Saturday, May 27, 2023

Alameda Naval Air Station could also dock ships

(Satellite)

Today the USS Hornet - Sea, Air and Space Museum (29,052 photos) is docked there.

I knew the Navy used to be able to dock ships in Pier 70 and Hunters Point. Now I learned that the Navy could also dock big ships on the east side of the bay.

The Warshipologist posted
USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), with A-4E Skyhawks from VA-153 "Blue Tail Flies" and VA-155 "Silver Foxes," moored to pier #3 South, U.S. Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, 22–26 July 1967. USS Hancock (CVA-19) is moored to pier #3 North, and USS Ranger to pier #2 North. Other ships present include: USS Bellatrix (AF-62) and USS Aludra (AF-55), moored port side and starboard side, respectively, to pier #2 South; and probably USNS Breton (T-AKV 42), astern of Coral Sea.
Photo and caption from Navsource (William T. Larkins)

The Warshipologist posted
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) & USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) moored at NAS Alameda in March 1994. CVN-72 undergoing a post-deployment dockside refit.
RD Dan Narayan: Alameda...the past home of "The Ageless Warrior " USS CORAL SEA CV-43. My favorite ship!! Both now gone.
[Some comments indicate the NAS closed in 1997.]

The Warshipologist posted
Aerial starboard view of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) moored at Naval Air Station, Alameda on September 15, 1983.
National Archives
James Stammers: “Excuse me, sir! Can you direct us to the naval base in Alameda? It's where they keep the nuclear wessels.”
[Chekov in the Star Trek movie about time travelling and the whales.]

The Warshipologist posted
The Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70), (center) joins the USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) (left) and an unidentified Nimitz Class aircraft carrier (right) undergoing refurbishment at the Alameda. Next to the unidentified carrier is an unidentified Virginia Class Guided Missile Cruiser docked bow to bow with the USN Kilauea Class Ammunition ship USS SHASTA (AE 33)
National Archives
 
Military Technology posted
USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Ranger (CV-61) and USS Oriskany (CV-34)  tied up at Alameda circa 1970s. Also present are the cruisers USS Bainbridge (CGN-25) and USS Truxtun (CGN-35).
Thanks to Chuck Walden for identifying the cruisers.
1967-1976 timescale.

The Warshipologist posted
Four aircraft carriers berthed at Alameda in June 1960. Top left is the Bogue class escort carrier USNS Breton (T-AKV-42) loading various types of planes for transportation. 
Astern of Breton is Essex class carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19), about to embark on her WestPac cruise. 
Below the Hancock is the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43).; She has just completed her SCB-110 refit at Bremerton, WA, and is working up her air group before deployment.
At the bottom of the picture is USS Bonhomme Richard (CVA-31). She has just completed a WestPac deployment and is about to head to Bremerton for an overhaul. You can see the cars on the flight deck, a sign of a change of home base.

Research Library, USS Midway Museum posted
14 September 1943, 80 years ago today: The Essex-class aircraft carrier #USSYorktown (CV-10) loads aircraft, vehicles and supplies at Naval Air Station Alameda, California. Three Lockheed PV-1 Harpoons are parked on the flight deck. She left the next day for Pearl Harbor.
National Naval Aviation Museum photo # 1996.488.243.041

MilitaryPhotoDepot posted
(7/30/1995) High oblique aerial view of the Naval Air Station Alameda, looking west (vertical format), showing the airfield and aircraft carrier pier complex hosting Pacific based surface forces. The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) is tied up to the left. The former Essex class anti-submarine carrier Hornet (CVS-12) is moored to the right. The Hornet has been deleted from the naval register and will soon be scrapped USN Image/ PH2 Bruce Trombecky

I wish I could find a photo that shows how they loaded the airplanes onto a carrier.
The Warshipologist posted two photos with the comment: "USS Bataan (CVL-29) departing San Francisco on October 7, 1944. She is transporting VP-128 from NAS Alameda to Pearl Harbor and is being photographed by a navy blimp. Lockheed PV-1 Venturas onboard."
1

2

The Defense Post posted
United States Navy aircraft carriers representing four separate classes docked at the Naval Air Station Alameda in September of 1945. The ships are (front to back):
USS Saratoga (CV-3)
USS Enterprise (CV-6)
USS Hornet (CV-12)
USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)
The photo is interesting because it helps highlight the difference in size from between the carriers.
Saratoga was a Lexington class carrier that entered service in 1927. She was 888' in length and displaced over 43,000 tons at full load. By this time, she was carrying 70 aircraft.
Enterprise was one of the Yorktown class carriers and entered service in 1938. She was 809' overall and displaced a little over 32,000 tons when fully loaded. At the time, she would carry between 70 and 80 aircraft.
*A good example of the benefits of a purpose built carrier. The smaller Yorktown class could carry the same number of aircraft and more aviation fuel compared to the larger Lexington class that were converted from battlecruisers!*
Hornet was one of the Essex class carriers and entered service in 1943. She was 872' overall and displaced just under 36,500 tons at full load. At the time, she was carrying 90 aircraft.
Lastly we have San Jacinto, one of the Independence class light carriers that entered service in 1943. She was 622' in length and displaced over 14,000 tons at full load. At the time, she carried 33 aircraft.
Ranked: The US Navy’s 5 Best Aircraft Carriers Ever
Marlene Van: USS Hornet, today, is tied up at the very same pier as it was in this photo. An excellent museum ship, she is not to be missed.
John Clampitt: San Jacinto is the carrier, George Bush Sr flew off of in WWII.
Michael Koshel: At the end of the war, the Saratoga and the Enterprise were the last two surviving aircraft carriers that comprised “The First Team.” The Lexington was lost at the Coral Sea, the Yorktown was lost at Midway, the Hornet and Wasp were lost in the campaign for Guadalcanal.



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