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The fourth USS ''Independence'' (CVL-22) (also CV-22) was a United States Navy light aircraft carrier, lead ship of her class and served during the Second World War. Converted from the hull of a cruiser, she was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and commissioned in January 1943. She took part in the attacks on Rabaul and Tarawa before being torpedoed by Japanese planes, having to be repaired and refitted in San Francisco from January to July 1944. After repairs, she launched many strikes against targets in Luzon and Okinawa. ''Independence'' was part of the carrier group that sank the remnants of the Japanese Mobile Fleet in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and several other Japanese ships in the Surigao Strait. Until the surrender of Japan, she was assigned to strike duties against targets in the Philippines and Japan. She would finish her operational duty off the coast of Japan supporting occupation forces until being assigned to return American veterans back to the United States as part of Operation Magic Carpet. ''Independence'' was later used for testing during Operation Crossroads. After being transported back to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco for study, she was later sunk near the Farallon Islands. ==Construction and deployment== Begun as light cruiser ''Amsterdam'', CL-59, she was launched as CV-22 on 22 August 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Warner, wife of Rawleigh Warner, Sr, Chairman of Pure Oil Co., and commissioned 14 January 1943, Captain G. R. Fairlamb, Jr., in command. The first of a new class of carriers converted from cruiser hulls, ''Independence'' conducted shakedown training in the Caribbean. She then steamed through the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet, arriving San Francisco 3 July 1943. ''Independence'' got underway for Pearl Harbor 14 July, and after 2 weeks of vital training exercises sailed with carriers ''Essex'' (CV-9) and ''Yorktown'' (CV-10) for a devastating raid on Marcus Island.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Paramount Battles Involving Essex Class Carriers )〕 Planes from the carrier force struck 1 September and destroyed over 70 percent of the installations on the island. The carrier began her next operation, a similar strike against Wake Island 5 to 6 October as CVL-22, having been redesignated 15 July 1943.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Independence (CVL-22)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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