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_underway_in_1971_(NNAM.1996.488.062.023).jpg) USSFranklin D. Roosevelt in 1971 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Namesake | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Builder | New York Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down | 1 December 1943 |
| Launched | 29 April 1945 |
| Commissioned | 27 October 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 23 April 1954 |
| Recommissioned | 6 April 1956 |
| Decommissioned | 30 September 1977 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Stricken | 1 October 1977 |
| Nickname(s) |
|
| Fate | Scrapped, 3 May 1978 |
| Badge | _insignia%2c_in_1970_(NH_69462-KN).png) |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | Midway-classaircraft carrier |
| Displacement | 45,000 tons |
| Length | 968 ft (295 m) |
| Beam | 113 ft (34 m) |
| Draft | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Speed | 33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
| Complement | 4,104 officers and men |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 137 |
USSFranklin D. Roosevelt (CVB/CVA/CV-42) was the second of threeMidway-classaircraft carriers. To her crew, she was known as "Swanky Franky," "Foo-De-Roo," or "Rosie".Roosevelt spent most of her active deployed career operating in theMediterranean Sea as part of theUnited States Sixth Fleet. The ship was decommissioned in 1977 and was scrapped shortly afterward. She was the first aircraft carrier of the United States Navy to be named in honor of a president of the United States.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt waslaid down atNew York Naval Shipyard on 1 December 1943. Sponsor Mrs.John H. Towers, wife of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief,Pacific Fleet, christened the shipCoral Sea at the 29 April 1945launching. On 8 May 1945, PresidentHarry S. Truman approved the Secretary of the Navy's recommendation to rename the shipFranklin D. Roosevelt in honor of thelate president, who had died four weeks earlier.
Roosevelt was commissioned onNavy Day, 27 October 1945, at the New York Naval Shipyard. Capt.Apollo Soucek was the ship's first commanding officer. During her shakedown cruise,Roosevelt called atRio de Janeiro from 1 to 11 February 1946 to represent the United States at the inauguration of Brazilian presidentEurico Gaspar Dutra, who came aboard for a short cruise.[1] During April and May,Roosevelt participated inEighth Fleet maneuvers off theEast Coast, the Navy's first major postwar training exercise.
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On 21 July 1946,Roosevelt became the first American carrier to operate an all-jet aircraft under controlled conditions.Lieutenant Commander James Davidson, flying theMcDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, made a series of successful take-offs and landings asRoosevelt lay offCape Henry, Virginia.[2] Jet trials continued in November, whenLt. Col.Marion E. Carl, USMC, made two catapult launches, four unassisted take-offs, and five arrested landings in aLockheedP-80A.[1]
Fleet maneuvers and other training operations in theCaribbean precededRoosevelt's first deployment to theMediterranean, which lasted from August to October 1946.Roosevelt, flying the flag of Rear AdmiralJohn H. Cassady, Commander,Carrier Division 1, led the U.S. Navy force that arrived inPiraeus on 5 September 1946.[3] This visit showed U.S. support for the pro-Western government of Greece, which was locked in acivil war with Communist insurgents. The ship received thousands of visitors during her calls to many Mediterranean ports. This was the first of twenty Mediterranean deploymentsRoosevelt would make, initiating an American aircraft carrier presence that would develop into theUnited States Sixth Fleet.[1]
Roosevelt returned to American waters and operated off the East Coast until July 1947, when her open bow was destroyed by a storm, which forced her to go toNorfolk Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul. At that time, her quad40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were replaced by 40 3-inch (76 mm) Mark 22 guns in Mark 33 twin mountings.
From September 1948 to January 1949,Roosevelt undertook a second tour of duty with U.S. Naval Forces, Mediterranean. In 1950,Roosevelt became the first carrier to take nuclear weapons to sea.[1] In September and October 1952, she participated inOperation Mainbrace, the first majorNATO exercise in the North Atlantic.Roosevelt operated with other major fleet units, including the aircraft carriersUSS Midway,USS Wasp, andHMS Eagle, as well as thebattleshipsUSS Wisconsin andHMS Vanguard.
Roosevelt was reclassifiedCVA-42 on 1 October 1952. On 7 January 1954, she sailed forPuget Sound Naval Shipyard to undergo extensive reconstruction. Too large to pass through thePanama Canal,Roosevelt roundedCape Horn and arrived at the shipyard on 5 March 1954. She was temporarily decommissioned there for her refit on 23 April 1954.[1]
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Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first of her class to undergo theSCB 110 reconstruction, at a cost of $48 million. She received an enclosed "hurricane bow," one C-11-2 and two C-11-1 steam catapults, strengthened arresting gear, an enlarged bridge, a mirror landing system, and a 482-foot (147 m) angled flight deck. SPS-8height finding radar and SPS-12 air search radar were mounted on a new tubular mast. The aft elevator was relocated to the starboard deck edge, the forward elevator was enlarged, and all elevators were uprated to 75,000 lb (34,000 kg) capacity. Aviation fuel bunkerage was increased from 350,000 to 450,000 gallons (1,320,000 to 1,700,000 L). Standard displacement rose to 51,000 tons, while deep load displacement rose to 63,400 tons. As weight compensation, several of the 5-inch (127 mm) Mark 16 anti-aircraft guns were removed, leaving only 10, and the 3,200-ton armor belt was removed. Hull blisters were also added to cope with the increased weight.Franklin D. Roosevelt recommissioned on 6 April 1956.[1]
After post-refit trials,Roosevelt sailed for her new homeport ofMayport, Florida. In February 1957,Franklin D. Roosevelt conducted cold weather tests of catapults, aircraft, and theRegulus guided missile, in theGulf of Maine.[1] In July, she sailed for the first of three consecutiveSixth Fleet deployments. Her assignments in the Mediterranean added NATO exercises to her normal schedule of major fleet operations, and found her entertaining a distinguished list of guests each year.
During a 1958 mid-year overhaul, the 22 remaining 3-inch (76 mm) guns were removed.
On 24 October 1958,Franklin D. Roosevelt supportedUSS Kleinsmith in the evacuation of 56 American citizens and three foreign nationals fromNicaragua,Cuba, as theCuban Revolution came to a climax.
In late 1960, the Control Instrument Company installed the first productionFresnel Lens Optical Landing System (FLOLS) onboardFranklin D. Roosevelt. She recorded her 100,000th aircraft landing in March 1961. During a 1963 overhaul, six more 5-inch (127 mm) guns were removed.[1]
While operating in the Eastern Mediterranean in the fall of 1964,Franklin D. Roosevelt lost a blade from one of her 20-ton propellers. She proceeded fromNaples, Italy, to New York with the number one shaft locked. After replacing the propeller atBayonne, New Jersey,Franklin D. Roosevelt returned to the Mediterranean to complete her cruise.
From August 1966 to January 1967,Franklin D. Roosevelt made her only deployment toSoutheast Asia, spending a total of 95 days "on the line." Her embarked airwing,Carrier Air Wing One, consisted mainly ofF-4 Phantom IIs andA-4 Skyhawks.Roosevelt received one battle star for her service during theVietnam War.[1]
In January 1968, Italian actressVirna Lisi was invited byFranklin D. Roosevelt's crew to participate in the ship's 22nd birthday celebrations. Lisi helped prepare 5,000 T-bone steaks at a large cook-out staged on the flight deck.
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Roosevelt was initially slated to undergo an extensive reconstruction (SCB 101.68) similar to that received byMidway from 1966 to 1970. This plan was derailed by massive cost overruns inMidway's reconstruction, which eventually totalled $202 million.
Roosevelt was therefore limited to an austere $46 million refit (SCB 103.68), enabling her to operate the GrummanA-6 Intruder and LTVA-7 Corsair II. In July 1968,Roosevelt enteredNorfolk Naval Shipyard for her 11-month modernization program. The forward centerline elevator was relocated to the starboard deck edge forward of the island, the port waist catapult was removed, the crew spaces were refurbished, and all of the four remaining 5-inch (127 mm) anti-aircraft turrets were removed. The Roosevelt set sail with 4 - 5" guns, 2 on either side controlled by 3 Mk 56 Gunfire control systems and one Mk 37 System.Roosevelt also received a deck edge spray system using the new seawater compatible fire-fighting chemical, Light Water. She put to sea again on 26 May 1969.
From 1 August 1969,Roosevelt embarkedCarrier Air Wing Six, which served as the ship's air wing for the next seven cruises. In January 1970,Roosevelt returned to the Mediterranean for another Sixth Fleet deployment.
Roosevelt's twenty-first Sixth Fleet deployment was marked by indirect participation in the October 1973Yom Kippur War, as she served as a transit "landing field" for aircraft being delivered to Israel. TheRoosevelt battlegroup, Task Force 60.2, also stood by for possible evacuation contingencies.
From 1973 through 1975, VAW-121 operated aboardRoosevelt as one of the last GrummanE-1 Tracer squadrons in the fleet.Roosevelt received a multipurpose designation,CV-42, on 30 June 1975, but she did not operate any anti-submarine aircraft.
In June 1976,Roosevelt embarked VMA-231 with 14AV-8A Harrier attack aircraft. The ship embarkedCarrier Air Wing Nineteen for its final deployment, which lasted from October 1976 to April 1977.VMA-231 was on board for this deployment, which demonstrated thatVTOL aircraft could be integrated into fixed wing air operations, although limited fuel capacity required careful scheduling of their launch and land cycles. The AV-8A concentrated hot exhaust impinging directly perpendicular to the fight deck was unusually destructive to paintednon-skid surfaces, and blowing detached pieces of the non-skid coating about created a high risk offoreign object damage (FOD) to nearby jet engines.[1] On 12 January 1977,Roosevelt collided with the Liberian grain freighterOceanus while transiting theStrait of Messina. Both ships were able to proceed to port under their own power.
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By the late 1970s,Roosevelt was in poor material condition. Deprived of the upgrades thatMidway andCoral Sea had received,Roosevelt was the least modern and least capable of the class. Furthermore,Roosevelt used General Electric turbines, which gave persistent problems and reduced speed compared to the Westinghouse units used on the other ships. The Navy therefore chose to decommissionRoosevelt when the secondNimitz-class carrier,Dwight D. Eisenhower, entered service in 1977.Roosevelt completed her final cruise in April 1977. She was officiallydecommissioned on 30 September 1977. The decommissioning ceremony was held on 1 October 1977 and the ship was stricken from theNavy Directory on the same day. Efforts to preserveRoosevelt as amuseum ship inNew York City failed.
Roosevelt's generally poor condition weighed against retaining her in thereserve fleet. Moreover, her low hangar height of 17 feet 6 inches (5.33 m) limited the aircraft types that she could handle. It was reasoned that existingEssex-class aircraft carriers could handle the same types of aircraft at lower cost. Some admirals also feared that ifRoosevelt were retained, theCarter Administration would use her reactivation as a reason to cancel futureNimitz-class carriers.[1]
On 1 April 1978, the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service sold the ship to River Terminal Development Company for $2.1 million. After usable equipment was removed fromRoosevelt at theNorfolk Naval Shipyard's Inactive Ships Facility, the carrier was towed toKearny, New Jersey. She arrived on 3 May 1978 and was scrapped that year.[1] One of USSFranklin D. Roosevelt's5"/54cal Mk.16 guns is on display atWhite Sands Missile Range Missile Park.
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While the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is retroactive to 15 August 1974, the USSFranklin D. Roosevelt was scrapped before the award was ever established and would have had to still be in active service to have received the award.
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This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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