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

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Lawrence B. Brennan NJ-Built Aircraft Carriers Page 34 NJ-BUILT FAST AIR CRAFT CARRIERS – Part II ~ Lawrence Brennan USS BELLEAU WOOD (CV-24) (CVL-24) 1943-1947 The Cleveland-class light cruiser, New Haven (CL-76) was reclassified CV-24 and renamed Belleau Wood on February 16, 1942. Belleau Wood 19 was launched on December 6, 1942; commissioned on March 31, 1943, Captain A. M. Pride, U.S. Navy in command. She became CVL-24 on July 15, 1943, after commissioning when the hull designations were changed for the class. Fig. 38: The launch cover for USS Belleau Wood (CV-24) postmarked at Camden, NJ on December 6, 1942 with a steel machine cancel device, which was struck twice. The cover bears a printed cachet on the left face sponsored by George V. Sadworth, whose name appears in the lower left under the outer ring of anchor chain under the first part of the word "Carrier." The cachet is printed in blue and the wording added in red ink. The ship illustrated inside the concentric circles is not an Independence-class small carrier but probably is a Yorktown- class carrier. It is franked with a purple three cent "Win the War" stamp. After a brief shakedown cruise Belleau Wood reported to the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Pearl Harbor on July 26, 1943. She supported the occupation of Baker Island (September 1) and taking part in the Tarawa (September 18) and Wake Island raids (October 5-6), she joined TF 50 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands (November 19- December 4, 1943). Belleau Wood operated with TF 58 during the seizure of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, Marshall Islands (January 29- February 3, 1944), Truk raid (February 16-17); Saipan-Tinian- Rota-Guam raids (February 21-22); Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raid (March 30-April 1); Sawar and Wakde Island raids in support of the landings at Hollandia, New Guinea (April 22-24); Truk- Satawan-Ponape raid (April 29-May 1); occupation of Saipan (June 11-24), First Bonins raid (June 15-16), Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19-20); and Second Bonins raid (June 24). During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Belleau Wood's planes sank the Japanese carrier Hiyo. NJPH 226 Vol. 36/No. 4 November 2008 Whole No. 172 Published by the New Jersey Postal History Society Originally published in the pages of NJPH
Lawrence B. Brennan NJ-Built Aircraft Carriers Page 35 Lawrence Brennan ~ NJ-BUILT FAST AIR CRAFT CARRIERS – Part II Fig. 39: A cut-down free franked cover with a rubber stamp address for USS Belleau Wood C/o Fleet Post Office New York. The cover is postmarked on June 22, 1943 with the (Locy Type 2z*) postmark in black ink. The postmark is rated "A" in the Postmark Catalog. Fig. 40: USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) underway on December 22, 1943. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center [Photo #: NH 97269] Vol. 36/No. 4 227 NJPH Whole No. 172 November 2008 Published by the New Jersey Postal History Society Originally published in the pages of NJPH
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By Captain Lawrence B. Brennan, U.S. Navy (Ret.) - New Jersey ...

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