[pfflier]

here is a reason that navy yards cranked out smaller carriers toward the end of World War II and didn't replace the big ones like the Lexington, Yorktown and Hornet which were sunk in combat.

The Essex Class was larger than the Yorktown class and there were 14 that served in WWII. They were smaller than the Lexington class (Lex and Saratoga) but those two ships were built on converted cruiser hulls and were not purpose built carriers from the keel up.

I believe the U.S.S. Enterprise was the only big carrier that survived the entire war.

All of the Essex class carriers survived the war. The USS Saratoga survived the war and was later sunk during the bikini atomic tests..

[brianr10]

Many were modernized and used in Vietnam.

[Vigilanteman]

The U.S.S. Saratoga (CV-3) did not technically survive the war as a combat vessel. She was badly damaged by Kamikaze attacks during the Battle of Iwo Jima, towed back to the west coast and converted into a training vessel and troop transport.

I also did not count the U.S.S. Ranger (CV-4) as its combat vessel service was entirely in the Atlantic, mostly for aircraft transport and anti-submarine warfare duty. While never damaged in combat like its sister Saratoga, it too was called back before the end of the war and converted into a training carrier and transport vessel.

So, yes, technically, the U.S.S. Enterprise was the only big combat carrier that survived the war. The other two were converted before the war's end. Survive they did, but not as combat vessels.