View source for Independence-class aircraft carrier

{{short description|Light aircraft carrier class of the US Navy}}
{{For|the class of littoral combat ships|Independence-class littoral combat ship}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) underway at sea on 23 January 1944 (80-G-212798).jpg
| Ship caption = USS ''San Jacinto'' on a training cruise off the east coast in 1944
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Builders = [[New York Shipbuilding]]
| Operators = *{{naval|United States}}
*{{navy|France}}
*{{navy|Spain}}
| Class before = 
| Class after = {{sclass|Saipan|aircraft carrier|4}}
| Subclasses = 
| Built range = 1941–1943
| In commission range = 1943–1960
| Total ships building = 
| Total ships planned = 
| Total ships completed = 9
| Total ships cancelled = 
| Total ships active = 
| Total ships laid up = 
| Total ships lost = 1
| Total ships retired = 8
| Total ships preserved = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Light aircraft carrier]]
| Ship displacement = 11,000&nbsp;tons (standard), 14,220 design, 15,100 design full load
| Ship length = *{{convert|622|ft|6|in|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|overall]]
*{{convert|600|ft|abbr=on}} [[Waterline length|waterline]]
*{{convert|552|ft|abbr=on}} [[flight deck]]
| Ship beam = * 71&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in (21.8&nbsp;m) hull
* 109&nbsp;ft 2&nbsp;in (33.3&nbsp;m) over flight deck and projections
| Ship draught = 26 ft
| Ship draft = 
| Ship propulsion = * steam turbines, 4 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 565 PSI (850 F)
* four propellers
* 100,000 horsepower (75&nbsp;MW)
| Ship speed = 31.5&nbsp;knot (36 mph 58&nbsp;km/h) maximum
| Ship range = {{convert|13000|nmi|km}} at {{convert|15|kn|km/h}}
| Ship complement = 140 officer, 1,321 enlisted
| Ship sensors = [[SC radar]]
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armour = 
| Ship armor = 
| Ship armament = 26 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm guns]] (2 quad, 8 dual, 16 single, 10 Mk 51 directors)
| Ship aircraft = *'''Typical operational complement as of October 1944:'''
* 24 [[F6F Hellcat]] fighters
* 9 [[TBM Avenger]] torpedo bombers
* 1 [[J2F Duck]] utility amphibian sometimes carried
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

The '''''Independence''-class aircraft carriers''' were a class of [[Light aircraft carrier|light carriers]] built for the [[United States Navy]] that served during World War II.

==Development==
[[Image:Aft view of USS Princeton (CV-23) underway on 28 March 1943 (19-N-42904).jpg|thumb|left|USS ''Princeton'']]
[[Image:USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) off the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 18 April 1943 (19-N-43702).jpg|thumb|left|USS ''Belleau Wood'']]
[[Image:USS Cowpens (CVL-25) at sea on 31 August 1944.jpg|left|thumb|USS ''Cowpens'']]
[[Image:USS Monterey (CVL-26) at anchor in Ulithi Atoll on 24 November 1944.jpg|thumb|left|USS ''Monterey'']]

Adapted from the design for the {{sclass|Cleveland|cruiser|0}} [[light cruiser]]s, this class of ship resulted from the interest of President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in naval air power. With war looming, Roosevelt, a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, noted no new fleet [[aircraft carrier]]s were expected to be completed before 1944.<ref>[[Norman Friedman|Friedman, Norman]] ''U.S. Aircraft Carriers'' [[United States Naval Institute]] (1983) {{ISBN|0-87021-739-9}} pp. 412–413</ref> He proposed to convert some of the many [[cruiser]]s then under construction to carriers. Studies of cruiser-size aircraft carriers had shown the type had serious limitations, and on 13 October 1941, the [[General Board of the United States Navy]] replied that such a conversion showed too many compromises to be effective.

Undeterred, President Roosevelt ordered another study. On 25 October 1941, the Navy's [[BuShips|Bureau of Ships]] reported that aircraft carriers converted from cruiser hulls would be of lesser capability, but available much sooner.<ref>Friedman, p. 182</ref> After the December 1941 [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], the need for more carriers became urgent. The Navy accelerated construction of the 34,000-ton {{sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier|2}}s, but these large ships could not be finished quickly. The ''Cleveland''-class light cruisers then under construction were adopted for this purpose.

Plans developed for this conversion showed much more promise than expected. Nine light cruisers were reordered as carriers in the first half of 1942.  The ''Independence''-class design had a relatively short and narrow [[flight deck]] and [[hangar]], with a small island [[superstructure]]. The hangar, flight deck, and island represented a significant increase in the ship's topside weight. To compensate for this, blisters were added to the original cruiser hull, which increased the original [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] by {{convert|5|ft|m}}. Ships of this class carried a small air group – only about 30 aircraft. This was originally set to consist of nine [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]], nine [[bomber|scout bombers]], and nine [[torpedo bomber]]s, but later revised to about two dozen fighters and nine torpedo bombers.

These were limited-capability ships, whose principal virtue was near-term availability.  Their limited size made for seakeeping difficulties in the many typhoons of the Pacific, and their small flight decks led to a high aircraft accident rate. However, being based on a light cruiser, they were fast ships, much faster than the {{sclass|Casablanca|escort carrier}}s.  The cruiser hull and engineering allowed them the speed necessary to operate with the main fleet carrier task groups. Their names followed the US Navy's policy of naming aircraft carriers after historic navy ships (''Independence'') or historic battles (''Cowpens'').

==Service==
[[File:USS Birmingham comes alongside the burning USS Princeton.jpg|right|thumb|{{USS|Birmingham|CL-62|2}} attempts to fight fires aboard ''Princeton'' during [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]]]

Completed in the course of 1943, and coming into service with the first eight of the ''Essex''-class carriers, the nine ''Independence''-class ships made up a vital component of the [[Fast Carrier Task Force]], which carried the Navy's offensive through the central and western Pacific from November 1943 through August 1945. Eight of these carriers participated in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] in June 1944, which effectively ended Japan's carrier air power.  The light carriers provided 40 percent of the Fast Carrier Task Force's fighters and 36 percent of the torpedo bombers.  The protection on these carriers was modest, and munitions often had to be stowed at the hangar level, a factor that contributed greatly to the loss of ''[[USS Princeton (CVL-23)|Princeton]]'' in October 1944.

==Ships in class==
The nine ships of the ''Independence'' class were all converted from ''Cleveland''-class light cruisers building at the [[New York Shipbuilding]] Corporation shipyard, [[Camden, New Jersey]]. Initially classified as "aircraft carriers" (CV), all were re-designated "small aircraft carriers" (CVL) on 15 July 1943 while four ships were still under construction.

{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ List of ''Independence''-class aircraft carriers
|-
! scope="col" | Ship Name
! scope="col" | Hull No.
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid Down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commissioned
! scope="col" | Decommissioned
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Independence|CVL-22|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Amsterdam''}})
! scope="row" style="white-space: nowrap;" | CVL-22
|rowspan=12|[[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]]
|1&nbsp;May 1941
|22&nbsp;August 1942
|14&nbsp;January 1943
|28&nbsp;August 1946
|Used as target in [[Operation Crossroads]], 1946;{{wbr}} [[Scuttling|Scuttled]]&nbsp;off {{nowrap|[[San Francisco]]}}, 1951
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Princeton|CVL-23|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Tallahassee''}})
! scope="row" | CVL-23
|2&nbsp;June 1941
|18&nbsp;October 1942
|25&nbsp;February 1943
|{{n/a}}
|Scuttled following [[Battle of Leyte Gulf|air attack]], 24 October 1944
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Belleau Wood|CVL-24|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''New Haven''}})
! scope="row" | CVL-24
|11&nbsp;August 1941
|6&nbsp;December 1942
|31&nbsp;March 1943
|13&nbsp;January 1947
|Transferred to [[French Navy|France]] as {{nowrap|''Bois Belleau''}}, 1953
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Cowpens|CVL-25|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Huntington''}})
! scope="row" | CVL-25
|17&nbsp;November 1941
|17&nbsp;January 1943
|28&nbsp;May 1943
|13&nbsp;January 1947
|Broken up at [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], 1960
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=2 | {{USS|Monterey|CVL-26|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Dayton''}})
! scope="row" rowspan=2 | CVL-26
|rowspan=2|29&nbsp;December 1941
|rowspan=2|28&nbsp;February 1943
|17&nbsp;June 1943
|11&nbsp; February 1947
|rowspan=2|Broken up at [[Philadelphia]], 1971
|-
|15&nbsp;September 1950
|16&nbsp;January 1956
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|Langley|CVL-27|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Fargo''}}, {{nowrap|ex-''Crown Point''}})
! scope="row" | CVL-27
|11&nbsp;April 1942
|22&nbsp;May 1943
|31&nbsp;August 1943
|11&nbsp;February 1947
|Transferred to France as {{ship|French aircraft carrier|La Fayette|R96|2}}, 1951
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=2 | {{USS|Cabot|CVL-28|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Wilmington''}})
! scope="row" rowspan=2 | CVL-28
|rowspan=2|16&nbsp;March 1942
|rowspan=2|4&nbsp;April 1943
|24&nbsp;July 1943
|11&nbsp;February 1947
|rowspan=2|Transferred to [[Spanish Navy|Spain]] as {{ship|Spanish aircraft carrier|Dédalo||2}}, 1967
|-
|27&nbsp;October 1948
|21&nbsp;January 1955
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=2 | {{USS|Bataan|CVL-29|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Buffalo''}})
! scope="row" rowspan=2 | CVL-29
|rowspan=2|31&nbsp;August 1942
|rowspan=2|1&nbsp;August 1943
|17&nbsp;November 1943
|11&nbsp;February 1947
|rowspan=2|Broken up at San Francisco, 1961
|-
|13&nbsp;May 1950
|9&nbsp;April 1954
|-
! scope="row" | {{USS|San Jacinto|CVL-30|2}} ({{nowrap|ex-''Newark''}}, {{nowrap|ex-''Reprisal''}})
! scope="row" | CVL-30
|26&nbsp;October 1942
|26&nbsp;September 1943
|15&nbsp;November 1943
|1&nbsp; March 1947
|Broken up at [[Los Angeles]], 1971
|}

* ''Independence'' (CV/CVL-22) – Postwar, she was surplus to the Navy's requirements and expended in the nuclear test [[Operation Crossroads]] in July 1946. The ship survived both tests with little damage. She was used as a radiation research hulk for several years afterward and expended as a target in January 1951.
* ''Princeton'' (CV/CVL-23) – Destroyed as a result of Japanese air attack 24 October 1944 during [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].
* ''Belleau Wood'' (CV/CVL-24) –  Decommissioned to reserve in January, 1947. Transferred to French Navy as {{ship|French aircraft carrier|Bois Belleau|R97|2}} in June 1951.  Returned to the US Navy for scrapping September 1960.
* ''Cowpens'' (CV/CVL-25) – Decommissioned to reserve in January, 1947.  Stricken and scrapped starting November 1959.
* ''Monterey'' (CV/CVL-26) – Decommissioned to reserve February 1947.  Recommissioned as training carrier September 1950, decommissioned to reserve again January 1956.  Re-designated aircraft transport AVT-2 May 1959. Stricken June 1970.
* ''Langley'' CVL-27 – Decommissioned to reserve February 1947.  Transferred to France as {{ship|French aircraft carrier|La Fayette|R96|2}} on 2 June 1951.  Returned to USN and stricken March 1963, scrapped at Baltimore in 1964.
[[Image:Spanish aircraft carrier Dédalo (R01) underway in the Mediterranean Sea, 1 June 1988 (6430233).jpg|thumb|[[Spanish Navy]] aircraft carrier ''[[Spanish aircraft carrier Dédalo|Dédalo]]'' R-01 (ex [[USS Cabot (CVL-28)|''USS Cabot'']] CVL-28) in 1988.]]
* ''Cabot'' CVL-28 – Decommissioned to reserve February 1947, recommissioned and modernised as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) carrier October 1948.  Decommissioned to reserve January 1955, modernised 1965–1967 and transferred to Spain as {{ship|Spanish aircraft carrier|Dédalo||2}} on 30 August 1967.  Stricken from [[Naval Vessel Register]] and sold to Spain August 1972.  Decommissioned for preservation at [[New Orleans]] August 1989, preservation efforts failed. Scrapped at [[Brownsville, Texas]] starting October 2000.
* ''Bataan'' CVL-29 – Decommissioned to reserve February 1947, recommissioned and modernised as ASW carrier May 1950.  Decommissioned to reserve April 1954.  Stricken for scrapping September 1959.
*''San Jacinto'' CVL-30 – Decommissioned to reserve March 1947.  Stricken June 1970.

==Disposal==
[[Image:USS Saratoga (CV-3), USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-12) and USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) docked at Alameda in September 1945 (80-G-701512).jpg|thumb|right|Side by side comparisons: two fleet carriers from the outbreak of the war, USS ''Saratoga'' and USS ''Enterprise'', moored near the ''Essex''-class USS ''Hornet''.  Beyond the ''Hornet'' is moored the ''Independence''-class USS ''San Jacinto''.]]
There was little margin for growth, as the ships' post-war careers showed. ''Independence'' was expended as an atomic bomb target, and the rest were laid up in 1947. Five returned to service in 1948–53, two with the French Navy. Two were used as training carriers, while ''Bataan'' saw [[Korean War]] combat duty with Marine Corps air groups. She and ''Cabot'' received anti-submarine warfare modernizations in the early 1950s, emerging with two [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] instead of the original four. All but the French ships were decommissioned in 1954–56 and were reclassified as aircraft transports in 1959. ''Cabot'' got a new lease on life in 1967, when she became the Spanish Navy's carrier ''Dédalo'', serving until 1989 (in Spanish service, she was the first carrier to regularly deploy the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier jump jet]]). Despite efforts to preserve her, ''Cabot'' was scrapped at Brownsville in 1999–2003.  Preservation efforts continued until the hull was half scrapped.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

== See also ==
* {{sclass|Ibuki|cruiser|1}} – Japanese cruiser converted into a light aircraft carrier (not completed)
{{Commons-inline}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Faltum, Andrew  ''The Independence Class Aircraft Carriers'', Nautical & Aviation Publishing, {{ISBN|1-877853-62-3}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=C. C.|year=1998 |title=Design Histories of United States Navy Warships of World War II: An Example of an Official History–USS Independence (CVL-22)|journal=Warship International|volume=XXXV |issue=4 |pages=342–370 |issn=0043-0374}}

{{Independence class aircraft carrier}}
{{WWII US ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Independence Class Aircraft Carrier}}
[[Category:Light aircraft carrier classes]]
[[Category:Independence-class aircraft carriers| ]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States| Independence-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States| Independence-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Korean War aircraft carriers of the United States| Independence-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:New York Shipbuilding Corporation]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the French Navy]]