USS Princeton (CV-37)

History of the USS Princeton Aircraft Carrier

The USS Princeton (CV-37) was originally planned as the USS Valley Forge, but was renamed to commemorate the loss of the light carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944. Her keel was laid down at Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania on September 14, 1943. She was launched on July 8, 1945 and commissioned on November 18, 1945 under the command of John M. Hoskins. Captain Hoskins had served as the skipper on the carrier’s namesake.

USS Princeton sailed with the Eighth Fleet in the Atlantic until June 1946. She then was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, where she transported the body of President Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippines back to Manila from San Diego, California. From there, she became the flagship of Task Force 77 in the Mariana Islands. She sailed the Western Pacific, along the West Coast, and in Hawaiian waters until she was decommissioned on June 20, 1948.

When the Korean War broke out, the USS Princeton was recommissioned on August 28, 1950. After refresher training, she rejoined Task Force 77 in Korea to fly combat air patrols. On her first day there, her aircraft conducted 248 sorties against North Korean targets in Hagaru. She covered the Hungnam evacuation on December 24. The aircraft carrier continued to launch air strikes against enemy targets until her return to San Diego, Calilfornia on April 21, 1951.

The USS Princeton rejoined Task Force 77 on April 30, 1952, conducting air strikes for 138 days. She was reclassified as CVA-37 on October 1, 1952 and returned to California on November 3, where she remained for two months before heading back to Korea in February 1953. The aircraft carrier remained in Korean waters after the truce was signed, heading back to San Diego, California on September 7.

Reclassified again as CVS-37 in January 1954, USS Princeton underwent conversion at Bremerton, Washington. She then began antisubmarine warfare Hunter-Killer Group training operations, which she continued for the next five years, alternating between the West Coast, the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf area.

USS Princeton went through another conversion to an amphibious assault carrier, LPH-5, for which she was reclassified on March 2, 1959. Her new mission was to land Marines behind enemy beach fortifications and provide logistics and medical support to the landing forces. Marines became a major part of the carrier’s Air, Operations and Supply Departments. She spent the next few years training in the Western Pacific, with a few notable interruptions. The carrier rescued 74 survivors from two grounded merchant ships in October 1961 and she served as the flagship of Joint Task Force 8 for Operation Dominic, a series of nuclear weapons tests.

The USS Princeton joined American forces in Vietnam in October 1964, carrying out her primary mission in May 1964 at Chu Lai. She headed back to her homeport in Long Beach, California before bringing Marine Aircraft Group 36 to Vietnam in August. The carrier began another Vietnam tour of duty in February 1966 as the flagship for the Amphibious Ready Group. Throughout this and future Vietnam War deployments, she took part in Operations Deckhouse I, Deckhouse II, Nathan Hale, Hastings, Beacon Star, Shawnee, Fortress Attack III, Fortress Attack IV, Proud Hunter Swift Pursuit and Eager Hunter.

After USS Princeton returned to the United States, she was chosen as the prime recovery vessel for the Apollo 10 space mission in April 1969. She was decommissioned on January 30, 1970, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day and sold for scrap in May 1971. The aircraft carrier earned eight battle stars for her service in the Korean War.

Sadly, the use of asbestos-containing products was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its heavy resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, many Navy veterans are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma .

Sources include:

John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, "Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences," Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008) Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships—Princeton V