USS Essex was the leadship of the Essex class fleet carriers.

Below is the WWII-veteran aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9) in 1961. The crew is spelling out “Merry Christmas” in Dutch for a port visit to the Netherlands.

USS Essex was the leadship of the Essex class fleet carriers. Perhaps more than any other single warship design, the Essex class was instrumental in the US Navy’s victory in the Pacific theatre of WWII. USS Essex commissioned on 31 December 1942 and participated in the Tinian, Marcus Island, Marianas, Leyte Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa battles of WWII. USS Essex later fought again during the Korean War and participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis; and was the Apollo 7 recovery ship. USS Essex finally decommisisoned in 1973 and was scrapped in 1975.

Like many Essex class carriers, USS Essex was extensively modernized after WWII. 

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