The fourth USS ''Princeton'' (CVL-23) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

light aircraft carrier active in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was launched in 1942 and lost at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.

Construction and deployment

The ship was laid down as the ''Tallahassee'' (CL-61) by the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

, Camden, New Jersey, 2 June 1941. She was reclassified as the Independence-class light aircraft carrier CV-23 on 16 February 1942, renamed ''Princeton'' 31 March 1942, launched 18 October 1942, sponsored by Margaret Dodds (wife of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

president Harold Dodds), and commissioned at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

25 February 1943, Capt. George R. Henderson in command. Following shakedown in the Caribbean, and reclassification to CVL-23 on 15 July 1943, ''Princeton'', with Air Group 23 embarked, got underway for the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Arriving at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

9 August, she sortied with TF 11 on 25 August and headed for

Baker Island Baker Island, formerly known as New Nantucket, is an uninhabited atoll just north of the Equator in the central Pacific Ocean about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbor is H ...

. There she served as flagship, TG 11.2 and provided air cover during the occupation of the island and the construction of an airfield there, 1–14 September. During that time her planes downed Japanese Emily reconnaissance planes and, more importantly, furnished the fleet with photographs of them. Completing that mission, ''Princeton'' rendezvoused with TF 15, conducted strikes against enemy installations on Makin and

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

where she joined to form TF 38 on 20 October. With that force, she sent her planes against airfields at Buka and Bonis on Bougainville (1–2 November) to diminish Japanese aerial resistance during the landings at

Empress Augusta Bay Empress Augusta Bay is a bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville Island, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in northeastern Papua New Guinea. It is a subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. History Emp ...

. On 5 and 11 November her planes along with those from ''Saratoga'' undertook a risky air raid to neutralize a squadron of Japanese heavy cruisers while

raiding Raiding may refer to: * The present participle of the verb Raid (disambiguation), which itself has several meanings * Raid (military) * Raid (video games), a group of video game players who join forces * Raiding, Austria, a town in Austria * Par ...

Rabaul and on the 19th, with TF 50, helped neutralize the airfield at Nauru. ''Princeton'' then steamed northeast, covered the garrison groups en route to Makin and Tarawa and, after exchanging operational aircraft for damaged planes from other carriers, got underway for Pearl Harbor and the west coast. On 3 January 1944, ''Princeton'' steamed west again for Pearl Harbor, where she rejoined the fast carriers of TF 50, now designated TF 58. On 19 January, she sortied with TG 58.4 for strikes at

Wotje Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Geography Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...

and

Taroa Taroa is an island in the east of Maloelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands. During World War II, it was the site of a major Japanese airfield (Taroa Airfield). The airfield was destroyed towards the end of World War II, and wreckage and remnants of ...

(29–31 January) to support amphibious operations against

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...

and

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

. Her planes photographed the next assault target,

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

, 2 February and on 3 February returned on a more destructive assignment – the demolition of the airfield on

Engebi Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

. For three days the atoll was bombed and strafed. On 7 February, ''Princeton'' retired to Kwajalein only to return to Eniwetok on 10–13 and 16–28 February, when her planes softened the beaches for the invasion force, then provided air cover during the assault and ensuing fight. From Eniwetok, ''Princeton'' retired to Majuro, thence to Espiritu Santo for replenishment. On 23 March, she got underway for strikes against enemy installation and shipping in the Carolines. After striking the

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

s, Woleai and

Yap Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micr ...

, the force replenished at Majuro and sortied again 13 April. Steaming to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, the carriers provided air cover for the Hollandia operation (21–29 April), then crossed back over the International Date Line to raid Truk (29–30 April) and Ponape (1 May). On 11 May, ''Princeton'' returned to Pearl Harbor only to depart again on 29 May for Majuro. There she rejoined the fast carriers and pointed her bow toward the Marianas to support the assault on Saipan. From 11 to 18 June, she sent her planes against targets on

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, Rota,

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

, Pagan, and Saipan, then steamed west to intercept a Japanese fleet reported to be en route from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to the Marianas. In the ensuing

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...

, ''Princeton'' planes contributed 30 kills and her guns another three, plus one assist, to the devastating toll inflicted on Japan's naval air arm. Returning to the Marianas, ''Princeton'' again struck Pagan, Rota and Guam, then replenished at Eniwetok. On 14 July, she got underway again as the fast carriers returned their squadrons to the Marianas to furnish air cover for the assault and occupation of Guam and Tinian. On 2 August, the force returned to Eniwetok, replenished, then sailed for the Philippines. En route, her planes raided the Palaus, then on 9–10 September, struck airfields on northern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. On 11 September, they pounded the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

. At mid-month the force moved back over the Pacific chessboard to support the Palau offensive, then returned to the Philippines to hit

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, concentrating on

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

and

Nichols Nichols may refer to: People *Nichols (surname) *Nichol, a surname Places Canada * Nichols Islands, Nunavut United States * Nichols, California, an unincorporated community * Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California * Nichols, Connecticut * Nich ...

fields. The force then retired to

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

, and in early October, bombed and strafed enemy airfields, installations and shipping in the

Nansei Shoto The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

and Formosa area in preparation for the invasion of the Philippines.

Loss

USS Birmingham comes alongside the burning USS Princeton

On 20 October, landings were made at Dulag and San Pedro Bay,

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. ''Princeton'', in Task Group 38.3, cruised off Luzon and sent her planes against airfields there to prevent Japanese land-based aircraft attacks on Allied ships massed in

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao ...

. On 24 October, however, the task group was found by enemy planes from Clark and Nichols fields. Shortly before 10:00 a.m. ''Princeton'' was attacked by a lone

Yokosuka D4Y The is a two-seat carrier-based dive bomber developed by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Development of the aircraft began in 1938. The first D4Y1 was com ...

'Judy'. The dive bomber dropped a single bomb, which struck the carrier between the elevators, punching through the wooden flight deck and hangar before exploding. Although structural damage was minor, a fire broke out and quickly spread owing to burning gasoline, causing further explosions. USS Princeton (CVL-23) burning on 24 October 1944 (80-G-287970)

USS Princeton (CVL-23) burning on 24 October 1944 (80-G-287970)

Cruisers and destroyers came alongside to render assistance. approached and attempted to fight the fire in the forward section of the hangar deck. The cruiser , being the largest ship, took the lead role in fire fighting. During the operation, ''Princeton'' collided with and damaged the assisting ships. At 15:24, a second and larger explosion shook the ''Princeton'', possibly caused by an explosion of one or more bombs in the magazine. ''Birmingham'' suffered extensive damage to her superstructure and considerable casualties. ''Irwin'' was also damaged, but stayed close and launched boats to rescue survivors from the sea. ''Irwin'' rescued 646 crewmen from the ''Princeton''; the ship later received a Navy Unit Commendation award for her actions. Efforts to save the carrier continued, but by 16:00, the fires were out of control. The remaining personnel were evacuated, and shortly after 17:06, ''Irwin'' commenced firing torpedoes at the burning hulk. However, ''Irwin'' abandoned this effort due to torpedo malfunctions (her

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s possibly damaged in the collision with ''Princeton'') that caused her torpedoes to circle back and almost hit her. , at 17:46, took over the task of

scuttling Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

''Princeton''. Three minutes later, an even larger explosion occurred on ''Princeton'', destroying the entire forward section and sending flames and debris up to into the air. ''Princeton'' sank at approximately 17:50.

Aftermath

Casualties on ''Princeton'' herself were relatively light considering the intensity of her fires; 108 men (10 officers and 98 enlisted men) were lost, while 1,361 crewmen were rescued. Casualties were much heavier aboard ''Birmingham'' which was devastated by secondary explosions aboard ''Princeton'' while fighting fires, with 233 killed and 426 wounded. Three other ships were more lightly damaged while assisting ''Princeton'': * : heavy topside damage, two 5 in., two 40 mm and two 20 mm guns lost. * : foremast lost, portside smashed * : forward 5 in. mounts and director out, starboard side smashed. * : one 40 mm smashed. Captain

John M. Hoskins John Madison Hoskins (October 22, 1898 – March 30, 1964) was an officer and aviator in the United States Navy who retired as Vice admiral (United States), Vice Admiral. After graduating the United States Naval Academy, Hoskins entered fligh ...

, who had been prospective commanding officer of CVL-23, was also rescued, but lost his right foot. He would later become the new commanding officer of the fifth , launched as a replacement in 1945. ''Birmingham''s commanding officer Thomas Inglis said "I should take the same actionproviding the same factors were involved and I had no crystal ball." By the end of 1945, he had been promoted to rear admiral and chief of Naval Intelligence. ''Birmingham'' earned a Navy Unit Commendation for her performance on 24 October 1944. According to a second hand account told by a ''Birmingham'' survivor, when the cruiser returned to port for repairs, the civilian workers brought in to clean up the ship before repairs allegedly refused to do the job due to the stench of rotting flesh, so naval enlisted men took over the job. Lt. Robert G. Bradley was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for his actions on ''Princeton'' on 24 October 1944. He was later the namesake of . ''Princeton''s executive officer Cdr. Joseph Nathaniel Murphy who assumed command was later awarded the Navy Cross for his tireless effort to save the ship and get the crew to safety.

Legacy

''Princeton'' earned nine

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

during World War II. In November 2004, the

Princeton University Chapel The Princeton University Chapel is located on that university's main campus in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It replaces an older chapel that burned down in 1920. Designed in 1921 by Ralph Adams Cram in his signature Collegiate Gothic styl ...

rededicated a service flag that once flew on ''Princeton''.

References

External links

Navy photographs of ''Princeton'' (CVL-23)

at Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project

a
HistoryNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princeton (CVL-23) 1942 ships Aircraft carriers sunk by aircraft Independence-class aircraft carriers Maritime incidents in October 1944 Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft World War II aircraft carriers of the United States World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea Ships sunk by aircraft during the Battle of Leyte Gulf Naval magazine explosions Aircraft carrier fires