 2016, a mission led by Robert Ballard, deep sea oceanographer, and partnered with the Ocean Exploration Trust and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, brought investigators closer to the wreckage than ever before. Using robotic exploration vehicles, the team surveyed the USS Independence for the first time since it sank 65 years ago, streaming footage online. While investigating the wreckage, researchers found evidence of at least one existing Grumman Hellcat plane as well as anti-aircraft weaponry.[8]

Honors and awards

Independence received eight

battle stars for World War II
service.

References

  1. ^ a b "Paramount Battles Involving Essex Class Carriers". History Department at the University of San Diego. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781846030376
    .
  3. ^ Rogers, Paul (22 August 2016). "Scientists explore wreck of WWII aircraft carrier off California coast". The Mercury News. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  4. ^ Davis, Lisa (9 May 2001). "Fallout". San Francisco Weekly. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  5. ^ Kinney, Aaron (16 April 2015). "Scientists find radioactive WWII aircraft carrier off San Francisco coast". The Mercury News. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  6. ^ Lendon, Brad (17 April 2015). "Aircraft carrier that survived atomic blasts lies at bottom of Pacific". CNN. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  7. ^ Anonymous, "Scientists Survey 'Amazingly Intact' WWII-Era Shipwreck," Naval History, pp. 12-13, 62.
  8. ^ Park, Madison (24 August 2016). "Scientists get a look at sunken World War II aircraft carrier after 65 years". CNN Politics. Retrieved 25 August 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Independence (CVL-22).
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