Wreck of USS Independence (CVL-22)
USA /
California /
Montara /
World
/ USA
/ California
/ Montara
World / United States / California
shipwreck, aircraft carrier, invisible
Laid down on May 1st, 1941 as the Light Cruiser USS Amsterdam (CL-59), the USS Independence (CV-22) commissioned on January 14th, 1943 as the first of her class of nine Light Aircraft Carriers. Built on Cruiser hulls, the Independence Class was intended to bolster the US Navy's Carrier force in the Pacific by being cheaper and quicker to manufacture than full-size Essex Class Carriers, but faster and more heavily armed and armored than Escort Carriers.
Immediately joining the US Pacific Fleet, the Independence and her crew got their first taste of combat during the air raids on Marcus Island in September 1943, and again during raids on Wake Island in October. November 1943 found the Independence in action again as her planes struck the Japanese Stronghold at Rabaul, damaging shoreside installations and shipping while her own gunners downed six enemy planes. Steaming to attack Tarawa Atoll in preparation for an American Invasion, the Independence was torpedoed and heavily damaged during the action, forcing her to return to the US for full repairs and upgrades which lasted through June 1944.
Returning to the fray in July 1944, the Independence began the very first nighttime Carrier operations in the history of the US Navy during the battles for Palau and Peleliu where her aircraft provided night reconnaissance and night combat air patrols for the fleet. Following her successful proof-of-concept demonstration, the Independence and her crews sailed with US forces for the Philippines where she continued her night and daytime combat operations and airstrikes. The most famous these actions occurred during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where her aircraft took part in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, lending their part to sinking the Japanese Super Battleship Musashi on October 24th, 1944. Remaining in theatre supporting the Philippine offensive through January 1945, the Independence returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs and upkeep before again rejoining the fight off Okinawa in March 1945. Her aircrews alternated between supporting ground forces and fighting off waves of Kamikaze attacks through June 1945 when she withdrew for rearming and reprovisioning. Active off the very shores of Japan itself as her planes attacked Japanese cities, the Independence ended her war at sea and then covered the landing of Allied occupation troops and supported air recon missions looking for POW camps before returning to the US mainland in October 1945.
Spending the next three months as a member of the "Operation Magic Carpet" fleet returning Veterans to the US, the Independence made her last run to the Far East in January before she reported to the remote Bikini Atoll in mid-1946 to take part in "Operation Crossroads" nuclear weapon tests. The Veteran ship was anchored in Bikini Lagoon among dozens of other vessels intended to test the effects of air-dropped nuclear bombs and during test "Able" on July 1st, the Independence was rocked by the 23 kiloton blast only 560 yards Astern of her. Suffering severe damage and fires to her topside Port Quarter, funnels and Island, the Independence remained defiantly afloat. Surviving the subsequent "Baker" underwater blast on July 25th, the battered and highly radioactive Independence was towed back to the US for further study at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard.
Formally decommissioned on August 28th, 1946 with eight Battle Stars for World War II service to her credit and having survived two nuclear bombs, the hulk of the Independence was used for radioactive exposure and decontamination studies for several years before she was deemed surplus to the needs of the US Navy. Too radioactive for scrapping, the hulk was towed offshore to this location and used as a target ship for Navy Cruisers and Destroyer gun crews. Finally succumbing on the morning of January 29th, 1951, the Independence rolled over and sank Stern-first at this location and now lies in over 1,000 fathoms.
www.navsource.org/archives/02/22.htm
edition.cnn.com/2015/04/17/us/gallery/uss-independence-...
Immediately joining the US Pacific Fleet, the Independence and her crew got their first taste of combat during the air raids on Marcus Island in September 1943, and again during raids on Wake Island in October. November 1943 found the Independence in action again as her planes struck the Japanese Stronghold at Rabaul, damaging shoreside installations and shipping while her own gunners downed six enemy planes. Steaming to attack Tarawa Atoll in preparation for an American Invasion, the Independence was torpedoed and heavily damaged during the action, forcing her to return to the US for full repairs and upgrades which lasted through June 1944.
Returning to the fray in July 1944, the Independence began the very first nighttime Carrier operations in the history of the US Navy during the battles for Palau and Peleliu where her aircraft provided night reconnaissance and night combat air patrols for the fleet. Following her successful proof-of-concept demonstration, the Independence and her crews sailed with US forces for the Philippines where she continued her night and daytime combat operations and airstrikes. The most famous these actions occurred during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where her aircraft took part in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, lending their part to sinking the Japanese Super Battleship Musashi on October 24th, 1944. Remaining in theatre supporting the Philippine offensive through January 1945, the Independence returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs and upkeep before again rejoining the fight off Okinawa in March 1945. Her aircrews alternated between supporting ground forces and fighting off waves of Kamikaze attacks through June 1945 when she withdrew for rearming and reprovisioning. Active off the very shores of Japan itself as her planes attacked Japanese cities, the Independence ended her war at sea and then covered the landing of Allied occupation troops and supported air recon missions looking for POW camps before returning to the US mainland in October 1945.
Spending the next three months as a member of the "Operation Magic Carpet" fleet returning Veterans to the US, the Independence made her last run to the Far East in January before she reported to the remote Bikini Atoll in mid-1946 to take part in "Operation Crossroads" nuclear weapon tests. The Veteran ship was anchored in Bikini Lagoon among dozens of other vessels intended to test the effects of air-dropped nuclear bombs and during test "Able" on July 1st, the Independence was rocked by the 23 kiloton blast only 560 yards Astern of her. Suffering severe damage and fires to her topside Port Quarter, funnels and Island, the Independence remained defiantly afloat. Surviving the subsequent "Baker" underwater blast on July 25th, the battered and highly radioactive Independence was towed back to the US for further study at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard.
Formally decommissioned on August 28th, 1946 with eight Battle Stars for World War II service to her credit and having survived two nuclear bombs, the hulk of the Independence was used for radioactive exposure and decontamination studies for several years before she was deemed surplus to the needs of the US Navy. Too radioactive for scrapping, the hulk was towed offshore to this location and used as a target ship for Navy Cruisers and Destroyer gun crews. Finally succumbing on the morning of January 29th, 1951, the Independence rolled over and sank Stern-first at this location and now lies in over 1,000 fathoms.
www.navsource.org/archives/02/22.htm
edition.cnn.com/2015/04/17/us/gallery/uss-independence-...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Independence_(CVL-22)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 37°29'6"N 123°6'15"W
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