Ships
Essex (CV-9)
Yorktown (CV-10)
Intrepid (CV-11)
Hornet (CV-12)
Franklin (CV-13)
Lexington (CV-16)
Bunker Hill (CV-17)
Wasp (CV-18)
Bennington (CV-20)
Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)
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The Essex class, combined with the nearly identical Ticonderoga class was the primary aircraft carrier class constructed by the USN in World War II. With the first ship of the class commissioned on the last day of 1942, the Essex class was commissioned to relieve the Enterprise and Saratoga, who were at the time the only carriers in service in the Pacific. The Essex class would continue to serve many years after WWII, with the Lexington not being decommissioned until 1991. Four are now museums, and the rest have been scrapped.
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