Spacecraft Recovery
5 May 1961: Freedom 7
29 August 1965: Gemini 5
General Characteristics:
Awarded: August 7, 1942
Keel laid: March 15, 1943
Launched: November 2, 1944
Commissioned: June 3, 1945
Decommissioned: May 2, 1969
Builder: Norfolk Navy Yard
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
Armament:
1943: 12 5-inch (12.7 cm) 38 caliber guns, 32 40mm guns and 44 20mm guns
More information on the USS Lake Champlain from the United States Navy.
Stricken from the Navy List 1 Dec 1969. Sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping 28 Apr 1972.
