USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)
Videos
Page
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, 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.
USS Belleau Wood December 1943
Overhead view of Belleau Wood in 1943, showing the general arrangement of the ship's deck, island, and defensive armament
Belleau Wood off Philadelphia Navy Yard, 18 April 1943
A Japanese bomber explodes as it crashes into the sea near Belleau Wood, during an attack on Task Group 58.2 off the Mariana Islands, 23 February 1944
Independence-class aircraft carrier
Videos
Page
The Independence-class aircraft carriers were a class of light carriers built for the United States Navy that served during World War II.
USS San Jacinto on a training cruise off the east coast in 1944
USS Princeton
USS Belleau Wood
USS Cowpens