USS Princeton (CVL-23)
History of the USS Princeton Aircraft Carrier
The USS Princeton (CVL-23) was originally planned as the USS Tallahassee (CL-61). She was ordered for the U.S. Navy before the United States entered World War I. Her keel was laid down at New York Shipbuilding Corporation in New Jersey on June 2, 1941. She was launched on October 18, 1942 and commissioned on February 25, 1943 under the command of Captain George R. Henderson.
After shakedown in the Caribbean, USS Princeton was reclassified from CV-23 to CVL-23. She sortied with Task Force 11 on August 25, 1943. Heading for Baker Island, she became the flagship of Task Group 11.2, providing air cover for the occupation and airfield construction there during the first half of September. Her aircraft shot down Japanese reconnaissance planes and provided the U.S. fleet with photographs of them.
USS Princeton then joined Task Force 15 to conduct air strikes on Makin and Tarawa. She joined Task Force 38 at the end of October, striking at Buka and Bonis on Bougainville Island at the beginning of November to support the troop landings at Empress Augusta Bay. The carrier then moved on to Rabaul, Nauru, Makin and Tarawa. After exchanging operational aircraft for damaged aircraft from other aircraft carriers, she sailed back to the West Coast via Pearl Harbor.
In January 1944, the USS Princeton joined the fast carriers of Task Group 58 at Pearl Harbor. She sortied to strike at Wotje and Taroa in support of the troop landings at Kwajalein and Majuro. Her planes flew photographic reconnaissance missions over Eniwetok in early February before destroying the airfield there. She headed briefly to Kwajalein before returning to Eniwetok to conduct pre-invasion air strikes and cover the troop landings at the end of the month.
After a period of replenishment, USS Princeton headed to the Carolines on March 23, 1944 to conduct more air strikes. She launched strikes at the Palaus, Woleai and Yap before covering operations at Hollandia. The carrier raided Truk and Ponape before returning to Pearl Harbor on May 11.
The USS Princeton headed back to Majuro on May 29, 1944. She supported the assault on Saipan before striking at Guam, Rota, Tinian, Pagan and again at Saipan. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the aircraft carrier and her planes downed 33 enemy aircraft and one assist. Following the battle, she headed back to the Marianas and struck at Pagan, Rota and Guam.
In mid-July 1944, USS Princeton provided air cover for the invasion and occupation of Guam and Tinian. From August through October, she conducted air strikes against the Palaus, Mindanao, the Visayas, Luzon, Nansei Shoto and Formosa.
USS Princeton was supporting the landings at Leyte as a member of Task Group 38.3 on October 20, 1944. Four days later, she was attacked by a single enemy dive bomber. The bomb crashed through her flight deck and hangar before exploding, resulting in a fire and further explosions when the fire reached the ship’s ordnance. A larger explosion onboard, possibly caused by one or more bombs in the magazine, damaged the USS Princeton as well as the ships that came to assist in the firefighting, the USS Irwin and the USS Birmingham. The USS Irwin saved 646 of the crew members from the USS Princeton. When the fires proved to be uncontrollable, the remaining crew was evacuated and the ship was torpedoed to keep it out of enemy hands. The carrier lost 108 men in the attack, but 1,361 men were rescued. She earned nine battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman 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)
U.S. Navy, A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers – USS Princeton
