拍品专文
When hostilities between the United States and Japan began after the bombing of Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941, the U.S. Navy had a mere eight aircraft carriers in commission. Of these, five were brand new, two had been designed in 1920 and the eighth, albeit by then a seaplane tender, was a converted fleet collier dating from 1911. The world's naval strategists had been predicting an increasing role for naval aircraft ever since the end of the Great War and, gradually, as the U.S. Naval Establishment came to the same view, plans were announced to increase carrier strength throughout the 1930's. When the alarming success of the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbour bore out this prediction in a drama which traumatised the American people, the stage was set for the creation of the largest carrier force ever envisaged and one which, in sheer numbers, is unlikely to be surpassed in the future.
The 'Essex' carriers, of which twenty four (out of a planned twenty six) were eventually built, were essentially an improved and enlarged version of the three 'Yorktowns' laid down and completed in the years immmediately prior to the War. They had displaced 25,484 tons (fully loaded) whereas the 'Essex' breed were significantly weighter at 34,881 tons (fully loaded) and also boasted greater defensive firepower, better underwater protection, more powerful catapults and a second armoured deck at hangar level to detonate any armour-peircing bombs before they could penetrate the hull penetrate the hull proper. The nameship of the class, U.S.S. Essex herself, was laid down in April 1941 whilst the next two units - Yorktown and Intrepid - were laid down side by side in the yards at Newport News, Virginia, on 1st December 1941, just one week before Pearl Harbour. Work proceeded apace and even though Yorktown's schedule was always slightly ahead, Intrepid was launched on 26th April 1943 and commissioned four months later on 16th August. Due to the methods of construction of carriers in dry-docks, they were usually almost finished when they were 'floated' (ie launched) and Intrepid was no exception. Thus, her fitting out took only a few short months and she spent from September - December of 1941 running extensive trials and working-up prior to her departure for the Pacific, via the Pananma Canal, at the turn of the year.
As actually completed, Intrepid displaced 30,800 tons standard (36,380 fully loaded) and measured 870 feet in length with a 93 foot beam (hull) widening to an extreme of 147 feet to the outer edge of the deck elevator. Impressively armoured inside as well as out, she carried 12-5in. guns and no less than 95 anti-aircraft weapons of either 40mm. or 20mm. calibre mounted on her upperworks. Powered by four sets of double-reduction Westinghouse geared turbines fired from eight Babcock & Wilcox 'Express' superheated boilers, she could make 32.7 knots at maximum speed and, with bunkers for 6,160 tons of fuel oil, had an excellent range of 20,000 nautical miles at 15 knots. Initially she carried 90 aircraft (36 fighters, 36 dive bombers and 18 torpedo bombers) but these were subsequently increase to 102 (including 66 fighter bombers) in 1945. Flight deck equipment comprised sixteen arrester wires - plus a further thirteen forward, for bow landings, which were removed in 1944 - eight searchlights of varying sizes and highly sophisticated fire-control gear for all her AA and main guns. Including airmen, her full crew totalled 270 officers and 2,770 men, rising by a further 30 officers and 130 men when she acted as flagship, and her active service commenced on 10th January 1944 when she arrived at Pearl Harbour to join Task Force 58 (TF58).
Attached to Task Group 58.2 of TF58 - along with her sister Essex - Intrepid saw her first action against Japanese bases on Roi, in the Marshall Islands, but on 17th February 1944, during preparations for her landings on Eniwetok, she sustained a hit from an enemy torpedo bomber which wrecked her steering gear. Retiring under escort to Majuro for temporary repairs, she then returned to Pearl Harbour prior to being refitted at San Francisco from March to June. Back at Pearl Harbour for training and working-up, she was assigned to TG38.2 (TF38) in August and sailed in support of numerous air strikes and landings throughout September and most of October. On 24th October she was in action at the Battle of Sibuyan Sea, causing a Japanese force to retire, and the next day played a leading role in the destruction of four enemy carriers at the Battle of Cape Engano. Slightly damaged by a lone kamikaze on 29th October, she was far more seriously disabled by two kamikazes on 25th November during the air strikes against Luzon. Returning to San Francisco via Pearl Harbour, repairs and refitting took over two months and she was not back in service until mid-March 1945. A month later, on 16th April, she was once again badly damaged by a kamikaze attack which necessitated another three months of repairs before she could return to Japanese waters for the final operations of the War. Sent home in October 1945, she was placed in reserve in March 1947 but reactivated and modernised in February 1952. After recommissioning in October 1954 she remained active, including service during the Vietnam War from 1966-68, for a further twenty years until laid up again in March 1974, at which time plans were set in train for her to be preserved as a museum ship at New York.
The 'Essex' carriers, of which twenty four (out of a planned twenty six) were eventually built, were essentially an improved and enlarged version of the three 'Yorktowns' laid down and completed in the years immmediately prior to the War. They had displaced 25,484 tons (fully loaded) whereas the 'Essex' breed were significantly weighter at 34,881 tons (fully loaded) and also boasted greater defensive firepower, better underwater protection, more powerful catapults and a second armoured deck at hangar level to detonate any armour-peircing bombs before they could penetrate the hull penetrate the hull proper. The nameship of the class, U.S.S. Essex herself, was laid down in April 1941 whilst the next two units - Yorktown and Intrepid - were laid down side by side in the yards at Newport News, Virginia, on 1
As actually completed, Intrepid displaced 30,800 tons standard (36,380 fully loaded) and measured 870 feet in length with a 93 foot beam (hull) widening to an extreme of 147 feet to the outer edge of the deck elevator. Impressively armoured inside as well as out, she carried 12-5in. guns and no less than 95 anti-aircraft weapons of either 40mm. or 20mm. calibre mounted on her upperworks. Powered by four sets of double-reduction Westinghouse geared turbines fired from eight Babcock & Wilcox 'Express' superheated boilers, she could make 32.7 knots at maximum speed and, with bunkers for 6,160 tons of fuel oil, had an excellent range of 20,000 nautical miles at 15 knots. Initially she carried 90 aircraft (36 fighters, 36 dive bombers and 18 torpedo bombers) but these were subsequently increase to 102 (including 66 fighter bombers) in 1945. Flight deck equipment comprised sixteen arrester wires - plus a further thirteen forward, for bow landings, which were removed in 1944 - eight searchlights of varying sizes and highly sophisticated fire-control gear for all her AA and main guns. Including airmen, her full crew totalled 270 officers and 2,770 men, rising by a further 30 officers and 130 men when she acted as flagship, and her active service commenced on 10
Attached to Task Group 58.2 of TF58 - along with her sister Essex - Intrepid saw her first action against Japanese bases on Roi, in the Marshall Islands, but on 17