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USS Oriskany
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USS Oriskany
USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34) (/ɔːrˈɪskəniː/ or /əˈrɪskəniː/) was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War.
The history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" Essex-class ship (considered by some authorities to be a separate class, the Ticonderoga class), she was not completed and construction was suspended in 1946 after the end of World War II. She eventually was converted to an updated design called SCB-27 ("27-Charlie") and commissioned in 1950. This updated version became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships. Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed.
She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and 10 for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966, one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; 44 men died in the fire.
Oriskany's post-service history also differs considerably from those of her sister ships. Decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done. In 2004, the Navy decided to sink her to create an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, the ship was carefully sunk in May 2006. She settled in an upright position at a depth accessible to recreational divers. As of June 2026[update], Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk as an artificial reef, a record that is set to be broken by the ocean liner SS United States.
The name "Oriskany" was originally assigned to CV-18, but that hull was renamed Wasp when the keel was laid in 1942. CV-34 was laid down on 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard (NYNSY), launched on 13 October 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. Construction was suspended on 22 August 1946, when the ship was about 85% complete.
Beginning on 8 August 1947, Oriskany was redesigned as the prototype for the SCB-27 modernization program and torn down to 60% complete. To handle the new generation of carrier aircraft, the flight deck structure was massively reinforced. Stronger elevators, more powerful hydraulic catapults, and new arresting gear were installed. The island structure was rebuilt, the antiaircraft turrets were removed, and blisters were added to the hull. Blistering the hull (also known as adding bulges) increases the cross-sectional area of a ship's hull, thereby increasing its buoyancy and stability. It also provides increased bunker volume. In the case of Oriskany, this would have been for aviation fuel. These features would have been crucial to a ship that had so much topside weight added after its original design. Oriskany was commissioned in the NYNSY on 25 September 1950.
Oriskany departed New York on 6 December 1950, for carrier qualification operations off Jacksonville, Florida, followed by a Christmas call at Newport, Rhode Island. She resumed operations off Jacksonville through 11 January 1951, when she embarked Carrier Air Group 1 for shakedown out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
After major modifications at NYNSY from 6 March to 2 April, she embarked Carrier Air Group 4 for training off Jacksonville, then departed Newport on 15 May 1951, for Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet.
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USS Oriskany
USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34) (/ɔːrˈɪskəniː/ or /əˈrɪskəniː/) was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War.
The history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a "long-hulled" Essex-class ship (considered by some authorities to be a separate class, the Ticonderoga class), she was not completed and construction was suspended in 1946 after the end of World War II. She eventually was converted to an updated design called SCB-27 ("27-Charlie") and commissioned in 1950. This updated version became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships. Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed.
She operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and 10 for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966, one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a magnesium flare was accidentally ignited; 44 men died in the fire.
Oriskany's post-service history also differs considerably from those of her sister ships. Decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done. In 2004, the Navy decided to sink her to create an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, the ship was carefully sunk in May 2006. She settled in an upright position at a depth accessible to recreational divers. As of June 2026[update], Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk as an artificial reef, a record that is set to be broken by the ocean liner SS United States.
The name "Oriskany" was originally assigned to CV-18, but that hull was renamed Wasp when the keel was laid in 1942. CV-34 was laid down on 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard (NYNSY), launched on 13 October 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. Construction was suspended on 22 August 1946, when the ship was about 85% complete.
Beginning on 8 August 1947, Oriskany was redesigned as the prototype for the SCB-27 modernization program and torn down to 60% complete. To handle the new generation of carrier aircraft, the flight deck structure was massively reinforced. Stronger elevators, more powerful hydraulic catapults, and new arresting gear were installed. The island structure was rebuilt, the antiaircraft turrets were removed, and blisters were added to the hull. Blistering the hull (also known as adding bulges) increases the cross-sectional area of a ship's hull, thereby increasing its buoyancy and stability. It also provides increased bunker volume. In the case of Oriskany, this would have been for aviation fuel. These features would have been crucial to a ship that had so much topside weight added after its original design. Oriskany was commissioned in the NYNSY on 25 September 1950.
Oriskany departed New York on 6 December 1950, for carrier qualification operations off Jacksonville, Florida, followed by a Christmas call at Newport, Rhode Island. She resumed operations off Jacksonville through 11 January 1951, when she embarked Carrier Air Group 1 for shakedown out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
After major modifications at NYNSY from 6 March to 2 April, she embarked Carrier Air Group 4 for training off Jacksonville, then departed Newport on 15 May 1951, for Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet.
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