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promised TH some thoughts about the USN in pre- Korean War 1950.
As usual I always find more questions than answers when researching the USN for any period due to lack of at hand resources and oft times conflicting information along with some erroneous info.
But here goes.
The USN was at a low ebb in June of 1950 and the outlook for FY 1951 which would begin on July 1, 1950 showed little promise of better.
Of note: In 1949 there were no carrier deployments to WESTPAC.
Unfortunately I dont have all the details for the continuing post-war drawdown contemplated for FY 1951.
But it appears that only six large deck carriers would be maintained active(three Midway class in the Atlantic and three Essex class in the Pacific all but the Boxer post-war commissioned ) along with the two and four post-war commissioned Saipan class light carriers and Commencement Bay class escort carriers, respectively plus the Naval Reserve Training light carrier USS Cabot at Pensacola.
OTOH the Essex class carrier modenizations were underway with the yet to be completed USS Oriskany as the prototype, USS Essex and Wasp also were in the process of modernization, USS Kearsarge recently decommissiond would soon begin modernization as would the USS Leyte when it completed her current MED deployment.
Leaving USS Boxer, USS Valley Forge and the newly arrived USS Phillipine Sea in the Pacific. Each of which would likely decommission as the modernized Essex class carriers returned to service. Then the plan seems to have been to take the Midways out of service for modernization in due course then return again to updating the USS Oriskany. Which historically did happen but of course under very different circumstances as the Korean War changed everything.
Also of note the USN did find funding to reactivate the light carrier USS Bataan as a "hedge" against the tensions in Korea. But I think another reason was that of another USN modernization program that being the reactivation of ASW-oriented modified Fletcher/Gearing class destroyers as DDEs. It was thought at the time that the slow war built DEs and CVEs would be no match for the new Russian submarines. So USS Bataan likely would have had an ASW role like the light carrier USS Wright did in the Atlantic fleet. USS Bataan was headed for overhaul at Bremerton, WA when war broke out. Also of consideration would be in a pilot carrier qualifications role like the USS Cabot NRT light carrier(reactivated for the purpose in 1948 relieving USS Wright of this role) at Pensacola and the USS Saipan off the East coast. Other roles that the light carriers could and did undertake was as transports for USAF and USMC aircraft and personnel or embarking a USMC squadron in an attack role or a USN fighter squadron.
Of note: USS Cabot would eventually be relieved by USS Saipan which in turn would be relieved by USS Antietam which again in turn would be relieved by USS Lexington as training carrier at Pensacola. In the 70s, 80's and 90s various plans for relieving Lexington came to nought although the USS JFK would nominally fulfill that role plus stay in the deploying rotation much to that carriers detriment.
The CVEs in addition to their ASW role also supported Marine air as would two of the light carriers in time.
Of note: On June 30, 1950 only ten(of 361 active at the end of WWII) war built DEs remained active. Six on the East coast mostly employed as Sonar School ships at Key West. And four in the Pacific also mostly used as Sonar School ships operating out of Pearl Harbor and San Diego.
The USN had, by subtley changing the requirements, maintained the destroyer force at around 140 active units after the initial post-war drawdown from 377 at wars end.
Only the USS Missouri of the Battleships remained active. For how long she would remain was a matter of some conjecture. There may have been plans to employ her as a Flag ship to justify her continued active service.
Cruisers had seen a drop in numbers basically commensurate with those of the large deck carriers and battleships.
Thirteen remained active, seven in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific, two per carrier and one as Flagship of Commander, Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean(precurser of Commander, Naval Forces Europe). But a slated administrative reorganization would make that requirement go away by the end of FY 51. So its likely another cruiser would be decommissioned and that likley would have been the WWII commissioned Baltimore class heavy cruiser Columbus which was fulfilling the role.
Of the active cruisers three were the Des Moines class 8" gunned heavy cruisers, two were the Worcester class AA 6" gunned light cruisers, four were the Baltimore/Oregon City class 8" gunned heavy cruisers , one was an Atlanta class AA 5" gunned light cruiser and one was a Cleveland class 6"" gunned light cruiser all post-war commissioned. Along with two war commissioned Baltimore class cruisers.
Of note: Although many state that the Cleveland class was quickly decommissioned after the war because of stability issues that seems not to be the case. In fact on June 30, 1948 there were 13 of this class stiill in commission of 28 completed, 7 of 17 Baltimore/Oregon City class and 5 of 9 Atlanta class. I dont see any great disparity percentage wise for any of the classes. The real reasoning by 1950 was the usefulness of the Heavy cruisers as flagships vice the smaller cruisers. On June 30/July1, 1949 alone eight of the Cleveland class were decommissioned along with one in March 1949 and three more Jan/Feb 1950.
Of note: The main reason no Cleveland class cruisers were recommissioned for Korea was(as Ive reported before):
"On the basis of Admiral Higgins’ reports of the ineffectiveness of 5 and 6-inch gunfire against reinforced concrete bridges it was decided to use the 8-inch cruisers for bombardment and fire support; Juneau was scheduled for transfer to the Seventh Fleet, and Higgins shifted his flag to Toledo."
The USN drawdown of the late 1940s may seem disorderly but in fact was quite well thought out from the beginning until the Korean War brought about a renaissance of sorts.
On CVBGs of 1950: The nominal make-up was two cruisers, one Heavy 8" gunned as 6th(MED) or 7th(WESTPAC) Fleet Flagship and one other along with an eight ship destroyer squadron.
Another justification for two cruisers stemmed from WWII experience where in case of battle damage one cruiser would come alongside for damage control assistance and one would stand-off ready to take the carrier in tow if neccessary.
Justification for two divisons of four ships each in a DESRON was along with the ability to split the group(such as one cruiser escorted by a four ship destroyer division).:
"and the shortage of antisubmarine units was acute: of the three American destroyer divisions in the theater, two were needed to provide a minimum sound screen for Valley Forge. ": ie 8 destroyers
Heres a great site recounting the USS Fletcher DDE 445 1950 itinerary including her WESTPAC deployment with Valley Forge.:
USS Fletcher DDE-445 deck log summary for the year 1950
Typical 1950s Air Group(Specifically USS Valley Forge June 1950):
Two 15 plane F9F-2B Panther Fighter Squadrons
Two 14 plane F4U-4B Corsair Fighter Squadrons
One 14 plane AD-4 Skyraider attack squadron
Special Mission detachments:
Three F4U-5N Night Fighter aircraft
Two F4U-5P Photo Recon aircraft
Two AD-3N Night Attack aircraft
Three AD-5W Early Warning aircraft
Four AD-4Q Radar Countermeasures aircraft
Total 86 aircraft
This may seem short but I find long posts to be hard to read, digest and often boring. And of course Im lazy as Id rather spend my time searching and reading than typing.
But I plan more posts about carrier deployments and warship deployments in general along with more about tactical formations.
The above info was gleaned from the NHC site in particular:
Ship Force Levels 1917-present
History of U.S. Naval Operations, Korea
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol1/Appendx3.pdf
Many warship histories found online.
Insights from a number of papers found online.
Books I own such as :
US Warships since 1945
The Essex Class Carriers
Conways All The Worlds Fighting Ships
Any errors or omissions are soley my responsibility.
And my apologies if any of the sources of my information has not been properly recognised and ackknowledged as such failure would not have been intentional.
If clarification is required on any point please feel free to ask.
My posts are not meant to be all and end all(or definitive) but as a starting points for discussion and brief summaries of my less than academically acclaimed research standards.
If any have disagreements with my data or conclusions please be kind enough to provide references/sources so that I may reconcile and/or reevaluate my information and thoughts.
As usual I always find more questions than answers when researching the USN for any period due to lack of at hand resources and oft times conflicting information along with some erroneous info.
But here goes.
The USN was at a low ebb in June of 1950 and the outlook for FY 1951 which would begin on July 1, 1950 showed little promise of better.
Of note: In 1949 there were no carrier deployments to WESTPAC.
Unfortunately I dont have all the details for the continuing post-war drawdown contemplated for FY 1951.
But it appears that only six large deck carriers would be maintained active(three Midway class in the Atlantic and three Essex class in the Pacific all but the Boxer post-war commissioned ) along with the two and four post-war commissioned Saipan class light carriers and Commencement Bay class escort carriers, respectively plus the Naval Reserve Training light carrier USS Cabot at Pensacola.
OTOH the Essex class carrier modenizations were underway with the yet to be completed USS Oriskany as the prototype, USS Essex and Wasp also were in the process of modernization, USS Kearsarge recently decommissiond would soon begin modernization as would the USS Leyte when it completed her current MED deployment.
Leaving USS Boxer, USS Valley Forge and the newly arrived USS Phillipine Sea in the Pacific. Each of which would likely decommission as the modernized Essex class carriers returned to service. Then the plan seems to have been to take the Midways out of service for modernization in due course then return again to updating the USS Oriskany. Which historically did happen but of course under very different circumstances as the Korean War changed everything.
Also of note the USN did find funding to reactivate the light carrier USS Bataan as a "hedge" against the tensions in Korea. But I think another reason was that of another USN modernization program that being the reactivation of ASW-oriented modified Fletcher/Gearing class destroyers as DDEs. It was thought at the time that the slow war built DEs and CVEs would be no match for the new Russian submarines. So USS Bataan likely would have had an ASW role like the light carrier USS Wright did in the Atlantic fleet. USS Bataan was headed for overhaul at Bremerton, WA when war broke out. Also of consideration would be in a pilot carrier qualifications role like the USS Cabot NRT light carrier(reactivated for the purpose in 1948 relieving USS Wright of this role) at Pensacola and the USS Saipan off the East coast. Other roles that the light carriers could and did undertake was as transports for USAF and USMC aircraft and personnel or embarking a USMC squadron in an attack role or a USN fighter squadron.
Of note: USS Cabot would eventually be relieved by USS Saipan which in turn would be relieved by USS Antietam which again in turn would be relieved by USS Lexington as training carrier at Pensacola. In the 70s, 80's and 90s various plans for relieving Lexington came to nought although the USS JFK would nominally fulfill that role plus stay in the deploying rotation much to that carriers detriment.
The CVEs in addition to their ASW role also supported Marine air as would two of the light carriers in time.
Of note: On June 30, 1950 only ten(of 361 active at the end of WWII) war built DEs remained active. Six on the East coast mostly employed as Sonar School ships at Key West. And four in the Pacific also mostly used as Sonar School ships operating out of Pearl Harbor and San Diego.
The USN had, by subtley changing the requirements, maintained the destroyer force at around 140 active units after the initial post-war drawdown from 377 at wars end.
Only the USS Missouri of the Battleships remained active. For how long she would remain was a matter of some conjecture. There may have been plans to employ her as a Flag ship to justify her continued active service.
Cruisers had seen a drop in numbers basically commensurate with those of the large deck carriers and battleships.
Thirteen remained active, seven in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific, two per carrier and one as Flagship of Commander, Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean(precurser of Commander, Naval Forces Europe). But a slated administrative reorganization would make that requirement go away by the end of FY 51. So its likely another cruiser would be decommissioned and that likley would have been the WWII commissioned Baltimore class heavy cruiser Columbus which was fulfilling the role.
Of the active cruisers three were the Des Moines class 8" gunned heavy cruisers, two were the Worcester class AA 6" gunned light cruisers, four were the Baltimore/Oregon City class 8" gunned heavy cruisers , one was an Atlanta class AA 5" gunned light cruiser and one was a Cleveland class 6"" gunned light cruiser all post-war commissioned. Along with two war commissioned Baltimore class cruisers.
Of note: Although many state that the Cleveland class was quickly decommissioned after the war because of stability issues that seems not to be the case. In fact on June 30, 1948 there were 13 of this class stiill in commission of 28 completed, 7 of 17 Baltimore/Oregon City class and 5 of 9 Atlanta class. I dont see any great disparity percentage wise for any of the classes. The real reasoning by 1950 was the usefulness of the Heavy cruisers as flagships vice the smaller cruisers. On June 30/July1, 1949 alone eight of the Cleveland class were decommissioned along with one in March 1949 and three more Jan/Feb 1950.
Of note: The main reason no Cleveland class cruisers were recommissioned for Korea was(as Ive reported before):
"On the basis of Admiral Higgins’ reports of the ineffectiveness of 5 and 6-inch gunfire against reinforced concrete bridges it was decided to use the 8-inch cruisers for bombardment and fire support; Juneau was scheduled for transfer to the Seventh Fleet, and Higgins shifted his flag to Toledo."
The USN drawdown of the late 1940s may seem disorderly but in fact was quite well thought out from the beginning until the Korean War brought about a renaissance of sorts.
On CVBGs of 1950: The nominal make-up was two cruisers, one Heavy 8" gunned as 6th(MED) or 7th(WESTPAC) Fleet Flagship and one other along with an eight ship destroyer squadron.
Another justification for two cruisers stemmed from WWII experience where in case of battle damage one cruiser would come alongside for damage control assistance and one would stand-off ready to take the carrier in tow if neccessary.
Justification for two divisons of four ships each in a DESRON was along with the ability to split the group(such as one cruiser escorted by a four ship destroyer division).:
"and the shortage of antisubmarine units was acute: of the three American destroyer divisions in the theater, two were needed to provide a minimum sound screen for Valley Forge. ": ie 8 destroyers
Heres a great site recounting the USS Fletcher DDE 445 1950 itinerary including her WESTPAC deployment with Valley Forge.:
USS Fletcher DDE-445 deck log summary for the year 1950
Typical 1950s Air Group(Specifically USS Valley Forge June 1950):
Two 15 plane F9F-2B Panther Fighter Squadrons
Two 14 plane F4U-4B Corsair Fighter Squadrons
One 14 plane AD-4 Skyraider attack squadron
Special Mission detachments:
Three F4U-5N Night Fighter aircraft
Two F4U-5P Photo Recon aircraft
Two AD-3N Night Attack aircraft
Three AD-5W Early Warning aircraft
Four AD-4Q Radar Countermeasures aircraft
Total 86 aircraft
This may seem short but I find long posts to be hard to read, digest and often boring. And of course Im lazy as Id rather spend my time searching and reading than typing.
But I plan more posts about carrier deployments and warship deployments in general along with more about tactical formations.
The above info was gleaned from the NHC site in particular:
Ship Force Levels 1917-present
History of U.S. Naval Operations, Korea
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol1/Appendx3.pdf
Many warship histories found online.
Insights from a number of papers found online.
Books I own such as :
US Warships since 1945
The Essex Class Carriers
Conways All The Worlds Fighting Ships
Any errors or omissions are soley my responsibility.
And my apologies if any of the sources of my information has not been properly recognised and ackknowledged as such failure would not have been intentional.
If clarification is required on any point please feel free to ask.
My posts are not meant to be all and end all(or definitive) but as a starting points for discussion and brief summaries of my less than academically acclaimed research standards.
If any have disagreements with my data or conclusions please be kind enough to provide references/sources so that I may reconcile and/or reevaluate my information and thoughts.
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