Twenty-four Essex-class aircraft carriers were built for the U.S. Navy during World War II, and only two did not continue their service during the Cold War. One of those was the USS Franklin (CV-13).

On March 18, 1945, the Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate took its maiden flight, showcasing its potential as a powerful carrier-based torpedo bomber. Designed for the U.S. Navy's planned Midway and ...

Last week two more powerful Essex-class carriers, the Bennington and the Shangri-La, were launched from East Coast shipyards. When they join the fleet, at least eleven of these 27,000-ton flattops ...

Kaiser secured a contract to build 50 carriers over the course of a year—a seemingly impossible feat. Kaiser’s 500-foot-long CVEs would be just over half the length of the Essex-class fleet ...

Intrepid was one of 24 Essex-class carriers cranked out in East Coast shipyards during World War II. Barely slim enough to squeeze through the Panama Canal, each carried up to 100 airplanes and ...