View source for Essex-class aircraft carrier

{{short description|1940s class of aircraft carrier of the United States Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS Philippine Sea (CVA-47) underway at sea on 9 July 1955 (80-G-K-18429).jpg
| Ship caption = [[USS Philippine Sea (CVA-47)|USS ''Philippine Sea'' (CVA-47)]] <br/> underway in 1955
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = ''Essex'' class
| Builders = *[[Newport News Shipbuilding]]
* [[Fore River Shipyard]]
* [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]]
* [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]]
* [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]]
| Operators = {{navy|United States}}
| Class before = * {{sclass|Yorktown|aircraft carrier|4}}
* {{USS|Wasp|CV-7}}
| Class after = {{sclass|Midway|aircraft carrier|4}}
| Subclasses = ''Ticonderoga'' class
| Cost = * {{US$}}68–78 million (1942)<ref name="St. John 1999, p. 10">St. John 1999, p. 10.</ref>
| Built range = 1941–1950
| In service range = 
| In commission range = 1942–1991
| Total ships planned = 32
| Total ships completed = 24
| Total ships cancelled = 8
| Total ships retired = 24
| Total ships preserved = *{{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|}}
* {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11}}
* {{USS|Hornet|CV-12}}
* {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = (''all stats as built'')
| Ship type = [[Aircraft carrier]]
| Ship displacement =
*[[Standard displacement|Standard]]: {{convert|30800|LT|t|sp=us}}
*[[Full load]]: {{convert|36380|LT|t|sp=us}}
| Ship length = 
* {{convert|872|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} [[length overall|oa]] (short-bow units)
*{{convert|888|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} oa (long-bow units)
| Ship beam = 
*{{convert|93|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} wl
*{{convert|147.5|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} max
| Ship draft = {{convert|27.5|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship power = 
*8 [[Babcock & Wilcox]] [[boilers]]
*{{convert|150000|shp|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = 
*[[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] geared [[turbines]]
*4 × [[screw propeller]]s
| Ship fuel capacity = {{convert|6160|LT|t|sp=us}}
| Ship speed = 33 knots (37 mph 60.6&nbsp;km/h)
| Ship range = {{convert|20000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
| Ship complement = 268 officers, 2,363 enlisted<!--note that these numbers change during the war-->
| Ship sensors = *1 × [[SK radar|SK]] air-search radar
* 1 × [[SC radar|SC]] air-search radar
* 2 × [[SG radar|SG]] surface-search radar
* 1 × [[SM radar|SM]] fighter-direction radar (later units)
* 2 × Mk 4 fire-control radar (earlier units)
* 2 × Mk 12 fire-control radar (later units)
* 2 × Mk 22 height-finding radar (later units)
* 10–17 × Mk 51 AA directors
| Ship armament = *12 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|5-inch (127 mm) /38 caliber guns]]
* 32 to 72 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors guns]]
* 55 to 76 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm Oerlikon cannon]]
| Ship armor = *Belt: 2.5–4 in (64–102 mm) on .75 in (19 mm) [[Special treatment steel|STS]]
* Decks: 2.5 in (64 mm) STS hangar deck; 1.5 in (38 mm) STS 4th deck
| Ship aircraft = 90–100
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
| Ship notes = <ref>Basic class design was repeatedly modified, chiefly by additional AA and radar. Transverse hangar-deck catapult in CV-10, 11, 12, 17, 18 (later removed). CV-9 commissioned with no flight deck catapults; CV-10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20 with one; all others with two. CV-34 completed postwar to much-altered design.</ref>
}}
|}

The '''''Essex'' class''' is a retired [[ship class|class]] of [[aircraft carrier]]s of the [[United States Navy]]. The 20th century's most numerous class of [[capital ship]], the class consisted of 24 vessels, which came in "short-hull" and "long-hull" versions. Thirty-two ships were ordered, but as World War II wound down, six were canceled before construction, and two were canceled after construction had begun. Fourteen saw combat during World War II. None were lost to enemy action, though several sustained crippling damage due to kamikaze attacks. ''Essex''-class carriers were the backbone of the U.S. Navy from mid-1943 and, with the three {{sclass|Midway|aircraft carrier|0}} carriers added just after the war, continued to be the heart of U.S. naval strength until [[supercarrier]]s joined the fleet in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Several of the carriers were rebuilt to handle heavier and faster aircraft of the early jet age, and some served until well after the [[Vietnam War]]. Of the 24 ships in the class, four{{snd}}{{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}}, {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|2}}, {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|2}}, and {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}}{{snd}}have been preserved as [[museum ship]]s.

==Overview==
The preceding {{sclass|Yorktown|aircraft carrier|1}}s and the designers' list of trade-offs and limitations forced by arms control treaty obligations shaped the development of the ''Essex'' class – a design sparked by the Japanese and Italian repudiation of the limitations proposed in the 1936 revision of the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922 (as updated in October 1930 in the [[London Naval Treaty]]).  Effectively, this rejection allowed all five signatories to resume the interrupted naval arms race of the 1890s-1910s in early 1937.

At the time of the repudiations, both Italy and Japan had colonial ambitions, intent on or already conducting military conquests.  With the demise of the treaty limitations and the growing tensions in Europe, naval planners were free to apply both the lessons they had learned operating carriers for fifteen years and those of operating the ''Yorktown''-class carriers to the newer design.

Designed to carry a larger air group, and unencumbered by the latest in a succession of [[Second London Naval Treaty|pre-war naval treaty limits]], {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}} was over sixty feet longer, nearly ten feet wider, and more than a third heavier than ''Yorktown''-class carriers. A longer, wider [[flight deck]] and a deck-edge elevator (which had proven successful in the one-off {{USS|Wasp|CV-7|6}}) facilitated more efficient aviation operations, enhancing the ship's offensive and defensive air power.

Machinery arrangement and armor protection were greatly improved from previous designs. These features, plus the provision of more anti-aircraft guns, gave the ships much enhanced survivability. In fact, during the war, none of the ''Essex''-class carriers were lost and two, {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|6}} and {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|6}}, came home under their own power and were successfully repaired even after receiving extremely heavy damage.

Debates raged regarding [[Comparison of armoured to unarmoured flight deck designs|armoring the hangar deck]]. British designers' comments tended to disparage the use of [[hangar deck]] armor, but some historians, such as D.K. Brown in ''Nelson to Vanguard'', see the American arrangement to have been superior. In the late 1930s, locating the [[Armoured flight deck|strength deck]] at hangar deck level in the proposed ''Essex''-class ships reduced the weight located high in the ship, resulting in smaller supporting structures and more aircraft capacity for the desired displacement. The {{sclass|Midway|aircraft carrier|4}} which followed armored both the hangar and [[flight deck]] (the latter more heavily).

The larger size of the first supercarriers necessitated a deeper hull and shifted the center of gravity and center of stability lower, enabling moving the strength deck to the flight deck, thus freeing US Naval design architects to move the armor higher and remain within compliance of US Navy stability specifications without imperiling seaworthiness.<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 12.</ref> One of the design studies prepared for the ''Essex'' project, "Design 9G", included an armored flight deck but reduced aircraft capacity, and displaced 27,200 tons, or about 1,200 tons more than "Design 9F", which formed the basis of the actual ''Essex'' design;<ref>Friedman, table 7-1. "Evolution of Schemes for the ''Essex'' Design, 1939–40". 9G had a 2.5-inch STS armored deck, a length on the waterline of 830 ft and a beam of 96.3 ft compared to 820 ft by 91 ft for Design 9F.</ref> 9G became the ancestor of the 45,000-ton ''Midway'' class.

==Development==
[[File:Design plan Essex.jpg|thumb|1941 design plans for the ''Essex'' class.]]
After the abrogation of disarmament treaties by Japan in 1936, the U.S. took a realistic look at its naval strength. With the [[Naval Act of 1938|Naval Expansion Act]] of Congress passed on 17 May 1938, an increase of 40,000&nbsp;tons in aircraft carriers was authorized. This permitted the building of {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|2}}, which was the third {{sclass|Yorktown|aircraft carrier|5}}-class carrier, and {{USS|Essex|CV-9|2}}, which was the [[lead ship]] of a new class.

CV-9 was to be the prototype of the 27,000-ton (standard displacement) aircraft carrier, considerably larger than {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}}, yet smaller than {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|2}} (a [[battlecruiser]] converted to a carrier). The Navy ordered the first three of the new design, [[CV-9]], [[CV-10]] and [[USS Intrepid (CV-11)|CV-11]], from [[Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock]] on 3 July 1940. These were to become known as ''Essex''-class carriers.<ref>Although this classification was later dropped in the 1950s when ''Essex'', after her SCB-27A reconstruction, joined what was then the ''Oriskany'' class.</ref> Under the terms of the [[Two-Ocean Navy Act]], eight more of these carriers were programmed. Eight were ordered on 9 September, CV-12 through −15 from Newport News, and CV-16 through −19 from [[Bethlehem Steel]]'s [[Fore River Shipyard]]; the last two, {{USS|Bennington|CV-20|1}} and {{USS|Boxer|CV-21|1}}, were authorized 23 December 1941,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://uslaw.link/citation/us-law/public/77/369 | title=Uslaw.link }}</ref> with the primary intention of keeping existing slipways busy,<ref>Navy Department Appropriation Act for 1943, Hearings, p. 198</ref> and were ordered eight days after [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] from the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] and Newport News respectively.

After the US declaration of war, Congress appropriated funds for nineteen more ''Essex''-class carriers. Ten were ordered in August 1942 (CV-31 and 33-35 from Brooklyn, CV-32 from Newport News, CV-36 and -37 from the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]], CV-38 through -40 from the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]]) and three more in June 1943 (CV-45 from Philadelphia, -46 from Newport News and -47 from Fore River). Only two of these were completed in time to see active World War II service. Six ships ordered in 1944 (CV-50 through -55) were canceled before construction was begun.

The ''Essex''-class carriers combined the policy of naming aircraft carriers after historic battles begun with the ''Lexington'' class with the policy of naming them for historic navy ships generally followed for the ''Yorktown'' class.  The first eight hulls were originally assigned names from historic Navy ships (''Essex'', ''Bon Homme Richard'', ''Intrepid'', ''Kearsarge'', ''Franklin'', ''Hancock'', ''Randolph'', ''Cabot''). {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|2}} was originally laid down as ''Cabot'', but was renamed during construction after the previous {{USS|Lexington|CV-2}} was lost in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942. {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}}, originally to be named ''Bon Homme Richard'', was renamed after the previous {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5}} was lost at the [[Battle of Midway]] on 7 June 1942. ''Lexington'' and ''Yorktown'' share the unique distinction of being named after both historic ships and historic battles.

Likewise, {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|2}}'s name was changed from ''Oriskany'' after the original {{USS|Wasp|CV-7}} was sunk in September 1942 in the South Pacific near [[Guadalcanal]], and {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|2}}'s name was changed from ''Kearsarge'' after the original {{USS|Hornet|CV-8}} was lost in October 1942 in the [[Battle of Santa Cruz Islands]]. The erstwhile ''Valley Forge'' was renamed {{USS|Princeton|CV-37|2}} after {{USS|Princeton|CVL-23}} was sunk in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]] in October 1944. The names of {{USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|2}} and {{USS|Hancock|CV-19|2}} were swapped while they were under construction: the [[John Hancock Insurance|John Hancock life insurance company]] had offered to conduct a bond drive to raise money for ''Hancock'' if that name was used for the carrier under construction in the company's home state of Massachusetts.<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 28.</ref> USS ''Shangri-La'' was named after a facetious remark by President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] suggesting that the [[Doolittle Raid]]ers flew from the fictional Himalayan kingdom setting of the novel ''Lost Horizon''.
[[File:USS Leyte (CV-32) underway at sea on 20 November 1948.jpg|right|thumb|''Leyte'' underway in 1948]]

At the conclusion of the war, the six ships ordered but never laid down (CV-50 through 55) were cancelled. Of the nine still unfinished, six were completed, two (''Reprisal'' and ''Iwo Jima'') were scrapped, and {{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|2}} was taken in hand for modification to an improved design, completing in 1950. In summary, during World War II and until its conclusion, the US Navy ordered 32 aircraft carriers of the ''Essex'' class, including the ''Ticonderoga'' subgroup, of which 26 were laid down and 24 actually commissioned.

==Design==
[[File:USS Yorktown (CV-10) underway, circa in mid-1943 (80-G-K-14379).jpg|right|thumb|''Yorktown'' at sea in 1943]]
In drawing up the preliminary design for ''Essex'', particular attention was directed at the size of both the flight and hangar decks. Aircraft design had come a long way from the comparatively light planes used in carriers during the 1930s. Flight decks now required more takeoff space for the heavier aircraft being developed. Moreover, US carrier doctrine was premised on the "deck-load strike", launching as rapidly as possible as many aircraft as could be spotted on the flight deck beforehand. Most of the first-line carriers of the pre-war years were equipped with flush deck [[Aircraft catapult|catapults]], but, owing to the speed and size of these ships, very little catapulting was done except for experimental purposes.

With the advent of war, airplane weights began to go up as armor and armament got heavier; aircrew complements also increased. By the war's end in 1945, catapult launches would become more common under these circumstances, with some carrier commanding officers reporting up to 40% of launches by catapult.

The hangar area design came in for many design conferences between the naval bureaus. Not only were the supporting structures to the flight deck required to carry the increased weight of landing and parked aircraft, but they were to have sufficient strength to support the storing of spare fuselages and parts (50% of each operational plane type aboard, hence 33% of carried aircraft) under the flight deck and still provide adequate working space for the men using the area below.

One innovation in ''Essex'' was a portside deck-edge elevator in addition to two inboard elevators. The deck-edge elevator was adopted in the design after it proved successful on {{USS|Wasp|CV-7|2}}.<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 6.</ref> Experiments had also been made with hauling aircraft by crane up a ramp between the hangar and flight decks, but this method proved too slow. The Navy's [[Bureau of Ships]] and the chief engineer of [[A.B.C. Elevator Co.]] designed the engine for the side elevator. It was a standard elevator, {{convert|60|by|34|ft|m|abbr=on}} in platform surface, which traveled vertically on the port side of the ship. There would be no large hole in the flight deck when the elevator was in the "down" position, a critical factor if the elevator ever became inoperable during combat operations. Its new position made it easier to continue normal operations on deck, irrespective of the position of the elevator. The elevator also increased the effective deck space when it was in the "up" position by providing additional parking room outside the normal contours of the flight deck, and increased the effective area on the hangar deck by the absence of elevator pits. In addition, its machinery was less complex than the two inboard elevators, requiring about 20% fewer man-hours of maintenance.

[[File:USS Yorktown (CV-10) aft view c1945.jpg|thumb|''Yorktown'' aft view]]
[[File:USS Intrepid (CV-11) operating in the Philippine Sea in November 1944 (NH 97468).jpg|right|thumb|''Intrepid'', in the [[Philippine Sea]], November 1944]]

Ongoing improvements to the class were made, particularly with regard to the ventilation system, lighting systems, and the trash burner design and implementation.

These carriers had better armor protection than their predecessors, better facilities for handling ammunition, safer and greater fueling capacity, and more effective damage control equipment. Yet, these ships were also designed to limit weight and the complexity of construction, for instance incorporating extensive use of flat and straight metal pieces,<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 29.</ref> and of [[Special Treatment Steel]] (STS), a nickel-chrome steel alloy that provided the same protective qualities as Class B armor plate, but which was fully structural rather than deadweight.<ref>Roberts 1982, p. 11.</ref>

The original design for the class assumed a complement of 215 officers and 2,171 enlisted men. However, by the end of World War II, most crews were 50% larger than that.<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 39.</ref>

The tactical employment of U.S. carriers changed as the war progressed. In early operations, through 1942, the doctrine was to operate singly or in pairs, joining together for the offense and separating when on the defense—the theory being that a separation of carriers under attack not only provided a protective screen for each, but also dispersed the targets and divided the enemy's attack. Combat experience in those early operations did not bear out the theory, and new proposals for tactical deployment were the subject of much discussion.

As the new ''Essex''- and {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|5}}-class carriers became available, tactics changed. Experience taught the wisdom of combined strength. Under attack, the combined anti-aircraft fire of a [[Task force|task group]]'s carriers and their screen provided a more effective umbrella of protection against marauding enemy aircraft than was possible when the carriers separated.

When two or more of these task groups supported each other, they constituted a [[Fast Carrier Task Force|fast carrier task force]]. Lessons learned from operating the carriers as a single group of six, as two groups of three, and three groups of two, provided the basis for many tactics that later characterized carrier task force operations, with the evolution of the fast carrier task force and its successful employment in future operations.

==Armaments==

===Air group===
The original aircraft complement, nicknamed the "Sunday Punch",<ref>Mark Stile and Tony Brian, "U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers 1942–45: World War II-Built Ships," United Kingdom: Osprey, 2007. p. 48</ref> was the pride of the carrier and consisted of the offensive power of 36&nbsp;[[Fighter aircraft|fighters]], 36&nbsp;[[dive bomber]]s, and 18&nbsp;[[torpedo bomber]]s. The [[Grumman F6F Hellcat]] would be the standard fighter, the [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]], the standard scout aircraft and dive bomber which was later replaced by the [[Curtiss SB2C Helldiver]], and the [[Grumman TBF Avenger]] as the torpedo bomber, but also often used in other attack roles. Later in the war some ''Essex''es, such as {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|2}}, also included [[Vought F4U Corsair]]s in fighter-bomber squadrons (VBFs), the precursor to modern fighter-attack squadrons (VFAs).<ref>USS ''Bennington'', "Action Report, Operations in Support of the Occupation of Okinawa Including Strike Against Kanoya Airfield, Kyushu. 28 May to 10 June 1945", p. 18. On 5 June 1945, USS ''Bennington'' reported that her maximum hangar capacity was 51 aircraft, 15 SB2Cs and 36 F4Us, and that 52 were carried as a deck park. At that time she carried 15 TBMs, 15 SB2Cs and the rest were a mix of F6Fs and F4Us. She was prompted to utilize, and report on, her maximum hangar storage due to a Typhoon.</ref> In the last year of the [[Pacific War]], all of the carrier-based combat aircraft could mount several 5-inch [[High Velocity Aircraft Rocket]]s (HVARs), which greatly improved their effectiveness against ground targets.
[[File:USS Yorktown (CV-10) hangar view 1943.jpg|thumb|Ordnancemen working on bombs amid F6F-3 Hellcats parked on the carrier's hangar deck, c. October–December 1943. Other crewmen are watching a movie in the background.]]

===Guns, radar and radios===
The defensive plan was to use radio and [[radar]] in a combined effort to concentrate anti-aircraft fire.

The class, as designed, mounted twelve [[5"/38 caliber guns|5&nbsp;in (127&nbsp;mm)]] 38 [[caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|caliber]] gun mounts (4 enclosed twin mounts located near the island on the starboard side and 4 single open mounts located on the port side forward and port side aft), these guns had a maximum range of seven miles and a rate of fire of fifteen rounds per minute.  The 5-inch guns could fire VT shells, known as [[proximity fuze]]d-shells, that would detonate when they came close to an enemy aircraft. The 5-inch guns could also aim into the water, creating waterspouts which could bring down low flying aircraft such as torpedo planes.

In addition there were seventeen quadruple [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun]]s and 65 single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]. The Bofors 40&nbsp;mm guns were a significant improvement over the [[1.1"/75 caliber gun|1.1 in/75 caliber guns]] mounted in the earlier {{sclass|Lexington|aircraft carrier|5}} and {{sclass|Yorktown|aircraft carrier|5}} classes.

The ''Essex'' class also made use of the latest technology and communications equipment. All units were commissioned with [[SK radar|SK air-search]] and [[SC radar|SC]] and [[SG radar|SG surface-search]] radars. Several of the class received SM fighter-direction radar. Two [[Ship gun fire-control system#Mark 37 Director|Mark&nbsp;37 fire control directors]] fitted with FD Mark&nbsp;4 tracking radar for the 5"/38 battery were installed; the Mk4 proved inadequate at distinguishing low-level intruders from surface clutter and was quickly replaced with the improved Mark&nbsp;12/Mark&nbsp;22 combination. 40mm AA batteries were controlled by [[Ship gun fire-control system#MK 51 Fire Control System|Mark&nbsp;51]] optical directors with integrated gyro gun-sight lead-angle calculators. A [[Plan Position Indicator]] (PPI) display was used to keep track of ships and enabled a multi-carrier force to maintain a high-speed formation at night or in foul weather. The new navigational tool known as the Dead Reckoning Tracer was also implemented for navigation and tracking of surface ships. [[Identification Friend or Foe]] (IFF) was used to identify hostile ships and aircraft, especially at night or in adverse weather. The four-channel [[Very high frequency|Very High Frequency (VHF)]] radio permitted channel variation in an effort to prevent enemy interception of transmissions. It also allowed for simultaneous radio contact with other ships and planes in the task force.

==''Essex'' "long-hull" (''Ticonderoga'' subclass)==
[[File:USS Boxer (CVA-21) celebrating 75,000 aircraft landings in November 1955 (NH 97283).jpg|right|thumb|The '' Boxer'' celebrating 75,000 landings in 1955.]]
Beginning in March 1943, one very visually significant change was authorized for ships then in the early stages of construction. This involved lengthening the bow above the waterline into a "clipper" form. The increased [[Rake (angle)|rake]] and [[Flare (ship)|flare]] provided deck space for an additional quadruple 40&nbsp;mm mount; these units also had the flight deck slightly shortened forward to provide better arcs of fire.<ref>Sowinski 1980, p. 30.</ref> Of the ''Essex''-class ships laid down after 1942, only {{USS|Bon Homme Richard|CV-31|2}} followed the original "short bow" design. The later ships have been variously referred to as the "long-bow units",<ref>Sowinski 1980, pp. 30, 97.</ref><ref>Raven 1988, pp. 42, 56.</ref> the "long-hull group",<ref>Fahey 1950, p. 5.</ref><ref>Friedman 1983, p. 151.</ref> or the "''Ticonderoga'' class".<ref name="St. John 1999, p. 10"/><ref name=stjohn11>St. John 2000, p. 11.</ref> However, the U.S. Navy never maintained any institutional distinction between the long-hull and short-hull members of the ''Essex'' class, and postwar refits and upgrades were applied to both groups equally.<ref name=stjohn11/> Less immediately visible aspects of the March 1943 design modification included safer ventilation and aviation-fuel systems, moving the combat information center below the armored deck, the addition of a second flight-deck catapult, the elimination of the hangar deck catapult, and a third Mk 37 fire-control director; some of these changes were also made to short-bow ships nearing completion or as they returned to the yards.

Modifications were made throughout the ''Essex'' building program. The number of 20&nbsp;mm and 40&nbsp;mm anti-aircraft guns was greatly increased, new and improved radars were added, the original hangar deck catapult was removed, the ventilation system was substantially revised, details of protection were altered, and hundreds of other large and small changes were executed. In the meantime, earlier ships were continually modified as they returned to the yard for repair and overhaul. For example, {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}}, one of the first to be commissioned, by the end of the war had received two H-4B flight deck catapults in place of her original single H-4A; three quad 40&nbsp;mm mounts below the island to starboard, three more on the port side and one additional on both the starboard quarter and the stern; twenty-one additional 20&nbsp;mm mounts; SM fighter-control radar; FD Mk 4 radar replaced with Mk 12/22; and an enlarged flag bridge.<ref>Roberts (1982)</ref> In fact, to the skilled observer, no two ships of the class looked exactly the same.

==Post-war rebuilds==
[[File:Uss lake champlain cvs-39.jpg|thumb|The straight-deck ''Lake Champlain'']]
[[File:USS Ticonderoga.jpg|thumb|''Ticonderoga'' with angled flight deck.]]
[[File:Five Essex class carriers at Long Beach 1966.jpg|thumb|Five ''Essex''-class units at [[Long Beach Naval Shipyard|Long Beach Navy Yard]] in 1966; ''Bennington'' (CVS-20), ''Yorktown'' (CVS-10)  and ''Hornet'' (CVS-12) are configured as ASW carriers; ''Bon Homme Richard'' (angled deck; with [[Aircraft catapult#Bridle catchers|bridle catchers]]) is an attack carrier (CVA); ''Valley Forge'' (axial flight deck) is serving as an [[Landing Platform Helicopter|LPH]]; note the helicopter landing circles on her deck.]]
[[File:Essex-class carrier modernisations 1944-1960.jpg|thumb|''Essex''-class modernizations 1944–1960.]]

The large numbers of new ships, coupled with their larger {{sclass|Midway|aircraft carrier|0}} contemporaries, sustained the Navy's air power through the rest of the 1940s, the [[Korean War]] era, and beyond. While the spacious hangars accommodated the introduction of jets, various modifications significantly improved the capability of fifteen of the ships to handle the jets' increased weight and speed. Among these modification were [[jet-blast deflector]]s (JBDs), greater aviation fuel capacity, stronger decks and elevators. Also included were the British innovations of an [[optical landing system]], steam catapults and, ultimately, an [[Flight deck#Angled|angled flight deck]].<ref>Faltum 1996, pp. 116, 132.</ref>

All of the short-hulls were laid up in 1946–47 along with five of the long-hulls. Eight of the last nine ships completed stayed on active duty to form, with three ''Midway''s, the backbone of the post-war Navy's combat strength. Though the [[Harry S. Truman|Truman administration]]'s defense economies sent three of the active ''Essex''es into "mothballs" in 1949, these soon came back into commission after the Korean War began. Ultimately, all but two short-hulls and all thirteen long-hulls had active [[Cold War]] service.

{{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|2}}, which had been left unfinished at the end of the war, was completed to an improved design between August 1948 and September 1950, with a much stronger (straight) flight deck and a reconfigured island. Eight earlier ships were thoroughly rebuilt to the ''Oriskany'' design under the [[SCB-27]]A program in the early 1950s.<ref name="proceedings">Cross, Richard F., III. "Essex: More than a Ship, More than a Class". ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', September 1975, pp. 58–69.</ref> Six more of the earlier ships were rebuilt to an improved 27C design as the last stage of the SCB-27 program; these ships received steam catapults instead of the less powerful hydraulic units. The otherwise unmodified {{USS|Antietam|CV-36|2}} received an experimental 10.5-degree angled deck in 1952.<ref name="proceedings"/> An angled flight deck and enclosed hurricane bow became the distinctive features of the [[SCB-125]] program, which was undertaken concurrently with the last three 27C conversions and later applied to all 27A and 27C ships except {{USS|Lake Champlain|CV-39|2}}.<ref name="proceedings"/> {{USS|Shangri-La|CV-38|2}} became the first operational United States angled deck aircraft carrier in 1955.<ref name="proceedings"/> ''Oriskany'', the first of the modernized ships but the last angled-deck conversion, received a unique SCB-125A refit which upgraded her to 27C standard, and included steam catapults and an aluminum flight deck.<ref name="proceedings"/>

Korean War and subsequent Cold War needs ensured twenty-two of the twenty-four ships had extensive post–World War II service ({{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|2}} and {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|2}} had suffered heavy damage and were never recommissioned).<ref>This was not in fact because they were in poor condition, but paradoxically because they were in excellent condition thanks to their having been effectively rebuilt following battle damage; the Navy reserved them for a proposed "ultimate ''Essex'' conversion" which never came about.</ref> All initially carried attack air groups; however by 1955 seven unconverted ''Essex''es were operating under the [[anti-submarine warfare]] carrier (CVS) designation established in August 1953.<ref name="proceedings"/> As the {{sclass|Forrestal|aircraft carrier|0}} "[[supercarrier]]s" entered the fleet, the eight 27A conversions were designated CVS to replace the original unconverted ships;<ref name="proceedings"/> the latter began to leave active service in the late 1950s. Two 27C conversions were designated CVS in 1962 (although CVS-11 {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}} would operate as an attack carrier off Vietnam) and two more in 1969.<ref name="proceedings"/> The seven angle-deck 27As and one 27C received specialized CVS modifications including bow-mounted SQS-23 [[sonar]] under the [[Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization#FRAM II Carriers|SCB-144]] program in the early 1960s.<ref name="proceedings"/> The updated units remained active until age and the growing number of supercarriers made them obsolete, from the late 1960s into the middle 1970s. However, one of the first of the type, {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|2}}, served until 1991 as a training ship. Four of the modernized ships (''Yorktown'', ''Intrepid'', ''Hornet'', and ''Lexington'') have been preserved as museums; the remainder were scrapped starting in the 1970s save ''Oriskany'', which the Navy contemplated reactivating in the 1980s and which was eventually scuttled as an artificial reef off the Florida coast in 2006.

Of the unmodernized ''Essex''es, {{USS|Boxer|CV-21|2}}, {{USS|Princeton|CV-37|2}}, and {{USS|Valley Forge|CV-45|2}} were redesignated [[Landing Platform Helicopter]] (LPH) [[amphibious assault ship]]s for the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], and remained in commission with their original straight decks until about 1970.<ref name="proceedings"/> The remainder decommissioned in the late 1950s and early 1960s and were promptly reclassified as aircraft transports (AVT), reflecting their very limited ability to operate modern aircraft safely. An unmodernised ''Essex'' was offered to the [[Royal Australian Navy]] in 1960 as a replacement for {{HMAS|Melbourne|R21|6}} but the offer was declined due to the expense of modifications required to make it operationally compatible with the RAN's primarily British-designed fleet.<ref>{{cite book|last=Frame|first=Tom|title=Pacific Partners: a history of Australian-American naval relations|year=1992|isbn=0-340-56685-X|page=101|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton }}</ref> All were scrapped, most in the 1970s.

===Evolution of the air wing===
For a typical attack carrier (CVA) configuration in 1956–57 aboard {{USS|Bennington|CV-20|2}}, the air wing consisted of one squadron each of the following: [[North American FJ-3 Fury|FJ-3 Furies]], [[F2H Banshee]]s, [[F-9 Cougar|F9F Cougars]], [[A-1 Skyraider|AD-6]], [[A-1 Skyraider|AD-5N]], and [[A-1 Skyraider|AD-5W]] Skyraiders, [[AJ Savage|AJ-2 Savages]], and [[F-9 Cougar|F9F-8P photo Cougars]].<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.uss-bennington.org/airgroups.html|title=AIR GROUPS – USS BENNINGTON|website=www.uss-bennington.org|access-date=5 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919230755/http://www.uss-bennington.org/airgroups.html|archive-date=19 September 2017}}</ref>

By the mid-to-late 1960s, the attack air wing had evolved. ''Oriskany'' deployed with two squadrons of [[F-8 Crusader|F-8J Crusaders]], three squadrons of [[A-4 Skyhawk|A-4E Skyhawks]], [[E-1 Tracer]]s, [[A-3 Skywarrior#Tanker role|EKA-3B Skywarriors]], and [[F-8 Crusader|RF-8G photo Crusaders]]. In 1970, the three A-4 squadrons were replaced by two squadrons of [[A-7 Corsair II|A-7A Corsair IIs]].<ref>[http://www.ussoriskany.com/id17.html ''History of Ship'' p. 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902004920/http://www.ussoriskany.com/id17.html |date=2 September 2012 }}</ref> The [[F-4 Phantom II]] and [[A-6 Intruder]] were considered too heavy to operate from the ''Essex''-class.

Tasked and fitted out as an [[ASW carrier]] (CVS), the air wing of an ''Essex'' such as ''Bennington'' in the 1960s consisted of two squadrons of [[S-2 Tracker|S2F Trackers]] and one squadron of [[Sikorsky H-34|SH-34 Seabat]] ASW helicopters (replaced in 1964 by [[SH-3 Sea King|SH-3A Sea Kings]]). [[Airborne Early Warning and Control|Airborne early warning]] was first provided by modified [[A-1 Skyraider|EA-1Es]]; these were upgraded in 1965 to E-1Bs. A small detachment of A-4Bs or A-4Cs (4 aircraft) were also embarked to provide daylight fighter protection for the ASW aircraft.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>[http://www.skyhawk.org/3e/va93/va93.htm VA-93 Blue Blazers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004023847/http://www.skyhawk.org/3e/va93/va93.htm |date=4 October 2008 }}. The Skyhawk Association Homepage. Accessed 10 July 2009.</ref>

[[Landing platform helicopter]]–converted ships such as ''Boxer'' never had an angled landing deck installed and flew only helicopters such as the [[Sikorsky H-34|UH-34 Seahorse]] and [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight|CH-46 Sea Knight]]. Four converted ''Essex''-class ships served alongside the purpose built {{sclass|Iwo Jima|amphibious assault ship|1}}s providing floating helicopter bases for US Marines. The LPHs were sometimes also used as aircraft ferries for all branches of the U.S. armed forces. The [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|AV-8A]] arrived into Marine Corps inventory too late to see regular fixed wing operations return to these ships. It was possible to launch and recover small aircraft like the [[OV-10 Bronco]] without need of catapult or arresting wires, but this was very rarely permitted on these straight-deck ships for safety reasons and to avoid interruption of helicopter operations.

==Military contributions==
One author called the ''Essex'' class "the most significant class of warships in American naval history", citing the large number produced and "their role in making the aircraft carrier the backbone of the U.S. Navy."<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 1.</ref>

''Essex''-class ships played a central role in the [[Pacific War|Pacific theater of World War II]] from 1943 through the end of the war, beginning with raids in the central Pacific and the invasion of [[Battle of Tarawa|Tarawa]] in the [[Gilbert Islands]]. The ships successfully performed a number of missions, included air superiority, attacking the Japanese fleet, supporting landings, fleet protection, bombing the Japanese home islands, and transporting aircraft and troops. Along the way, the carriers survived [[bomb]]s, [[torpedo]]es, [[kamikaze]]s, and [[Pacific typhoon|typhoons]] without one ship being sunk.

Eleven of the ''Essex'' carriers participated in the Korean War.<ref name=faltum167>Faltum 1996, pp. 167–74.</ref> These ships played a major role throughout the entire war. Missions included attacks on all types of ground targets, air superiority, and antisubmarine patrols.

Thirteen of the twenty-four carriers originally built participated in the [[Vietnam War]], including the prelude and follow-up.<ref name=faltum167/> However, their inability to support the latest aircraft constrained some of those ships to specialized roles as helicopter carriers or antisubmarine platforms. The ships still performing an attack mission generally carried older aircraft types than the supercarriers. Yet, the ''Essex'' class still made significant contributions to all aspects of the U.S. war effort. In one notable event, during the [[Gulf of Tonkin Incident]], aircraft from ''Ticonderoga'' fired at North Vietnamese torpedo boats that had attacked a U.S. destroyer.<ref>Faltum 1996, p. 141.</ref>

The carriers also contributed between the wars, projecting U.S. power around the world and performing antisubmarine patrols. When the Cold War heated up, the ''Essex'' carriers were often involved, including [[Quemoy]] and the [[Matsu Islands]], the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]], and the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].<ref>Faltum 1996, pp. 139–40.</ref> Also, from 1957 through 1991 an ''Essex''-class ship served as the Navy's training carrier—''Antietam'' from 1957 through 1962 and ''Lexington'' for the remainder of the time.<ref>Faltum 1996, pp. 134, 154, 169.</ref>

==Space program==
Several ''Essex''-class ships played a part in the United States' [[human spaceflight]] program, as recovery ships for uncrewed and crewed spaceflights, between 1960 and 1973.

USS ''Valley Forge'' was the recovery ship for the uncrewed flight of [[Mercury-Redstone 1A]] on 19 December 1960. The first spaceflight by an American was on [[Mercury-Redstone 3]] (''Freedom 7''), recovered by ''Lake Champlain'' on 5 May 1961. {{USS|Randolph|CV-15|2}} recovered the next flight, [[Mercury-Redstone 4]] (''Liberty Bell 7''), on 21 July 1961, and she was the primary recovery ship for [[Mercury-Atlas 6]] (''Friendship 7''), the first orbital flight by an American. The next crewed flight, [[Mercury-Atlas 7]] (''Aurora 7''), was picked up by ''Intrepid'' on 24 May 1962, and {{USS|Kearsarge|CV-33|2}} recovered the last two Mercury spacecraft, [[Mercury-Atlas 8]] (''Sigma 7''), on 3 October 1962, and [[Mercury-Atlas 9]] (''Faith 7''), on 16 May 1963.<ref>[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/toc.htm ''This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713233748/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/toc.htm |date=13 July 2009 }}. NASA Special Publication-4201. Loyd S. Swenson Jr., James M. Grimwood, Charles C. Alexander, 1989.</ref>

When the Mercury program's successor, [[Project Gemini]], got underway, ''Essex''es were again closely involved. ''Lake Champlain'' recovered the second uncrewed flight, [[Gemini 2]], on 19 January 1965; and ''Intrepid'' recovered the first crewed flight, [[Gemini 3]]. ''Wasp'' recovered the crew of [[Gemini IV]] on 7 June, and on 29 August, ''Lake Champlain'' picked up [[Gemini 5]] after eight days in space. In December 1965, ''Wasp'' made history by picking up two spacecraft in just over two days: [[Gemini VI-A]] on 16 December, and [[Gemini 7]] on 18 December, after their orbital rendezvous test flight. She also recovered [[Gemini 9A]] on 6 June 1966 and the final Gemini spaceflight, [[Gemini 12]] on 15 November.<ref>[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm ''On The Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031207111557/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm |date=7 December 2003 }}. NASA Special Publication-4203. Barton C. Hacker and James M. Grimwood, 1977.</ref>

[[File:USS Hornet Apollo CM.jpg|right|thumb|The Apollo program exhibit aboard ''Hornet''.]]

The successful use of the carriers as recovery ships continued into the [[Apollo program]]. On 26 February 1966, ''Boxer'' recovered the command module from [[AS-201]], the first uncrewed flight of a production [[Apollo Command/Service Module|Apollo Command and Service Module]]. [[AS-202]], another sub-orbital test flight of the command module, was recovered in August by ''Hornet''; the command module from that flight is currently on display aboard ''Hornet''. ''Bennington'' recovered the command module of [[Apollo 4]], the first uncrewed flight of the [[Saturn V]] launch vehicle, on 9 November 1967.<ref name=chariots>[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/contents.html ''Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209003722/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/contents.html |date=9 February 2008 }}. NASA Special Publication-4205. Courtney G Brooks, James M. Grimwood, Loyd S. Swenson, 1979.</ref>

Eleven months later, ''Essex'' recovered the astronauts of [[Apollo 7]], the first crewed mission in the Apollo program, after eleven days in orbit. ''Yorktown'' recovered the astronauts of [[Apollo 8]], after their historic flight around the [[Moon]] in December 1968; <!-- Apollo 9 was ''Guadalcanal''. --> and ''Princeton'' recovered the second crew to orbit the Moon, aboard [[Apollo 10]], in May 1969.<ref name=chariots />

''Hornet'' rejoined the program and recovered the astronauts from the first two Moon landing missions, [[Apollo 11]] in July 1969<ref name=chariots /> and [[Apollo 12]] in November.<ref>[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-099A ''Apollo 12''], NASA (NSSDC ID: 1969-099A)</ref> The first steps on Earth of returning astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Buzz Aldrin]], and [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Mike Collins]], are marked on her hangar deck, as part of her Apollo program exhibit. The three subsequent missions utilized amphibious assault ships as support vessels;<!-- Apollo 13 was ''Iwo Jima''. 14 was ''New Orleans''. 15 was ''Okinawa''. --> however, ''Ticonderoga'' recovered the astronauts of the last two moon missions, [[Apollo 16]]<ref>[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1972-031A ''Apollo 16''], NASA (NSSDC ID: 1972-031A)</ref> and [[Apollo 17]] in April and December 1972.<ref>[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1972-096A ''Apollo 17''], NASA (NSSDC ID: 1972-096A)</ref>

In the post-Apollo era, ''Ticonderoga'' again acted as a recovery ship for the astronauts of [[Skylab 2]], the first [[human spaceflight|crewed]] mission to [[Skylab]], the first U.S. orbital [[space station]], in June 1973.<ref>[https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4012/vol3/table2.49.htm ''SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK: VOLUME III PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS 1969–1978''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226010809/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4012/vol3/table2.49.htm |date=26 December 2017 }}, Table 2-49, Skylab 2 Characteristics</ref>

==Remaining ships==
Four ''Essex''-class ships have been preserved, and opened to the public as museums:
* ''[[USS Yorktown (CV-10)|Yorktown]]'', at [[Patriot's Point]], [[Mount Pleasant, South Carolina]]
* ''[[USS Intrepid (CV-11)|Intrepid]]'', in New York City
* ''[[USS Hornet (CV-12)|Hornet]]'', in [[Alameda, California]]
* ''[[USS Lexington (CV-16)|Lexington]]'', at [[Corpus Christi, Texas]].

Until {{USS|Midway|CV-41|2}} opened at San Diego, every preserved aircraft carrier in the U.S. was an ''Essex''.

''Oriskany'' was scuttled in 2006 to form an artificial reef off the coast of [[Pensacola, Florida]], and can be visited by experienced divers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbtdivers.com/Diving%20Oriskany.htm |title=Diving Oriskany |access-date=20 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306081521/http://www.mbtdivers.com/Diving%20Oriskany.htm |archive-date=6 March 2013 }}</ref>

==Ships in class==
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="vertical-align: top;"
|+ List of ''Essex''-class aircraft carriers
|-
! scope="col" | Hull no.
! scope="col" | Ship
! scope="col" | Yard
! scope="col" | Ordered
! scope="col" | Keel laid
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commission
! scope="col" | Rebuild(s)
! scope="col" | Re-designations
! scope="col" | Decomm
! scope="col" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | CV-9
! scope="row" | {{USS|Essex|CV-9|2}}
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Jul 1940}}||{{Date table sorting|Apr 1941}}|| {{Date table sorting|Jul 1942}} || {{Date table sorting|Dec 1942}}<br>Jan 1951 ||SCB-27A, 1951<br>SCB-125, 1956<br>SCB-144, 1962||CVA-9, 1952<br>CVS-9, 1960 ||Jan 1947<br>{{Date table sorting|Jun 1969}} || Sold to [[Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service]] (DRMS) and [[Ship breaking|scrapped]] (Jun 1975) in [[Kearny, New Jersey]]
|-
! scope="row" | CV-10
! scope="row" | {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}}<br>(ex-''Bon Homme Richard'')
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]|| {{Date table sorting|Jul 1940}}||{{Date table sorting|Dec 1941}} || {{Date table sorting|Jan 1943}}||  {{Date table sorting|Apr 1943}}<br>Jan 1953 || SCB-27A, 1953<br>SCB-125, 1955<br>SCB-144, 1966||CVA-10, 1953<br>CVS-10, 1957 || Jan 1947<br> {{Date table sorting|Jun 1970}} || [[Museum]] at [[Charleston, South Carolina]] (1975)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-11
! scope="row" | {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}}
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Jul 1940}} ||{{Date table sorting|Dec 1941}} || {{Date table sorting|Apr 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Aug 1943}}<br>Feb 1952<br>Oct 1954 || SCB-27C, 1954<br>SCB-125, 1957<br>SCB-144, 1965||CVA-11, 1952<br>CVS-11, 1961||Mar 1947<br>Apr 1952<br> {{Date table sorting|Mar 1974}}|| Museum at [[New York City]] (1982)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-12
! scope="row" | {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|2}}<br>(ex-''Kearsarge'')
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}} ||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}|| {{Date table sorting|Aug 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Nov 1943}}<br>Mar 1951<br>Sep 1953||SCB-27A, 1953<br>SCB-125, 1956<br>SCB-144, 1965||CVA-12, 1953<br>CVS-12,1958|| Jan 1947<br>May 1951<br> {{Date table sorting|Jun 1970}} || Museum at [[Alameda, California]] (1998)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-13
! scope="row" | {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|2}}
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}}|| {{Date table sorting|Dec 1942}} || {{Date table sorting|Oct 1943}}|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1944}}|||||| {{Date table sorting|Feb 1947}}|| Sold to Portsmouth Salvage Company of [[Chesapeake, Virginia]] and scrapped (Aug 1966)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-14
! scope="row" | {{USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}<br>(ex-''Hancock'')
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}}||{{Date table sorting|Feb 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Feb 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|May 1944}}<br>Oct 1954||SCB-27C, 1954<br>SCB-125, 1957||CVA-14, 1954<br>CVS-14, 1969|| Jan 1947<br>{{Date table sorting|Sep 1973}} || Sold to DRMS and scrapped (Sep 1975)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-15
! scope="row" | {{USS|Randolph|CV-15|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}}||{{Date table sorting|May 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Jun 1944}}|| {{Date table sorting|Oct 1944}}<br>Jul 1953 ||SCB-27A, 1953<br>SCB-125, 1956<br>SCB-144, 1961|| CVA-15, 1952<br>CVS-15, 1959|| Feb 1948<br>{{Date table sorting|Feb 1969}} || Scrapped (May 1975) in Kearny, New Jersey
|-
! scope="row" | CV-16
! scope="row" | {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|2}}<br>(ex-''Cabot'')
|[[Fore River Shipyard|FRSY]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}}||{{Date table sorting|Jul 1941}} || {{Date table sorting|Sep 1942}} || {{Date table sorting|Feb 1943}}<br>Aug 1955 || SCB-27C/125, 1955||CVA-16,1955<br>CVS-16, 1962<br>CVT-16, 1969<br>AVT-16, 1978|| Apr 1947<br>{{Date table sorting|Nov 1991}} || Museum at [[Corpus Christi, TX]] (1992)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-17
! scope="row" | {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|2}}
| [[Fore River Shipyard|FRSY]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}} ||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1941}} || {{Date table sorting|Dec 1942}} ||{{Date table sorting|May 1943}} |||||| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1947}} || Sold to Zidell Explorations, Incorporated of [[Oregon]] and scrapped (May 1973)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-18
! scope="row" | {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|2}}<br>(ex-''Oriskany'')
| [[Fore River Shipyard|FRSY]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}}|| {{Date table sorting|Mar 1942 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Aug 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Nov 1943}}<br>Sep 1951 ||SCB-27A, 1951<br>SCB-125, 1955<br>SCB-144, 1964||CVA-18, 1952<br>CVS-18, 1956|| Feb 1947<br>{{Date table sorting|Jul 1972 }}|| Sold to [[Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation]], of New York City and scrapped (May 1973)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-19
! scope="row" | {{USS|Hancock|CV-19|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}<br>(ex-''Ticonderoga'')
| [[Fore River Shipyard|FRSY]]||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1940}}|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1943 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1944}} || {{Date table sorting| April 1944}}<br>Feb 1954<br>Nov 1956 ||SCB-27C, 1954<br>SCB-125, 1956 ||CVA-19, 1952<br>CV-19, 1975|| May 1947<br>Apr 1956<br>{{Date table sorting|Jan 1976 }}|| Sold to DRMS and scrapped (Sep 1976) in [[Los Angeles]] area
|-
! scope="row" | CV-20
! scope="row" | {{USS|Bennington|CV-20|2}}
| [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|BNY]]|| {{Date table sorting|Dec 1941}}||{{Date table sorting|Dec 1942 }}|| {{Date table sorting| Feb 1944 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Aug 1944}}<br>Nov 1952 ||SCB-27A, 1952<br>SCB-125, 1955<br>SCB-144, 1963|| CVA-20, 1952<br>CVS-20, 1959|| Nov 1946<br>{{Date table sorting|Jan 1970 }}|| Scrapped (Jan 1994) in [[India]]
|-
! scope="row" | CV-21
! scope="row" | {{USS|Boxer|CV-21|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]|| {{Date table sorting|Dec 1941}} ||{{Date table sorting|Sep 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Dec 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|Apr 1945}} ||Amphib||CVA-21, 1952<br>CVS-21, 1956<br>LPH-4, 1959|| {{Date table sorting|Dec 1969}} || Scrapped (Feb 1971)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-31
! scope="row" | {{USS|Bon Homme Richard|CV-31|2}}
| [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|BNY]]|| {{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}} ||{{Date table sorting|Feb 1943}} || {{Date table sorting| Apr 1944 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Nov 1944}}<br>Jan 1951<br>Sep 1955 || SCB-27C/125, 1955||CVA-31, 1952|| Jan 1947<br>May 1953<br>{{Date table sorting|Jul 1971}} || Sold to Southwest Marine, [[San Pedro, California]], and scrapped (Mar 1992)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-32
! scope="row" | {{USS|Leyte|CV-32|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}<br>(ex-''Crown Point'')
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}||{{Date table sorting|Feb 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|Aug 1945}} || {{Date table sorting|Apr 1946}} ||||CVA-32, 1952<br>CVS-32, 1953|| {{Date table sorting|May 1959}} || Scrapped (Mar 1970) in Chesapeake, Virginia
|-
! scope="row" | CV-33
! scope="row" | {{USS|Kearsarge|CV-33|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|BNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}|| {{Date table sorting|Mar 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|May 1945}} || {{Date table sorting|Mar 1946}} <br>Feb 1952||SCB-27A, 1952<br>SCB-125, 1957<br>SCB-144, 1962||CVA-33, 1952<br>CVS-33, 1958||Jun 1950<br>{{Date table sorting|Feb 1970 }}|| Scrapped (Feb 1974)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-34
! scope="row" | {{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|2}}{{efn|name=CompMod}}
| [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|BNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}||{{Date table sorting| May 1944 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Oct 1945 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Sep 1950}}<br>Mar 1959 ||SCB-27, 1950<br>SCB-125A, 1959 ||CVA-34, 1952<br>CV-34, 1975|| Jan 1957<br>{{Date table sorting|Sep 1976}} || Order scrapped but no action taken and scuttled as an [[artificial reef]] in [[Gulf of Mexico]] (May 2006)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-35
! scope="row" | {{USS|Reprisal|CV-35|2}}{{efn|name=NeverComp}}
|[[Brooklyn Navy Yard|BNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}||{{Date table sorting|Jul 1944}}||{{Date table sorting|Dec 1945}} ||  |||||||| Scrapped (Nov 1949) by Boston Metals Co., [[Baltimore, Maryland]]
|-
! scope="row" | CV-36
! scope="row" | {{USS|Antietam|CV-36|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|PNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}||{{Date table sorting| Mar 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Aug 1944 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1945}}<br>Jan 1951 ||Experimental angled deck, 1952|| CVA-36, 1952<br>CVS-36, 1953|| 1949<br>{{Date table sorting|May 1963}} || Sold to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp and scrapped (Feb 1974)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-37
! scope="row" | {{USS|Princeton|CV-37|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}<br>(ex-''Valley Forge'')
| [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|PNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}|| {{Date table sorting|Sep 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Jul 1945}} || {{Date table sorting|Nov 1945}}<br>Aug 1950 ||Amphib||CVA-37, 1952<br>CVS-37, 1954<br>LPH-5, 1959|| Jun 1949<br>{{Date table sorting|Jan 1970}} || Scrapped (May 1971)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-38
! scope="row" | {{USS|Shangri-La}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Norfolk Navy Yard|NNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Feb 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|Sep 1944}}<br>May 1951 || SCB-27C/125, 1955 ||CVA-38, 1952<br>CVS-38, 1969|| Nov 1947<br>{{Date table sorting|Jul 1971}} || Scrapped (Aug 1988) in [[Taiwan]]
|-
! scope="row" | CV-39
! scope="row" | {{USS|Lake Champlain|CV-39|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Norfolk Navy Yard|NNY]]|| {{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}}||{{Date table sorting| Mar 1943}} || {{Date table sorting|Nov 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|Jun 1945}}<br>Sep 1952 || SCB-27A, 1952||CVA-39, 1952<br>CVS-39, 1957|| Feb 1947<br>{{Date table sorting|May 1966}} || Scrapped (Apr 1972)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-40
! scope="row" | {{USS|Tarawa|CV-40|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Norfolk Navy Yard|NNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1942}} || {{Date table sorting|Mar 1944}} || {{Date table sorting| May 1945}} || {{Date table sorting|Dec 1945}}<br>Feb 1951||||CVA-40, 1952<br>CVS-40, 1955|| Jun 1949<br>{{Date table sorting|May 1960}} || Sold to DRMS and scrapped (Oct 1968)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-45
! scope="row" | {{USS|Valley Forge|CV-45|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|PNY]]||{{Date table sorting|Jun 1943}}|| {{Date table sorting|Sep 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|Nov 1945 }}|| {{Date table sorting|Nov 1946}} ||Amphib||CVA-45, 1952<br>CVS-45, 1953<br>LPH-8, 1961|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1970}} || Sold to Nicolai Joffre Corporation, [[Beverly Hills, California]], and scrapped (Oct 1971)
|-
! scope="row" | CV-46
! scope="row" | {{USS|Iwo Jima|CV-46|2}}{{efn|name=NeverComp}}
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|NNSD]] ||{{Date table sorting|Jun 1943}}|| {{Date table sorting|Jan 1945}}|| || || || || || Canceled while under construction. Scrapped 1946 in slip at Newport News
|-
! scope="row" | CV-47
! scope="row" | {{USS|Philippine Sea|CV-47|2}}{{efn|name=LongBow}}
| [[Fore River Shipyard|FRSY]]||{{Date table sorting|Jun 1943}} ||{{Date table sorting|Aug 1944}} || {{Date table sorting|Sep 1945}} || {{Date table sorting|May 1946}} ||||CVA-47, 1952<br>CVS-47, 1955|| {{Date table sorting|Dec 1958}} || Sold to Zidell Explorations, Incorporated and scrapped (Mar 1971)
|}

'''Construction notes''':
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=LongBow|Long-bow units}}
{{efn|name=CompMod|Completed to modified design}}
{{efn|name=NeverComp|Never completed}}
}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Key of Ship builder abbreviations
|-
! scope="row" | NNSD
| [[Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock]], [[Newport News, Virginia]]
|-
! scope="row" | FRSY
| [[Fore River Shipyard]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
|-
! scope="row" | BNY
| [[New York Navy Yard]], [[Brooklyn, New York]]
|-
! scope="row" | NNY
| [[Norfolk Navy Yard]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia]]
|-
! scope="row" | PNY
| [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
|}

Hull numbers 22–30 in the aircraft carrier sequence were assigned to the {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier|0}} light carriers (CVL); hull numbers 41–44 were assigned to the large carriers (CVB) of the {{sclass|Midway|aircraft carrier|4}}.

''Reprisal'', laid down in July 1944 at the [[New York Navy Yard]] and launched in 1945, had her construction cancelled on 12 August 1945 due to the [[Surrender of Japan|cessation of hostilities]] when the ship was about half complete.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aircraft Carrier Photo Index: REPRISAL (CV-35)|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/35.htm|access-date=2021-06-23|website=www.navsource.org}}</ref> She was scrapped incomplete after tests. {{USS|Iwo Jima|CV-46|3}} was laid down at [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding]] yards in January 1945, but was cancelled in August 1945 for the same reasons. She was broken up on the slipway.

Six fiscal-year 1945 ships, none of which received names, were provisionally awarded to [[Bethlehem Steel Company|Fore River]] (CV-50), [[New York Navy Yard|Brooklyn Navy Yard]] (CV-51 and CV-52), [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] (CV-53) and [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] (CV-54 and CV-55) in February 1945. Their construction was cancelled in March 1945 when President Roosevelt disapproved the program, before they were formally ordered.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Faltum |first=Andrew |title=The Essex aircraft carriers |date=1996 |publisher=Nautical & Aviation Pub. Co. of America |isbn=978-1-877853-26-5 |location=Baltimore, Md}}</ref>

{{USS|Oriskany|CV-34|3}} was ordered and laid down as an ''Essex''-class vessel, was completed in 1950 to the much modified SCB-27 design, and from commissioning until her reconstruction 1957–59 was listed as the lead ship of the separate ''Oriskany'' class.

===Later class assignments===
Successive rebuildings and changing roles meant that the original unitary ''Essex'' class became divided by the Navy into several classes, which went through many shifts and re-namings. According to the United States [[Naval Vessel Register]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nvr.navy.mil/|title=NVR Home Page|website=www.nvr.navy.mil|access-date=5 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208062158/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/|archive-date=8 December 2017}}</ref> the final class assignments were
* CVS-10 ''Yorktown'' class (SCB-27A): ''Essex, Yorktown, Hornet, Randolph, Wasp, Bennington, Kearsarge, Lake Champlain''
* CVS-11 ''Intrepid'' class (SCB-27C + SCB-144): ''Intrepid''
* CVA-19 ''Hancock'' class (SCB-27C): ''Ticonderoga, Hancock, Bon Homme Richard, Oriskany, Shangri-La''
* AVT-8 ''Franklin'' class (unreconstructed ships): ''Franklin, Bunker Hill, Leyte, Antietam, Tarawa, Philippine Sea''
* AVT-16 ''Lexington'' class (training carrier): ''Lexington''
* LPH-4 ''Boxer'' class (helicopter assault conversions): ''Boxer, Princeton, Valley Forge''

==See also==
{{Commons category|Essex class aircraft carriers}}
* [[List of ship classes of the Second World War]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last= Donald |first= David |author2=Daniel J. March |title= Carrier Aviation Air Power Directory |year= 2001 |publisher= AIRtime Publishing |location= Norwalk, Connecticut |isbn= 1-880588-43-9 }}
* {{cite book |last= Fahey |first= James |author-link=James Charles Fahey |title= The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet |year= 1950 |publisher= Ships and Aircraft |location= Washington, DC |isbn= 0-87021-645-7 |edition= Sixth }}
* {{cite book |last= Faltum |first= Andrew |title= The Essex Aircraft Carriers |year= 1996 |publisher= The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America |location= Baltimore, Maryland |isbn= 1-877853-26-7 }}
* {{cite book |last= Friedman |first= Norman |title= U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History |year= 1983 |publisher= Naval Institute Press |location= Annapolis, Maryland |isbn= 0-87021-739-9 }}
* {{cite book |last= Raven |first= Alan |title= Essex-Class Carriers |year= 1988 |publisher= Naval Institute Press |location= Annapolis, Maryland |isbn= 0-87021-021-1 }}
* {{cite book |last= Roberts |first= John |title= Anatomy of the Ship: The Aircraft Carrier Intrepid |year= 1982 |publisher= Conway Maritime Press |location= London |isbn= 0-85177-251-X }}
* {{cite book |last= Sowinski|first= Lawrence|chapter= The Essex Class Carriers |title= Warship Volume II|year= 2000 |publisher= Naval Institute Press |location= Annapolis, Maryland }} {{ISBN|0-87021-976-6}}.
* {{cite book |last= St. John |first= Philip|title= USS Essex (CV/CVA/CVS-9) |year= 1999 |publisher= Turner Publishing Company |location= Nashville, TN |isbn= 1-56311-492-5}}
* {{cite book |last= St. John |first= Philip|title= USS Randolph (CV/CVA/CVS-15) |year= 2000 |publisher= Turner Publishing Company |location= Nashville, TN |isbn= 1-56311-539-5}}
*{{cite journal |last1=United States Navy, Bureau of Ships |title=Design Histories of United States Warships of World War II: The Essex Class CV-9-21, 31-40, 45-47 (Part 1) |journal=Warship International |date=1999 |volume=XXXVI |issue=4 |pages=325–340|issn=0043-0374}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Wright|first1=C. C. |title=Technical Annex (Part 2)–Essex (CV-9) Class Selected Ship Characteristics |journal=Warship International |date=1999 |volume=XXXVI |issue=4 |pages=341–398|issn=0043-0374}}
* {{DANFS}}

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

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aircraft carrier classes]]
[[Category:Essex-class aircraft carriers| ]]
[[Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States| Essex-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States| Essex-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Korean War aircraft carriers of the United States| Essex-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Vietnam War aircraft carriers of the United States| Essex-class aircraft carriers]]