USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)

USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)
Ship name	USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)
Caption	USS Ticonderoga underway, 1944
Ship type	Aircraft carrier
Class	Essex-class
Displacement	27,100 long tons (standard)
Length	872 ft
Beam	147 ft
Draft	28 ft
Propulsion	Steam turbines, General Electric geared turbines
Speed	33 knots
Complement	2,600 officers and enlisted
Aircraft	~90 aircraft (varied)
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	1 Dec 1941
Launched	8 May 1944
Commissioned	8 May 1944
Decommissioned	8 Sep 1973
Fate	Sunk as target 29 Jan 1975

USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy commissioned during World War II. She served in the Pacific Theater supporting carrier task force operations, postwar occupations, Korean War support roles, and Cold War deployments before being modernized with an SCB-27/SCB-125 package and later converted into an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) carrier. Ticonderoga earned multiple battle stars and became notable for longevity among her class.

Design and construction

Ticonderoga was laid down at New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey during the Second World War shipbuilding expansion overseen by the United States Maritime Commission, part of the broader Two-Ocean Navy Act mobilization. As an Essex-class design derivative, she incorporated features from earlier Yorktown-class and Wasp-class carriers, sharing hull form and hangar arrangements influenced by Admiral Ernest J. King's Battleship-Carriers balance debates. Naval architects at New York Navy Yard and designers from Bethlehem Steel implemented improvements in armor distribution and machinery layout after wartime assessments from Battle of the Coral Sea, Battle of Midway, and Guadalcanal Campaign carriers. Her powerplant comprised General Electric turbines fed by Westinghouse boilers, reflecting industrial partnerships with Crane Company and Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company component suppliers. Launched in May 1944 with sponsorship by a First Lady-era naval patron, she completed fitting out amid the Pacific War carrier buildup.

Service history

Following commissioning in May 1944, Ticonderoga joined Task Force 58 under Admiral Marc A. Mitscher and operated with carrier groups alongside USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Lexington (CV-16), and other Essex-class units. She participated in raids supporting the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, strikes against Truk Lagoon, and operations leading to the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Postwar, Ticonderoga contributed air groups during Operation Magic Carpet and supported occupation efforts around Tokyo Bay and Wake Island, interacting with Douglas SBD Dauntless and Grumman F6F Hellcat squadrons. During the Korean War era and the early Cold War, she conducted Mediterranean Sea and Western Pacific deployments, operating from home ports including Norfolk Navy Yard and Naval Station San Diego while integrating squadrons from Carrier Air Wing 9 and Carrier Air Wing 5.

Major refits and modernizations

Ticonderoga underwent a comprehensive SCB modernization in the late 1940s and 1950s, receiving arrangement SCB-27A/SCB-125 modifications: an angled flight deck, hurricane bow, stronger elevators, and steam catapults to launch McDonnell F2H Banshee and later Grumman F9F Panther jets. The refit incorporated radar suites from RCA Corporation and fire-control upgrades influenced by lessons from Battle of Leyte Gulf and guided-missile development tracked by Project Bumblebee. In the 1960s Ticonderoga was selected for an Anti-Submarine Warfare Carrier conversion, adapting hangars, maintenance shops, and sonar coordination facilities to support S-2 Tracker and SH-3 Sea King helicopter operations, reflecting doctrines from Admiral Hyman G. Rickover-era nuclear submarine emergence and NATO ASW initiatives.

Role in conflicts and operations

In World War II she took part in carrier strike operations tied to the Marianas Turkey Shoot and supported the Philippine liberation campaigns. Postwar, Ticonderoga operated during the Chinese Civil War aftermath and Cold War crises, contributing to showing-the-flag missions in the Taiwan Strait and supporting United Nations-related contingencies during the Korean War period. As an ASW carrier, she participated in NATO exercises alongside Royal Navy carriers such as HMS Victorious and HMS Ark Royal, and collaborated with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy units. Ticonderoga provided plane-guard and escort duties during Vietnam War era transits and conducted surveillance patrols tracking Soviet Navy submarine activity, integrating with Fleet Air Wing ASW networks and cooperating with commands like U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, Seventh Fleet.

Decommissioning and fate

After decades of service and multiple overhauls, Ticonderoga was decommissioned on 8 September 1973 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register as post-Vietnam force restructuring and budgetary decisions influenced fleet composition under the Nixon administration and Congressional Armed Services Committee reviews. Transferred to the James River Reserve Fleet briefly, she was expended as a target during fleet exercises and sunk on 29 January 1975, an end similar to other Essex-class carriers like USS Oriskany (CV-34). Portions of her equipment, such as radar arrays and armament like 5-inch gun mount components, were salvaged and transferred to museums and training facilities including Naval Aviation Museum and Maritime museums.

Legacy and honors

Ticonderoga earned multiple battle star awards for World War II service and received citations reflecting participation in pivotal carrier actions alongside vessels such as USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-12), and USS Franklin (CV-13). Her SCB refit history contributed to evolving carrier design informing the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier development and doctrinal studies at Naval War College. Surviving artifacts reside in institutions like the National Museum of the United States Navy and regional veterans memorials, while former crew members participate in carrier reunions and naval heritage organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. Ticonderoga's operational record remains cited in academic works from Naval Historical Center researchers and maritime historians studying carrier warfare, fleet logistics, and Cold War naval strategy.

Category:Essex-class aircraft carriers Category:Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation Category:World War II aircraft carriers of the United States Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United States