Survived the war, but not for long
- The USS Saratoga (CV-3) was one of only three pre-war carriers to survive WWII.
She was later sunk as a target in the 1946 Operations Crossroads A-Bomb tests at Bikini
Atoll. She is seen here in a color photo moored at Ford Island at Pearl Harbor in 1942.
(For another photo from a different angle, see the NavSource CV-3 webpage at http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/03.htm).
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
Color photo of USS Hancock
- A Hellcat makes its landing approach on the USS Hancock. 
(Source:"The Hook" magazine, October 1996)
Six carriers in Ulithi harbor - Ulithi atoll, which the Americans occupied in the fall of 1944, was so big it could accomodate the whole American fleet if necessary. Here six carriers steam into the area.
(Source:"Carrier Wars" by Edwin P. Hoyt)
An aircraft carrier of a different
kind - Seaplane tenders were the home-away-from-home for many of the flying boat crews
in the vast Pacific. This color photo shows a Martin PBM-5 Mariner preparing to be hauled
aboard its tender for servicing at Kerama Retto in the summer of 1945. (For a better
picture of a seaplane tender, please visit my "Black Cat PBY Catalina" website).
(Source:"Carrier Air War - In Original WWII Color" by R. Lawson & B. Tillman)
USS Monterey - The light carrier USS Monterey rests at anchor at Ulithi following the Battle of Leyte Gulf and operations in the Phillipine Sea. An Independence-class carrier, Monterey displaced 11,000 tons and carried 45 aircraft.
(Source:"The Naval Air War" by Nathan Miller)
If you would like to see more pictures of aircraft carriers, visit this site: NavSource Photo Archives (carrier index). It has pics of all types of U.S. carriers from CV-1 LANGLEY to the modern supercarriers. Also see my Weblinks page for other aircraft carrier websites.