USS Saipan (CVL-48)
History of the USS Saipan Aircraft Carrier
The USS Saipan was ordered for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of New Jersey on July 10, 1944. She was launched on July 8, 1945 and commissioned on July 14, 1946 under the command of Captain John G. Crommelin.
In her early career, USS Saipan operated out of Pensacola, Florida training student pilots from September 1946 until April 1947. Her homeport was then shifted to Norfolk, Virginia. After participating in exercises in the Caribbean, the carrier proceeded to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for overhaul. She returned to Pensacola in November, but after training midshipmen, she headed back up the East Coast in late December to serve with the Operational Development Force on carrier support tactics, jet operational techniques and electronic instrument evaluation.
From February 7 to 24, 1948, the USS Saipan carried the U.S. delegation to the inauguration of the Venezuelan President. When she returned, she took up local operations off the coast of Virginia, visited Portsmouth, New Hampshire and headed back to work with the Operational Development Force. She relieved the USS Mindoro as the flagship of Carrier Division 17 on April 18.
The next day, USS Saipan left Norfolk and sailed for Quonset Point, Rhode Island to embark Fighter Squadron 17A, the first carrier-based jet squadron. She returned to Virginia for overhaul at Norfolk Navy Yard. The carrier returned to local operations in December, 1948. On Christmas Day, she departed Norfolk for Greenland to rescue 11 downed airmen from an ice cap.
Over the next several years, the USS Saipan operated off Virginia, along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. She conducted exercises, participated in the Operational Development Force, conducted naval reservist cruises and performed carrier qualifications for Royal Canadian Navy pilots.
USS Saipan sailed to the Mediterranean on March 6, 1951 for her first Sixth Fleet deployment as the flagship of Carrier Division 14. She remained there until May, arriving back home at Norfolk, Virginia in June. From there, she spent the next two years operating with the Second Fleet in the Western Atlantic and conducting midshipman cruises.
In October 1953, the USS Saipan departed for the West Coast, arriving at San Diego, California via the Panama Canal. She continued on to Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka before arriving off the coast of Korea in support of the truce agreement. As a member of Task Force 95, she provided surveillance and reconnaissance duties. The carrier later provided air support to the Japanese as they transported former Chinese POWs from Inchon to Taiwan. In April, her aircraft supported the French in the battle of Dien Bien Phu during the First Indochina War. She then carried helicopters to the Philippines before returning to Korea. Her round-the-world cruise was completed when she returned home to Norfolk via the Suez Canal on July 20, 1954.
When Hurricane Hazel hit the Greater Antilles and Hispaniola in October 1954, USS Saipan headed to the Caribbean to join in the relief effort. She was honored by the Haitian government before her return to Norfolk, Virginia. The carrier put in for overhaul at Norfolk before she returned to operate in the Caribbean. After another stay in Pensacola, Florida for aviation training, she conducted carrier qualification exercises.
In October 1955, the USS Saipan sailed to Mexico for more hurricane relief duties. She returned to Pensacola on October 12 and remained there until April 1957. The carrier was decommissioned in New Jersey on October 3, 1957.
On May 15, 1959, USS Saipan was reclassified as AVT-6. In March 1963, she headed to the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company for conversion as a commander ship. She was briefly redesignated as CC-3 before her reclassification as AGMR-2, a Communications Major Relay Ship, on September 1, 1964. The ship was renamed the USS Arlington on April 8, 1965. Her conversion was completed on August 12, 1966, and she was recommissioned on August 27, 1966.
After shakedown and exercises, the USS Arlington departed Norfolk on July 7, 1967 for deployment to the Western Pacific. From Subic Bay, she rotated on station with the USS Annapolis during the Vietnam War. The ship provided reliable message handling facilities for the Seventh Fleet and helped ships to repair and better utilize their electronic equipment. When not on station off Vietnam, she could be found in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.
In December 1968, USS Arlington headed back to Pearl Harbor. She conducted communications tests for departing with Task Force 130, the Manned Spacecraft Recovery Force of the Pacific. The ship served as the primary landing area communications relay ship for the recovery of the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Shortly after her return to Pearl Harbor, she sailed back to the Philippines, arriving there in January 1969. From there, she resumed her rotation of service on station for the Vietnam War.
On April 15, 1969, the USS Arlington returned to Pearl Harbor and rejoined Task Force 130. From there, she aided in the recovery of the Apollo 10 space capsule. She then got underway for Midway Atoll to provide communications support for the Nixon-Thieu conference in June.
Though USS Arlington returned to Vietnam at the end of June 1969, she was ordered back east for the Apollo 11 recovery mission in early July. President Richard Nixon embarked for an overnight visit on July 23 before the recovery of the space capsule the next day. She then sailed home to her new homeport at Long Beach, California for the first and last time. The ship was decommissioned on January 14, 1970, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on August 15, 1975 and sold for scrap on June 1, 1976. She earned seven campaign stars for her service in the Vietnam War.
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, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships—USS Saipan
