USS Philippine Sea (CV-47)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Philippine Sea.

Philippine Sea underway, 9 July 1955
History
United States
NamePhilippine Sea
NamesakeBattle of the Philippine Sea
BuilderFore River Shipyard
Laid down19 August 1944
Launched5 September 1945
Commissioned11 May 1946
Decommissioned28 December 1958
Reclassified
  • CVA-47, October 1952
  • CVS-47, 15 November 1955
  • AVT-11, 15 May 1959
Stricken1 December 1969
FateScrapped, March 1971
General characteristics
Class and typeEssex-class aircraft carrier
Displacement27,100 long tons (27,500 t) standard
Length888 feet (271 m) overall
Beam93 feet (28 m)
Draft28 feet 7 inches (8.71 m)
Installed power
  • 8 × boilers
  • 150,000 shp (110 MW)
Propulsion
Speed33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Complement3448 officers and enlisted
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 4 in (102 mm)
  • Hangar deck: 2.5 in (64 mm)
  • Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm)
  • Conning tower: 1.5 inch
Aircraft carried90–100 aircraft

USS Philippine Sea (CV/CVA/CVS-47, AVT-11) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers of the United States Navy, and the first ship to be named for the Battle of the Philippine Sea. She was launched on 5 September 1945, after the end of World War II, and sponsored by the wife of the Governor of Kentucky.

During her career, Philippine Sea served first in the Atlantic Ocean and saw several deployments to the

battle stars
for her service.

For the remainder of her service, she operated primarily out of San Diego and San Francisco, seeing several deployments to the Far East and being redesignated an anti-submarine warfare carrier. She was decommissioned on 28 December 1958 and sold for scrap in 1970.

Construction

Main article: Essex-class aircraft carrier

Philippine Sea was the last of the 24 Essex-class ships to be completed, among the largest and most numerous capital ships produced for World War II.[1] CV-47 was ordered simultaneously to Valley Forge and Iwo Jima in June 1943.[2]

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldivers aboard Philippine Sea during her cruise in the Mediterranean in 1948

The ship was one of the

shaft horsepower that turned four propellers. Like other Essex-class carriers, she had a maximum speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph). The ship's cost is estimated at $68,000,000 to $78,000,000.[8]

Like other "long-hull" Essex-class carriers, Philippine Sea had a displacement of 27,100 tonnes (26,700 long tons; 29,900 short tons). She had an

Bofors 40 mm guns and a variable number of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon.[1] Unlike her sisters, however, Philippine Sea substituted additional Bofors guns for the Oerlikons with forty-four 40 mm (1.6 in) guns arrayed in 10 quadruple and two double mounts.[9]

The

christened by the wife of Governor of Kentucky Albert "Happy" Chandler.[7]

Service history

A color photo of an aircraft carrier at sea from a distance
Philippine Sea at Gibraltar in early 1948

Philippine Sea commissioned on 11 May 1946, when

Naval Air Station Quonset Point on 13 June. However, a shortage of men following the post-World War II demobilization forced her to remain at reduced operational status until 23 September when she embarked for sea trials.[7]

Returning from trials on 27 September, the carrier embarked Carrier Air Group 20,[7] which flew two squadrons of Grumman F8F Bearcat fighter aircraft as well as a squadron each of Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bombers and Grumman TBM-3E Avenger torpedo bombers, about 90 aircraft total.[11] She left port 30 September and commenced training en route to Norfolk, Virginia. CVG-20 Commander Robert M. Milner made the first takeoff from the carrier on 1 October aboard a Bearcat. Philippine Sea departed Norfolk Naval Shipyard 12 October for Cuban waters where she conducted an abbreviated shakedown cruise and training exercises for CVG-20's Grumman F8F Bearcats and Curtiss SB2C Helldivers until 20 November.[7]

Following these trials, Philippine Sea was assigned to Operation Highjump. She returned to Quonset and disembarked CVG-20 before sailing for Boston for repairs and alterations. She then headed to Norfolk where Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd boarded her and she took on six Douglas R4D-5 Skytrain transports, two Stinson OY-1 Sentinel liaison aircraft, and a Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter along with cargo, spare parts, skis and Task Force 68 personnel. She left Norfolk 29 December and stood out of Hampton Roads 2 January 1947 en route to Antarctica.[12] Philippine Sea passed through the Panama Canal 8 January and cleared Balboa by 10 January. By 12 January the ship had crossed the equator in an elaborate ceremony, but on 22 January its HO3S-1 was lost due to pilot error, though the crew was recovered. Two days later, it met the remaining ships of Task Force 68. The ship arrived on station on 29 January, 660 miles (1,060 km) from Little America, and launched its R4Ds in the next few days to explore the Antarctic. Commander William M. Hawkes and Byrd both disembarked from Philippine Sea aboard the aircraft to begin their expedition. After her aircraft departed, Philippine Sea returned to Quonset, passing through Balboa again on 22 February and arriving back in port on 27 February.[12]

A black and white photo of an aircraft carrier and a battleship in the background
Philippine Sea with Wisconsin during cold weather fleet exercises in the North Atlantic, November 1948

In late March, the carrier embarked

carrier controlled approach tests and 314 successful landings. On 22 October she was sent to the North Atlantic to conduct cold-weather landing tests and tested problem landing scenarios along the Arctic Circle until 23 November 1948.[14]

In January 1949, Philippine Sea returned to Carrier Division Four under Rear Admiral

Carrier Air Group 1. For the rest of the year, she continued fleet exercises in the North Atlantic and testing for new jet engine powered fighter aircraft to test their abilities to operate on aircraft carriers.[14]

Operating again from her base at Quonset Point, Philippine Sea spent early 1950 qualifying new carrier pilots. During February and most of March, she took part in more fleet exercises throughout the Atlantic. During April and May 1950 she conducted demonstration cruises for guests of the

Armed Forces Staff College. On 24 May 1950, Philippine Sea sailed from Norfolk through the Panama Canal, arriving at her new home port of San Diego to join the Pacific Fleet.[9] She was replaced in the Atlantic Fleet by Oriskany.[14] She was scheduled to begin a tour in the Far East in October 1950 before she was called to combat duty.[16]

Korean War

A propeller-driven aircraft prepared to take off aboard an aircraft carrier deck
An AD-4 Skyraider takes off from Philippine Sea for a sortie to Korea in the fall of 1950.

With the outbreak of the

Carrier Division One.[18] She was the third aircraft carrier to arrive in Korea, as her sister ship Valley Forge as well as HMS Triumph had arrived in July.[19] By the time Philippine Sea arrived in Korea, the UN forces had established superiority in the air and sea.[20]

Philippine Sea arrived in Korean waters on 1 August,

The Great Naktong Offensive on 31 August, the two carriers launched 263 sorties to prevent the North Koreans from overrunning Pusan Perimeter.[25] The ship sent sorties to defend Masan during the Battle of Masan, in spite of being 200 miles (320 km) from the area. The ship steamed to the southern tip of the Peninsula at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) on 1 September to support the Masan area more easily during the North Korean attacks.[26]

With the other carriers of Task Force 77, Philippine Sea targeted rail and communication centers around North Korean-controlled

Operation Chromite.[21] The day of the operation, 15 September, Philippine Sea dispatched planes far inland to destroy North Korean positions and prevent reinforcements from countering the Inchon landings. Following the initial assault, she continued to provide close air support for the thrust inland to recapture Seoul.[28] During this time, she was joined by Boxer.[29] They were part of a massive invasion force of some 230 ships and hundreds of aircraft.[30]

Ensign Jackson being helped from Grumman F9F-2 Panther after landing blind

On 17 September 1950 a pair of

LSO Lt.j.g. "Les" Bruestle[33] and Crow the blind pilot trapped the #4 wire on the first attempt. Jackson survived with 36 stitches and an emergency blood transfusion.[32]

In November 1950 when

MiG-15 fighters, prompting a large screen of 32 destroyers.[37][38]

For the rest of 1950 and early 1951, she launched numerous attacks against Chinese forces around the

Carrier Air Group 2 from Valley Forge, a group which consisted mostly of Vought F4U Corsair fighter-bombers. The same date as the transfer on 28 March, Philippine Sea became flagship of Vice Admiral H. M. Martin, the commander of the 7th Fleet.[35]

Returning to the

Formosa as part of a show of support for the newly formed nation of Taiwan, in an effort to boost morale of the nation. She steamed back to Korea three days later, in time to lend close air support to UN forces throughout early 1951 as they faced repeated offensives by the Chinese.[35]

Post-Korea

Air Group 2 in formation aboard Philippine Sea after the carrier's return from its first tour in Korea in early 1951

Philippine Sea completed her first deployment to Korea and arrived at San Francisco on 9 June 1951. It conducted refits, repairs and patrol operations along the West Coast continued for the remainder of the year. On 19 December, she was the site of a test for an emergency nuclear weapon assembly, the first such test involving a nuclear weapon aboard a US Navy ship. The ship departed from San Diego on 31 December 1951. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 8 January 1952, Philippine Sea continued on to Yokosuka for a second deployment to Korea, arriving 20 January 1952 with Carrier Air Group 11, which flew five squadrons of the F4U Corsair, about 100 aircraft.[39] During this tour, the front lines in Korea had largely stabilized, and instead the ship directed its aircraft against strategic targets, including the 23 June attack on the Sui-ho Dam in conjunction with Boxer, Princeton, and Bon Homme Richard, and sending aircraft against targets in Pyongyang.[40]

Philippine Sea returned to San Diego in August 1952. Her designation was changed to CVA, denoting an "attack aircraft carrier" in October. With five more Corsair squadrons of Carrier Air Group 9 embarked, she began a third cruise to the Far East early in December 1952 with about 100 aircraft.[9] In this third tour in Korea, Philippine Sea focused primarily on interdiction attacks against rail and communication lines in North Korea, hoping to limit supplies to the front lines. The North Korean offensive, begun at the same time truce talks began at Panmunjom, marked the beginning of a series of "round the clock" air sorties designed to weaken North Korean and Chinese front line troops and support UN troops when under attack.[41] This mission continued until an armistice was signed in the summer of 1953, resulting in the de jure cessation of open warfare.[9]

Following the end of her tour in Korea, the ship arrived in

Hunters Point in San Francisco for overhaul. On 9 January 1954, Philippine Sea once more began training off the coast of San Diego. She then steamed west on 12 March, for her fourth tour in the Far East. She operated out of U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay near Olongapo, Philippines.[9] She was part of Carrier Division 3 and operated alongside Hornet around French Indochina
.

Philippine Sea at a fleet review at Long Beach, California, 1956, moored alongside Bennington and Shangri La

The most significant event of the tour occurred in late July 1954. Chinese airplanes had shot down a Douglas DC-4 passenger aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific Airways near Hainan Island off the Chinese coast. The Chinese military had believed it to be a Taiwanese military airplane. Philippine Sea was ordered into the area as part of a search mission to recover some of the 19 on board.[42] While engaged in the search mission, a flight of the ship's Douglas AD Skyraiders was attacked by two Chinese fighter aircraft. The Skyraiders returned fire and shot down the airplanes. Later this came to be known unofficially as the "Hainan Incident".[43]

Following this duty, the ship sailed for Hawaii, where she was used as a prop in the movie

HSS-1 Seabat helicopters. She returned to San Diego on 23 November 1955. Throughout 1956 she saw little activity as crew went on leave and she was docked for maintenance, and only conducted several routine training operations off the coast of southern California. In late 1956 she moved to Hawaii for more training operations.[43]

In March 1957, she sailed for the western Pacific on a sixth tour to the area with the HSS-1s and S2Fs of

Zidell Explorations Corporation in Portland, Oregon.[45]

Philippine Sea received nine

battle stars for Korean War service. During her career, she logged 82,000 launches, including 33,575 catapult shots, and 82,813 landings. In April 1987, a new USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) was launched, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. An organization was also formed of veterans who had served aboard the ship, the Philippine Sea Association.[46]

Awards

Silver star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
World War II Victory Medal
 Navy Occupation Service Medal
(with Europe clasp) 		China Service Medal
(extended)
National Defense Service Medal
battle stars
) 		Antarctica Service Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
United Nations Korea Medal
 Republic of Korea War Service Medal
(retroactive)

Gallery

  • R4D Skytrain onboard Philippine Sea in Antarctica on 8 January 1947
    R4D Skytrain onboard Philippine Sea in Antarctica
    on 8 January 1947
  • Philippine Sea anchored off Argostolion in 1948
    Philippine Sea anchored off
    Argostolion
    in 1948
  • Philippine Sea with F4U Corsairs off Korea in 1951
    Philippine Sea with F4U Corsairs off Korea in 1951
  • Philippine Sea anchored in 1954
    Philippine Sea anchored in 1954
  • Platte refuels Philippine Sea and Watts on 19 July 1955
    Watts
    on 19 July 1955
  • Philippine Sea in 1955
    Philippine Sea in 1955

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Essex-class Aircraft Carrier, United States Navy, 6 June 2006, archived from the original on 1 November 2011, retrieved 30 November 2011
  2. ^ a b Ticonderoga-class Aircraft Carrier, United States Navy, 8 October 2001, archived from the original on 15 October 2011, retrieved 30 November 2011
  3. ^ a b Sowinski 1988, p. 30
  4. ^ Raven 1988, p. 42
  5. ^ Fahey 1950, p. 5
  6. ^ Friedman 1983, p. 151
  7. ^ a b c d e f St. John 2000b, p. 11
  8. ^ St. John 2000a, p. 15
  9. ^
    US Navy, archived from the original
    on 29 May 2012, retrieved 1 December 2011
  10. ^ St. John 2000b, p. 10
  11. ^ a b St. John 2000b, p. 33
  12. ^ a b c St. John 2000b, p. 13
  13. ^ St. John 2000b, p. 17
  14. ^ a b c d St. John 2000b, p. 16
  15. ^ USS Philippine Sea Commanding Officers http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/47co.htm Archived 23 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 296
  17. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 37
  18. ^ a b St. John 2000b, p. 18
  19. ^ a b Marolda 2007, p. 35
  20. ^ Alexander 2003, p. 126
  21. ^ a b Marolda 2007, p. 65
  22. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 299
  23. ^ St. John 2000b, p. 19
  24. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 44
  25. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 45
  26. ^ Alexander 2003, p. 190
  27. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 303
  28. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 304
  29. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 201
  30. ^ Alexander 2003, p. 195
  31. ^ a b "Miracle Landing off Korea". 19 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  32. ^ a b Aviation History magazine March 2014 page 54
  33. ^ a b "Photo # 80-G-439862 picture data". Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  34. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 310
  35. ^ a b c d e St. John 2000b, p. 20
  36. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 221
  37. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 226
  38. ^ Alexander 2003, p. 357
  39. ^ St. John 2000b, p. 21
  40. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 332
  41. ^ Marolda 2007, p. 342
  42. ^ St. John 2000b, p. 27
  43. ^ a b c St. John 2000b, p. 28
  44. ^ Associated Press, "Parade of Navy Ships to Bring Thousands Home From Pacific", San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 19 November 1954, Volume LXI, Number 69, page 4.
  45. ^ a b St. John 2000b, p. 29
  46. ^ a b c St. John 2000b, p. 2

Sources

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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