Taking a break from various rabbit trails this week. Let’s meet a shipgirl whose shown up in a number of past events, light aircraft carrier Princeton of the Eagle Union.
USS Princeton (CVL-23) had a short, but interesting history. Originally laid down and planned as the seventh Cleveland-class light cruiser Tallahassee, she would be redesigned as an Independence-class light carrier as part of the sudden need for additional carriers after Pearl Harbor. She would be redesignated to Princeton in March 1942, launched October 1942, and officially commissioned February 1943.
Officially classified as a light carrier, she would normally carry a compliment of forty-five aircraft. For self defense, she carried twenty-two Bofors 40mm guns, and sixteen Oerlikon 20mm cannons for AA work.
She would be the forth naval vessel to carry the name Princeton. Most of her significant operations would be partnered with USS Saratoga. During 1943 and 1944, she would be part of task forces that supported amphibious operations against Kwajalein, Majuro, Eniwetok, islands in the Carolines chain, Guam, Rota, Tinian, Pagan, and Saipan.
During the battle of the Philippine Sea, aircraft from Princeton would tally thirty kills on Japanese aircraft, while her gunners would down three more themselves.
Princeton would meet her end during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. As a part of Task Group 38.3, they were supporting landings on Leyte when they were found by land-based aircraft operating from Clark and Nichols airfields on the Philippine islands. A lone bomb from a single Yokosuka D4Y Judy scored a lucky hit between Princeton’s aircraft elevators, penetrating the flight deck and exploding in the hanger. A fire broke out, which quickly spread throughout the ship due to burning gasoline.
Heroic damage control efforts from USS Irwin (Fletcher-class destroyer) and USS Birmingham (herself a fully completed Cleveland-class cruiser) failed to get the fires under control. Birmingham would suffer 233 killed and 426 wounded while attempting to bring the damage under control.
An Essex-class USS Princeton would be come the fifth ship to carry the name.
In Azur Lane, Princeton is smart and studious, and looks up to Saratoga as her role model. She gets some special battle lines when sailing with Saratoga, Montpelier, or Birmingham and Reno. There’s also Princeton META. We haven’t gotten much of her story just yet.
Given that various other Essex-class ships have shown up, there’s a decent chance that at some point we see a Princeton II. Then again, there are already a lot of Essex sisters, so who knows?
