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The US actually had seven aircraft carriers in 1941. The first one, the USS Langley (CV 1), had been made by converting a collier (they looked something like an oil tanker). The Langley had been converted to a seaplane tender in the late 30s.

The next two carriers were made by converting unfinished battlecruiser hulls. These two ships were not permitted to be finished as battlecruisers under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1923. This was an arms control treaty, the hope of which was to limit the ongoing naval building race between nations. Because they had been built as battlecruisers, these two remain the only US carriers ever to have an armored hull. These were the USS Lexington (CV 2) and the USS Saratoga (CV 3).

Nobody was certain how big aircraft carriers should be, and the next one was built small, as an experiment. It turned out not to be much use during the war as a fighting unit of the fleet in ship to ship battles. This was the USS Ranger (CV 4).

The next four were very similar in size and design, and were excellent ships. These were the USS Yorktown (CV 5), USS Enterprise (CV 6), USS Wasp (CV 7) and USS Hornet (CV 8).

All seven of these ships saw extensive service during the war. The Wasp and the Hornet were in the Atlantic at the time of Pearl Harbor, as was the Ranger. The Saratoga took a torpedo from a Japanese sub in February 1942 and was in a shipyard being repaired for months. This left the Yorktown, Enterprise and Lexington to contend with the Japanese, who had eight carriers. The Lexington was the first US carrier sunk, at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. The Yorktown was lost at Midway in June. The Wasp was sunk by a Japanese sub in September 1942, and the Hornet was sunk in October.

The Saratoga and the Enterprise survived the war. The "Sara" was expended as a target in the Operation Crossroads nuclear bomb test at Bikini Atoll in 1947. The Enterprise, the only one of them to have been in every major carrier battle in the Pacific, was cut up for scrap metal. A real shame.

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Q: What are the four us aircraft carriers in 1941?
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Continue Learning about General History

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Submarines and Aircraft Carriers


What ships were the 1941 US Pacific Fleet?

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Even if you exclude the smaller aircraft carriers in World War 2, there were still many more than 5 or 6. The US Navy commissioned 23 aircraft carriers of the Essex class during the war, not to mention others in US service, and those used by the British and Japanese navies.

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Did the pilots during World War 2 that flew off the navy carriers fall under the army air corp or where they navy?

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