BELLEAU WOOD CVL 24

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Cleveland Class Light Cruiser/Independence Class Light Aircraft Carrier
Ordered September 9 1940 and authorized as NEW HAVEN CL-76
Keel Laid August 11 1941
Designated for completion as Aircraft Carrier (CV) February 16 1942
Reordered from New York Shipbuilding March 18 1942
Renamed March 31 1942
Launched December 6 1942


1. USS BELLEAU WOOD CV-24
   Commissioned March 31 1943
   
   
2. USS BELLEAU WOOD CVL-24
   Reclassified Small Aircraft Carrier (CVL) July 15 1943
   Decommissioned January 13 1947
   
   
3. BOIS BELLEAU R-97 (French Naval Service)
   Transferred to France September 5 1953 and renamed
   Returned to U.S. Navy September 12 1960
   
   Struck from Naval Register October 1 1960
   Sold November 21 1960 to The Boston Metals Co. for scrap

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Belleau Wood CV/CVL-24 Covers Page 1     (1942-45)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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Post Office Established April 10 1943 - Disestablished February 14 1946

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1946-01-15

As CVL-24

 

Locy Type 2z*

1943-05-29

As CV-24
Sailor's Mail

 

Locy Type 2z*

1943-06-22

As CV-24
Official Business

 

Locy Type 2z*

1943-12-16

As CVL-24
Sailor's Mail

 

Locy Type 7z*

1945-01-26

As CVL-24
Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type P Oct 27, 1945 USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. B-79

1945-10-27

As CVL-24
Navy Day.

 

Other Information

USS BELLEAU WOOD earned the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 12 battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ "Asia" clasp, the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Named after Bois Belleau (Belleau Wood), near Chateau Thierry, France, scene of a bloody WWI battle between the 4th Marine Brigade and elements of three German divisions.

Two ships of the US Navy have honored this battle - USS Belleau Wood CVL-24 and USS Belleau Wood LHA-3.

 

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