Pacific ships

Photos and the story

Belleau Wood

Back to Belleau Wood

ClassIndependence class
TypeLight carrier (CVL)
HullCVL-24
FateAfloat. Not sunk. Survived the war.
Armament (class)Light carrier converted from a cruiser hull. Flight deck and an island.
Command

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

Belleau Wood
Aerial view of the U.S. Navy light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) underway on 22 December 1943. Public domain.

USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) was an Independence-class light aircraft carrier of the United States Navy.

Captain William Gosnell Tomlinson took command on 26 January 1945. He remained her commanding officer until he was relieved on 15 December 1945. On 1 April 1945, Belleau Wood was off Okinawa with the fast carriers. She survived that service and survived the war. The carrier came through still afloat.

The name Belleau Wood was later given to another United States ship, the amphibious assault ship LHA-3, a separate hull from CVL-24.

The pictures on this page are the originals.