USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24, originally CV-24), 1943-1960

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USS Belleau Wood, an 11,000-ton Independence class small aircraft carrier, was built at Camden, New Jersey. Begun as the light cruiser New Haven (CL-76), she was converted to a carrier before launching and was commissioned in March 1943. Her original carrier hull number was CV-24, which was changed to CVL-24 in July 1943 at the time she arrived in the Pacific to join the war against Japan. During the rest of 1943, Belleau Wood took part in raids on Tarawa and Wake Islands and the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

In the first half of 1944, Belleau Wood was part the carrier force that supported the Marshall Islands operation, raided enemy positions throughout the Central Pacific and helped conquer Saipan. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, in mid-June, her planes sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Hiyo. Following a brief overhaul, she rejoined Task Force 58 for further operations to take Guam, the Palaus and Morotai, as well as raiding the Philippines, Okinawa and Formosa. In late October 1944, Belleau Wood participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. While operating off the Philippines on 30 October, she was hit aft by a Kamikaze suicide plane and set afire. Badly damaged, with 92 of her crew killed or missing, she had to return to the United States for repairs.

Belleau Wood returned to the Western Pacific war zone in February 1945, in time to help in raids on the Japanese Home Islands and support Marines on Iwo Jima. The rest of the war was spent on further attacks on targets in and around Japan. Her planes participated in the massed aircraft flyover that followed the Formal Surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. After supporting occupation operations into October, Belleau Wood transported U.S. service personnel back to the United States until early 1946. Generally inactive from then on, she was placed out of commission in January 1947.

Belleau Wood was reactivated in 1953 for loan to France. Under the name Bois Belleau, she served the French Navy until 1960, when she was returned to U.S. custody and sold for scrapping.

  
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