The ''Saipan''-class aircraft carriers were a class of two light carriers and built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Like the nine light carriers, they were based on cruiser hulls. However, they differed from the earlier light carriers in that they were built from the keel up as carriers, and were based on heavy rather than light cruiser hulls. Completed too late for the war, they served as carriers until the mid-1950s, then were converted into a

command ship Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities. An auxiliary command ship features ...

(''Wright'') and a major communications relay ship (''Saipan'') in the late 1950s, and served in those roles until 1970. They were both scrapped in 1980.

Origins and design

Intended to offset expected wartime losses of the smaller light carriers, the two ships of the ''Saipan'' class were designed from the keel up as aircraft carriers, with many improvements based on experience with the ''Independence'' class. The ''Saipan'' class was based on the hull and machinery of the 13,600-ton

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...

hull rather than the smaller

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

upon which the ''Independence'' class was built, allowing better seakeeping, improved hull subdivision, enhanced protection, greater magazine volume, a stronger flight deck, an expanded air group and a slightly higher speed than in the ''Independence'' class. Compared to their cruiser half-sisters, they were eight feet wider in beam to accommodate the size and weight of the hangar and flight deck.

Service

They had very brief service lives as light carriers, serving respectively from 1946 to 1957 () and 1947 to 1956 (). As carriers, they were swiftly outdated by the deckspace-eating jet aircraft of the 1950s, and quickly rendered far too small in a military environment where the -long s were increasingly seen as cramped and small. The two ships were seen as valuable hulls, however, with a large void space within the ship that could easily be translated to other use. They were converted for non-carrier duties in the late 1950s, ''Saipan'' as the communications relay ship USS ''Arlington'' and ''Wright'' as a command ship. In these capacities the two ships served until being decommissioned in 1970 and scrapped in 1980.

Ships in class

References

{{WWII US ships Light aircraft carrier classes Saipan class aircraft carrier Saipan class aircraft carrier Saipan class aircraft carrier Saipan class aircraft carrier Saipan class escort carrier