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U.S. Aircraft Carrier Trivia Answers

Added Update 6 below.

I wrote an entry that asked some trivia questions about U.S. aircraft carriers.  Here are my answers.  Obviously, the third and fourth questions may change, since a ship headed to the breakers can be detoured to become a museum.

How many U.S. aircraft carriers have been SUNK by enemy action?
  Six

1. LANGLEY (Hull #1) was sunk as a result enemy action about 75 miles south of Tjilatjap 27 Feb 1942 (see comments below)
2. LEXINGTON (Hull #2) was sunk as a result of enemy action at the Battle of the Coral Sea 8 May 1942
3. YORKTOWN (Hull #5) was sunk due to enemy action at the Battle of Midway 7 Jun 1942
4. WASP (Hull #7) was sunk due to enemy action southeast of San Cristobal Island 15 Sep 1942
5. HORNET (Hull #8) was sunk due to enemy action at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands 26 Oct 1942
6. PRINCETON (Hull #23) was sunk due to enemy action in the Sibuyan Sea 24 Oct 1944

How many U.S. aircraft carriers have been SUNK for any reason?
  Ten (the six noted above plus)

1. SARATOGA (Hull #3) was used as a test target and sunk at Bikini Atoll
2. INDEPENDENCE (Hull #22) was sunk as a test target 29 Jun 1951
3. Update 4: AMERICA (Hull #66) was sunk as a test target 14 May 2005 as a result of a series of tests to provide survivability data for the next generation of aircraft carriers
4. ORISKANY (Hull #34) was stricken from the Navy List in 1989, sold Sep 1995, contractor defaulted, repossessed by the Navy, contract terminated Jul 1997.  Update 4: The hull is to be sunk as an artificial reef 24 miles offshore of Pensacola, FL.  This was delayed due to concerns over the leeching of solid PCBs from the ship.  It will be the largest ship intentionally sunk as a reef.  More info on the ORISKANY as a Reef can be found here.  Navy pictures and story here and here.  Update 5: The US Environmental Protection Agency has issued the permit for the sinking, which is currently scheduled for May 15, 2006 (story here).  Update 6: This ship was sunk as planned on May 17, 2006.

How many U.S. aircraft carriers are currently in INACTIVE status and floating somewhere around the U.S.?
  Three

1. RANGER (Hull #61) in inactive reserve in the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF), Bremerton, WA
2. INDEPENDENCE (Hull #62) in inactive reserve in the NISMF, Bremerton, WA
3. CONSTELLATION (Hull #64) in inactive reserve in the NISMF, Bremerton, WA

There is also at least one decommissioned hull still enroute to the breakers.

1. SARATOGA (Hull #60) berthed at the Naval Education and Training Center, Newport, RI
2. ... there may be others

How many INACTIVE U.S. aircraft carriers are currently serving as or are on hold to be MUSEUMS?
  Six

1. YORKTOWN (Hull #10) was established as a floating museum in Charleston, SC
2. INTREPID (Hull #11) was established as a floating museum in New York, NY
3. HORNET (Hull #12) was donated to The Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation for use as a museum
4. LEXINGTON (Hull #16) was established as a floating museum in Corpus Christi, TX
5. MIDWAY (Hull #41) will soon be established as a floating museum in San Diego, CA
6. FORRESTAL (Hull #59) is on hold as museum donation at the Naval Education and Training Center, Newport, RI

How many U.S. aircraft carriers have been commissioned?
  Sixty-six

1. REPRISAL (Hull #35) was never completed nor commissioned. The hull, 53% complete, was sold to Boston Metals Co, Baltimore, MD and scrapped in November 1949
2. WRIGHT (Hull #49) was comissioned twice as an aircraft carrier
3. Hulls 50 through 57 were authorized in 1941 but were never built
4. UNITED STATES (Hull #58) was authorized in 1949 but never built

If not sunk, in inactive reserve, or acting as a museum, the remaining hulls were sold for scrap and broken up.

Print | posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 5:39 PM | Filed Under [ Day Job & Etc. ]