CVA-34: displacement: 27,100 tons; length: 888 feet; beam: 147'6" (ew); draft: 31 feet; speed: 33 knots; complement: 3,460 crew; armament: 8 5-inch guns, 14 3-inch guns, 80 aircraft; class: Oriskany

 

Oriskany (CVA-34), an attack aircraft carrier, was laid down on 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard, launched on 13 October 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. While still incomplete, her construction was suspended on 12 August 1947. She remained in a state of preservation until after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950, then was rushed to completion. She was commissioned at the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 September 1950, with Captain Percy H. Lyon in command.

Oriskany departed New York on 6 December 1950 for carrier qualification operations off Jacksonville, Fla., followed by a Christmas call at Newport, R.I. She resumed operations off Jacksonville through 11 January 1951, when she embarked Carrier Air Group 1 for shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

After major modifications at New York Naval Shipyard from 6 March through 2 April, she embarked Carrier Air Group 4 for training off Jacksonville, then departed Newport on 15 May 1951 for a Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet.

For the next few months, she added her far-reaching air arm to the strength of the 6th Fleet, the silent, flexible, and controlling weapon of deterrence to overt Soviet aggression in the Mediterranean and the Near East. The mobile 7th Fleet was deeply committed to a shooting war to help restore the independence and freedom of South Korea. Oriskany was part of the affirmative answer to the crucial question of whether the Korean War would affect the Navy's ability to maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean.

Having swept from ports of Italy and France to those of Greece and Turkey, thence to the shores of Tripoli, Oriskany returned to Quonset Point, R.I., on 4 October 1951. She entered Gravesend Bay, New York, on 6 November 1951 to offload ammunition and to have her masts removed to allow passage under the East River Bridges to the New York Naval Shipyard. Overhaul included the installation of a new flight deck, steering system, and bridge. Work was completed by 15 May 1952, and the carrier steamed the next day to take on ammunition at Norfolk from 19-22 May. She then got underway to join the Pacific Fleet, steaming via Guantanamo Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn, Valparaiso, and Lima, arriving in San Diego, Calif., on 21 July.

Following carrier qualifications for Air Group 102, Oriskany departed San Diego on 15 September 1952 to aid UN forces in Korea. She arrived at Yokosuka on 17 October and joined the Fast Carrier Task Force 77 off the Korean Coast on 31 October. Her aircraft struck hard with bombing and strafing attacks against enemy supply lines and coordinated bombing missions with surface gun strikes along the coast. Her pilots downed two Soviet-built MiG-15 jets and damaged a third on 18 November.

Strikes continued through 11 February, heaping destruction upon enemy artillery positions, troop emplacements, and supply dumps along the main battle front. Following a brief upkeep period in Japan, Oriskany returned to combat on 1 March 1953. She continued in action until 29 March, called at Hong Kong, then resumed air strikes on 8 April. She departed the Korean Coast on 22 April, touched at Yokosuka, and then departed for San Diego on 2 May, arriving there on 18 May.

Following readiness training along the California coast, Oriskany departed San Francisco on 14 September to aid the 7th Fleet watching over the uneasy truce in Korea, arriving at Yokosuka on 15 October. Thereafter she cruised the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the area of the Philippines. After providing air support for Marine amphibious assault exercises at Iwo Jima, the carrier returned to San Diego on 22 April 1954. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard for a modernization overhaul completed on 22 October, when she stood out to sea for the first of a series of coastal operations.

Oriskany arrived at Yokosuka from San Francisco on 2 April 1955 and operated with the Fast Carrier Task Force ranging from Japan and Okinawa to the Philippines. This deployment ended on 7 September, and the carrier arrived at Alameda, Calif., on 21 September.

The attack carrier cruised the California Coast while qualifying pilots of Air Group 9, then put to sea from Alameda on 11 February 1956 for another rigorous Westpac deployment. She returned to San Francisco on 13 June and entered the shipyard for overhaul on 1 October. She decommissioned there on 2 January 1957 for modernization work that included a new angled flight deck and enclosed hurricane bow. New, powerful steam catapults were installed by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash.

Oriskany recommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 7 March 1959, Capt. James Mahan Wright in command. Four days later, she departed for shakedown out of San Diego with Carrier Air Group 14 embarked. Operations along the west coast continued until 14 May 1960, when she again deployed to Westpac, returning to San Diego on 15 December. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 30 March 1961 for a five-month overhaul that included the first aircraft carrier installation of the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS).

Oriskany departed the shipyard on 9 September for underway training out of San Diego until 7 June 1962 when she again deployed to the Far East with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She returned to San Diego on 17 December 1962 for operational readiness training off the west coast.

The carrier again stood out of San Diego on 1 August 1963 for Far Eastern waters, with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She arrived at Subic Bay on 31 August 1963; thence to Japan. She stood out of Iwakuni, Japan, the morning of 31 October en route to the coast of South Vietnam. There she stood by for any eventuality as word was received of the coup d'etat taking place in Saigon. When the crisis abated, the carrier resumed operations from Japanese ports.

Oriskany returned to San Diego on 10 March 1964. After overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, she steamed for refresher training out of San Diego, followed by qualifications for Carrier Wing 16. During this period, her flight deck was used to test the E-2A "Hawkeye," the Navy's new airborne early warning aircraft. She also provided orientation to senior officers of eight allied nations.

Oriskany departed San Diego on 5 April 1965 for Westpac, arriving at Subic Bay on 27 April. By this time, more United States troops had landed in South Vietnam to support Vietnamese troops against increased Viet Cong pressure to destroy the independence of that nation. Oriskany added her weight to the massive American naval strength supporting the freedom of South Vietnam. In combat operations that brought her and embarked Carrier Wing 16 the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service between 10 May and 6 December 1965, she carried out over 12,000 combat sorties and delivered nearly 10,000 tons of ordnance against enemy forces. She departed Subic Bay on 30 November and returned to San Diego on 16 December.

Oriskany again stood out of San Diego for the Far East on 26 May 1966, arriving at Yokosuka on 14 June. She steamed for "Dixie Station" off South Vietnam on 27 June. Wearisome days and nights of combat shifted to "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin on 8 July. In the following months, there were brief respites for replenishment in Subic Bay, then back into the action that saw her launch 7,794 combat sorties.

The carrier was on station the morning of 27 October 1966 when a fire erupted on the starboard side of the ship's forward hangar bay and raced through five decks, claiming the lives of 44 men. Many who lost their lives were veteran combat pilots who had flown raids over Vietnam a few hours earlier. Oriskany had been put in danger when a magnesium parachute flare exploded in the forward flare locker of Hangar Bay 1 beneath the carrier's flight deck. Her crewmen performed fantastic feats in jettisoning heavy bombs which lay within reach of the flames. Other men wheeled planes out of danger, rescued pilots, and helped quell the blaze through three hours of prompt and daring actions. Medical assistance was rushed to the carrier from sister aircraft carriers Constellation and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Oriskany steamed to Subic Bay on 28 October, where victims of the fire were transferred to waiting aircraft for transportation to the United States. A week later the carrier departed for San Diego, arriving 16 November. San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard completed repairs on 23 March 1967, and Oriskany, with Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked, underwent training. She then stood out of San Francisco Bay on 16 June to take station in waters off Vietnam. Designated flagship of Carrier Division 9 in Subic Bay on 9 July, she commenced "YankeeStation" operations on 14 July. While on the line 26 July she provided medical assistance to the fire-ravaged attack carrier Forrestal.

 

Oriskany returned to the Naval Air Station pier at Alameda, California, on 31 January 1968 and entered San Francisco Bay Naomi Shipyard on 7 February for an eight-month overhaul. Upon completion of work, the carrier underwent refresher training and flight qualifications before deploying to the Far East in April 1969. Into 1970, she continued to serve her nation in the Pacific.

 

Oriskany received two battle stars for Korean Service and five for Vietnamese service.