CLASS - ESSEX (Short Hull)
Displacement 27,100 Tons, Dimensions, 872' (oa) x 93' x 28' 7" (Max)
Armament 12 x 5"/38AA, 32 x 40mm, 46 x 20mm, 82 Aircraft.
Armor, 4" Belt, 2 1/2" Hanger deck, 1 1/2" Deck, 1 1/2" Conning Tower.
Machinery, 150,000 SHP; Westinghouse Geared Turbines, 4 screws
Speed, 33 Knots, Crew 3448. Operational and Building Data
Built by Newport News. Laid down 1 Dec 1941, launched 26 Apr 1943, commissioned 16 August 1943. SCB 27C reconstruction at Newport News started 9 April 1952, completed and recommissioned 20 June 1954. Redesignated as an attack carrier (CVA 11) 1 October 1952 while in overhaul. SCB 125 angled deck modernization at New York Navy 9/1956 to 2 May 1957. Redesignated as an ASW carrier (CVS 11) 31 Mar 1962. FRAM II life extension 3/1965 to 10/1965. Operated as light attack carrier with CVS designation off Vietnam.
NS098641210: "Burning of the Frigate Philadelphia in the Harbor of Tripoli, February 16, 1804." Oil on canvas, 60" by 42", by Edward Moran (1829–1901), signed and dated by the artist, 1897. It depicts USF Philadelphia, previously captured by the Tripolitans, ablaze after she was boarded and set afire by a party from the ketch USS Intrepid (in the foreground) led by LT Stephen Decatur. Painting in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum Collection. Gift of Paul E. Sutro, 1940. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 10849, via Tommy Trampp.
Description
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon from 23–26 October 1944, between combined US and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in Southeast Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy's 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.
It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer aircraft than the Allied forces had sea vessels, demonstrating the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war.
