USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Belleau Wood.

USS Belleau Wood
USS Belleau Wood December 1943
History
United States
NameBelleau Wood
NamesakeBattle of Belleau Wood
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down11 August 1941
Launched6 December 1942
Commissioned31 March 1943
Decommissioned13 January 1947
Stricken1 October 1960
Honors and
awards
FateSold for scrapping 21 November 1960
France
NameBois Belleau
Commissioned23 December 1953
Decommissioned12 December 1960
FateReturned to US, September 1960
General characteristics
Class and typeIndependence-class aircraft carrier
DisplacementFull load: 14,751 long tons (14,988 t)
Length622 feet 6 inches (189.74 m)
Beam71 ft 6 in (21.79 m) (waterline)
Draft24 ft 3 in (7.39 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed31.6 kn (58.5 km/h; 36.4 mph)
Complement1,569 officers and men
Armament
Aircraft carried

USS Belleau Wood was a United States Navy Independence-class light aircraft carrier active during World War II in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1945. The Independence class were ordered as light cruisers of the Cleveland class, but during construction, they were converted into light carriers owing to the need for additional vessels of that type during the war. The ship was originally named New Haven, but was renamed Belleau Wood after conversion work had begun, after the Battle of Belleau Wood of World War I.

Belleau Wood saw extensive action during World War II, participating in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns in late 1943 and early 1944, and the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944. There, she saw action at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where her aircraft contributed to the sinking of the Japanese carrier Hiyō. She fought in the Philippines campaign later that year, and saw action at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Shortly thereafter, she was damaged by a kamikaze. After repairs, she supported the invasion of Iwo Jima in March 1945 and operations against the Japanese Home Islands. After the war, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet missions before being placed in reserve in 1947.

The ship was loaned to the French Marine Nationale in the 1950s and served in the First Indochina War. During this period, she was renamed Bois Belleau, the French equivalent of her original name. The ship was returned to the United States in 1960, but was not retained in US Navy service; she was instead broken up for scrap that same year.