Between 1947 and 1955, fifteen Essex and Ticonderoga class aircraft carriers were thoroughly modernized. The impending arrival of high-performance jet aircraft and nuclear-armed heavy attack bombers had rendered these still rather new ships almost incapable of executing their most vital missions, while the post-World War II financial climate precluded building replacements. Accordingly, a reconstruction program began in Fiscal Year 1948, with the incomplete Oriskany as the prototype. Two more ships were converted the next year, three in FY 1950 and then, with the the Cold War in full bloom, nine more Fiscal Years 1951 to 1953.
Designated SCB-27, the modernization was very extensive, requiring some two years for each carrier. To handle much heavier, faster aircraft, flight deck structure was massively reinforced. Stronger elevators, much more powerful catapults, and new arresting gear was installed. The original four twin 5"/38 gun mounts were removed. The new five-inch gun battery consisted of eight weapons, two on each quarter beside the flight deck. Twin 3"/50 gun mounts replaced the 40mm guns, offering much greater effectiveness through the use of proximity-fuzed ammunition.
A distinctive new feature was a taller, shorter island. To better protect aircrews, ready rooms were moved to below the armored hangar deck, with a large escalator on the starboard side amidships to move airmen up to the flight deck. Internally, aviation gasoline storage was increased by nearly half and its pumping capacity enhanced. Also improved were electrical generating power, fire protection, and weapons stowage and handling facilities. All this added considerable weight: displacement increased by some twenty percent. Blisters were fitted to the hull sides to compensate, widening waterline beam by eight to ten feet. The ships also sat lower in the water, and maximum speed was slightly diminished.
The modernized ships came in two flavors, the first nine (SCB-27A) having a pair of H 8 hydraulic catapults, the most powerful available in the late '40s. The final six received the SCB-27C update, with much more potent steam catapults, one of two early 1950s British developments that greatly improved aircraft carrier potential. These six were somewhat heavier, and wider, than their sisters. While still in the shipyards, three of the SCB-27Cs were further modified under the SCB-125 project, receiving the second British concept, the angled flight deck, plus an enclosed "hurricane bow" and other improvements. These features were so valuable that they were soon back-fitted to all but one (Lake Champlain) of the other SCB-27 ships. The fourteen fully modernized units were the "journeymen" aviation ships of the late 1950s and 1960s, providing the Navy with much of its attack aircraft carrier (CVA) force and, ultimately, all its anti-submarine warfare support aircraft carriers (CVS).
The SCB-27 program involved rebuilding fifteen ships,
three of which were given a combined SCB-27 and SCB-125
modernization. The reconstructed ships are listed below, in the
order of completion:
Essex/Ticonderoga class characteristics, as
modified under project SCB-27A:
This page features limited pictorial coverage of Essex/Ticonderoga class aircraft carriers modernized under the SCB-27 program, with links to pages concerning individual ships.
For views of the unmodified Essex and Ticonderoga
classes and the later SCB-125 modification of the design, see:
For coverage of other classes of U.S. Navy fleet aircraft carriers, see: Fleet Aircraft Carriers -- Overview and Special Image Selection.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 97408 USS Oriskany (CV-34) Off New York City, 6 December 1950, while en route to conduct carrier qualifications off Jacksonville, Florida. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 100KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97270 USS Essex (CVA-9) Underway during her first Korean War deployment, circa August 1951-March 1952. Two F2H-2 "Banshees" of Fighter Squadron 172 (VF-172) are flying by in the foreground, preparing to land. Nearest plane is Bureau # 124954. The other is probably Bu # 124969. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 109KB; 740 x 545 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-K-17108 (Color) USS Hornet (CVA-12) En route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 10 January 1954, during shakedown following completion of her SCB-27A modernization. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 600 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 97412 USS Oriskany (CVA-34) One of a series of photographs "taken by a Navy F2H-2P 'Banshee' as it followed another 'Banshee' in for a carrier landing on the USS Oriskany (CVA-34), somewhere off the coast of San Francisco, California. The photo plane was equipped with a forward firing aerial mapping and reconnaissance camera installed in its nose. The camera was a type K-48 aerial camera with a 24-inch lens, a red A-25 filter, 1/200 second exposure, an exposure interval of two (2) seconds, and film size of 9x18 inches. The speed of the aircraft during approach is approximately 110 knots." (quoted from the original caption released with this image) Photograph was taken on 8 February 1955. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 92KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97436 USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39) Anchored at Cannes, France, on 17 June 1957, during her final deployment as an attack aircraft carrier. Among the planes on her flight deck are three large AJ "Savage" attack aircraft. Photographed by PH2 J.R. Sholar. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 137KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97439 USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) Anchored at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, while making a liberty call after exhaustive anti-submarine warfare exercises in the Caribbean. Presence of Sikorski HSS/SH-34 helicopters on her flight deck indicates that the photo was taken during the early 1960s. The original print was received by "All Hands" magazine on 23 April 1965. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 98KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 97438 USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) Underway while conducting anti-submarine exercises in the western Atlantic, circa early 1965. The original print was received by "All Hands" magazine on 23 April 1965. Note flight deck markings on this ship, the last axial-deck fixed-wing aircraft carrier in U.S. Navy service. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 124KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-K-20593 (Color) USS Intrepid (CVA-11) Prepares to launch a McDonnell F2H-2 "Banshee" jet fighter from the starboard catapult, June 1956. Note details of the carrier's island, including radar antennas. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 93KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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For more views of Essex/Ticonderoga class
carriers that were completed in the SCB-27 configuration, see:
In addition, Lexington (CVA-16), Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31); and Shangri-La (CVA-38) were completed in a combined SCB-27C and SCB-125 configuration.
For views of the unmodified Essex and Ticonderoga
classes and the later SCB-125 modification of the design, see:
For coverage of other classes of U.S. Navy fleet aircraft carriers, see: Fleet Aircraft Carriers -- Overview and Special Image Selection.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 8 October 2001