USS Randolph (CV-15) was an American aircraft carrier laid down in May 1943, launched in June 1944, and commissioned by the US Navy in October 1944. The length of the ship - at the time of launching - was 271 m, breadth at the waterline 28 m, and full displacement - 41,700 tons. The maximum speed of the USS Randolph aircraft carrier was up to 33 knots, and its main armament was from 90 to 100 airplanes.
USS Randolph was the thirteenth Essex-class aircraft carrier and the second of the Ticonderoga sub-type. Ships of this type were the main American aircraft carriers during the Pacific War of 1943-1945. The Ticonderoga sub-type differed from the other Essex-class ships mainly in terms of an elongated hull and even stronger anti-aircraft armament. The genus Essex and the subtype Ticonderoga included as many as 24 aircraft carriers that entered the line until the Japanese capitulation in September 1945! Their construction was based on the experience gained from the operation of Lexington and Yorktown units, as well as not having to comply with any tonnage restrictions. The emphasis was primarily on the number of planes taken and the maximum speed at the expense of the armor of the landing deck. Interestingly, the Essex-class aircraft carriers were built in such a way that the hangar was not an integral part of the fuselage, but a structure suspended under the flight deck. Such a solution made the ships of this type relatively easy to damage, but much more difficult to sink as a result of an air attack. The USS Randolph (CV-15) aircraft carrier began its operations during World War II by joining Task Force 58 in February 1945, as part of which its on-board planes attacked airports and factories in Tokyo and Tachikawa that same month. In February of the same year, he provided limited support to US operations in the Iwo-Jima region. It was damaged in March by a kamikaze attack, but joined the Okinawa area a month later. From July 1945, its deck planes continued attacks on Japanese ships stationed in ports in Japan. After the end of World War II, the USS Randolph (CV-15) was placed in reserve, but returned to active service in 1953 due to the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-1953). Earlier, however, in the period 1951-1952, it underwent a deep modernization consisting in the reconstruction of the starting deck, superstructure and, in fact, all electronics. The ship was decommissioned in 1969 and finally sold for scrap in 1975.