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USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)
Encyclopedia
USS Belleau Wood was a United States Navy
active during World War II
in the Pacific Theater
, from 1943 to 1945. The ship also served in the First Indochina War
under French Navy temporary service as Bois Belleau.
Originally laid down as the New Haven (CL-76), she was finished as an aircraft carrier. Reclassified CV-24 on 16 February 1942 and renamed Belleau Wood on 31 March 1942, she was launched 6 December 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Holcomb, wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps
; and commissioned 31 March 1943, Captain A. M. Pride in command. During the war, she was reclassified CVL-24 on 15 July 1943.
26 July 1943. After supporting the occupation of Baker Island
(1 September) and taking part in the Tarawa
(18 September) and Wake Island
(5 October – 6 October) raids, she joined TF 50 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands
(19 November – 4 December 1943).
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Belleau Wood operated with TF 58 during the seizure of Kwajalein
and Majuro
Atolls, Marshall Islands
(29 January – 3 February 1944), Truk raid (16 February – 17 February); Saipan
-Tinian
-Rota
-Guam
raids (21 February – 22 February); Palau
-Yap
-Ulithi
-Woleai
raid (30 March – 1 April); Sawar and Wakde
Island raids in support of the landings at Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura)
, New Guinea
(22 April – 24 April); Truk-Satawan
-Ponape
raid (29 April – 1 May); occupation of Saipan (11 June – 24 June), 1st Bonins raid (15 June – 16 June), Battle of the Philippine Sea
(19 June – 20 June); and 2nd Bonins raid (24 June). During the Battle Of the Philippine Sea, Belleau Wood's planes sank the Japanese carrier .
After an overhaul at Pearl Harbor (29 June – 31 July 1944) Belleau Wood rejoined TF 58 for the last stages of the occupation of Guam (2 August – 10 August). She joined TF 38 and took part in the strikes in support of the occupation of the southern Palaus (6 September – 14 October); Philippine Islands raids (9 September – 24 September); Morotai
landings (15 September); Okinawa raid (10 October); northern Luzon and Formosa
raids (11 October – 14 October); Luzon
strikes (15 October and 17 October – 19 October), and the Battle of Cape Engaño (24 October – 26 October). On 30 October, while Belleau Wood was patrolling with her task group east of Leyte, she shot down a Japanese suicide plane which fell on her flight deck aft, causing fires which set off ammunition. Before the fire could be brought under control, 92 men had either died or gone missing.
After temporary repairs at Ulithi (2 November – 11 November), Belleau Wood steamed to Hunters Point, California, for permanent repairs and an overhaul, arriving 29 November. She departed San Francisco Bay
20 January 1945 and joined TF 58 at Ulithi on 7 February. During 15 February – 4 March she took part in the raids on Honshū
Island, Japan
, and the Nansei Shoto, as well as supporting the landings on Iwo Jima
. She also took part in the 5th Fleet strikes against Japan (17 March – 26 May) and the 3rd Fleet strikes (27 May – 11 June). After embarking Air Group 31 at Leyte (13 June – 1 July), she rejoined the 3rd Fleet for the final strikes against the Japanese home islands (10 July – 15 August). The last Japanese aircraft shot down in the war was a "Judy" dive bomber which was shot down by Clarence "Bill" A. Moore, an F6F pilot of "The Flying Meat-Axe" VF-31 from USS Belleau Wood.
Belleau Wood launched her planes 2 September for the mass flight over Tokyo, Japan, during the surrender ceremonies. She remained in Japanese waters until 13 October. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 28 October, she departed three days later with 1248 servicemen for San Diego. She remained on "Magic Carpet" duty, returning servicemen from Guam and Saipan to San Diego, until 31 January 1946. During the next year Belleau Wood was moored at various docks in the San Francisco area, undergoing inactivation. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Alameda Naval Air Station 13 January 1947.
Belleau Wood received the Presidential Unit Citation
and twelve battle stars during World War II.
until transferred to the French Navy
under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act
on 5 September 1953. In French service she sailed under the name Bois Belleau (R97) (literal translation of "Belleau Wood").
In April 1954, the carrier departed from the Toulon
French Naval Base, Toulon towards French Indochina
in order to replace the Arromanches (R95). She arrived around 20 May in Halong Bay
. Although the critical Battle of Dien Bien Phu
was over, her US-built fighters and bombers were immediately used by the French forces, as the war was not over. After peace with the Viet Minh
, the Geneva Conference
was signed on 21 July 1954. The Bois Belleau sailed for France, where she then joined the Algerian War.
Bois Belleau was returned to the United States in September 1960, stricken from the Navy List on 1 October 1960, and scrapped.
Battle of Belleau Wood
, in which United States soldiers and Marines of the American Expeditionary Forces, defeated the German
troops after nearly four weeks of intense fighting. It is said that the Germans referred to them as Teufel Hunden — Devil Dog
s — and it was this moniker that became the ship's mascot, and one of the nicknames for US Marines (Devil Dog).
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
active during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Pacific Theater
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, from 1943 to 1945. The ship also served in the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
under French Navy temporary service as Bois Belleau.
Originally laid down as the New Haven (CL-76), she was finished as an aircraft carrier. Reclassified CV-24 on 16 February 1942 and renamed Belleau Wood on 31 March 1942, she was launched 6 December 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Holcomb, wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
; and commissioned 31 March 1943, Captain A. M. Pride in command. During the war, she was reclassified CVL-24 on 15 July 1943.
World War II
After a brief shakedown cruise, Belleau Wood reported to the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
26 July 1943. After supporting the occupation of Baker Island
Baker Island
Baker Island is an uninhabited atoll located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia, and is a possession of the United States. Its nearest neighbor is Howland Island, to the north.Located at...
(1 September) and taking part in the Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
(18 September) and Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
(5 October – 6 October) raids, she joined TF 50 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
(19 November – 4 December 1943).
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
and Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
Atolls, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
(29 January – 3 February 1944), Truk raid (16 February – 17 February); Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
-Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
-Rota
Rota (island)
Rota also known as the "peaceful island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. It lies approximately 40 miles north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam...
-Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
raids (21 February – 22 February); Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
-Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
-Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
-Woleai
Woleai
Woleai is a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia and is located approximately west-northwest of Ifalik and northeast of Eauripik...
raid (30 March – 1 April); Sawar and Wakde
Wakde
Wakde is an island of Indonesia, part of the province of West Papua, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas.Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, Wakde served as an airbase...
Island raids in support of the landings at Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura)
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
(22 April – 24 April); Truk-Satawan
Satawan
Satawan Atoll is part of the Mortlock Islands in the Caroline Islands, administratively part of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Captain James Mortlock discovered two sets of islands on 19 and 27 November 1795. Confusingly, both were later called Mortlock Islands...
-Ponape
Pohnpei
Not to be confused with Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.Pohnpei "upon a stone altar " is the name of one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia , situated among the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group...
raid (29 April – 1 May); occupation of Saipan (11 June – 24 June), 1st Bonins raid (15 June – 16 June), Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
(19 June – 20 June); and 2nd Bonins raid (24 June). During the Battle Of the Philippine Sea, Belleau Wood's planes sank the Japanese carrier .
After an overhaul at Pearl Harbor (29 June – 31 July 1944) Belleau Wood rejoined TF 58 for the last stages of the occupation of Guam (2 August – 10 August). She joined TF 38 and took part in the strikes in support of the occupation of the southern Palaus (6 September – 14 October); Philippine Islands raids (9 September – 24 September); Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
landings (15 September); Okinawa raid (10 October); northern Luzon and Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
raids (11 October – 14 October); Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
strikes (15 October and 17 October – 19 October), and the Battle of Cape Engaño (24 October – 26 October). On 30 October, while Belleau Wood was patrolling with her task group east of Leyte, she shot down a Japanese suicide plane which fell on her flight deck aft, causing fires which set off ammunition. Before the fire could be brought under control, 92 men had either died or gone missing.
After temporary repairs at Ulithi (2 November – 11 November), Belleau Wood steamed to Hunters Point, California, for permanent repairs and an overhaul, arriving 29 November. She departed San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
20 January 1945 and joined TF 58 at Ulithi on 7 February. During 15 February – 4 March she took part in the raids on Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
Island, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and the Nansei Shoto, as well as supporting the landings on Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. She also took part in the 5th Fleet strikes against Japan (17 March – 26 May) and the 3rd Fleet strikes (27 May – 11 June). After embarking Air Group 31 at Leyte (13 June – 1 July), she rejoined the 3rd Fleet for the final strikes against the Japanese home islands (10 July – 15 August). The last Japanese aircraft shot down in the war was a "Judy" dive bomber which was shot down by Clarence "Bill" A. Moore, an F6F pilot of "The Flying Meat-Axe" VF-31 from USS Belleau Wood.
Belleau Wood launched her planes 2 September for the mass flight over Tokyo, Japan, during the surrender ceremonies. She remained in Japanese waters until 13 October. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 28 October, she departed three days later with 1248 servicemen for San Diego. She remained on "Magic Carpet" duty, returning servicemen from Guam and Saipan to San Diego, until 31 January 1946. During the next year Belleau Wood was moored at various docks in the San Francisco area, undergoing inactivation. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Alameda Naval Air Station 13 January 1947.
Belleau Wood received the Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation (US)
The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941...
and twelve battle stars during World War II.
French service as Bois Belleau
She remained in reserveUnited States Navy reserve fleets
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an...
until transferred to the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act
Mutual Defense Assistance Act
The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Europe...
on 5 September 1953. In French service she sailed under the name Bois Belleau (R97) (literal translation of "Belleau Wood").
In April 1954, the carrier departed from the Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
French Naval Base, Toulon towards French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
in order to replace the Arromanches (R95). She arrived around 20 May in Halong Bay
Halong Bay
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes...
. Although the critical Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
was over, her US-built fighters and bombers were immediately used by the French forces, as the war was not over. After peace with the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
, the Geneva Conference
Geneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
was signed on 21 July 1954. The Bois Belleau sailed for France, where she then joined the Algerian War.
Bois Belleau was returned to the United States in September 1960, stricken from the Navy List on 1 October 1960, and scrapped.
Significance of the name
The ship was named in memory of the World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Battle of Belleau Wood
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S...
, in which United States soldiers and Marines of the American Expeditionary Forces, defeated the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
troops after nearly four weeks of intense fighting. It is said that the Germans referred to them as Teufel Hunden — Devil Dog
Devil Dog
Teufel Hunden, a mistranslation of Devil Dogs in German, is a motivational nickname for a U.S. Marine.-U.S. Marine Corps legends:...
s — and it was this moniker that became the ship's mascot, and one of the nicknames for US Marines (Devil Dog).
External links
PA Bois Belleau R97 (USS Belleau Wood in the French Navy)- Air Group 31 (CAG-31) was the last carrier air group to serve aboard USS Belleau Wood
- USS Belleau Wood at Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project
Media links
- Departute of the Bois Belleau from Toulon (newsreels video)
- Arrival in the French Indochina of the Bois Belleau (newsreels video)