How Many Aircraft Carriers Did The US Navy Have During WWII: An Overview of All Carrier Classes
Have you ever wondered how many carriers were in commission in the US Navy during WWII? Here is your answer! Please enjoy this surface-level overview of each carrier class the US Navy had during WWII.
Disclaimer!! The info sheets for each class are as accurate as I could make them. The full load tonnages, crew and aircraft carried may have slightly varied.
The graphics in this video were created by this channel and take many hours. If you are interested in using them, please reach out and do not take without asking.
Time Stamps:
Lexington-class fleet carrier - 00:55
Ranger fleet carrier - 01:43
Yorktown-class fleet carrier - 02:45
Wasp fleet carrier - 04:20
Essex-class fleet carrier - 05:31
Independence-class light carrier - 07:51
Long Island-class escort carrier - 09:46
Charger-class escort carrier - 11:02
Bogue-class escort carrier - 11:41
Sangamon-class escort carrier - 12:53
Casablanca-class escort carrier- 14:23
Commencement Bay-class escort carrier - 15:49
Miscellaneous/training carriers - 16:26
Charts & Conclusion - 17:14
Books used to confirm information:
US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45: Prewar Classes - By Mark Stille
US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942-45: WWIII-Built Classes - By Mark Stille
US Navy Escort Carriers 1942-45 - By Mark Stille
Since this is a technical video, I made an oversight and did not include it in this video. In early 1943, HMS Victorious was loaned to the US Navy until mid-1943 and was under the call-sign of "Robin". USS "Robin" technically counts, my fault! If you want to learn more on the story, I covered it in a recent video here: kzhead.info/sun/etCxd5ZrnWRvjZE/bejne.htmlsi=zpLXiRQu-CuOz4gG
Great job! Subbed.
Hi...terrific presentation, you obviously put a lot of work and care into putting this together, and it shows. I did spot a minor error on one of the data cards...not because I was looking, it just jumped up and bit me in the eyes. LOL On the card for Essex class, it lists the 5in gun armament as being 8 dual turrets and 4 single mounts, but it is obviously the other way around.😁
@@brudnick39ahh I should have written eight in four dual turrets, good catch! There were 4 single mounts still so that’s correct. Glad you enjoyed the video though!
@@svgproductions72 Ah...yes...good catch on correcting my correction...silly me. 💯😎
Saratoga: Hey, everyone. I’d like to introduce the newest US Navy Carrier, USS Robin. “Robin:” Howdy my fellow carriers. Enterprise (not buying it for a second): Drop the act Victorious I know that’s you.
It's a crying shame that The Big E, with 20 battle stars, was scrapped. Should have been made into a museum ship
I was just thinking the same .👍
it really is sad, at least she was reincarnated
I always thought the same. How come the Navy was never able to find a nesting place for such illustrious ship. Certainly one of the most important warships in naval history.
If I remember right, Her sponsor (Lulie Swanson) requested that she not be made a Museum as she thought it would have dishonored the Sailors and Pilots that served and died on the ship. Edit: on top of that the massive amount of Damage she had taken over the course of the War would have made making her a Museum near impossible.
@@bully056 How could that possibly have dishonored the men who served on her? That's ridiculous. Quite the opposite actually. It would have honored them. I highly doubt she had any real say on the matter. Her war damage had been repaired and she was in fighting form at the end of the war. The ultimate reason for her scrapping was that they used her in atomic bomb testing and the subsequent radiation levels made it unsafe to preserve her. Which begs the original question: why use a beloved, legendary warship draped with battle honors as an A-bomb target? Somebody dropped the ball on that one and a piece of American history was forever destroyed.
If i recall correctly the USS White Plains (Casablanca Escort Carrier) scored hits on a Japanese crusier with its 5inch gun during the Battle off Samar, making it the only US Carrier to hit surface targets with its guns. Awesome video!
This is something I heard about, I may look more into it. I was always a fan of the Casablanca class carriers!
I think St. Lo also fired upon the Japanese Center Force
I agree with the previous comment I believe it was St. lo
Not to mention one of the longest range shots, ever.
All six carriers from Taffy 3 engaged the Japaneee with their 5 inch guns
Glad you mentioned Wolverine and Sable. They don't get enough credit for the mission they performed.
My last carrier video, “5 more facts”, covers Wolverine and Sable more in depth!
And in any list of warships you need to include the quirky comedy relief ( maybe that’s mean and inaccurate considering their role and contribution)
Despite never venturing out to sea, they were present at every engagement the boys they helped train fought in. Legends!
As a Michigan man, and a family member of Great Lakes sailors I love those two.
I was shocked when I heard about them few year ago.... I knew the navy had some kind of ships for training in the grate lakes.. Cracked me up to hear the paddle wheels as that just sounds sooooooo odd of a way to move the ships... Tho they only had to do day short trips.. I think of them as the Navy's crazy secret weapons as they never normally get talked about and kinda get forgotten by the general public......... I was really happy to see they where the last ones talked about in the video.
My great grandfather was on the Bismarck Sea, when sunk at Iwo Jima. It was so crazy, the stories he told me. Floating in the ocean for many hours while trying to keep his dead friend afloat so he could go home. heartbreaking stuff man.
Thank you for sharing, I couldn’t even imagine that, along with losing your home !
I served aboard USS Boxer LPH-4, originally CV-21 a long hulled Essex class. While not finished in time for combat in WWII, it was one of the primary carriers of the Korean war and set many records and firsts of combat aviation. it was decommissioned in December, 1969...
I served on the USS Boxer in the mid-sixties after it became LPH-4 helicopter assault ship. I was a Marine infantry man, with G Co, 2/2, 2nd MarDiv. We made a couple of practice 'vertical envelopments' from the Boxer.
6:28 is it on fire in that image? what's the streak of white by the Island?
@@Defender78that’s the smokestack it’s venting the smoke from the engine 🤦♂️
My father’s 1953 cruise book from the USS New Jersey has a picture of the USS Boxer, part of the strike group that went to Korea…
My father was an aviation machinist mate on the USS Essex in WWII. He was one of the 44 injured when that kamikaze hit the Essex in 1944, he had burn scars all over his legs from that incident. He was treated, bandaged and was back on line fixing planes within a day.
JAPAN: Don't remind me!
U.S.A. REMINDED
Quantity makes quality. If the US. were small as Japan... and Japan were big as the US. Japan would have won over the US. in less than 1 year. So ...nothing special about the US. won the war in the Pacific. But it was so special that Japan could fight as long as 4 years. Admiral Yamamoto said that Japan could not win this war..
HAHAHAHA 😅
@@user-tb6uj9hz6ksize is only part of the equation, that is the most naively juvenile take possible.
If we had suffered similar pilots loses I could see use losing with most of are carriers almost all hands survived while japans lost at least nearly 4 carriers worth of crew and airmen and Japan didn’t send its airmen back to train new recruits and they had a much higher to fail then even America we were able to put airmen in to each pilots seat while Japan struggled to get enough fully trained airmen. Even around midwar Japan had a couple of aircraft carriers that they either didn’t have the aircraft or trained airmen to put on.
Didn't realize just how many carriers were already in the queue even prior to the war. The swarms of Fletcher DDs roaming the sea were bad enough for the Japanese in the Pacific. But seeing just how many carriers were cranked out is another example of the industrial complex that Yamamoto knew would come fro them.
Yes, getting into a naval war with a nation whose industrial base is at least 10 times bigger than your own ...
Waking the sleeping giant indeed. I recommend a video by the channel, Military History Visualized, called "Why Japan had NO Chance in WW2" It is basically a timeline/bar chart of combat ships commissioned (as you say, several were under construction prior to Dec, 7th.) during the war. The pace at which the US was launching ships was incredible.
It’s very well might happen again as the Navy is now looking at what kind of infrastructure improvements they need to quadruple the output of ships and submarines.
@@bernarddavis1050 with no problem of sourcing rawmaterials and the oil to make them sail out into battle.
Dad served on USS Bataan during WWII, I still have his ships book that chronicled the conflicts, damage incurred the, ship's and the Pacific fleet's task force groups.
Wow! That’s great, the Independence class ships were extremely interesting to read about. Thanks for sharing!
My Dad was the Bataan’s navigator during her final combat tour which was during Korean War. Voyage ended in July 1953. During wwii he flew SOC from cruisers and in 1944 he flew Venturas.
My father was aboard the USS Bennington. He told stories of the Kamikaze's at Okinawa. Unfortunately he was also at Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll in 1946. He died of leukemia in 1973.
Uncle served on the San Jacinto unfortunately his ships book was thrown out at some point. But I sure enjoyed reading and looking at it as a kid.
Sell me that book for $5 please! 🥹
The Lexingtons and Yorktowns will always be my favorites. They were appealing to the eye and had the most action-packed histories of the US carriers.
Same here!
They held the line.
Those 2 will be remembered as the Goats of all carriers. Nothing built from China, Russia or NK can ever top those 2 carriers forever….
@@markoliver314weird ass response ngl… why are you comparing them to potentially modern carriers?
My dad was on CV2 Lexington and walked out on deck as the 8" guns fired. Had no clue! Luckily he transfered to a repair ship before Coral Sea.
My grandfather served on fanshaw bay as a bomb loader. The fanshaw saw combat at the battle of Lete Gulf, among other things like being damaged from a kamikaze if i remember correctly. He had a big scar going down his forearm that my mother never knew the origin of. After he passed we aquired some of his items he had from the war, one of which was his uniform that carried a patch that we researched to indicate that he was a trained rear gunner for the dive bombers. He had never mentioned this to either of his kids. Sadly I was too young, and he lived many states away so i never had a chance to talk to him before he died.
Wow what a story! Thank you for sharing !
My uncle helped build it in Vancouver Washington
Lexington and Yorktown-classes held the line in the Pacific Theater when the Imperial Japanese Navy and their carriers were at their peak. There have been 5 Carrier Duels in WWII: Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz Islands, and Philippine Sea. All took place in 1942 except for Philippine Sea which happened in 1944. The Lexingtons & Yorktowns fought the critical naval battles of 1942 until the Essex-class came in with massive strength to hammer the Japanese. These little Light and Escort Carriers don't get the attention they deserve compared to the larger Fleet Carriers. But they did all sorts of dirty work that you didn't need the Fleet Carriers for. Ferrying planes so they don't have to fly halfway across the world, wearing their engines out. Escorting convoys and doing Anti-submarine duties. Also, in the end, when you're being attacked by naval aircraft, it doesn't matter if the planes came from a Fleet Carrier or a smaller Light & Escort Carriers. To Kurita commanding Center Force at Samar, he had no idea that the planes menacing his fleet were merely from dinky little Escort Carriers. The Japanese swore for a long time they were being attacked by Halsey's Fleet Carriers' aircraft. Lastly all these extra flight decks gave the US Navy a lot of flexibility. They had groups of different carriers that could be specifically dedicated for ground / amphibious support. The USN had a bunch of these CVEs doing just that in the Pacific, pounding ground targets and helping the US Army and Marine troops. This freed up the Fleet Carriers to be more concerned with combat air patrols, reconnaissance, and anti-ship. This is important because even the Japanese navy's Kido Butai ran into a problem at Midway. Their carriers were responsible for missions to include combat air patrol, bombing Midway, and dealing with the US Navy should they appear. The ordnance ideal for attacking ground and naval targets were different. High explosive bombs are great for attacking Midway but not Carriers. In dealing with capital ships (Battleships, Carriers) you wanted torpedoes and armor piercing bombs. The Japanese were caught dealing at the worst time being focused on ground attack and had to switch to anit-ship ordnance, which wasted time. High explosive bombs weren't going to cut it against the US carriers. The IJN had 4 carriers at Midway and they weren't able to do all the missions asked of them. Meanwhile the USN would later have a ridiculous amount of flight decks. They had the freedom to specialize.
Thanks.
Id count the battle of cape engano (part of leyte) as a carrier battle . Japan still had about 100 aircraft for the battle .
High explosive bombs would be more effective against the US carriers due to their unarmoured decks. The wooden decks of US carriers, to prevent sparks caused by aircraft crashing on landing. Proved to be more of a liability. The British built armoured carrier decks from the start. A fire on a steel deck being more manageable than on a wooden deck.
yup
@@keithdurose7057- First, IJN carriers were also wooden decked. Second, the tradeoff was British carriers, with armored decks, had less than half the aircraft complement of American carriers. In the event, the US only lost 4 fleet carriers during the war...
I'm glad you included Wolverine and Sable, they also had the most "sorties" of any ships due to their job as trainers, and kept the fleet supplied with qualified pilots. Having ships immune to attack by enemy forces (In the Great Lakes) was very important.
FYI, Naval Air Station Grosse Ile (pronounced Groz eel) trained Navy pilots just south of Detroit. Bob Barker, later tv host, went thru flight training here on The Great Lakes.
Lexington CV2. My Father served on the Lexington's Marine Detachment from 1938-40. She was his very first duty station and he loved every minute he served on her. I have his photo album from when he was on her. When my Father learned of her loss at Coral Sea, my Mother told me he went down to the street corner and cried. His love for the Lexington stayed with him for the rest of his life. Other than God and family, his two greatest loves were his 27 years in the Marine Corps, and the U.S.S. LEXINGTON CV2.
Thanks for sharing! The Lex and Sara were such iconic carriers!
Once a Marine Always a Marine. Semper Fi.
My grandfather served on Phoenix (CL-46) from the day she commissioned in Phildelphia in 1937, through the Pearl Harbor attack, and through the entirety of the war. I've been told he also cried when he learned she'd been sunk off the Falkland Islands as a ship of the Argentine Navy in 1982. He thought she'd been scrapped decades beforehand. No way you could spend that much time on a ship and not become attached, I suppose. Becomes almost a living thing.
My father served on the Lady Lex from '36 to '38. He, too, had a Lexington photo album that I still have. She was his first ship out of Naval training school in Norfolk. He was a machinist and later a CWO ship's carpenter. He later served as the Chief Carpenter aboard the Bogue (CVE 8), the Little Rock and the Missouri. He retired in '65.
Semper Fi! We loved our Marine detachment, too. USS Long Beach, CGN-9.
When in my teens, in the 1980s, I partnered with a WWII era USN pilot to build a 6 foot replica of a Casablanca class carrier. The model was powered and had lighting. Monty said that the commercial hull was based on a Liberty ship design.
Wow! Which Casablanca-class ship did you model?
I remember reading a quote from a pilot that qualified on USS Wolverine. He said that when he made his first landing at sea on a fleet carrier he couldn't believe how huge the flight deck was and that others had complained that they were tiny.
I just attended the funeral of a former F4U Corsair pilot aboard the USS Guadalcanal (mentioned and shown in your video). He was the last living World War II veteran I knew and an outstanding example of the Greatest Generation. We have all been blessed because of their service and sacrifice both during the war and in building the peace to follow.
My grandfather served on the Santee for the entire war from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He was an aircraft mechanic and was nearly killed by the “first” kamikaze of the war. Still have a piece of the Japanese airplane that hit it. He used to say the St. Lo took credit for the first because an admiral was on it. Seems kinda a funny distinction to argue over, but lots of good stories. Tito Puente served on the Santee as well.
My dad served on the Commencement Bay CVE 105 between 1944 and VJ. He was hen was transferred to Cape Esperance CVE-88 as it was now serving as a barracks ship and my dad was waiting discharge. The CVE 105 qualified pilots and sailed between the west coast and Hawaii during the WW2.
Wow! Thank you for sharing!
My uncle helped build the CVE 105 in Vancouver Washington
The statistic that always stuck with me about the Pacific naval battles was that Japan managed to build something like 6 aircraft carriers during WWII. In that same period, the US built .. 90. Cool video! Thanks.
When you look at the amount of shipping that both the United states and Britain produced during ww2 it just shows the Axis had absolutely no chance of gaining control of the oceans.
I am english and I had a Japanese friend, we liked to watch war movies together - Midway, Tora Tora, Band of Brothers etc. When I told him about President Roosevelt ordering 24 Essex class carriers - he could not believe it!
Early 1943 IJN: Finally, we have destroyed the entire US Aircraft Carrier force Enterprise and Saratoga: That's odd. We're still here. IJN: How are you still alive. Enterprise: Pure vengeance Saratoga: Your Torpedoes were more of a blessing than a curse. IJN: No matter, we defeated you once. We can do it again. Enterprise: But before you do. Saratoga: We bought some new friends (Essex and Independence-Class carriers show up) IJN: Uh Oh Saratoga: Oh, that's not the worst part. Do you remember my sister Lexington? Enterprise: And my sisters Yorktown and Hornet. Along with my half-sister Wasp? IJN: Yeah, why?..... Oh no.
That sure be it
Lexington: "Oh, Zuikaku~. We have some unfinished business."
I wonder what the Japanese thought when the new versions of the various carriers that were sunk showed up
Counting only fleet and line carriers, the US finished the war with more (4 times) carriers than it started with. In contrast, the IJN was never able to replace any of their losses. Once a carrier was lost, the number of available carriers was permanently less.
They converted the third Yamato ship into the biggest carrier of ww2 but it was sunk a few days after leaving port
Yorktown Class gets my vote. USS Enterprise CV6 is my favorite ship of the war. And was the most successful. My friend lost her Dad at Midway, Arthur Ely. XO TB6. Devastator. His Dad was Eugene Ely, first flight off a ship. The pic of Big E having her elevator blown high into the air by a Kamikaze is EPIC. THANKS
They did build a few new carriers over the course of the war, but it was only like four.
Not including the escort carriers of the Imperial Japanese Army, the various unfinished Unryū/Ikoma class, the various seaplane tenders, or the also unfinished Ibuki heavy cruiser conversion, the IJN had 20 carriers throughout the war. They started out with 10. It went up to 11 after the commissioning of the light carrier Shoho but immediately back down to 7 and then 6 after Midway and Eastern Solomons. By March 7th 1944 they had built back up to 10 total active carriers (although the average quality had severely dropped). They then lost 3 fleet carriers in the Philippine Sea in late June going back to 7 again. The commissioning of the only 3 Unryū class brought them once again back up to 10 by October 15th 1944 but 10 days later they lost 4 carriers bringing them down to 6. The newly commissioned Shinano was sunk the next month after only existing for 10 days, keeping them at 6. They dropped down to 5 in December after the torpedoing of Unryū and finished the war with 4 total after Amagi was sunk in port in July 1945. So they were actually able to replace their losses back up to the original 10 two times, but overall quality steadily dropped for the entire war. I think a video on the various monstrosities that were the Japanese carrier conversions made out of desperation would be interesting. They range all the way from battleships/battlecruisers converted both during and after construction, some aviation cruisers/battleships with partial flight decks, seaplane tender conversions, and the IJA’s escort carriers/amphibious assault ships.
@@collinwood6573 That was very interesting, thank you. It seems like most sources I read say that, just as bad as a lack of ships, was a lack of pilots as the war went on. My understanding is that when they dangled their carriers in front of Halsey to draw him away from Leyte Gulf, there were actually no planes on the ships at all. They were just purely sacrificial bait, not intended even to defend themselves.
Well done, bravo! The graphics are extremely helpful to visualize how BIG the carrier fleet truly was in WW2 and each class’ distinct differences. Didn’t realize how many escort carriers there were! Don’t hear about them much in general - so I’m glad you gave them such detailed coverage. Hard to get my head around how big the US surface fleet was in the Pacific. Wow!
Thanks Tom, I thought it was best to make graphics for viewers to visually see the forces the US had instead of just stating numbers! Glad you enjoyed it
I heartily agree! Very well done and presented. I've known about these ships, but it's mind boggling just how many aircraft carriers were built just before and during the war. And you didn't even include the Saipan class or the Roosevelt or the rest of the later Essex class. And the ships that were canceled!! At least a dozen Essex class carriers. The United States build an AMAZING amount of ships during World War 2.
@@timothyboles6457don’t forget the Midway class either. They were massively more capable than any other carrier of the time and the lead ship of the class commissioned merely 8 days after the end of WW2.
@@collinwood6573 I couldn't remember the class ship! Lol, and yes they were far superior to the Essex class ships. Pity there were only 3 built. I can't remember how many were planned and how many were canceled.
The escort carriers are so cool, they really picked up the slack during WW2, and they continued to serve well into Korea, some of them finding odd postwar roles.
The ability to just dial a phone for 50 aircraft carriers and have them delivered 19 months later should have been enough to convince Japan that the war couldn't be won.
One correction. The Sable and Wolverine were not scrapped after the war. They were restored to their original luxury liner configuration, and resumed their previous civilian roles until the mid ‘50’s. They were eventually scrapped. Although there was a small effort to convert one or both into museums. For those who never encountered it, the US Navy’s “IX” designation was a catch all classification for weird and experimental stuff that they really had no other label for.
I love it. A very comprehensive overview. Liked and subscribed. I'm a big Pacific War nerd and was unaware of much of the details you covered. It's a real shame they scrapped Enterprise, what a legend. If any ship deserved preservation, it was her.
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the video, it really is a shame what happened to the Big E
Agreed. I'm glad Yorktown (#2) is a museum but Enterprise deserved to be saved too.
Thank you for not missing Wolverine and Sable. With a mention if just for their oddity, though they did make a great contribution to the war also. A great example of leave no stone unturned approach to the war.
Even more amazing than the amount of ships built and how fast they did it, is the even more amazing job that they did in getting the crews trained to operate these ships under extreme conditions. Just in awe and the thought of trying to do something like this today seems like such an impossibility.
There is a reason the U.S. Shot up out of the Great Depression so quickly after the failure of FDR's socialist policies. Good old capitalism, funded by capitalists with a healthy IOU from FDR, presented to Truman after the war.
I worked at the shipyard that built a number of the early carriers and designed the Essex class as Fleet carriers, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. I enjoyed watching your presentation!
My late father served aboard a Bogue class (USS Croatan CVE 25) during the battle of the Atlantic. He told about getting hit by a big wave from port and taking a 45 degree list. Just as they thought they were capsizing, another big wave hit them from starboard and righted them. The pilots loved the Bougue class because they carried more aviation fuel than the big carriers. My uncle served on the Bennington during Korea and was trapped below deck for several hours after she suffered an explosion in her catapults. He was transferred to the Essex class Lexington for the rest of the war while the Bennington was being rebuilt.
Salute for the thorough, but concise description of each class and the motivation/differences between them.
Thank you for creating this. I knew all the fleet carrier stuff, but leaned a ton about the escort carriers. Very well done!
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
My uncle helped build 50 carriers in Vancouver Washington in less than 2 years.
Thankyou for an interesting read. I am glad that the 'USS Robin' (HMS Victorious) was included in this conversation. While I didn't serve on her, I served on one of her escort ships back in the 60s. She was a 'pretty' ship if an aircraft carrier can be pretty and had a fair turn of speed. I served in the Royal Navy until 1975.
If you’d like to learn more about her story, I recently did another video “5 More facts about US aircraft carriers” on my channel. Be sure to check it out! Thanks for sharing your story
I’ve always been very interested in this topic. This video by far has the most information for the different classes of US carriers Ty
Very well put together and thanks. My Dad was first crew on CA 36 Minneapolis 1934. Civilian in '41 reentered for the duration in '42. Was on Guam when it ended.
One of the best new comprehensive videos about WW2 carriers. Great narration and clips! Keep up the good work! 👍
Thank you! I really appreciate it!
Had no idea there were 112 carriers during WW2. Amazing how fast they were built.
Nice presentation and one of the most complete explaining WWII carriers and their classes. Thanks for the great work!
Thank you for the nice comment! Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for this excellent summary: My dad served in the Pacific in WW2 and I grew up steeped in the history of the conflict-been looking for a video just like this.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
I knew we had many, but 101 commissioned at war's end! Wow! My ASW Frigate did our deployment in 1983. We had the last oil-burning carriers in service then, but already the Nimitz class nuke carriers were taking over.
Great summary of the different classes of aircraft carriers. Very well done. I have always thought the Independence class and the various escort classes were not well covered and they did much of the important fighting. Again, well done.
Thank you! I wanted to cover them as well, I agree they are not talked about enough!
While not lot of glory in ferrying planes or escorting convoys they played very important role. Ferrying help keep island airfield and fleet carrier airarms fighting fit.
Interesting video. This is something I have been curious about, but never took the time to look up the information and sort it out. Thank you for your brief, concise summarization . . . . great job!
Good video! When I was 6 years old I went onboard the CV-18 USS Wasp. A lot of the Essex class carriers had undergone conversions to a slanted flight deck and were used for ASW missions. My father was a pilot flying S-2 Trackers off of the Wasp in VS-31 Squadron. There is a US Navy training film on YT from the mid 1960s titled “The Hunter Killers” that features the ASW squadrons that were flying off of the Wasp in 1966. My father is the pilot at the three minute and forty two second mark.
I had read about the original carriers the USS Lexington lost during the coral sea, Yorktown, heavily damaged at Coral sea and sailed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Admiral Nimitz, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, ordered every sailor available to repair her and get ready in time for the battle of Midway, but was lost during this battle. USS Hornet, which played a role in Doolittle's raid on Japan, later lost at the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands I belive, and USS Wasp was lost as well. USS Enterprise, "The Big E as it was called, was the most decorated carrier in the pacific theater. What gave us an edge in the Pacific theater was the introduction of the Essex class carriers, which can carry up to a 100 aircraft. USS Essex was the first. Then the small escort carriers played a big role. And three Essex class carriers were named Lexington, Wasp, Yorktown, Hornet And new carrier tactics and new and better aircraft from the F6F Hellcat: "The Zero killer" as it was called, Helldiver dive bombers, replacing the dauntless dive bombers. If we had not built these much needed carriers in time, victory in the Pacific would not had been possible. I salute all the crews, pilots and seamen, that sacrifice their lives on these flattops that ensured Japan's ultimate defeat. Great video.🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
I think the most incredible battle Story of WW2 naval engagements was the battle of Taffy 3 and her DE's and DD's against the Japanese Task Force sent to stop the US Invasion Force in the Philippines. An truly "David vs Goliath" engagement, in every aspect. The MOH Citation for LT CDR Ernest E Evans brings pictures to mind, that you would expect to see, on a Hollywood Film Poster. God rest them all. List of Japanese Ships in that Fight; IJN's Battleships Yamato, Nagato, Haruna : Heavy Cruisers Haguro, Kumano, Suzuya, Chikuma, Tone: Lt Cruisers Yahagi, , Noshiro; 11 DD's of various Classes. Versus US Force defending the Landing Forces; Escort carriers Fanshaw bay, Gambier bay, Kalinin Bay, Kitkun Bay, St. Lo, White Plains : DD's Heermann, Hoel, Johnston, DE's Dennis, John C Butler, Raymond, Samuel B Roberts. The Aircraft involved from our Carriers deserve much respect , as they attacked with primarily Land Ordnance and Machinegun fire. The Japanese should have wiped this Tin Can Fleet from the Waters, instead they lost three Cruisers, turned tail and ran. The Story is well worth a read. we lost 2 DD's, 1 DE, and 2 CVE's. The Liberation of the Philippines then proceeded, because of the heroic actions.
Always tell people about Taffy 3. Not enough people know about it.
If i recall correctly this battle is the only time an aircraft carrier sunk a ship with her guns...
I first heard about it on Drachinifel channel. Honestly while the bravery of the crews cannot be understated it read more as if the Japs where doing everything in there power to lose the battle. @@chinson525
It's the only us carrier sunk by a battleship
A book commemorates this incredible battle, "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors." These sailors exemplified the essence of the US Navy service and never letting the Marines ashore down. As at Guadalcanal, the sacrifice of so many sailors safety put and kept the Marines ashore.
Thanks so much for putting this concise yet still informative list together. It is an excellent summary of the types of ships which without we could not have won the war. I've studied and modeled carriers since childhood. They have been my favorite to study and you did a great job bringing them together. They are a tribute to the American ability to build what is needed to win and a tribute to the brave Americans who served aboard. Take care, thanks again.
Very well done. Thank you for putting this together.
I was unaware of the number and variety of escort carriers! A very informative video!
Yes so many CVEs! Can’t forget about the little guys!
Most aircraft carrier histories omit the escort carriers--and the two Great Lakes training carriers. I enjoyed the presentation. Minor gripe--you didn't define "aircraft carrier" because "everybody knows what an aircraft carrier is." You pointed out that the old CV-1 Langley was NOT an aircraft carrier when she was sunk transporting a deck load of P-40 fighters to Australia. Good job! Your escort carrier coverage was excellent, and you managed to keep your video presentation to under 20 minutes. The modern "helicopter carrier" in US Navy service and the Cold War CVS (anti-submarine carriers) are and were the spiritual descendants of WW2 escort and light carriers. Now the "helicopter carriers" of the US Navy have significant sea control capabilities (escort carrier work), serve to transport aircraft from place to place (while I was on a WESPAC cruise in '77-'78 USS Tripoli/LPH-10 stashed several S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft on the hangar deck and ferried them across the Pacific), even work as cargo ships when they aren't home to a Marine battalion and a composite Marine aviation squadron. The old AV-8B Harrier and new F-35B Lightning offer significant fixed-wing combat capabilities. The old CVS series that included the Yorktown, Lexington and Hornet Essex-class carriers were optimized for anti-submarine work, both as the center of hunter-killer anti-submarine task forces and for convoy escort duties, freeing up the larger attack carriers (CVB and CVA and the modern CVN) for operations elsewhere.
Some of the Essex carriers from WW2 were also modified with hurricane (enclosed) bows, steam catapults and angled flight decks, They served until the end of the Vietnam war, except for CV-16,, the Lexington which served as a training carrier until the 80s or early 90s.
Excellent! I was looking for more of an overview as it can be hard to get a bigger picture of carrier operations during WWII. Perfect packaging, this one is bookmarked.
Thanks for the awesome comment! I was struggling at first to keep it short, I still thought was too long!!
It was 20 minutes but felt like 10 minutes. Good job!@@svgproductions72
Thank you for the mention of Taffy 3, their story is one that really ought be championed more often ... Their selfless valor is almost beyond description !!!!!!!!!!!! **** Salute ****
Thank you for your excellent research. At one time I was told that the escort carriers were not popular, but they did provide planes for the bigger carriers over time. The Taffy 3 fleet was small but filled with brave, brave men.
The Escort Carriers were always something I enjoyed reading about, especially the heroics of Taffy 3 !
One cool thing with the Yorktown is that after the Battle of Coral Sea, the Japanese thought they had sunk the Yorktown, but thanks to incredible efforts from her damage control crew, the ship was able to limp back to Pearl Harbor and get repairs, then at the Battle of Midway, the Yorktown was seen with two other American carriers and they thought it was a new unseen carrier, but it was Yorktown and it launched torpedo dive bombers that sank the Japanese carrier Sōryū. Sadly though on June 7th, 1942, the Yorktown was sunk by a Japanese submarine. Though her service to America was short lived, she helped change the tide of the Pacific War and ultimately helped insure American victory.
Funny you bring this up, the Yorktown and this story is on my list of videos coming out soon! Stay tuned
This video was very informative. Thank you. I look forward to seeing more technical videos.
Pretty good video, with only a few minor mistakes, you've earned my subscription as a History nerd, who really loves naval history (Having a somewhat decently-sized collection of interesting naval books from WW1 to Modern Day), so this is a very nice video to see. Enough of my little rambling. Just want to say that I love the video and details you mentioned in the video. On the topic of being a nerd, I myself have an entire book dedicated to USN carriers, alongside all the other USN books by Norman Friedman. . . And a Book about Hybrid Warships (by R. D. Layman, Stephen McLaughlin), which are some of my most prized books, alongside a book with every british battleship class ever commissioned
Great overview of ww2 carriers, thanks for all your efforts on this presentation.
Thanks for your comment, hope you enjoyed it!
This video alone shows, what admiral Yamamoto said right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But not only did the US produce enormous amounts of ships, they also produced an insane amount of airplanes and airplane engines, different types of trucks, cars and armored vehicles.
If you are talking about the "sleeping dragon/giant" thing then that is a myth. Yamamoto never said such a thing, the director of Tora! Tora! Tora! was inspired by a quote from Napoleon about the Chinese so he altered it to fit the USA. When asked in exile why he never sought possessions in China like the Brits and Portuguese did Napoleon said "China should be left to sleep, for when she awakens the world will tremble".
@@krashd he never said that if im correct but he did not want to fight the US or the allies for that matter
You did an excellent job putting this video together. Very informative. Excellent production. Great graphics. Keep up the good work. 🎉
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
@@svgproductions72 You are more than welcomed. Looks like you will be a Historical Documentary maker my friend!
My Hats off to you sir. This subject has always interested me You covered it in great detail and clarity.
Thank you, I do my best! I didn’t want to dive too deep down the rabbit hole
The sheer number of carriers build by the US during WW II ist jaw dropping. In 1943 alone, they commissioned 16 carriers. And you may not forget, that they lent about three dozen carriers to the British, also.
My Grandpa served on the Shangri La and the Tripoli. He was one of the first Aviation Boatswains Mates. They hadn't come up with a formal test for promotion when he was designated. So he got asked around a dozen questions verbally, had to demonstrate a couple of skills, the trickier one being the right way to tie down a new type of plane they'd just gotten aboard and they just came out and said "Congratulations. You're a Petty Officer."
Hey there from a fellow Grandson of the Shangri-La. I have my Granddaddy's "illegal" handwritten war diary which he said he updated at night in his rack while concealed under his blanket off of scraps of paper, including tp, that he scribbled little notes to himself on throughout the day. The front cover page lists Our Score Board 50 - planes 2 - cruisers 3 - Subs 1 - Destroyer 9 - Merchant Ships 38 - Luggers 22 - Locomotives (I'm thinking those numbers are from the air wings...I'm pretty sure, having served myself, that an aircraft carrier probably DIDN'T personally take out any "Locomotives" ... also I have NO IDEA what a "lugger" is😂) I also have his copy of a Shangri-La christening ceremony program. My last active duty assignment was USS Dale CG-19 which I mustered out from during its rehab at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The first time I left the dry dock to go walking around exploring I was SHOCKED but also THRILLED TO DEATH to discover that just a few yards away from the Dale's dry dock moored the alongside the river bank the decommisioned USS Shangri-La which was at the time awaiting a final tow to the scrap yard. My Granddaddy would have been heartbroken to see her though ... there were ACTUAL tree saplings growing on her flight deck. I learned that one of the Iowa Class battleships (I don't remember which) that the Navy had recommissioned earlier in the 80s in order to fulfill "Uncle Ronnie's" order for a 400 ship navy had been moored inboard of the Shang and BOTH vessels had had to be each in turn arduously worked out of the mud that had accumulated around their hulls so the battleship could be moved and refitted for active duty.
Excellent video. The different classes can be confusing and you did a great job of providing simple explanations. I've also mentioned it in my blog and newsletter.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and shared!
This was great and I would be interested to see the rest of the worlds carriers serving in WWII done in this way, but Im sure that would be a lot more work. Great job!
This was a fantastic video and I learned new things! (Wolverine and Sable being one of them) You seem to really put some good details into these videos and I am curious, so far, you have made videos on planes and ships. Have you thought of making any videos about tanks? Specifically videos about how many America lost during like each battles?
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed it. Tanks are something I enjoy as well as getting into specifications on them. However I’m not as well versed on tank battles etc as I am about aircraft/naval battles. I do have some videos about tanks if you haven’t seen them already!
@@svgproductions72 ohhhh yes I saw one ^w^ that was fantastic! Also understandable, I was just curious, honestly looking back I might have been projecting. ^^" You see, on my free time I have been actively trying to find out if there are any Japanese tank aces. And I personally think I may have found them. During the battle of Luzon, and I was hoping since the way you talked about these ships. Maybe you would do something similar and that it would help with my own research. Hehe. Regardless of that awesome video and thank you for the suggestion. Looking forward to your future works.
To throw in a footnote on the Essex Class. 32 of them were planned. The end of WWII resulted in the cancellation of 8 of them, but 24 were completed, 7 of them commissioned after WWII ended (thus not included in the video): Princeton CV-37, Tarawa CV-40, Kearsarge CV-33, Leyte CV-32, Philippine Sea CV-47, Valley Forge CV-45 and Oriskany CV-34 (Oriskany, the last, completed to a modernized design in 1950). Many of those went on to serve in the Korean War. Except for Franklin and Bunker Hill, all of the "short hull" carriers were upgraded with the "clipper bow" starting in 1951, eliminating the "short hull". 15 of them were modified throughout the 1950's with modern angled flightdecks, enclosed "hurricane" bow (with the "clipper bow" profile) and several other upgrades. 8 of the 15 received a pair of more powerful H-8 hydraulic catapults and became anti-submarine carriers in the 50s and 60s. The other 7 of the 15 received a pair of even more powerful, longer-length steam catapults and went on to serve in the Vietnam War (except Lexington), operating jets as modern as the F-8 Crusader and the A-7 Corsair II...they were Lexington CV-16, Intrepid CV-11, Hancock CV-19, Ticonderoga CV-14, Shangri-La CV-38, Bon Homme Richard CV-31, and Oriskany CV-34. The last two combat carriers were decommissioned in 1976, Hancock and Oriskany. The Lexington served as a training carrier until 1991. Of the 8 others not modified with angled flight decks, 2 were the Franklin and Bunker Hill which were repaired but saw no further service and were decommissioned in 1947. Franklin scrapped in 1966 and Bunker Hill was tied up at North Island in San Diego Harbor until 1973 and was then scrapped. 3 of them, Boxer, Princeton and Valley Forge became amphibious "helicopter carriers", with catapults and arresting gear removed. 3 others, Tarawa, Leyte and Philippine Sea remained in WWII configuration, minus some gun mounts, until decommissioned around 1958-60 and scrapped in 1970-71. And lastly, Antietam, with the first angled flight deck but no other significant upgrades, was scrapped in 1974. It had served as a training carrier until 1963...with Lexington eventually taking over the training role. Reprisal, CV-35, was launched in Dec 1945, but not completed and was scrapped in 1949. Iwo Jima, CV-46, was started but never launched and scrapped in 1946. Yorktown CV-10, Intrepid CV-11, Hornet CV-12 and Lexington CV-16 are the only 4 left afloat, as museums around the US. Oriskany CV-34 still exists underwater, being intentionally scuttled as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dad was on CV-33, then CVS-33 Kearsarge in the 1960s.
Now THIS is an awesome and informative video about WW2 CV's. Nicely done. Liked, Subscribed and Commented!
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!
What a wonderful video documentary on this topic. Comprehensive without being overly detailed. With plenty of photographs detailing the designs. The only thing that was missing for me was aircraft assignments and numbers of aircraft for each of the various classes.
Hi Steve thanks for the comment! One thing I did add in the info sheets at the beginning of the sections were a rough estimate of aircraft being carried on each ship. Admittedly, one thing I didn’t do was add aircraft types and it was getting pretty busy!
I stand corrected on not having numbers of aircraft on each ship. What I would have liked to have understood and I never have is how the aircraft types were broken down into wings, groups, and squadrons and how they were assigned to each carrier. For instance some of the earlier carriers had as many as 90 aircraft. But did that constitute two wings of the same aircraft or One Wing of dive bombers and a wing of Fighters? Were they detachments from various groups in the Navy that made up a carrier wing between two or more carriers. Did the baby carriers only carry one Squadron of Fighters or dive / torpedo bombers or were they mixed somehow?
Would be interesting to see a similar comparison for the Vietnam war era. It was a unique time for the US Navy as the carrier fleet consisted of a mix of Kitty Hawk, Essex, Midway, and Forrestal class ships with the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise. Also, some the surviving WWII escort carriers were converted to plane tenders/ferries or helicopter assualt ships.
Very well done! At 16:58 you stated that the two training carriers did not feature arresting wires. That is incorrect, as even in the footage you showed of one of the training carriers, you can clearly see an SNJ (Naval Variant of the T-6 Texan) trap aboard the carrier, the arresting wires being clearly visible.
You are right, I double checked against an older video I did about the Cornbelt fleet, they did have arresting wires! My mistake
This is a great video! Thabk you fir making this kind of content! Subscribed!!
Excellent overview, thanks! Amazing how many carriers of various types were built during the war.
Thank you! Glad you liked it
Excellent presentation. USS Robin deserves to be mentioned, she served and deserves that credit.
Was it made in the USA ? Was it officially transferred to the USN ? 1941 Three of Britain's "armoured" carriers repaired and upgraded in US yards virtually free under Lend Lease. 38 escort carriers Lend Leased to Britain from November 1941, 36 returned. May 1942 At the request of Churchill USS Wasp launched Spits to Malta for the second time in two months while the USN lost one fleet carrier, one fleet destroyer and one fleet oiler with another fleet carrier damaged at Coral Sea stopping the IJN from landing on the south coast of New Guinea. At Norfolk, Victorious was dry-docked from Jan. 1-31, 1943. She was fitted with the U.S. Navy's TBS ("Talk Between Ships") communications system, new surface- and air-search radars and respective vertical plotting board, the U.S. YB-type aircraft-homing system, and two U.S. cypher machines. The ship's stern was modified with a ten-foot flight deck extension and an underlying gallery housing twenty 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns and extended internal mess spaces. A new fire-suppression system was installed in the crew spaces and a control station added to the hanger deck. Victorious's obsolete Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers were flown off and exchanged for new U.S. TBM Avengers. Work-ups with these were conducted at Naval Air Station Norfolk. To accommodate these much heavier aircraft, some stronger arrestor cables were installed. All embarked aircraft received U.S. national insignia. A U.S. naval aviation liaison team was embarked to acquaint their British counterparts with U.S. take-off, landing, and shipboard aircraft-handling signals and practices. In anticipation of combat service in the tropics, Royal Navy personnel were issued U.S. Navy khaki and dungaree shipboard working uniforms to be worn in lieu of the British summer whites.
Over 100???? No other country could EVER
It’s a really good representation of just how much focus the Allies put on logistics. A tiny handful of fleet carriers were supported by entire fleets of escorts, bringing them fresh aircraft & aircrew, repairing broken planes, and recovering wounded pilots.
A really excellent video, with great use of graphics and archive materials. Delighted to have had YT suggest your channel to me. You have a new subscriber!
Welcome aboard! Thanks for the nice comment
The USS Oriskany is a weird one too. It was laid down and commissioned during WWII but not officially put into service, then had its flight deck and Island stripped off and a new modern top deck, elevators, and island were installed just after the war. It was the last of the Essex carriers and the test bed for carrier based jet fighters, because the flight deck was so heavy it had a permanent 7 degree list to port.
Definitely one of the most interesting of the Essex class ships! I was always fascinated by the documentary about her when she became an artificial reef
I have the flag that draped my uncle who was killed by a crude wing rocket accident that burned him from the chest up. He was buried at sea on the way to Saipan. USS Kitkun Bay CVE 71.This account is documented in the book The Little Giants. Thanks for your great history lesson.Jim
I am sorry to hear that; I do appreciate you sharing this, though! I have never heard of that book, I may look into it
This was a very informative and interesting video. Thank you!
Thank you, this video is excellent, very well documented, the information is rich and at the same time concise and clear, exactly what I needed... thanks 👍and please make more videos like this
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed it
I went back and watched the past two videos about US Carriers… Now I’m really looking forward to building the my most recent purchase The REVELL 1969 issue of the USS YORKTOWN in Pre-War markings… To bad they didn’t restore the USS ENTERPRISE and make it a museum… Been doing some research about the BATTLE of Santa Cruz and BATTLE of the Eastern Solomons… The USS BEN FRANKLIN is a interesting story Enjoying your Channel…. I’ll probably watch this again…. CHRIS 🇺🇸
Ummm.........No. The USS Langley was NEVER an Escort Carrier . You are correct about how the Langley was employed as a training / transport vessel. The world's FIRST Escort Carrier was HMS Audacity, the lessons learned from her escorting convoys to Gibraltar were later employed in hunting U-boats in the Atlantic. Equally famous was a FAA fighter pilot aboard by the name of 2lt. Eric Brown. Sadly, both are no longer with us. (Edit) Meant to say Long Island not the Langley, I realized my mistake after reply from svgproductions.
I did not mention in the video that the first Langley was an escort carrier. If you meant Long Island, I mentioned that she was the first US escort carrier, not the first in the world
@@svgproductions72 whoops, typo on my part, my apologies . Yes I meant the Long Island, while operational first, L.I. was only classed as a CVE after the war for convenience. She was an experimental / training / aircraft ferry for her entire career.
Got to visit the USS Midway on my trip to San Diego. Probably my favorite part of the trip. Crazy to think it barely missed the war. Aircraft Carriers are truly remarkable!
An amazing resource. Well done, thank you.
Thank you!!
Very informative. It is amazing how many carriers the US build. I wonder when they realized they didnt need more. Also could you a similar video for the Japanes Navy, please? It will be interesting to compare how both countries competed.
Thanks for the comment! I’ve gotten a few comments like this so far, definitely on my radar!
I believe the Japanese completed a total of 6 carriers during the war. The US in comparison built well over 100 of all classes.
@@bernarddavis1050 and thats just carriers the US they built thousands of warships and that’s alot of resources we like to think of the USSR as pumping out alot of stuff but then theirs the US which not only produced the thousands of warships it produced 324,750 aircraft and then it produced about near peer amounts of tansk spgs of the USSR
When? V-J Day. lol
I had NO idea that we had THAT many carriers at work. I am familiar with the 'Taffys' at Leyte Gulf, but not with all of these ships. Great story!
This is a very informational video, thanks!
Thank you for the video, well done, I enjoyed it.
Whoever scraped the Enterprise was a criminal.
No USS Robin!
Ahhh you’re right that’s one I didn’t even think about, I did cover her story though on one of my past videos!
New subscriber. Nice vid. Thanks mate!
Thanks for the sub!
Excellent video! Very informative! It is so good I downloaded it for future reference. Thank you for the informationan and entertainment! Super vieo and pictures! Kudos!!!
Awesome, thank you!
Just makes you realise at sea the Japanese really had no chance. Especially when the enemy you create can pump out this many of 1 ship type. Just crazy
I tell people this all the time. Even if our carriers at Pearl Harbor would have been there and gotten destroyed, Japan would have lost the war due to attrition.
You left out the Saipan class light carriers (Saipan and Wright) They were built from Baltimore class heavy cruiser hulls. They were both laid down in 1944 and launched in 1945. However they aren't commissioned until after the war.
Correct! That’s why I did not cover them. However, I did cover them in depth in my last carrier video “5 More Facts” if you haven’t seen it already
Jesus , I have wondered about that from time to time , but had no idea it was that many , thankyou for this wonderfully informative video , thumbs up.👍
And add in a major Kudo, I had not realized there was an Alaska Bay (sound ) named carrier (Prince William Sound). Just caught it in the CVE list. I thought I was well read on WWII and carriers, I was not. Very nicely done.
A side note, there were 22 bays in Alaska used for CVE names and the island of Attu. My dad was aboard the Salamaua for its war service so when I saw this video I had to watch, very well done!
My uncle helped build all 50 of the CVE’s in Vancouver Washington in less than 2 years.
Still breaks my heart after all that enterprise went through they scrapped her
I read somewhere that the battle damage sustained by E would’ve made it hard to keep her as a museum. That and it happened before the EPA/hazmat so you could still get decent money back. Now a days they’re completely worthless because the hazmat disposal cost is more than the scrap value.
The production capacity of the USA was GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATED by both Japan and Germany 😊
They also vastly underestimated the production capability and reserves of the British who drew from their far flung territories and the Soviet factories which they managed to relocate to the east. No matter the losses they were able to replace it promptly.
@@penitent2401 Yes Britain out produced Germany on her own.
The algorithm brought me here and I’m glad it did. Very well put together and very informative. Liked, commented and subscribed!
Thank you and thank you algorithm! Glad you enjoyed it thanks for the sub
This was great never have i seen a better job done then what you have done with this subject
Thank you! I really do appreciate this comment