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USS Lake Champlain (CV-39)
Encyclopedia
USS Lake Champlain (CV/CVA/CVS-39) was one of 24 s completed during or shortly after World War II
for the United States Navy
. She was the second US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812
.
Commissioned in mid-1945, Lake Champlain did not participate in World War II, but did serve as a transport, bringing troops home from Europe as part of Operation Magic Carpet
. Like many of her sister ships, she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, but was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s, and redesignated as an attack carrier (CVA). She participated in the Korean War
but spent the rest of her career in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. In the late 1950s, she was redesignated as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). She was the prime recovery ship for the first manned Mercury
and for the third manned Gemini
(Gemini V
) space missions.
Lake Champlain had a unique modernization history. She was the only ship to receive the SCB-27
conversion, which was a rebuild of the superstructure, flight deck and other features, but not also receive the SCB-125
conversion, which would have given her an angled flight deck and hurricane bow. Therefore she had the distinction of being the last operational US aircraft carrier with an axial flight deck.
Lake Champlain was decommissioned in 1966 and sold for scrap in 1972.
, wife of Senator Austin of Vermont
.
and Philadelphia, Lake Champlain was assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty to repatriate US military personnel. She departed Norfolk for England
on 14 October, and arrived Southampton
the 19th where she embarked veterans and returned them to New York.
She set a speed record, averaging 32.048 kn, for crossing the Atlantic on 26 November 1945 when she arrived at Hampton Roads
, Virginia, having completed a run from Cape Spartel
, Africa
, in 4 days, 8 hours, 51 minutes. This record stood until surpassed by SS United States in the summer of 1952.
at Norfolk on 17 February 1947. A few years later, the Korean War
began and she was needed again. In August 1950, Lake Champlain began her
SCB-27A modernization program at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. She recommissioned on 19 September 1952.
A shakedown cruise in Cuba
n and Haiti
an waters lasted from 25 November to 25 December. The carrier departed Mayport, Florida for Korea on 26 April 1953 via the Red Sea
, Indian Ocean
, and South China Sea
. Lake Champlain became the largest ship to date to transit the Suez Canal
. She moored at Yokosuka, Japan
on 9 June 1953.
As flagship of Carrier Task Force 77 (TF 77), she sailed from Yokosuka on 11 June and arrived off western Korea on 14 June. The carrier's air group immediately launched sorties cratering runways; assaulting enemy troops; attacking trenches, bunkers, gun positions; and giving close air support
to hard pressed ground forces. Her planes also escorted B-29 Superfortress
heavy bomber
s on their way to enemy targets. Lake Champlain continued to strike at the enemy until the truce was signed on 27 July. Relieved by on 11 October, Lake Champlain headed toward the South China Sea arriving Singapore
on 24 October. Bidding farewell to the Pacific Ocean on 27 October, she steamed toward home touching at Colombo
, Port Said
, Cannes
, and Lisbon
before arriving Mayport, Florida on 4 December 1953.
, cruising in the vicinity of Lebanon
and backing Jordan
's stand against the threat of Communism. The Tensions eased and Lake Champlain returned to Mayport 27 July. Converted to an antisubmarine carrier and reclassified (CVS-39) on 1 August, Lake Champlain trained off the eastern seaboard to master her new role.
Lake Champlain was near the island of Majorca when the Spanish city of Valencia was devastated by floods on the night of 14 October 1957. The American ambassador to Spain, John Davis Lodge
, requested that Lake Champlain provide assistance for rescue operations. The ship's Chickasaw helicopters undertook numerous rescue missions, and the ship's crew fought in the "mud battle" that followed the disaster.
She departed Bayonne
, New Jersey on 8 February 1958 for another Mediterranean cruise returning to Mayport, Florida on 30 October. After a yard overhaul, she departed for the Mediterranean on 10 June and visited Spain
, Denmark
, and Scotland
, before returning to Mayport on 9 August.
The carrier operated off Florida and in the Caribbean until 15 June 1958, when she sailed on another Mediterranean cruise returning to her newly assigned home port, Quonset Point
, Rhode Island on 4 September.
The carrier operated out of Quonset Point until 29 June 1960, when she made a midshipmen's cruise to Halifax
, Nova Scotia
, returning on 12 August. Beginning on 7 February, she made a cruise to the Caribbean, returning on 2 March.
Lake Champlain was selected as the prime recovery ship for America's first manned space flight. She sailed for the recovery area on 1 May, and was on station on the 5th when Commander Alan Shepard
was recovered along with spacecraft Freedom 7 after splashdown
some 300 mi (480 km) down range from Cape Canaveral
. Helicopters from the carrier visually tracked the descent of the capsule and were over it two minutes after splashdown. They skillfully recovered Shepard and the Freedom 7 capsule, delivering them safely to Lake Champlains flight deck.
, Jamaica
, where she represented the US at the island's celebration of its independence on 3 August.
On 24 October, Lake Champlain joined in a classic exercise of seapower—the quarantine of Cuba
, where the Soviet Union
was constructing bases for offensive missiles. To block this grave threat, U.S. warships deployed throughout the western Atlantic, choking off the flow of military supplies to Cuba and enforcing American demands for the withdrawal of the Russian offensive missiles.
After the American demands were substantially complied with, Lake Champlain sailed for home on 23 November via St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
, and arrived Quonset Point on 4 December 1962. For the next few months the carrier was in New England
waters for operations and overhaul. In September 1963, while she was on a cruise to Guantanamo Bay
, her training schedule was interrupted when she was ordered to Haiti to relieve distress caused by Hurricane Flora
. Her helicopters located homeless victims and flew them food and medical supplies.
briefly in spring of 1964 and steamed to Spain in the fall for landings near Huelva
. She sailed on 6 November from Barcelona
for the United States, touched at Gibraltar
and arrived at Quonset Point the 25th. The first half of 1965 found Lake Champlain performing training duties and conducting exercises up and down the East Coast. For FY 1966, the Navy proposed a modernization program for Lake Champlain. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
refused to authorize the proposal, citing the limited effectiveness of anti-submarine carriers.
Lake Champlain completed her last major duty on 29 August 1965 when she served as the primary recovery ship for Gemini 5
. Shortly afterward, she sailed to Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she commenced inactivation. She was decommissioned on 2 May 1966 and was laid up in the Reserve Fleet.
The 24-year-old Lake Champlain was stricken from the Navy List on 1 December 1969, and sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping on 28 April 1972.
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...
for the United States Navy
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...
. She was the second US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Commissioned in mid-1945, Lake Champlain did not participate in World War II, but did serve as a transport, bringing troops home from Europe as part of Operation Magic Carpet
Operation Magic Carpet (World War II)
Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II effort by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and CBI theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships, and troop transports began repatriating soldiers from...
. Like many of her sister ships, she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, but was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s, and redesignated as an attack carrier (CVA). She participated in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
but spent the rest of her career in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. In the late 1950s, she was redesignated as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). She was the prime recovery ship for the first manned Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
and for the third manned Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
(Gemini V
Gemini 5
Gemini 5 was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the third manned Gemini flight, the 11th manned American flight and the 19th spaceflight of all time...
) space missions.
Lake Champlain had a unique modernization history. She was the only ship to receive the SCB-27
SCB-27
SCB-27, or "Two Seven-Charlie" was the United States Navy designation for a series of upgrades to the Essex class aircraft carriers , conducted between 1947 and 1955...
conversion, which was a rebuild of the superstructure, flight deck and other features, but not also receive the SCB-125
SCB-125
SCB-125 was the United States Navy designation for a series of upgrades to the Essex class of aircraft carriers , conducted between 1954 and 1959...
conversion, which would have given her an angled flight deck and hurricane bow. Therefore she had the distinction of being the last operational US aircraft carrier with an axial flight deck.
Lake Champlain was decommissioned in 1966 and sold for scrap in 1972.
Construction and commissioning
Lake Champlain was one of the "long-hull" ships. She was laid down in a drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia on 15 March 1943. The hull was launched from drydock on 2 November 1944. Lake Champlain commissioned on 3 June 1945. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Warren AustinWarren Austin
Warren Robinson Austin was an American politician and statesman; among other roles, he served as Senator from Vermont....
, wife of Senator Austin of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Operation Magic Carpet
After shakedown and visits to New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Philadelphia, Lake Champlain was assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty to repatriate US military personnel. She departed Norfolk for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 14 October, and arrived Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
the 19th where she embarked veterans and returned them to New York.
She set a speed record, averaging 32.048 kn, for crossing the Atlantic on 26 November 1945 when she arrived at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, Virginia, having completed a run from Cape Spartel
Cape Spartel
Cape Spartel is a promontory in Morocco about above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, 12 km West of Tangier. It is frequently but incorrectly referred as the northernmost point of Africa, which is instead Ras ben Sakka, Tunisia....
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, in 4 days, 8 hours, 51 minutes. This record stood until surpassed by SS United States in the summer of 1952.
Korean War
Lake Champlain was laid up in the reserve fleetReserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
at Norfolk on 17 February 1947. A few years later, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
began and she was needed again. In August 1950, Lake Champlain began her
SCB-27A modernization program at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. She recommissioned on 19 September 1952.
A shakedown cruise in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an waters lasted from 25 November to 25 December. The carrier departed Mayport, Florida for Korea on 26 April 1953 via the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, and South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. Lake Champlain became the largest ship to date to transit the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. She moored at Yokosuka, 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...
on 9 June 1953.
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
to hard pressed ground forces. Her planes also escorted B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s on their way to enemy targets. Lake Champlain continued to strike at the enemy until the truce was signed on 27 July. Relieved by on 11 October, Lake Champlain headed toward the South China Sea arriving Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
on 24 October. Bidding farewell to the Pacific Ocean on 27 October, she steamed toward home touching at Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
before arriving Mayport, Florida on 4 December 1953.
NATO, Middle East and reclassification
In the years that followed, Lake Champlain made several cruises to the Mediterranean, participating with NATO forces. On 25 April 1957, she joined elements of the fleet in a high-speed run to the scene of tension in the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, cruising in the vicinity of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and backing Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
's stand against the threat of Communism. The Tensions eased and Lake Champlain returned to Mayport 27 July. Converted to an antisubmarine carrier and reclassified (CVS-39) on 1 August, Lake Champlain trained off the eastern seaboard to master her new role.
Lake Champlain was near the island of Majorca when the Spanish city of Valencia was devastated by floods on the night of 14 October 1957. The American ambassador to Spain, John Davis Lodge
John Davis Lodge
John Davis Lodge , was an American politician, and 79th Governor of Connecticut from 1951 to 1955. He was also an actor and U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Argentina and Switzerland.-Early life:Lodge was born in Washington, D.C....
, requested that Lake Champlain provide assistance for rescue operations. The ship's Chickasaw helicopters undertook numerous rescue missions, and the ship's crew fought in the "mud battle" that followed the disaster.
She departed Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, New Jersey on 8 February 1958 for another Mediterranean cruise returning to Mayport, Florida on 30 October. After a yard overhaul, she departed for the Mediterranean on 10 June and visited Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, before returning to Mayport on 9 August.
The carrier operated off Florida and in the Caribbean until 15 June 1958, when she sailed on another Mediterranean cruise returning to her newly assigned home port, Quonset Point
Quonset Point
Quonset Point, also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is contained entirely within the town of North Kingstown. "Quonset" is a Native American word likely meaning "small long place".Quonset Point was the location of Naval Air...
, Rhode Island on 4 September.
The carrier operated out of Quonset Point until 29 June 1960, when she made a midshipmen's cruise to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, returning on 12 August. Beginning on 7 February, she made a cruise to the Caribbean, returning on 2 March.
Project Mercury
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
was recovered along with spacecraft Freedom 7 after splashdown
Splashdown (spacecraft landing)
Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water. It was used by American manned spacecraft prior to the Space Shuttle program. It is also possible for the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft to land in water, though this is only a contingency...
some 300 mi (480 km) down range from Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
. Helicopters from the carrier visually tracked the descent of the capsule and were over it two minutes after splashdown. They skillfully recovered Shepard and the Freedom 7 capsule, delivering them safely to Lake Champlains flight deck.
Caribbean and Cuban Blockade
For the next year, the ship operated along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean. In June 1962, she embarked Naval Academy midshipmen for a summer cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia and KingstonKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, where she represented the US at the island's celebration of its independence on 3 August.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, where the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was constructing bases for offensive missiles. To block this grave threat, U.S. warships deployed throughout the western Atlantic, choking off the flow of military supplies to Cuba and enforcing American demands for the withdrawal of the Russian offensive missiles.
After the American demands were substantially complied with, Lake Champlain sailed for home on 23 November via St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
, and arrived Quonset Point on 4 December 1962. For the next few months the carrier was in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
waters for operations and overhaul. In September 1963, while she was on a cruise to Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, her training schedule was interrupted when she was ordered to Haiti to relieve distress caused by Hurricane Flora
Hurricane Flora
Hurricane Flora is among the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history, with a death total of over 7,000. The seventh tropical storm and sixth hurricane of the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season, Flora developed from a disturbance in the Intertropical Convergence Zone on September 26 while...
. Her helicopters located homeless victims and flew them food and medical supplies.
North Atlantic and Project Gemini
Lake Champlain returned to Quonset Point on 9 November for operations in New England waters. She visited BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
briefly in spring of 1964 and steamed to Spain in the fall for landings near Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
. She sailed on 6 November from Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
for the United States, touched at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and arrived at Quonset Point the 25th. The first half of 1965 found Lake Champlain performing training duties and conducting exercises up and down the East Coast. For FY 1966, the Navy proposed a modernization program for Lake Champlain. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
refused to authorize the proposal, citing the limited effectiveness of anti-submarine carriers.
Lake Champlain completed her last major duty on 29 August 1965 when she served as the primary recovery ship for Gemini 5
Gemini 5
Gemini 5 was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the third manned Gemini flight, the 11th manned American flight and the 19th spaceflight of all time...
. Shortly afterward, she sailed to Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she commenced inactivation. She was decommissioned on 2 May 1966 and was laid up in the Reserve Fleet.
The 24-year-old Lake Champlain was stricken from the Navy List on 1 December 1969, and sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping on 28 April 1972.
See also
- List of aircraft carriers
- List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
- List of World War II ships