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I’ve posted this in a previous thread about carriers at risk. We lost six carriers to enemy action {sank} in WW2. The Langley, Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp, Hornet, and Princeton. The threat was always there and always will be. The more modern systems built by enemies to sink one the more modern system we should build to detect and counter. The Pentagon needs to get on the ball about defense programs.

We also need to look at why we lost them, and see what lessons were learned. When push comes to shove, only Wasp (a small carrier unsuited to the fight in the Pacific) and Princeton (a light cruiser with a flight deck popped on top) were "real" battle losses. And Wasp was a case of bad luck, wrong place/wrong time situation.

Langley wasn't a carrier. She was a 15-knot coal transport that had 1/2 a flightdeck and was being used as a seaplane tender. She had no ability to provide fighter protection for herself, and was very lightly escorted when sunk.

Lexington was killed by poor damage control tactics. After being hit the CO decided to ventilate the ship. This also pumped high-octane AvGas fumed throughout the ship, which exploded at the first opportunity.

Yorktown was killed by poor damage control tactics. She was abandoned too early, and when determined that she wasn't about to sink and re-boarded there wasn't enough time to patch the damage and get her underway before she was hit by torpedoes from a Japanese sub.

Hornet was killed by poor damage control tactics. Similar to Yorktown, a quicker and better effort to save her would've succeeded. The USN actually failed in their attempt to scuttle her and the job had to be done by the Japanese.

Those lessons-learned resulted in numerous "saves" later in the war. Franklin and Bunker Hill certainly sustained more damage than Lexington, Yorktown and Hornet did. Saratoga took hits more damaging than those that sunk her sister, Lex.

The ability of well-escorted modern US supercarrier to survive hits is beyond impressive. They're not unsinkable, but it's going to take a LOT to put them down. The damage sustained by Forrestal and Enterprise (flight-deck ordinance mishaps) during Vietnam speaks to this. Their ability to avoid hits, even nuclear ones (the results of the Bikini Able and Baker tests showed that it would take a near-direct hit to sink capital ships), is equally impressive.

Yorktown was killed by poor damage control tactics. She was abandoned too early, and when determined that she wasn't about to sink and re-boarded there wasn't enough time to patch the damage and get her underway before she was hit by torpedoes from a Japanese sub.

That's just plain false.

First, Yorktown survived survived 3 heavy bomb hits and was saved and returned to action due to excellent damage control. She launched strike and CAP aircraft after the damage was repaired. Second, she received two aerial torpedo hits, starting fires and a severe list. Although excellent damage control efforts put out the fires, the list became severe, and she was ordered abandoned. A repair party re-boarded, and corrected the list sufficiently that she could be taken under tow. While under tow and being repaired, she was attacked a third time, by IJN submarine ... two torpedo hits, plus concussion from USS Hammann's depth charges (Hammann was sunk by the same sub) re-started the list, leading to Yorktown capsizing and sinking.

Yes, Yorktown was sunk by enemy action ... in spite of heroic and highly effective damage control efforts.

The ability of well-escorted modern US supercarrier to survive hits is beyond impressive. They're not unsinkable, but it's going to take a LOT to put them down. The damage sustained by Forrestal and Enterprise (flight-deck ordinance mishaps) during Vietnam speaks to this. Their ability to avoid hits, even nuclear ones (the results of the Bikini Able and Baker tests showed that it would take a near-direct hit to sink capital ships), is equally impressive.

There was one more fire in that era. Big O caused by a flare I think. About equal to these other two fires. My point though was in war you expect loss. You try to limit it but loss happens.

The Damage Control lessons of WW2 era brought us the first Super Carrier Class Forestall. Forestall had a super carrier hull and flight-deck but was the last carrier built with a 600 PSI Propulsion Plant. Saratoga the second in Forestall class was the first 1200 PSI system. The next generation the Kitty Hawks were even tougher. The Navy did actually put a KH class into a deliberate conventional attack scenario to obtain Damage Control data for the newest FORD class carrier. The carrier was the America CV 66. It took days to sink it with the final act done by pre placed charges put there for just the final scuttling when it finally gave it up and went down fast.

When I was in we practiced for all types of attack Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, as well as conventional.

We still need to keep the carriers. We also need to build at least two conventional plant carriers and many more subs. Carriers are the only way you can move nearly 80 planes with full support to an area in the quickest amount of time. The only thing not with the carrier is an inflight tanker.

True Langley {former USS JUPITER} wasn't originally built as a carrier but it was the first ship designated as a CV.