Previous ships called Independence
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USS Independence - The First USN Ship-of-the-Line
This Independence, first ship-of-the-line commissioned in the U.S. Navy, launched June 22, 1814 in the Boston Navy Yard. She immediately took on guns and was stationed with frigate Constitution to protect the approaches to Boston Harbor. Wearing the broad pennant of Commodore Williaua Bainbridge, and under command of Captain William Crane, she led her squadron from Boston July 3, 1815 to deal with piratical acts of the Barbary Powers against American merchant commerce. The Independence was recommissioned three times: 1837, 1849, and 1854. She was a ship that proved to be very durable and was not decommissioned permanently until November 3, 1912. Finally on September 20, 1919, the Independence was burned on the Hunter's Point mud flats to recover her metal fittings. The sturdy veteran of the days of wooden ships and iron men had survived more than a century, 98 years of which were spent serving the U.S. Navy.
USS Independence - 3676
This Independence was a 7898 gross ton freighter and was built at San Francisco, California, in 1918. She was taken over by the Navy soon after completion and placed in commission as USS Independence in mid-November 1918, a few days after the Armistice had ended World War I combat action. In January 1919 the ship made one voyage to England, with a cargo of food. She was decommissioned in March 1919 and returned to the United States Shipping Board. Extensively rebuilt in about 1930, she was the merchant ship City of Norfolk until 1940, when the Navy again acquired her. Converted to a transport, she served until 1946 as the USS Neville.
USS Independence - CV-22
The first aircraft carrier Independence (CV-22) was launched on August 22, 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. Rawleigh Warner; and commissioned January 14, 1943, Captain G. R. Fairlamb, Jr., in command. This Independence was the first of her class as she was converted from a cruiser hull to serve as an Aircraft Carrier. The Independence saw action early on her career during World War II with successful raids on Marcus Island and Wake Island both in 1943. The ship was severely damaged on November 20, 1943 when a Japanese fighter group launched five torpedoes that scored a hit on her starboard quarter. The ship was successful in returning to Funafuti for repairs and returned to full operational status during July of 1944. After her return to the fleet, she took part in the Palaus Operation which lead to the final assault on the Phillipines in October of 1944. Her most important victory was the sinking of the Japanese battleship Musashi along with the destruction of Admiral Ozawa's carrier group during the Battle for Leyte Gulf. The Independence later saw action during the strike on Okinawa and as well as a few final strikes against mainland Japan. Her final mission was to transport veterans back to the United States following the war. After the transport was completed, the Independence was a test vessel for the Bikini Island atomic bomb. The ship was not sunk by the atomic bomb but was finally decommissioned August 28, 1946 and was finally sunk off the coast of California on January 29, 1951.
USS Independence - CV-62
The second aircraft carrier Independence (CVA-62) was launched by New York Navy Yard June 6, 1958; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Gates, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned January 10, 1959; Captain R. Y. McElroy in command. This ship had a conventional power source (meaning that it was not Nuclear Powered as several US ships were during this time period). This Independence served in two wars: The Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. During the Vietnam war she participated in the first major series of coordinated strikes against vital enemy supply lines north of the Hanoi-Haiphong complex, successfully evading the first massive surface-to-air missile barrage in aviation history while attacking assigned targets, and executing, with daring and precision, the first successful attack on an enemy surface-to-air missile installation. During the Persian Gulf War she launched twenty Navy aircraft in the Persian Gulf that were the first coalition aircraft on station over Iraq as Operation Southern Watch began. Southern Watch was the enforcement of a ban on Iraqi warplanes and helicopters from flying south of the 32nd parallel. From June 30, 1995 until her decommissioning, the Independence was the oldest ship in the US Navy's active fleet. She was decommissioned September 30, 1998 in Bremerton Naval Shipyard, Washington.
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