They weren't scuttled or sunk...not this class...
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Really not sure how to say it better than none were lost to enemy action. Any scuttling by US forces would have been the result of enemy action but let's put it this way. Not one Essex Class carrier was lost due to any reason in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam. Several have been sunk to create artificial reefs after they lived out their useful lives.
Fleet carriers lost were Lexington, Yorktown, Hornet, Wasp. Light carrier Princeton. Escort carriers Bismark Sea, Block Island, Gambier Bay, Liscome Bay, Ommaney Bay, St Lo. Our carrier losses were light compared to other navies and the size of ours. We also lost the Langley which was our first aircraft carrier but by the time it was sunk it had been converted to a seaplane tender.
Click on the link for a detailed report with pics of the damage sustained by the USS Franklin. Click on the blue numbers for the pictures of the damage that ship was very nearly a goner.
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