USS Essex steams toward Rotterdam, Holland,
for the Christmas Holidays, 1961.
Spacecraft Recovery
22 October 1968: Apollo 7
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: 3 July 1940 |
| Keel laid: 28 April 1941 | |
| Launched: 31 July 1942 | |
| Commissioned: 31 December 1942 | |
| Decommissioned: 9 January 1947 | |
| Recommissioned: 15 January 1951 | |
| Decommissioned: 30 June 1969 | |
| Stricken: 1 June 1973 | |
| Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Va. | |
| Propulsion system: 8 boilers | |
| Propellers: four | |
| Aircraft elevators: three | |
| Arresting gear cables: four | |
| Catapults: two | |
| Length: 890 feet (271.3 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. 41,200 tons full load | |
| Speed: 32 knots | |
| Planes: 80-100 planes | |
| Crew: approx. 2300-2900 | |
| Armament: 1943: 12 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns, 32 40mm guns and 44 20mm guns 1951: 8 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns and 28 3-inch (7.6 cm) 50 caliber guns 1957: 7 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns and 14 3-inch (7.6 cm) 50 caliber guns 1959: 7 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns 1964: 4 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns |
More information on the USS Essex from the United States Navy.
Stricken 1 Jun 1973. Sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping 1 Jun 1975.