USS Essex

Survived

Type	Aircraft carrier
Class	Essex
War	Second World War
Main guns	12 × 5″ guns

Lead ship of the largest class of fleet carriers ever built: 24 were completed. Fought at the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, and her aircraft helped sink Musashi and Yamato. Hit by a kamikaze off Luzon in November 1944. Served until 1969.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Essex (CVS-9) underway in the Atlantic Ocean on 22 June 1967. Essex, with assigned Carrier Anti-Submarine Air Group 54 (CVSG-54), was deployed to the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea from 29 May to 22 September 1967. Photo: Photographer: PHCS Jackman, U.S. Navy, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Armament and specifications

Armament

12 × 5 in (127 mm) DP guns
32 × 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns
46 × 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns

Armour

Waterline belt: 2.5–4 in (64–102 mm)
Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm)
Hangar deck: 2.5 in (64 mm)
Bulkheads: 4 in (102 mm)

Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down	28 April 1941
Launched	31 July 1942
Commissioned	31 December 1942
Displacement	27,100 long tons (27,500 t) (standard) 36,380 long tons (36,960 t) (full load)
Length	820 feet (249.9 m) (wl) 872 feet (265.8 m) (o/a)
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Complement	2,600 officers and enlisted men

As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.

Career

Launched

31 July 1942

Battle of the Philippine Sea

Survived

19–20 June 1944

Battle of the Sibuyan Sea

Survived

24 October 1944

Battle off Cape Engaño

Survived

25–26 October 1944

Operation Ten-Go

Survived

7 April 1945