The Yorktown-class aircraft carriers was a class of three fleet aircraft carriers that were used by the United States Navy during World War II. The Yorktown-class succeeded USS Ranger.
Description[]
The Yorktown-class displaced at 19,800 tons standard, and 25,500 tons under a full load. The average length of a Yorktown-class ship was 251.34 meters, the beam 33.38 meters and the draught 7.9 meters. Machinary comprised of nine boilers turning two shafts and generating up to 120,000 shp, and giving the Yorktown-class ships a maximum speed of 32.5 knots, while the maximum range was limited to 12,500 nautical miles.
Armor protection on the Yorktown-class varied from 2.5 inches to 4 inches on the main armor belt, and 4 inches on the tower. Armament comprised of eight 5 inch/38 caliber guns, four quad mounted 1.1 inch/75 caliber guns, and twenty-four 12.7 mm Browning M2HBs, which were all later replaced with larger 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns. The aircraft complement comprised a total of ninety aircraft, and the crew a total of 2,217 personnel, made up of some 227 officers and 1,990 enlisted personnel, including the air group.
History[]
All three Yorktown-class ships were built by the Newport News Shipbuilding company, the first ship, USS Yorktown, being the first laid down. The entire class took part in the war in the Pacific Theater, including the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Ships in class[]
- USS Yorktown (CV-5)
- USS Enterprise (CV-6)
- USS Hornet (CV-8)
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