Aircraft Carriers

The Essex Class

Once the war began it became evident that even larger aircraft Carriers would be needed to support the United States Navy. In response to this need the Essex class was created. The United States contracted 24 more ships to be created with the new essex class design. The new class featured a deck that was 60 feet longer and 10 feet wider. Under this wider deck was a larger hangar that could house up to 100 aircraft.(1) The new Essex class also saw large improvements in defensive weaponry for the Yorktown Class. The essex class feature twelve 127mm guns, thirty-two 40mm anti-aircraft guns, and fifty-five 20mm anti-aircraft cannon, which replaced the browning machine guns.(2) The Essex class was an even larger class of carriers than the Yorktown Class. The first ship, The USS Essex, was launched in 1942 and began its career in the Pacific very soon thereafter.(3) The Essex class built off the ideas of the design of the Yorktown Class and improved when its predecessors lacked. This new class of carriers allowed for even larger planes to take off from carriers, and helped overpower the remaining Japanese forces in the war and led to an American victory in the Pacific.(4) The Essex Class remained the most advanced aircraft carrier class in the world for over twenty years following the war.