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USS Belleau Wood underway
Career
Laid down:	11 August 1941
Launched:	6 December 1942
Commissioned:	31 March 1943
Decommissioned:	13 January 1947
Out of service:	1947 - 1953
Renamed:	Bois Belleau
Status:	sold for scrapping, 1960
General characteristics
Displacement:	11,000
Length:	622.5 ft (189.7 m)
Beam:	109 ft 2 in (33.3 m)
Draft:	26 ft (7.9 m)
Speed:	31.6 knots
Complement:	1,569 officers and men
Armament:	26 × Bofors 40 mm guns

'New Haven' (CL-76), reclassified CV-24 and renamed Belleau Wood on 16 February 1942 and reclassified CVL-24 on 15 July 1943, was a United States Navy Independence class aircraft carrier active during World War II and the First Indochina War under French Navy temporary service as Bois Belleau. Belleau Wood was launched 6 December 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Holcomb, wife of the Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned 31 March 1943, Captain A. M. Pride in command.

After a brief shakedown cruise, Belleau Wood reported to the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Pearl Harbor 26 July 1943. After supporting the occupation of Baker Island (1 September) and taking part in the Tarawa (18 September) and Wake Island (5 October–6 October) raids, she joined TF 50 for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands (19 November–4 December 1943).

Belleau Wood operated with TF 58 during the seizure of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, Marshall Islands (29 January–3 February 1944), Truk raid (16 February–17 February); Saipan-Tinian-Rota-Guam raids (21 February–22 February); Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raid (30 March–1 April); Sawar and Wakde Island raids in support of the landings at Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura), New Guinea (22 April–24 April); Truk-Satawan-Ponape raid (29 April–1 May); occupation of Saipan (11 June–24 June), 1st Bonins raid (15 June–16 June), Battle of the Philippine Sea (19 June–20 June); and 2nd Bonins raid (24 June). During the Battle Of the Philippine Sea, Belleau Wood's planes sank the Japanese carrier Hiyō.

After an overhaul at Pearl Harbor (29 June–31 July 1944) Belleau Wood rejoined TF 58 for the last stages of the occupation of Guam (2 August–10 August). She joined TF 38 and took part in the strikes in support of the occupation of the southern Palaus (6 September–14 October); Philippine Islands raids (9 September–24 September); Morotai landings (15 September); Okinawa raid (10 October); northern Luzon and Formosa raids (11 October–14 October); Luzon strikes (15 October and 17 October–19 October), and the Battle of Cape Engaño (24 October–26 October). On 30 October, while Belleau Wood was patrolling with her task group east of Leyte, she shot down a Japanese suicide plane which fell on her flight deck aft, causing fires which set off ammunition. Before the fire could be brought under control, 92 men had either died or gone missing.

Belleau Wood off Philadelphia Navy Yard, 18 April 1943

Belleau Wood burning after she was hit by a Kamikaze in the Philippines, 30 October 1944

After temporary repairs at Ulithi (2 November–11 November), Belleau Wood steamed to Hunter's Point, Calif., for permanent repairs and an overhaul, arriving 29 November. She departed San Francisco Bay 20 January 1945 and joined TF 58 at Ulithi on 7 February. During 15 February–4 March she took part in the raids on Honshū Island, Japan, and the Nansei Shoto, as well as supporting the landings on Iwo Jima. She also took part in the 5th Fleet strikes against Japan (17 March–26 May) and the 3rd Fleet strikes (27 May–11 June). After embarking Air Group 31 at Leyte (13 June–1 July), she rejoined the 3rd Fleet for the final strikes against the Japanese home islands (10 July–15 August). The last Japanese aircraft shot down in the war was a "Judy" dive bomber which was shot down by Clarence "Bill" A. Moore, an F6F pilot of "The Flying Meat-Axe" VF-31 from USS Belleau Wood.

Belleau Wood launched her planes 2 September for the mass flight over Tokyo, Japan, during the surrender ceremonies. She remained in Japanese waters until 13 October. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 28 October, she departed three days later with 1248 servicemen for San Diego. She remained on "Magic Carpet" duty, returning servicemen from Guam and Saipan to San Diego, until 31 January 1946. During the next year Belleau Wood was moored at various docks in the San Francisco area, undergoing inactivation. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Alameda Naval Air Station 13 January 1947.

Belleau Wood received the Presidential Unit Citation and twelve battle stars during World War II.

She remained in reserve until transferred to France September 5, 1953 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act. Under the name Bois Belleau (literal translation of "Belleau Wood"), the ship served with the French navy until 1960, when she was returned to the United States.

In April 1954, the carrier departed from the Toulon arsenal toward French Indochina in order to replace the Arromanches. She arrived around May 20th in the Halong Bay, by that time the critical battle of Dien Bien Phu was over yet but her US-built fighters and bombers were immediately used by the delta defenders as the war wasn't over. Peace treaty with the Viet Minh was signed on July 21 1954. Then started the Algeria War in French Algeria.

Belleau Wood was stricken from the Navy list on 1 October 1960 and sold for scrapping.

The ship was named in memory of the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood. United States Marines of the Fourth Brigade, American Expeditionary Forces, stopped the last major German offensive of the war. The Marines reportedly fought so ferociously that the Germans respectfully referred to them as Teufelhunden—Devil Dogs—and it was this moniker that became the ship's mascot, and one of the nicknames for US Marines (Devil Dog).

• USS Belleau Wood for other Navy ships of the same name.
• List of aircraft carriers
• List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy
• List of World War II ships

• (French) PA Bois Belleau R97 (USS Belleau Wood in the French Navy)
• Air Group 31 (CAG-31) was the last carrier air group to serve aboard USS Belleau Wood
• USS Belleau Wood at Nine Sisters Light Carrier Historical Documentary Project

• Departute of the Bois Belleau from Toulon (newsreels video)
• Arrival in the French Indochina of the Bois Belleau (newsreels video)

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.