The Sailor
20-12-2007, 09:01
As there is no Royal Australian Navy section, for my first post, I'd like to introduce the USS Valley Forge, a 27,100-ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier.
Commissioned in November 1946, she transferred to the Pacific Fleet in the following year. Valley Forge made a cruise to Australia and the Far East early in 1948 and then steamed the rest of the way around the World. In May 1950 she again deployed to the Western Pacific. She was the only U.S. aircraft carrier in that region when the Korean War broke out in late June.
For the next three years, Valley Forge was heavily engaged in Korean War operations, making four separate combat tours.
With her flight deck essentially unchanged from its World War II design, Valley Forge was increasingly unable to handle the new high-performance, heavier jet aircraft of the post-Korean War era and, in January 1954, she was reclassified an anti-submarine warfare'
Operating in the Atlantic, she served in this role for seven years.
In June 1961, Valley Forge was given a new mission, as an amphibious assault ship, carrying a force of helicopter-born Marines, she was stationed in the Pacific for the rest of her career, making five more Far Eastern deployments. The last three of these, in 1965-69, were largely spent on combat operations off Vietnam. USS Valley Forge decommissioned in January 1970 and was sold for scrapping in October 1971.
In the artwork below, you see a Chance Vought Corsair about to "land on", somewhere about 1947.
Commissioned in November 1946, she transferred to the Pacific Fleet in the following year. Valley Forge made a cruise to Australia and the Far East early in 1948 and then steamed the rest of the way around the World. In May 1950 she again deployed to the Western Pacific. She was the only U.S. aircraft carrier in that region when the Korean War broke out in late June.
For the next three years, Valley Forge was heavily engaged in Korean War operations, making four separate combat tours.
With her flight deck essentially unchanged from its World War II design, Valley Forge was increasingly unable to handle the new high-performance, heavier jet aircraft of the post-Korean War era and, in January 1954, she was reclassified an anti-submarine warfare'
Operating in the Atlantic, she served in this role for seven years.
In June 1961, Valley Forge was given a new mission, as an amphibious assault ship, carrying a force of helicopter-born Marines, she was stationed in the Pacific for the rest of her career, making five more Far Eastern deployments. The last three of these, in 1965-69, were largely spent on combat operations off Vietnam. USS Valley Forge decommissioned in January 1970 and was sold for scrapping in October 1971.
In the artwork below, you see a Chance Vought Corsair about to "land on", somewhere about 1947.