When Task Force 58 burst through the central Pacific in World War II and stayed to fight it out with the kamikazes off Okinawa, it proved the power and durability of seaborne naval aviation. But improvements could be made, soon had to be made. The Enterprise pointed the way to the famous Essex class of 27,000-tonners. They in turn led to the 45,000-ton Midway class. To be able to handle jet aircraft and continue their potent contribution to the Free World’s might, even bigger and better carriers were called for. The Ship Characteristics Board liked the study it saw in 1946 and two years later the 65,000-ton United States was ordered. Never built, because of the postwar cutbacks, that ship’s power was sorely missed in the Korean conflict. Finally, in 1951, the 60,000-ton CVA-59 was ordered. Today she is the Forrestal.
One Forrestal, to quote her first captain, probably packs more punch than a whole World War II task force. Her 70,000-pound A3D Skywarrior compares with the 18,000- pound TBM. Her incredibly powerful steam catapults can launch the massive plane at over 140 knots, and her deck and arresting gear can handle the tenfold greater stresses of the higher landing speeds of twin-jet aircraft. In short, the attack carrier has evolved to make the potentials of today’s best weapons available to the Fleet.
A floating air station, the new attack carrier is 1,039 feet long, 252 feet wide, and steams at over thirty knots. She has four acres of flight deck, four steam catapults, and four deck-edge elevators to handle her normal complement of 100 aircraft. Her hull is divided into 1,240 watertight compartments. By comparison, the thirteen durable Essex-class carriers, all of which survived World War II, had 750 such compartments. Rear Admiral Murr E. Arnold, USN, after a strenuous CarDiv tour with the Forrestal, states she has opened a new era of carrier air operations with tremendously increased combat effectiveness and adds that “the real capabilities of this type have not yet been determined.” His flag captain explains that the continuing introduction of better techniques brings a steady rise in combat effectiveness, highlighting her most vital characteristic—flexibility. Ample space to move planes and equipment speeds servicing. Duplication of essential facilities prevents crippling casualties. Replenishing, refueling, rearming are faster and safer. In Exercise Strikeback an unexpected replenishment operation found the Forrestal rigged and alongside on thirty minutes notice, and 250 tons of cargo brought aboard at night in three hours. On launching courses and speeds, her roll and pitch are of low amplitude; with her hurricane bow, it would take a violent storm indeed to prevent flight operations. Her turning and accelerating ability and precise maneuverability surprise escorts. Her combined fireroom-engineroom layout reduces demands for engineering personnel, and she is big enough to stand the larger spaces without dangerous sacrifice of torpedo resistance. Six ready rooms and ample squadron spaces leave little to be desired. During shakedown, an uncertain time, she made 2,030 landings without scratching a flight deck man, a pilot, or a plane; with earlier carriers you might expect three or four accidents in this period.
At well over 30 knots, she would make a difficult target. With Regulus and Terrier and the missiles of the screen, plus her own fighters, an attack carrier is more hawk than duck. And she can call on some secret countermeasures to deny to the enemy the continuous evaluation which is essential if missile strikes against a mobile fleet are to be effective.
We need Forrestals to exploit today’s Sky- warriors and Crusaders and the brave new planes on the boards. This very “more and heavier” (and faster) capability is precisely the key to greatly increased combat effectiveness. No, the six new CVAs aren’t supercarriers. Maybe that name belongs with the glamorous 75,000-ton nuclear carrier laid down in February, with its spectacular increase in mobility, its wrap-around radar of vastly greater range, its doubled aviation fuel capacity, its ability to button up airtight against the elements and lethal ABC vapors. But today’s attack carriers are startlingly effective ships that can do everything better than their predecessors, and will keep our Navy combat-ready during the years ahead even after the intercontinental robots are operational. The carriers and other mobile striking units of the fleet are bases least likely to be outmoded by enemy ballistic missiles. The so-called ultimate weapon is not the ultimate against carriers. On the other hand, the fact that it may be the ultimate weapon against fixed bases enhances the value of our highly mobile carriers.