By Captain Lawrence B. Brennan, U.S. Navy (Ret.) - New Jersey ...

Lawrence B. Brennan NJ-Built Aircraft Carriers Page 23
Lawrence Brennan ~ NJ-BUILT FAST AIR CRAFT CARRIERS – Part II
Independence next sailed from Pearl Harbor for Espiritu Santo (New Hebrides) on
October 21. During an ensuing carrier attack on Rabaul (Papua New Guinea) on November 11,
the ship's gunners scored their first kills—six Japanese planes shot down. After this operation
the carrier refueled at Espiritu Santo and headed for the Gilberts and pre-invasion strikes on
Tarawa (Gilbert Islands) on November 18-20, 1943. During a Japanese counterattack on
November 20, Independence was attacked by a group of planes low on the water. Six were shot
down, but the aircraft managed to launch at least five torpedoes, one of which struck the carrier's
starboard quarter. Seriously damaged, the ship steamed to Funafuti (Ellice Islands) on
November 23 for repairs. With the first step on the mid-Pacific road to Japan underway,
Independence returned to San Francisco on January 2, 1944 for more permanent repairs.
Fig. 21: A rubber stamp (Locy Type 3z) postmark dated 25 June 1944 on a Number 10 cover free-franked
with USS Independence's return address at FPO San Francisco, Calif., handwritten by a sailor in the
upper left corner. The sailor was in the Air Department, V-2 Division. The cover bears a rubber stamp
censor's mark in the lower left corner with the initials "WES" written in black ink. The postmark is rated
"B" in the Postmark Catalog.
More than half a year later she returned to Pearl Harbor on July 3, 1944. During her
repairs, the ship was fitted with an additional catapult, and upon arrival in Hawaiian waters,
Independence began training for night carrier operations. She continued this pioneering work
out of Eniwetok until August 24-29. The ship sailed with a large task group on August 29 to
take part in the Palaus operation, aimed at securing bases for the final assault on the Philippines
in October. Independence provided night reconnaissance and night combat air patrol.
In September the fast carrier task force regularly pounded the Philippines in preparation
for the invasion. When no Japanese counterattacks developed, Independence shifted to regular
daytime operations, striking targets on Luzon. Admiral Halsey had recommended to the
Combined Chiefs of Staff a major acceleration of the offensive because of the lack of Japanese
defenses. Perhaps this was his greatest strategic contribution of the war.
Vol. 36/No. 4
215
NJPH
Whole No. 172 November 2008
Published by the New Jersey Postal History Society
Originally published in the pages of NJPH