Essex-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy
![USS Princeton](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/USS_Princeton_%28LPH-5%29_underway_at_sea%2C_circa_1965_%28NNAM.1996.488.060.030%29.jpg/300px-USS_Princeton_%28LPH-5%29_underway_at_sea%2C_circa_1965_%28NNAM.1996.488.060.030%29.jpg) USS
Princeton
underway in 1965
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| Princeton
|
Namesake
| Battle of Princeton
|
Builder
| Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
|
Laid down
| 14 September 1943
|
Launched
| 8 July 1945
|
Commissioned
| 18 November 1945
|
Decommissioned
| 21 June 1949
|
Recommissioned
| 28 August 1950
|
Decommissioned
| 30 January 1970
|
Reclassified
|
- CVA-37, 1 October 1952
- CVS-37, 1 January 1954
- LPH-5, 2 March 1959
|
Stricken
| 30 January 1970
|
Fate
| Scrapped
, 1971
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Essex
-class
aircraft carrier
|
Displacement
| 27,100
long tons
(27,500
t
) standard
|
Length
| 888 feet (271 m) overall
|
Beam
| 93 feet (28 m)
|
Draft
| 28 feet 7 inches (8.71 m)
|
Installed power
|
- 8 × boilers
- 150,000 shp (110 MW)
|
Propulsion
| |
Speed
| 33
knots
(61 km/h; 38 mph)
|
Complement
| 3448 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 carried
| 90?100 aircraft
|
USS
Princeton
(CV/CVA/CVS-37, LPH-5)
was one of 24
Essex
-class
aircraft carriers
built during and shortly after
World War II
for the
United States Navy
. The ship was the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the
Revolutionary War
Battle of Princeton
.
Princeton
was commissioned in November 1945, too late to serve in World War II, but saw extensive service in the
Korean War
, in which she earned eight
battle stars
, and the
Vietnam War
. She was reclassified in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), then as an
Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier
(CVS), and finally as an
amphibious assault ship
(LPH), carrying helicopters and marines. One of her last missions was to serve as the prime recovery ship for the
Apollo 10
space mission.
Although she was extensively modified internally as part of her conversion to an LPH, external modifications were minor, so throughout her career
Princeton
retained the classic appearance of a World War II
Essex
-class ship. She was decommissioned in 1970, and sold for scrap in 1971.
Service history
[
edit
]
Princeton
off
Qingdao, China
, in 1948.
The ship was laid down as
Valley Forge
? one of the
"long-hull"
Essex
class ? on 14 September 1943 at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard
. She was renamed
Princeton
on 21 November 1944 to commemorate the light carrier
USS
Princeton
(CVL-23)
, which was lost at the
Battle of Leyte Gulf
on 24 October 1944. The new
Princeton
was launched on 8 July 1945, sponsored by Mrs.
Harold Dodds
, and commissioned on 18 November 1945,
Captain
John M. Hoskins
in command.
Following shakedown off
Cuba
,
Princeton
? with
Air Group 81
embarked ? remained in the Atlantic and operated with the
8th Fleet
until June 1946.
Then transferred to the
Pacific Fleet
, she arrived at
San Diego
, departing again on 3 July 1946 to carry the body of Philippine President
Manuel L. Quezon
back to
Manila
for burial. From Manila,
Princeton
joined the
7th Fleet
in the
Marianas
, becoming
flagship
of
Task Force 77
(TF 77). In September and October 1946, she operated in Japanese and Chinese waters, then returned to the
Mariana Islands
where she remained until February 1947. In 1947 she had
Carrier Air Group 13
on board, and in October 1948 evacuated dependents from
Qingdao
, returned to San Diego Dec 1948 and unloaded CAG 13. Maneuvers in
Hawaiian
waters preceded her return to San Diego until 15 March. She cruised the West Coast, Hawaiian waters, and the Western Pacific (1 October ? 23 December) in 1948. She then prepared for inactivation, and on 20 June decommissioned and joined other capital ships in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet
.
Korean War
[
edit
]
Reactivated with the outbreak of hostilities in
Korea
15 months later,
Princeton
recommissioned on 28 August 1950. Intensive training refreshed her Reservist crew, and on 5 December she joined TF 77 off the Korean coast, her planes and pilots (
Air Group 19
) making possible the reinstitution of jet
combat air patrols
over the battle zone. She launched 248 sorties against targets in the
Hagaru
area to announce her arrival, and for the next six days continued the pace to support Marines fighting their way down the long, cold road from the
Chosin Reservoir
to
Hungnam
. By the 11th, all units had reached the
staging area
on the coast.
Princeton
'
s planes, with other Navy, Marine, and Air Force squadrons, then covered the evacuation from Hungnam through its completion on the 24th.
Interdiction missions followed, and by 4 April
Princeton
'
s planes had rendered 54 rail and 37 highway bridges inoperable and damaged 44 more. In May, they flew against the railroad bridges connecting
Pyongyang
with
Sunchon
,
Sinanju
,
Kachon
, and the trans-peninsula line. Next, they combined close air support with raids on power sources in the
Hwachon Reservoir
area and, with the stabilization of the front there, resumed interdiction. For much of the summer they pounded supply arteries, concentrating on highways, and in August
Princeton
got underway for the U.S., arriving at San Diego on the 29th, after collecting Destroyer Division 51 at Pearl Harbor.
[1]
On 30 April 1952,
Princeton
rejoined TF 77 in the combat zone. For 138 days, her planes flew against the enemy. They sank small craft to prevent the recapture of offshore islands; blasted concentrations of supplies, facilities, and equipment behind enemy lines, participated in air-gun strikes on coastal cities, pounded the enemy's
hydroelectric complex at Suiho
on the
Yalu River
to turn off power on both sides of that river, destroyed gun positions and supply areas in
Pyongyang
; and closed mineral processing plants and munitions factories at
Sindok
,
Musan
,
Aoji
, and
Najin
.
Reclassified
CVA-37
(1 October 1952),
Princeton
returned to California on 3 November for a two-month respite from the western Pacific. In February 1953, she was back off the Korean coast and until the end of the conflict launched planes for close air support, "Cherokee" strikes against supply, artillery, and troop concentrations in enemy territory, and against road traffic. She remained in the area after the truce on 27 July, and on 7 September got underway for San Diego.
1954?1962
[
edit
]
HSS-1 Seabat
onboard
Princeton
in 1959
In January 1954,
Princeton
was reclassified
CVS-37
and, after conversion at
Bremerton, Washington
, took up antisubmarine/
Hunter-Killer
(HUK) training operations in the eastern Pacific. For the next five years she alternated HUK exercises off the West Coast with similar operations in the western Pacific and, in late 1957-early 1958, in the
Indian Ocean
–
Persian Gulf
area.
Reclassified again, 2 March 1959, she emerged from conversion as an amphibious assault carrier,
LPH-5
. Capable of transporting a
battalion landing team
and carrying
helicopters
in place of planes,
Princeton
'
s mission became that of
vertical envelopment
?the landing of Marines behind enemy beach fortifications and providing logistics and medical support as they attack from the rear to seize critical points, cut enemy supplies, sever communications, and link up with assault forces landed on the beaches. Since this was a Marine Corps mission, Marines made up a major portion of the ship's company in the Air, Operations, and Supply Departments.
From May 1959 ? January 1960,
Princeton
trained with Marine units from
Camp Pendleton
, then deployed to WestPac to train in
Okinawan
waters.
For the next three years, she followed a similar schedule, gaining experience in her primary mission. Interruptions came in October 1961 when she rescued 74 survivors of two merchantmen
Pioneer Muse
and
Sheik
grounded on
Kita Daito Shima
and in April 1962 when she delivered Marine Corps advisors and helicopters to
Soc Tr?ng
in the
Mekong Delta
area of the Republic of Vietnam (
South Vietnam
). From September?November 1962,
Princeton
served as flagship of Joint Task Force 8 during the nuclear weapons test series,
Operation Dominic
.
Vietnam War
[
edit
]
General
William Westmoreland
, Commander of
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
, with
Captain
Paul J. Knapp (USN) and a pair of
ARVN
generals, aboard
Princeton
, November 1964.
In October 1964,
Princeton
exchanged WestPac training for the real thing as she returned to Vietnam and joined the Pacific Fleet's Ready Group in operations against
North Vietnamese
and
Viet Cong
(VC) forces. Combat operations, interrupted in November for flood relief work, continued into the new year, 1965, and culminated in May off
Chu Lai
as she carried out her primary mission,
vertical envelopment
, for the first time in combat.
Returning to her homeport,
Long Beach, California
,
Princeton
visited San Francisco, Puget Sound, and Hawaii as part of the 1965 Pacific Midshipman Training Squadron.
[2]
She then transported
Marine Aircraft Group 36
to Vietnam in August, and in February 1966 got underway for another tour in the combat zone. Relieving
Okinawa
as flagship for the
Amphibious Ready Group
, she engaged the enemy in operations
Jackstay
, 26 March ? 6 April, to clear the
Rung Sat Special Zone
of Viet Cong guerrillas, and
Osage
, 27 April ? 4 May, to protect Vietnamese in the
Phu Loc
area from VC harassment.
Search and destroy
missions against Viet Cong and
People's Army of Vietnam
units followed as
Princeton
provided transportation, medical evacuation, logistics and communication support for the amphibious operation
Deckhouse I
, 18 ? 27 June, in the
Song Cau
district and the
Song Cai
river valley, then supported
1st Cavalry
and
101st Airborne
units engaged in
Operation Nathan Hale
to the south of the Deckhouse I area.
Operation Deckhouse II
and support for
Operation Hastings
followed as Navy, Marine, and Army units again combined, this time to impede enemy infiltration from the
DMZ
.
After Operation Hastings,
Princeton
sailed for home, arriving on 2 September. She deployed again to Vietnam from 30 January ? 19 June 1967, and again ranged along the coast. In March, she assisted in countering an enemy threat to the Marine artillery base at
Gio Linh
and evacuated wounded from
Con Thien
. In April, she participated in
Operation Beacon Star
, in the
Khe Sanh
area, and supported search and destroy operations in conjunction with
Operation Shawnee
. In May, her helicopters lifted Marines to the DMZ to block enemy forces withdrawing across the
B?n H?i River
.
A much-needed overhaul followed
Princeton
'
s return to the west coast, and in May 1968 she again sailed west to Vietnam. There, as flagship for
Amphibious Ready Group Alpha
, she provided amphibious assault carrier services for operations
Fortress Attack
III and IV,
Proud Hunter
,
Swift Pursuit
, and
Eager Hunter
. In December, she returned to the United States.
Later career
[
edit
]
Princeton
recovering
Apollo 10
in 1969
In April 1969 she was designated the
prime recovery ship
for
Apollo 10
, the lunar mission which paved the way for
Apollo 11
and the first crewed landing on the
Moon
. Apollo 10, carrying astronauts
Eugene Cernan
,
John Young
, and
Thomas P. Stafford
, was recovered in the South Pacific on 26 May.
On 30 January 1970,
Princeton
was decommissioned and struck from the
Naval Vessel Register
, and sold for scrapping to Zidell Explorations Inc., Portland in September 1972 by
Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service
.
After the ship was sold for scrapping, some of the steel deck plate was acquired by
Fermilab
in 1972 for use in its experimental areas. In 1978,
Robert R. Wilson
used portions of that steel to create the
Broken Symmetry
sculpture that stands over one of the laboratory's gates.
[3]
Awards
[
edit
]
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Associated Press, "Home-Coming Carrier Greeted at San Diego", ‘'The San Bernardino Daily Sun'’, San Bernardino, California, Thursday 30 August 1951, Volume LVII, Number 312, page 2.
- ^
Litrenta, P.L.
SEABAT 65
USS
Columbus
(CG-12)
- ^
"21 Tons of Art,"
Ferminews
, 22 June 1978, Volume 1, Number 7, page 2-3.
[1]
External links
[
edit
]
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Short-hull group
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Long-hull group
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Modernization programs
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