The Essex Class Aircraft Carriers Quiz

Answer: 1940

With the Japanese and Italian refusal to accept the revised terms of the Washington and London Naval Treaties in 1936, U.S. designers were free to expand and improve on the "Yorktown" class design. As a result, the "Essex" was larger, heavier, and carried more aircraft than the three "Yorktowns". The "Essex" was ordered in July, 1940.

Answer: 32

The first three "Essex" class ships were ordered in July, 1940. Eight more ships were ordered in September, 1940, and two more in December, 1941. After the U.S. entered World War II, Congress authorized funds for a further 19 ships, making a projected total of 32 vessels for the class.

Answer: 24

Of the 32 ships authorized, 24 ships were actually built. Two ships, to be named "Reprisal" and "Iwo Jima", were cancelled in 1945 while still under construction and later scrapped. A further six units that were authorized in 1944 were cancelled before construction began.

Answer: 14

Fourteen of the "Essex" class carriers were completed and ready for service in World War II. All of the ships served in the Pacific theater of the war, forming the backbone of the U.S. Navy's carrier strike groups that defeated Japanese forces in the Pacific islands.

Answer: None

While several of the "Essex" class ships suffered damage in the war, none were lost. Two of the carriers, USS " Franklin" and USS "Bunker Hill", were both so badly damaged that they had to return to the U.S. for repairs and did not participate further in World War II. Neither ship was repaired and put back in service, "Franklin" being scrapped in 1966 and "Bunker Hill" in 1973.

Answer: "Ticonderoga" class

The "long hull" modification on the 15 ships known as the "Ticonderoga" class provided for an additional 40mm antiaircraft gun to be mounted, as well as an improved ventilation system. In later rebuilds, no distinction was made between the "Ticonderogas" and the original "Essex" design.

Answer: Eleven

Of the 22 remaining "Essex" class ships, eleven were recommissioned for service in the Korean War. They performed in ground attack, air superiority, and anti-submarine patrol duties.

Answer: USS "Antietam"

In 1952, the "Essex" class ship USS "Antietam" was the first aircraft carrier in the world to be fitted with an angled flight deck. The larger and heavier jet aircraft of the day necessitated the use of catapults for launch, and the angled deck also gave more room for flight operations and aircraft storage.

Answer: The space program

During the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space exploration programs, "Essex" class carriers acted as recovery vessels for most of the capsules upon their return to Earth. The last mission by a "Essex" was in 1973, when "Ticonderoga" picked up the capsule from Skylab 2, the first crewed mission to the U.S. Skylab space station.

Answer: Four

Four "Essex" class ships are currently operated as museums in the United States. The "Intrepid" is in New York City, the "Yorktown" is in South Carolina, the "Lexington" is in Texas, and the "Hornet" is in California. In 2006, the "Oriskany" was sunk off of Pensacola, Florida as an artificial reef.