 Group of "Mothballed" Essex Class Carriers at Puget Sound Navy Yard |
The U.S.S. Essex CV-9 was decommissioned on Jan. 9, 1947 and was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She
was now part of the "mothball" fleet as was the fate of so many heroic World War II ships. CV 9 would remain at Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton for
the next four years. On September 1, 1948 the Essex was pulled from the reserve fleet and began an extensive overhaul. From 1947 to 1951 the ship received a full modernization. The U.S.S. Essex CV-9 was recommissioned on |
| Jan 16, 1951 and began serving in the Korean conflict. On October 25, 1952 the ship was redesignated as CVA 9 (Attack Aircraft Carrier). During the next three years the Essex served additional tours in the Korean War, and as part of the United Nations peace keeping force in the Far East. In July of 1955 the Essex once again entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to undergo a major conversion. During the next five months an angle deck and an enclosed hurricane bow were some of the modifications. By January of 1956 the redesigned Essex |  U.S.S. Essex CVA 9 - 1952 |
 U.S.S. Essex CVS 9 - 1960  Apollo 7 Astronauts Aboard the Essex |
had rejoined the fleet. The ship would serve throughout the world over the next fourteen years. On March 8, 1960
the Essex was redesignated as a CVS (Anti-Submarine Warfare Carrier). She would have tow additional reconditioning, one in 1960, another in 1962 and
a third in 1966, each extending the ship's service life. The Essex participated in numerous historical events during the 1950s and 1960s: including support for the U.S. Marine landings in Lebanon and the crisis with China over Formosa in 1958, patrol of the Atlantic during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, participation in the blockade of Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis, recovery of Apollo 7 on October 22, 1968. On March 6, 1969 the U.S.S. Essex CVS 9 steamed into Boston Harbor for deactivation. She was formally decommissioned on July 30, 1969. Four year later on June 1, 1973 the Essex was stricken from the Navy's list of ships and sold at auction for scrap. The ship was dismantled in Kearny, New Jersey in 1975. |
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