Yesterday, I wrote about this light aircraft carrier and President Gerald R. Ford being on it at the time. Thanks to Wikipedia, I did a little more research on it.
USS Monterey CVL-26
Was an Independence Class light aircraft carrier, originally laid down as the light cruiser Dayton CL-78 in 1941, but reclassified as a CVL in 1942 and commissioned in 1943. It was involved in lot of Pacific battles in 1943 and 1944 and was unscathed until it and its Task Force 38, steamed directly into the path of Typhoon Cobra, also known as Halsey's Typhoon.
The storm last two days, from December 17th to 18th and had winds over 100 knots. Task Force 38 consisted of 7 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers, 8 battleships, 15 cruisers and 50 destroyers. Three of the destroyers sank and much damage was done to the other ships.
At the height of the storm, several planes tore loose from cables, causing several fires on the hangar deck. Gerald Ford was almost swept overboard. He volunteered to lead a fire fighting team below deck and fought the flames that threatened the Monterey all night.
GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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