Displacement: 36,380 tons length: 888 feet beam: 93 feet draft: 28 feet 7 inches speed: 32.7 knots complement: 3,448 crew armament: 12 5-inch guns, 72 40mm guns aircraft: 80 class: Ticonderoga

 

USS Valley Forge (CV-45), funded by the citizens of Philadelphia through a special war bond drive, was laid down on 7 September 1944 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was launched on 18 November 1944, sponsored by Mrs. A. A. Vandegrift, the wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and commissioned on 3 November 1946 under the command of Capt. John W. Harris.

Following her fitting out, the new carrier got underway on 24 January 1947 for shakedown training via Norfolk to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Canal Zone. Completing the cruise on 18 March, she returned to Philadelphia for a post-shakedown overhaul. Valley Forge left Philadelphia on 14 July, headed south, and transited the Panama Canal on 5 August. She arrived at her home port, San Diego, on 14 August and joined the Pacific Fleet. After embarking Air Group 11 and undergoing intensive air and gunnery training in coastal waters, the carrier, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Harold L. Martin, Commander of Task Force 38, got underway for Hawaii on 9 October. The task force spent nearly three months in training operations out of Pearl Harbor before sailing for Australia on 16 January 1948. Following a visit to Sydney, the American warships conducted exercises with units of the Royal Australian Navy and then steamed to Hong Kong.

During a voyage from Hong Kong to Tsingtao, China, orders arrived directing the task force to return home via the Atlantic. The ship continued the round-the-world trip with calls at Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Trincomalee, Ceylon, and Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. After operating for a time in the Persian Gulf, Valley Forge became the largest aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal. She finally arrived at San Diego via the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Panama Canal.

Valley Forge deployed to the Far East, departing the west coast on 1 May 1950. While anchored in Hong Kong harbor on 25 June, the warship received news that North Korean forces had crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. Departing Hong Kong the next day, the carrier steamed to Subic Bay for provisioning and fueling before setting a course for Korea.

The first carrier air strike of the Korean conflict was launched from Valley Forge's flight deck on 3 July 1950. South Korean troops, outnumbered and outgunned, fought desperately against the invading North Korean forces. Waves of Douglas AD Skyraiders and Vought F4U Corsairs struck the North Korean airfield at Pyongyang, while Grumman F9F-2 Panthers flew top cover. Tons of bombs pounded hangars, fuel storages, parked Russian-built aircraft, and railroad marshaling yards. Escorting Panthers downed two Yak-9s and damaged another.

Despite efforts by United Nations forces to interdict the flow of Communist infantry and armor, the North Koreans pushed the defending South Koreans back to a tenuous perimeter around Pusan. On 18 September 1950, the American landing at Inchon outflanked the Communist forces, allowing United Nations forces to break out from the Pusan perimeter.

During this period, Valley Forge's Air Group 5 conducted numerous strikes against North Korean targets. Troop concentrations, defensive positions, and supply and communications lines were repeatedly targeted by Skyraiders and Corsairs. Over 5,000 combat sorties delivered 2,000 tons of bombs and rockets between 3 July and 19 November 1950.

Valley Forge returned to San Diego for overhaul, arriving on 1 December 1950, only to be urgently redeployed to Korea. The ship embarked a new air group, replenished, and sailed on 6 December for the Far East. Rejoining Task Force 77 three days before Christmas, Valley Forge recommenced air strikes on 23 December, launching 2,580 sorties and delivering 1,500 tons of bombs during her second deployment.

On 11 December 1951, Valley Forge launched her first air strikes in railway interdiction. Rockets, cannon fire, and bombs hammered North Korean railway targets, severing Communist rail lines in over 5,346 places by June.

Valley Forge returned to the United States in the summer of 1952 but was again deployed to the Far East late in the year. Reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA-45) on 1 October 1952, she began the new year with strikes against Communist supply dumps and troop billeting areas on 2 January 1953. Her aircraft, including propeller-driven Skyraiders and Corsairs, delivered tons of bombs, while jet Panthers conducted flak-suppression missions. This teamwork allowed regular strikes against Korea's eastern coastlines and close-support missions. Valley Forge air groups dropped 3,700 tons of bombs on the enemy before returning to San Diego on 25 June 1953.

After a west coast overhaul, Valley Forge was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and reclassified as an antisubmarine warfare support carrier (CVS-45). She was refitted at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and rejoined the fleet in January 1954. Conducting local operations and antisubmarine warfare exercises, Valley Forge operated off the east coast through late 1956, including midshipman and reservist training cruises and visits to the Caribbean.

In 1957, Valley Forge accomplished a naval "first" by embarking a Marine detachment and HR2S-1 Mojave helicopters, experimenting with "vertical envelopment" during a ship-based air assault exercise. Rear Admiral John S. Thach, the pilot who devised the "Thach Weave" fighter tactic, became the ship's commander on 1 April 1958. Task Group Alpha, built around Valley Forge, included destroyers, submarines, and antisubmarine aircraft, focusing on countering enemy submarines.

Valley Forge remained engaged in operations with TG Alpha until fall 1959 when she entered the New York Naval Shipyard for repairs. She returned to sea on 21 January 1960 for maneuvers in the Caribbean. During Operation Skyhook, the carrier launched balloons for measuring cosmic ray emissions.

After a deployment in the eastern Mediterranean, Valley Forge resumed local operations in Norfolk on 30 August 1960. She continued antisubmarine exercises and participated in Project Mercury operations, retrieving a space capsule in December 1960. The carrier also responded to an SOS from SS Pine Ridge, rescuing 28 survivors from the tanker in a storm off Cape Hatteras.

Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 6 March 1961 for overhaul and modification to an amphibious assault ship, Valley Forge was reclassified as LPH-8 on 1 July 1961. Following refresher training in the Caribbean, she trained in the Virginia Capes area with newly embarked troop-carrying helicopters. As part of the Atlantic Fleet's ready amphibious force, Valley Forge stood by to evacuate American nationals from the Dominican Republic during the power struggle following Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo's assassination.

Sailing from Norfolk on 6 January 1962, Valley Forge was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. After three months of training off the west coast, she deployed to the Far East with the 7th Fleet. The ship airlifted Marines into Laos on 17 May 1962 in response to the Communist Pathet Lao assault on the Royal Laotian Government. The Marines were withdrawn in July, and the ship operated in the Far East before returning to the west coast in early 1963.

Valley Forge underwent a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, completed on 27 January 1964. She conducted local operations and training before deploying to the Western Pacific. The ship participated in SEATO exercises and was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" in July 1964.

During the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, Valley Forge remained on station off Vietnam, ready to land her Marines. She returned to Long Beach on 5 November, made two round-trip voyages to Okinawa, and deployed to the South China Sea in the fall of 1965. In early 1966, she took part in Operation Double Eagle, providing logistic and medical support for Marines ashore.

Valley Forge returned to the west coast for overhaul and local training, deploying again to WestPac in November 1967. She participated in Operation Fortress Ridge and Operation Beaver Tooth in late 1967 and early 1968, providing resupply and MedEvac support. The ship continued operations off Dong Hoi, took part in Operation Badger Catch, and served as "Hero Haven" for Marine helicopter units.

Returning to the United States on 3 August 1968, Valley Forge underwent an overhaul and conducted training before deploying to WestPac in January 1969. The ship operated off Danang, supporting Operation Defiant Measure and Operation Brave Armada. She returned to Long Beach on 22 September 1969 and was decommissioned on 16 January 1970. After efforts to preserve her as a museum failed, Valley Forge was sold for scrap on 29 October 1971.