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USS WASP was the tenth ESSEX - class aircraft carrier. Initially named ORISKANY, the carrier was renamed WASP on March 18, 1942, to honor CV 7, making CV 18 the ninth ship in the Navy to bear the name. Reclassified as attack aircraft carrier CVA 18 on October 1, 1952, and antisubmarine warfare aircraft carrier CVS 18 on November 1, 1956, the WASP was decommissioned on July 1, 1972, and sold on May 21, 1973, to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp., of New York City and subsequently scrapped.
General Characteristics: | Awarded: 1940 |
Keel laid: March 18, 1942 | |
Launched: August 17, 1943 | |
Commissioned: November 24, 1943 | |
Decommissioned: February 17, 1947 | |
Recommissioned: September 10, 1951 | |
Decommissioned: July 1, 1972 | |
Builder: Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass. | |
Propulsion system: 8 boilers | |
Propellers: four | |
Aircraft elevators: three | |
Arresting gear cables: four | |
Catapults: two | |
Length: 876 feet (267 meters) | |
Flight Deck Width: 191.9 feet (58.5 meters) | |
Beam: 101 feet (30.8 meters) | |
Draft: 30.8 feet (9.4 meters) | |
Displacement: approx. 40,600 tons full load | |
Speed: 33 knots | |
Planes: 80-100 planes | |
Crew: approx. 3448 as CVS: 115 officers and 1500 enlisted | |
Armament: see down below |
Crew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS WASP. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
USS WASP Cruise Books:
About the different armament:
Accidents aboard USS WASP:
Date | Where | Events |
---|---|---|
April 17, 1946 | off New Jersey | USS WASP runs aground off New Jersey. |
April 26, 1952 | mid-Atlantic | USS WASP collides with destroyer minesweeper USS HOBSON (DD 464) while conducting night flying operations en route to Gibraltar. HOBSON loses 176 of the crew, including her skipper. Rapid rescue operations save 52 men. WASP sustained no personnel casualties, but her bow was torn by a 75-foot saw-tooth rip. The carrier proceeds to Bayonne, N.J., for repairs and, after she entered drydock there, the bow of aircraft carrier USS HORNET (CV 12), then undergoing conversion, was removed and floated by barge from Brooklyn, N.Y., and fitted into position on WASP, replacing the badly shattered forward end of the ship. This task was completed in only 10 days, enabling the carrier to get underway to cross the Atlantic. |
September 12, 1957 | Boston, Mass. | USS WASP suffers a fire while in drydock, causing minor damage. |
August 18, 1959 | 250 miles east of Norfolk, Va. | USS WASP is heavily damaged by an explosion and subsequent fires when a helicopter engine explodes while being tested in hangar bay number 1. The fires and reflashes take over two hours to control. At the time of the accident the WASP was carrying nuclear weapons. In the first 30 minutes as the fires burned out of control and the forward magazines were flooded, preliminary preparations also were made to flood the nuclear weapon magazine. It was not flooded, however, and 30 minutes later the nuclear weapon magazine reported no significant rise in temperature. |
November 14, 1962 | off Cuba | USS WASP and USS HOLDER (DDE 819) collide during refueling while taking part in the US quarantine of Cuba during the Cuban missile crises. |
January 27, 1966 | Caribbean | USS WASP suffers structural damage during a storm in the Caribbean. WASP puts into Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, on February 1 to determine the extent of her damages and effect as much repair as possible. Engineers were flown from Boston who decided that the ship could cease "Springboard" operations early and return to Boston. The ship conducted limited anti-submarine operations from February 6 to 8 prior to leaving the area. She arrived at Boston on February 18 and was placed in restricted availability until March 7, when her repair work was completed. |
March 24, 1967 | east of San Juan, Puerto Rico | USS WASP and the USS SALAMONIE (AO 26) collide while refueling. Noone was injured, but both ships are damaged. After making repairs at Roosevelt Roads, the WASP returns to operations on March 29. |
September 10, 1967 | Boston Naval Shipyard, Boston, Mass. | USS WASP suffers a fire in the combat information center while in drydock, causing minor damage. |
June 12, 1968 | western Atlantic | USS WASP and USS TRUCKEE (AO 147) are damaged in a collision during underway replenishment. The WASP returns to Norfolk where an investigation into the circumstances of the collision is conducted. |
January 20, 1971 | southwest of Bermuda | USS WASP and USS CHUKAWAN (AO 100) collide while refueling. |
USS WASP Patch Gallery:
USS WASP Image Gallery: