David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:43pm
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Tapferkeits Medaille
Tapferkeits Medaille (Bravery Medal) Awarded to non-commissioned officers and other ranks for a deed of bravery in war. This medal was instituted on 19 July 1789 in 3 classes : the Gold Medal, the Large Silver Medal (also called 1st Class Silver Medal) and the Small Silver Medal (2nd Class Silver Medal). On 14 February 1915 a Bronze Medal (50% bronze, 50% gunmetal) was added. During the 1st World War two types of the "Tapferkeits- Medaille" were issued : a first type bearing, on the obverse, the bust of Emperor Franz Joseph I with the text "FRANZ JOSEPH I V.G.G. KAISER V. OESTERREICH" (Franz Joseph I, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria) and on the reverse, within a laurel wreath with crossed flags at the bottom, the words "DER / TAPFERKEIT" (For Bravery, in German) and a second type, issued after Franz Joseph's death in November 1916, bearing, on the obverse, the bust of Emperor Karl with the text "CAROLVaS D.G. IMP. AVST. REX BOH. ETC. ET REX APOST. HVNG." (Karl, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia etc. and Apostolic King of Hungary). The reverse is similar to the first type but for the word "FORTITVDINI" (For Bravery, in Latin). On 29 November 1915 bars, trapeze form and in rustless iron, were installed for subsequent awards of the same class. An order of 15 September 1917 made officers also eligible, under special conditions, for the Gold or Silver Classes and in those cases a gilt or silver "K" was affixed to the ribbon. By mid March 1918 the Vienna Mint had struck, during the war, some 950,000 bronze, 384,000 small silver 2nd Class, 143,000 large silver and 3,700 gold medals.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:44pm
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Milit
Milit?r-Verdienstmedaille (Medal for Military Merit) Often called 'Signum Laudis' from the text on the reverse, this medal was awarded to NCO's and other ranks for exceptional merit in war or peace. Instituted on 12 March 1890 by Emperor Franz Joseph I, it was issued on a plain red ribbon for peace merit, in silver or gilt bronze. On 1 April 1916 Franz Joseph added a higher class, the Large Medal for Military Merit. For merit whilst in view of the enemy, crossed gilt swords were attached to the ribbon and in February 1917 Karl I instituted silvered bars for a second and third award of the small medal, gilt bars for the Large Medal. In November 1916, at the succession to the throne of Karl I, the medals were adapted. The obverse was changed to have the new Emperor's bust and a corresponding text : "CAROLVS D.G. IMP.AVST.REX BOH.ETC. ET REX APOST.HVNG" (see Bravery Medal) and the suspension was altered to have 2 crowns on oak and laurel leafs (Emperor's crown of Austria, King's crown of Hungary). At first the oak and laurel leafs were repeated on the reverse, later in the war the suspension's reverse was plain. The reverse itself bears the words "SIGNVM / LAUDIS" (sign of esteem) within an oak and a laurel branch.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:46pm
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Kreigserinnerungsmedaille
Kreigserinnerungsmedaille (War Commemorative Medal) Awarded to all who served in the First World War. This medal was instituted on 21 december 1932 and on 10 November 1933 gilt crossed swords were decreed. These were to be attached to the medal's ribbon for those who served under fire at the front, wounded and POW who had behaved with honour.
The obverse depicts an eagle with wings opened downwards, standing on an upright shield with the Austrian weapon. Along the lower rim are the words "F?R ?STERREICH" (For Austria). On the reverse, within an oak leaf wreath, the dates "1914-1918".
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:50pm
Rating: 10
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The Mobilisation Cross 19
The Mobilisation Cross 1914-1918 (in Dutch : Het Mobilisatiekruis 1914-1918) is a bronze cross instituted on 1 August 1924 by the "National Committee forthe Commemoration of the 1914 Mobilisation" (Nationaal Comit? Herdenking Mobilisatie 1914) and because Queen Wilhelmina accepted the cross offered to her by the committee, this decoration became officially recognized (Army Order of 26 november 1924). It was awarded to those that during the 1st World War had worn an official Dutch uniform (between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918), including reservists and civilians which served under military supervision. Obverse : the vertical cross arms have the dates "1914" and "1918" on them, the horizontal ones "AUGUSTUS" and "NOVEMBER". Between the cross arms lie bundles of arrows symbolising the power of unity. Reverse (shown above): the words "MOBILISATIE / VREDE / EER" (Mobilisation, Peace, Honour) in the same lettering as the obverse. There's also a maker's mark at the bottom.
On 27 September 1927 an almost identical cross was created: the so-called "White Mobilisation Cross" for civilians who performed distinguished service to the mobilised troops. The reverse is different bearing the words "MOBILISATIE / WAARDERING" (Mobilisation, Recognition) and the ribbon's central blue is replaced by white.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:51pm
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War Cross
War Cross. Awarded for individual acts of military valour between 27 July 1914 and 28 October 1918 (later extended to include actions in 1919 against Poland and against Hungary).
This bronze medal was instituted on 7 November 1918 and is formed by four overlapping circles. The obverse has in the upper circle the climbing, double-tailed lion of Bohemia, in the left circle the chequered eagle of Moravia, in the right circle the Silesian eagle and in the lower circle three mountains and the double-barred cross of Slovakia. The reverse has the intertwined letters CS (Czechoslovakia) on a background of linden leaves. Functioning somewhat like the French Croix de Guerre, a number of emblems could be attached to the ribbon :
For a unit citation in an Army Order, a spray of linden leaves
For a unit citation in a Divisional Order, a single linden leaf
For an individual citation in an Army Order, a silver star
For an individual citation in a Divisional Order a bronze star.
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David
Sun February 27, 2005 11:15pm
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The Battle of Rossbach, M
The Battle of Rossbach, Maneuvers, 2-4 November 1757
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David
Sun February 27, 2005 11:15pm
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The Battle of Rossbach, T
The Battle of Rossbach, The Trap, 5 November 1757
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David
Sun February 27, 2005 11:15pm
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Frederick's Defeat, July
Frederick's Defeat, July - November 1620
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 12:01pm
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Audenarde American Monume
The World War I Audenarde American Monument is located in the town of Oudenaarde (Audenarde), Belgium, seventeen miles south of Gent (Gand), thirty-eight miles west of Brussels and one hundred and eighty-three miles north of Paris, France.
The monument of golden-yellow limestone, bearing the shield of the United States flanked by two stone eagles, stands at the end of a small park maintained by the Commission. It commemorates the services and sacrifices of the 40,000 American troops who, in October and November 1918, fought in the vicinity as units attached to the Group of Armies commanded by the King of Belgium. Some are buried in the Flanders Field American Cemetery at Waregem, Belgium, eight miles to the west.
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 12:11pm
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Montfaucon American Monum
The World War I Montfaucon American Monument is located seven miles south of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial and twenty miles northwest of Verdun. It consists of a massive granite Doric column, surmounted by a statue symbolic of Liberty, which towers more than two hundred feet above the war ruins of the former village. It commemorates the American victory during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during the period September 26, 1918 to November 11, 1918, when the American First Army forced the enemy to conduct a general retreat on this front.
On the walls of the foyer are an engraved map of the operations with a narrative and a special tribute to the American troops who served here. The observation platform on top of the memorial is reached by two hundred and thirty-four steps and affords magnificent views of this battlefield.
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 12:22pm
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Western Naval Task Force
The Western Naval Task Force Marker at Casablanca, Morocco is located at the Ben M'Sick civilian cemetery. The bronze plaque, mounted on a solid block of Moroccan granite, commemorates the U.S. Western Task Force, which successfully made assault landings at Mohemmedia, Safi and Kenitra on November 8-11, 1942. This was the first ever trans-oceanic amphibious operation, which embarked from Hampton Roads, Virginia, and was comprised of American troops that were transported and supported by one hundred naval vessels. The landings were made near Casablanca on the Atlantic coast of French Morocco.
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David
Sun August 7, 2005 4:24am
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Tecumseh
1768 - 1813
Tecumseh, whose name means Shooting Star, was the son of a Shawnee chief. He became an outstanding leader during the 1700 and 1800's. He helped to organize eastern tribes into an alliance against invasion onto their lands.
Tecumseh was a skillful fighter as well as a great motivator often traveling among the various planning strategies and boosting morale. Tecumseh was not in favor of a treaty proposed by William Henry Harrison, then governor of the Indian Territory.
This disagreement led to the Battle of Tippecanoe in November of 1811. Seeking other allies Tecumseh and his followers then joined forced forces with the British in hopes of holding onto their land in the was with the American in 1812. It's around this that Tecumseh was killed in battle.
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:07pm
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USS Langley CV 1 20 Mar 1
USS Langley CV 1 20 Mar 1922 27 Feb 1942
USS Langley (CV-1) with Vought VE-7 aircraft on deck. In the background are 4 four-stack destroyers and a Tennessee-class battleship on the left and two New Mexico-class battleships (center and right).
displacement: 11,500 tons
length: 542 feet
beam: 65 feet
draft: 18 feet 11 inches
speed: 15 knots
complement: 468 crew
armament: 4 five-inch guns
aircraft: 55 (max)
class: Langley
Jupiter (AC-3) was laid down 18 October 1911 by Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif.; launched 14 August 1912; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas F. Ruhm; and commissioned 7 April 1913, Comdr. Joseph M. Reeves in command.
After successfully passing her trials, Jupiter, the first electrically-propelled ship of the U.S. Navy, embarked a Marine detachment at San Francisco and reported to the Pacific Fleet at Mazatlan, Mexico, 27 April 1914, bolstering U.S. naval strength on the Mexican Pacific coast during the tense days of the Vera Cruz crisis. She remained on the Pacific coast until she departed for Philadelphia, 10 October. En route the collier steamed through the Panama canal on Columbus Day ? the first vessel to transit it from west to east.
Prior to America's entry into World War I, she cruised the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico attached to the Atlantic Fleet Auxiliary Division. The ship arrived Norfolk 6 April 1917, and, assigned to Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), interrupted her coaling operations by two cargo voyages to France in June 1917 and November 1918. She was back in Norfolk 23 January 1919 whence she sailed for Brest, France, 8 March for coaling duty in European waters to expedite the return of victorious veterans to the United States. Upon reaching Norfolk 17 August 1919, the ship was transferred to the west coast. Her conversion to an aircraft carrier was authorized 11 July 1919, and she sailed to Hampton Roads, Va., 12 December where she decommissioned 24 March 1910.
Jupiter was converted into the first U.S. aircraft carrier at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Va., for the purpose of conducting experiments in the new idea of seaborne aviation, a field of unlimited possibilities. Her name was changed to Langley 11 April 1920; she was reclassified CV-1 and recommissloned 20 March 1922, Comdr. Kenneth Whiting in command.
As the first Navy carrier, Langley was the scene of numerous momentous events. On 17 October 1922 Lt. Virgil C. Griffin piloted the first plane, a VE7-SF, launched from her decks. Though this was not the first time an airplane had taken off from a ship, and though Langley was not the first ship with an installed flight-deck, this one launching was of monumental importance to the modern U.S. Navy. The era of the aircraft carrier was born introducing into the Navy what was to become the vanguard of its forces in the future. With Langley underway 9 days later, Lt. Comdr. G. DeC. Chevalier made the first landing in an Aeromarine. On 18 November Commander Whiting, at the controls of a PT, was the first aviator to be catapulted from a carrier's deck.
By 15 January 1923 Langley had begun flight operations and tests in the Caribbean for carrier landings. In June she steamed to Washington, D.C., to give a demonstration at a flying exhibition before civil and military dignitaries. She arrived Norfolk 13 June and commenced training along the Atlantic coast and Caribbean which carried her through the end of the gear. In 1924 Langley participated in more maneuvers and exhibitions, and spent the summer at Norfolk for repairs and alterations, she departed for the west coast late in the year and arrived San Diego 29 November to join the Pacific Battle Fleet. For the next 12 years she operated off the California coast and Hawaii engaged in training fleet units, experimentation, pilot training, and tactical-fleet problems. On 25 October 1936 she put into Mare Island Navy Yard, Calif., for overhaul and conversion to a seaplane tender. Though her career as a carrier had ended, her well-trained pilots proved invaluable to the next two carriers, USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga (CV-3).
Langley completed conversion 26 February 1937 and was reclassified AV-3 on 11 April she was assigned to Aircraft Scouting Force and commenced her tending operations out of Seattle, Sitka, Pearl Harbor, and San Diego. She departed for a brief deployment with the Atlantic Fleet from 1 February to 10 July 1939, and then steamed to assume her duties with the Pacific fleet at Manila arriving 24 September.
At the outbreak of World War II, Langley was anchored off Cavite, Philippine Islands. She departed 8 December and proceeded to Balikpapan, Borneo, and Darwin, Australia, where she arrived 1 January 1942. Until 11 January Langley assisted the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in running antisubmarine patrols out of Darwin. She was then assigned to American-British-Dutch-Australian forces assembling in Indonesia to challenge the Japanese thrust in that direction. She departed Fremantle, Australia, 22 February in convoy, and left the convoy 5 days later to deliver 32 P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java.
Early in the morning 27 February 1942, Langley rendezvoused with her antisubmarine screen, destroyers USS Whipple (DD-217) and USS Edsall (DD-219). At 1140 nine twin-engine enemy bombers attacked her. The first and second Japanese strikes were unsuccessful; but during the third Langley took five hits. Aircraft topside burst into flames, steering was impaired, and the ship took a 10 degree list to port. Unable to negotiate the narrow mouth of Tjilatjap Harbor, Langley went dead in the water as in-rushing water flooded her main motors. At 1332 the order to abandon ship was passed. The escorting destroyers fired nine 4-inch shells and two torpedoes into the old tender to insure her sinking. She went down about 75 miles south of Tjilatjap with a loss of 16.
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:09pm
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USS Saratoga CV 3 16 Nov
USS Saratoga CV 3 16 Nov 1927 26 Jul 1946
Landing planes on 6 June 1935.
displacement: 33,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 106 feet
draft: 24 feet 1? inches
speed: 33.91 knots
complement: 2,111 crew
armament: 8 eight-inch and 12 five-inch guns, and 4 six-pounders
aircraft: 81
class: Lexington
The fifth Saratoga (CV 3) was laid down on 25 September 1920 as Battle Cruiser #3 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; ordered converted to an aircraft carrier and reclassified CV-3 on 1 July 1922 in accordance with the Washington Treaty limiting naval armaments. The ship was launched on 7 April 1925, sponsored by Mrs. Curtis D. Wilbur, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned on 16 November 1927, Capt. Harry E. Yarnell in command.
Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the United States Navy, quickly proved the value of her type. She sailed from Philadelphia on 6 January 1928 for shakedown, and, on 11 January, her air officer, the future World War II hero, Marc A. Mitscher, landed the first aircraft on board. In an experiment on 27 January, the rigid airship Los Angeles (ZR-3) moored to Saratoga's stern and took on fuel and stores. The same day Saratoga sailed for the Pacific via the Panama Canal. She was diverted briefly between 14 and 16 February to carry Marines to Corinto, Nicaragua, and finally joined the Battle Fleet at San Pedro, Calif., on 21 February. The rest of the year was spent in training and final machinery shakedown.
On 15 January 1929, Saratoga sailed from San Diego with the Battle Fleet to participate in her first fleet exercise, Fleet Problem IX. In a daring move Saratoga was detached from the fleet with only a single cruiser as escort to make a wide sweep to the south and "attack" the Panama Canal, which was defended by the Scouting Fleet and Saratoga's sister ship, USS Lexington (CV 2). She successfully launched her strike [340] on 26 January, and despite being "sunk" three times later in the day, proved the versatility of a fast task force centered around a carrier. The idea was incorporated into fleet doctrine and reused the following year in Fleet Problem X in the Caribbean. This time, however, Saratoga and carrier, USS Langley (CV 1), were "disabled" by a surprise attack from Lexington, showing how quickly air power could swing the balance in a naval action.
Following the fleet concentration in the Caribbean Saratoga took part in the Presidential Review at Norfolk in May and returned to San Pedro on 21 June 1930.
During the remaining decade before World War II Saratoga exercised in the San Diego-San Pedro area, except for the annual fleet problems and regular overhauls at the Bremerton Navy Yard. In the fleet problems, Saratoga continued to assist in the development of fast carrier tactics, and her importance was recognized by the fact that she was always a high priority target for the opposing forces. The fleet problem for 1932 was planned for Hawaii, and, by coincidence occurred during the peak of the furor following the "Manchurian incident" in which Japan started on the road to World War II. Saratoga exercised in the Hawaii area from 31 January to 19 March and returned to Hawaii for fleet exercises the following year between 23 January and 28 February 1933. On the return trip to the west coast, she launched a successful air "attack" on the Long Beach area.
Exercises in 1934 took Saratoga to the Caribbean and the Atlantic for an extended period, from 9 April to 9 November, and were followed by equally extensive operations with the United States Fleet in the Pacific the following year. Between 27 April and 6 June 1936, she participated in a fleet problem in the Canal Zone, and she then returned with the fleet to Hawaii for exercises from 16 April to 28 May 1937. On 15 March 1938, Saratoga sailed from San Diego for Fleet Problem XIX, again conducted off Hawaii. During the second phase of the problem, Saratoga launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor from a point 100 miles off Oahu, setting a pattern that the Japanese copied in December 1941. During the return to the west coast, Saratoga and Lexington followed this feat with "strikes" on Mare Island and Alameda. Saratoga was under overhaul during the 1939 fleet concentration, but, between 2 April and 21 June 1940, she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, the last to be held due to the deepening world crisis.
Between 14 and 29 October 1940, Saratoga transported a draft of military personnel from San Pedro to Hawaii, and, on 6 January 1941, she entered the Bremerton Navy Yard for a long deferred modernization, including widening her flight deck forward and fitting a blister on her starboard side and additional small antiaircraft guns. Departing Bremerton on 28 April 1941, the carrier participated in a landing force exercise in May and made two trips to Hawaii between June and October as the diplomatic crisis with Japan came to a head.
When the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Saratoga was just entering San Diego after an interim drydocking at Bremerton. She hurriedly got underway the following day as the nucleus of a third carrier force [Lexington and USS Enterprise (CV 6) were already at sea], carrying Marine aircraft intended to reinforce the vulnerable garrison on Wake Island. Presence of these aircraft on board made Saratoga the logical choice for the actual relief effort. She reached Pearl Harbor on 15 December and stopped only long enough to fuel. She then rendezvoused with USS Tangier (AV-8), which had relief troops and supplies on board, while Lexington and Enterprise provided distant cover for the operation. However, the Saratoga force was delayed by the low speed of its oiler and by a decision to refuel destroyers on 21 December. After receiving reports of Japanese carrier aircraft over the island and Japanese landings on it, the relief force was recalled on 22 December. Wake fell the next day.
Saratoga continued operations in the Hawaiian Island region, but on 11 January 1942, when heading towards a rendezvous with Enterprise, 500 miles southwest of Oahu, she was hit without warning by a deep-running torpedo fired by the Japanese submarine, I-16. Although six men were killed and three firerooms were flooded, the carrier reached Oahu under her own power. There, her 8-inch guns, useless against aircraft, were removed for installation in shore defenses, and the carrier proceeded to the Bremerton Navy Yard for permanent repairs and installation of a modern anti-aircraft battery.
Saratoga departed Puget Sound on 22 May for San Diego. She arrived there on 25 May and was training her air group when intelligence was received of an impending Japanese assault on Midway. Due to the need to load planes and stores and to collect escorts, the carrier was unable to sail until 1 June and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 6th after the Battle of Midway had ended. She departed Pearl Harbor on 7 June after fueling; and, on 11 June, transferred 34 aircraft to USS Hornet (CV 8) and Enterprise to replenish their depleted air groups. The three carriers then turned north to counter Japanese activity reported in the Aleutians, but the operation was canceled and Saratoga returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 June.
Between 22 and 29 June 1942, Saratoga ferried Marine and Army aircraft to the garrison on Midway. On 7 July, she sailed for the southwest Pacific; and, from 28 to 30 July, she provided air cover for landing rehearsals in the Fiji Islands in preparation for landings on Guadalcanal. As flagship of Real Admiral F. J. Fletcher, Saratoga opened the Guadalcanal assault early on 7 August when she turned into the wind to launch aircraft. She provided air cover for the landings for the next two days. On the first day, a Japanese air attack was repelled before it reached the carriers, but since further attacks were expected, the carrier force withdrew on the afternoon of 8 August towards a fueling rendezvous. As a result, it was too far away to retaliate after four Allied cruisers were sunk that night in the Battle of Savo Island. The carrier force continued to operate east of the Solomons, protecting the sea lanes to the beachhead and awaiting a Japanese naval counterattack.
The counterattack began to materialize when a Japanese transport force was detected on 23 August 1942, and Saratoga launched a strike against it. The aircraft were unable to find the enemy, however, and spent the night on Guadalcanal. As they were returning on board the next day, the first contact report on enemy carriers was received. Two hours later, Saratoga launched a strike which sent Japanese carrier Ryujo to the bottom. Later in the afternoon, as an enemy strike from other carriers was detected, Saratoga hastily launched the aircraft on her deck, and these found and damaged the Japanese seaplane tender Chitose. Meanwhile, due to cloud cover, Saratoga escaped detection by the Japanese aircraft, which concentrated their attack on, and damaged, Enterprise. The American force fought back fiercely and weakened enemy air strength so severely that the Japanese recalled their transports before they reached Guadalcanal.
After landing her returning aircraft at night on 24 August, Saratoga refueled on the 25th and resumed her patrols east of the Solomons. A week later, a destroyer reported torpedo wakes heading toward the carrier, but the 888-foot flattop could not turn quickly enough. A minute later, a torpedo from I-26 slammed into the blister on her starboard side. The torpedo killed no one and only flooded one fireroom, but the impact caused short circuits which damaged Saratoga's turbo-electric propulsion system and left her dead in the water. The cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA 36) took the carrier under tow while she flew her aircraft off to shore bases. By early afternoon, Saratoga's engineers had improvised a circuit out of the burned wreckage of her main control board and had given her a speed of 10 knots. After repairs at Tongatabu from 6 to 12 September, Saratoga arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 September for permanent repairs.
Saratoga sailed from Pearl Harbor on 10 November 1942 and proceeded, via Fiji, to Noumea which she reached on 5 December. She operated in the vicinity of Noumea for the next twelve months, providing air cover for minor operations and protecting American forces in the eastern Solomons. Between 17 May and 31 July 1943, she was reinforced by the British carrier, HMS Victorious, and, on 20 October, she was joined by USS Princeton (CVL 23). As troops stormed ashore on Bougainville on 1 November, Saratoga's aircraft neutralized nearby Japanese airfields on Buka. Then, on 5 November, in response to reports of Japanese cruisers concentrating at Rabaul to counterattack the Allied landing forces, Saratoga conducted perhaps her most brilliant strike of the war. Her aircraft penetrated the heavily defended port and disabled most of the Japanese cruisers, ending the surface threat to Bougainville. Saratoga, herself, escaped unscathed and returned to raid Rabaul again on 11 November.
Saratoga and Princeton were then designated the Relief Carrier Group for the offensive in the Gilberts, and, after striking Nauru on 19 November, they rendezvoused on 23 November 1943 with the transports carrying garrison troops to Makin and Tarawa. The carriers provided air cover until the transports reached their destinations, and then maintained air patrols over Tarawa. By this time, Saratoga had steamed over a year without repairs, and she was detached on 30 November to return to the United States. She underwent overhaul at San Francisco from 9 December 1943 to 3 January 1944, and had her antiaircraft battery augmented for the last time, receiving 60 40-millimeter guns in place of 36 20-millimeter guns.
The carrier arrived at Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1944, and, after a brief period of training, sailed from Pearl Harbor on 19 January with light carriers, USS Langley (CV 27) and USS Princeton (CVL 23), to support the drive in the Marshalls. Her aircraft struck Wotje and Taroa for three days, from 29 to 31 January, and then pounded Engebi, the main island at Eniwetok, the 3d to the 6th and from the 10th to the 12th of February. Her planes delivered final blows to Japanese defenses on the 16th, the day before the landings, and provided close air support and CAP over the island until 28 February.
Saratoga then took leave of the main theaters of the Pacific war for almost a year, to carry out important but less spectacular assignments elsewhere. Her first task was to help the British initiate their carrier offensive in the Far East. On 4 March 1944, Saratoga departed Majuro with an escort of three destroyers, and sailed via Espiritu Santo; Hobart, Tasmania; and Fremantle, Australia, to join the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. She rendezvoused at sea on 27 March with the British force, composed of carrier, HMS Illustrious, and four battleships with escorts, and arrived with them at Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 31 March. On 12 April, the French battleship, Richelieu, arrived, adding to the international flavor of the force. During the next two days, the carriers conducted intensive training at sea during which Saratoga's fliers tried to impart some of their experience to the British pilots. On 16 April, the Eastern Fleet, with Saratoga, sailed from Trincomalee, and, on the 19th, the aircraft from the two carriers struck the port of Sabang, off the northwest tip of Sumatra. The Japanese were caught by surprise by the new offensive, and much damage was done to port facilities and oil reserves. The raid was so successful that Saratoga delayed her departure in order to carry out a second. Sailing again from Ceylon on 6 May, the force struck at Soerabaja, Java, on 17 May with equally successful results. Saratoga was detached the following day, and passed down the columns of the Eastern Fleet as the Allied ships rendered honors to and cheered each other.
Saratoga arrived at Bremerton, Wash., on 10 June 1944 and was under repair there through the summer. On 24 September, she arrived at Pearl Harbor and commenced her second special assignment, training night fighter squadrons. Saratoga had experimented with night flying as early as 1931, and many carriers had been forced to land returning aircraft at night during the war; but, only in August 1944, did a carrier, USS Independence (CVL 22), receive an air group specially equipped to operate at night. At the same time, Carrier Division 11, composed of Saratoga and USS Ranger (CV-4), was commissioned at Pearl Harbor to train night pilots and develop night flying doctrine. Saratoga continued this important training duty for almost four months, but as early as October, her division commander was warned that "while employed primarily for training, Saratoga is of great value for combat and is to be kept potentially available for combat duty." The call came in January 1945. Light carriers like Independence had proved too small for safe night operations, and Saratoga was rushed out of Pearl Harbor on 29 January 1945 to form a night fighter task group with Enterprise for the Iwo Jima operation.
Saratoga arrived at Ulithi on 7 February and sailed three days later, with Enterprise and four other carrier task groups. After landing rehearsals with Marines at Tinian on 12 February, the carrier force carried out diversionary strikes on the Japanese home islands on the night of 16 and 17 February before the landings on Iwo Jima. Saratoga was assigned to provide fighter cover while the remaining carriers launched the strikes on Japan, but, in the process, her fighters raided two Japanese airfields. The force fueled on 18 and 19 February; and, on 21 February 1945, Saratoga was detached with an escort of three destroyers to join the amphibious forces and carry out night patrols over Iwo Jima and night heckler missions over nearby Chi-chi Jima. However, as she approached her operating area at 1700 on the 21st, an air attack developed, and taking advantage of low cloud cover and Saratoga's insufficient escort, six Japanese planes scored five hits on the carrier in three minutes. Saratoga's flight deck forward was wrecked, her starboard side was holed twice and large fires were started in her hangar deck, while she lost 123 of her crew dead or missing. Another attack at 1900 scored an additional bomb hit. By 2015, the fires were under control and the carrier was able to recover aircraft, but she was ordered to Eniwetok and then to the west coast for repairs, and arrived at Bremerton on 16 March.
On 22 May, Saratoga departed Puget Sound fully repaired, and she resumed training pilots at Pearl Harbor on 3 June. She ceased training duty on 6 September, after the Japanese surrender, and sailed from Hawaii on 9 September transporting 3,712 returning naval veterans home to the United States under Operation Magic Carpet. By the end of her Magic Carpet service, Saratoga had brought home 29,204 Pacific war veterans, more than any other individual ship. At the time, she also held the record for the greatest number of aircraft landed on a carrier, with a lifetime total of 98,549 landings in 17 years.
With the arrival of large numbers of Essex-class carriers, Saratoga was surplus to postwar requirements, and she was assigned to Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll to test the effect of the atomic bomb on naval vessels. She survived the first blast, an air burst on 1 July, with only minor damage, but was mortally wounded by the second on 25 July, an underwater blast which was detonated under a landing craft 500 yards from the carrier. Salvage efforts were prevented by radioactivity, and seven and one-half hours after the blast, with her funnel collapsed across her deck, Saratoga slipped beneath the surface of the lagoon. She was struck from the Navy list on 15 August 1946.
Saratoga received seven battle stars for her World War II service.
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:14pm
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USS Ranger CV 4 4 Jun 193
USS Ranger CV 4 4 Jun 1934 18 Oct 1946
Aerial, port bow, aircraft on deck. April 8, 1938.
displacement: 14,500 tons
length: 769 feet
beam: 81 feet 8 inches [extreme width, flight deck: 86 feet]
draft: 19 feet 8 inches
speed: 29? knots
complement: 1,788 crew
armament: 8 five-inch guns
class: Ranger
The sixth Ranger (CV 4), the first ship of the Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier was laid down 26 September 1931 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va.; launched 25 February 1933, sponsored by Mrs. Herbert Hoover; and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard 4 June 1934, Capt. Arthur L. Bristol in command.
Ranger conducted her first air operations off Cape Henry 6 August 1934 and departed Norfolk the 17th for a shakedown training cruise that took her to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo. She returned to Norfolk 4 October for operations off the Virginia Capes until 28 March 1935, when she sailed for the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal on 7 April, she arrived San Diego on the 15th. For nearly four years she participated in fleet problems reaching to Hawaii, and in western seaboard operations that took her as far south as Callao, Peru, and as far north as Seattle, Wash. On 4 January 1939, she departed San Diego for winter fleet operations in the Caribbean out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She then steamed north to Norfolk, Va., arriving 18 April.
Ranger cruised along the eastern seaboard out of Norfolk and into the Caribbean Sea. In the fall of 1939, she commenced Neutrality Patrol operations, operating out of Bermuda along the trade routes of the middle Atlantic and up the eastern seaboard up to Argentia, Newfoundland. She was returning to Norfolk from an ocean patrol extending to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Arriving Norfolk 8 December, she sailed on the 21st for patrol in the South Atlantic. She then entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs 22 March 1942.
Ranger served as flagship of Rear Adm. A. B. Cook, Commander, Carriers, Atlantic Fleet, until 6 April 1942, when he was relieved by Rear Adm. Ernest D. McWhorter, who also broke his flag in Ranger.
Steaming to Quonset Point, R.I., Ranger loaded 68 Army P-40 planes and men of the Army's 33d Pursuit Squadron, put to sea 22 April, and launched the Army squadron 10 May to land at Accra, on the Gold Coast of Africa. She returned to Quonset Point 28 May 1942, made a patrol to Argentia, then stood out of Newport 1 July with 72 Army P-40 pursuit planes, which she launched off the coast of Africa for Accra the 19th. After calling at Trinidad, she returned to Norfolk for local battle practice until 1 October, then based her training at Bermuda in company with four escort aircraft carriers that had been newly converted from tankers to meet the need for naval air power in the Atlantic.
The only large carrier in the Atlantic Fleet, Ranger led the task force comprising herself and four Sangamon-class escort carriers that provided air superiority during the amphibious invasion of German dominated French Morocco which commenced the morning of 8 November 1942.
It was still dark at 0615 that day, when Ranger, stationed 30 miles northwest of Casablanca, began launching her aircraft to support the landings made at three points on the Atlantic coast of North Africa. Nine of her Wildcats attacked the Rabat and Rabat-Sale airdromes, headquarters of the French air forces in Morocco. Without loss to themselves, they destroyed seven planes on one field, and 14 bombers on the other. Another flight destroyed seven planes on the Port Lyautey field. Some of Ranger's planes strafed four French destroyers in Casablanca Harbor while others strafed and bombed nearby batteries. The carrier launched 496 combat sorties in the three-day operation. Her attack aircraft scored two direct bomb hits on the French destroyer leader Albatros, completely wrecking her forward half and causing 300 casualties. They also attacked French cruiser Primaugut as she sortied from Casablanca Harbor, dropped depth charges within lethal distance of two submarines, and knocked out coastal defense and anti-aircraft batteries. They destroyed more than 70 enemy planes on the ground and shot down 15 in aerial combat. But 16 planes from Ranger were lost or damaged beyond repair. It was estimated that 21 light enemy tanks were immobilized and some 86 military vehicles destroyed ? most of them troop-carrying trucks.
Casablanca capitulated to the American invaders 11 November 1942 and Ranger departed the Moroccan coast 12 November, returning to Norfolk, Va., on the 23d.
Following training in Chesapeake Bay, the carrier underwent overhaul in the Norfolk Navy Yard from 16 December 1942 to 7 February 1943. She next transported 75 P-40-L Army pursuit planes to Africa, arriving Casablanca on 23 February; then patrolled and trained pilots along the New England coast steaming as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia. Departing Halifax 11 August, she joined the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow, Scotland, 19 August, and patrolled the approaches to the British Isles.
Ranger departed Scapa Flow with the Home Fleet 2 October to attack German shipping in Norwegian waters. The objective of the force was the Norwegian port of Bod?. The task force reached launch position off Vestfjord before dawn 4 October completely undetected. At 0618, Ranger launched 20 Dauntless dive bombers and an escort of eight Wildcat fighters. One division of dive bombers attacked the 8,000-ton freighter LaPlata, while the rest continued north to attack a small German convoy. They severely damaged a 10,000-ton tanker and a smaller troop transport. They also sank two of four small German merchantmen in the Bod? roadstead.
A second Ranger attack group of 10 Avengers and six Wildcats destroyed a German freighter and a small coaster and bombed yet another troop-laden transport. Three Ranger planes were lost to antiaircraft fire. On the afternoon of 4 October, Ranger was finally located by three German aircraft, but her combat air patrol shot down two of the enemy planes and chased off the third.
Ranger returned to Scapa Flow 6 October 1943. She patrolled with the British Second Battle Squadron in waters reaching to Iceland, and then departed Hvalfjord on 26 November, arriving Boston 4 December. On 3 January 1944, she became a training carrier out of Quonset Point, R.I. This duty was interrupted 20 April when she arrived at Staten Island, N.Y., to load 76 P-38 fighter planes together with Army, Navy, and French Naval personnel for transport to Casablanca. Sailing 24 April, she arrived Casablanca 4 May. There she onloaded Army aircraft destined for stateside repairs and embarked military passengers for the return to New York.
Touching at New York 16 May, Ranger then entered the Norfolk Navy Yard to have her flight deck strengthened and for installation of a new type catapult, radar, and associated gear that provided her with a capacity for night fighter interceptor training. On 11 July 1944 she departed Norfolk transited the Panama Canal 5 days later, and embarked several hundred Army passengers at Balboa for transportation to San Diego, arriving there 25 July.
After embarking the men and aircraft of Night Fighting Squadron 102 and nearly a thousand Marines, she sailed for Hawaiian waters 28 July, reaching Pearl Harbor 3 August. During the next 3 months she conducted night carrier training operations out of Pearl Harbor.
Ranger departed Pearl Harbor 18 October to train pilots for combat duty. Operating out of San Diego under Commander, Fleet Air, Alameda, she continued training air groups and squadrons along the California coast throughout the remainder of the war.
Departing San Diego 30 September 1945, she embarked civilian and military passengers at Balboa the Canal Zone, and then steamed for New Orleans, arriving 18 October. Following Navy Day celebrations there, she sailed 30 October for brief operations at Pensacola. After calling at Norfolk, she entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 18 November for overhaul. She remained on the eastern seaboard until decommissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard 18 October 1946. Struck from the Navy list 29 October 1946, she was sold for scrap to Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pa., 28 January 1947.
Ranger received two battle stars for World War II service.
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