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Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Harwood, Bruce Lawrence, CDR.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Clairemont
Last Address USS Princeton in the Pacific.
BURIAL: Oak Park Cemetery Claremont, Los Angeles County, California
Casualty Date Oct 24, 1944
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Philippines
Conflict World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Leyte Campaign (1944)
Ordered on 1 July 1940 as a Cleveland-class light cruiser; designated CL-61. Named Tallahassee after the capital of Florida.
Designated for completion as an aircraft carrier, was reclassified CV-23 on 16 February 1942. Reordered from New York S.B. on 18 March 1942. Renamed Princeton, 31 March 1942, after a borough in west central New Jersey, scene of a famous Revolutionary War battle (2-3 January 1777) and birthplace of Captain Robert F. Stockton, who commanded the first Princeton, the first screw steam warship of the U.S. Navy. Three previous U.S. warships had borne the name.
Reclassified as a "Small Aircraft Carrier" and redesignated CVL-23, 15 July 1943.
Fate:Bombed by an enemy aircraft, 24 October 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Scuttled by torpedoing by USS Reno (CL-96).
A number of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on active duty.
Specifications (As built, 1943) Displacement: 11,000 tons standard; 15,100 tons full load Dimensions (wl): 600' x 71' 6" x 26' (max) / 182.9 x 21.8 x 7.9 (max) meters Dimensions (max.): 622' 6" x 109' 2" / 189.7 x 33.3 meters Armor: no side belt (2" belt over fwd magazine); 2" protective deck(s); 0.38" bridge; 5"/3.75" bhds; 5" bhds, 2.25" above, 0.75" below steering gear Power plant: 4 boilers (565 psi, 850°F); 4 geared turbines; 4 shafts; 100,000 shp (design) Speed: 31.6 knots Endurance (design): 12,500 nautical miles @ 15 knots Armament: 2 quad 40-mm/56-cal gun mounts; 8 (soon 9) twin 40-mm/56-cal gun mounts; 16 single 20-mm/70-cal guns mounts Aircraft: 30+ Aviation facilities: 2 centerline elevators; 1 hydraulic catapult (H 2-1) Crew: approx. 1,560
