USS Saratoga (CV-3)

The fifth USS Saratoga (CV-3) was the third aircraft carrier of the United States Navy.

Decommissioning

With the arrival of large numbers of Essex-class carriers, Saratoga was surplus to postwar requirements, and she was assigned to Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll to test the effect of the atomic bomb on naval vessels. She survived the first blast, (Test ABLE) an air burst on 1 July, with only minor damage, but was mortally wounded by the second (Test Baker) on 25 July, an underwater blast which was detonated under a landing craft 500 yards from the carrier. Salvage efforts were prevented by radioactivity, and seven and one-half hours after the blast, with her funnel collapsed across her deck, Saratoga slipped beneath the surface of the lagoon. She was struck from the Navy List on 15 August 1946.

Related Topics:
''Essex''-class - Operation Crossroads - Bikini Atoll - Atomic bomb - 1 July - 25 July - Navy List - 15 August - 1946

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Saratoga received seven battle stars for her World War II service.

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In recent years, the submerged wreck, the top of which is only 40 ft below the surface, has become a scuba diving destination, the only carrier wreck accessible to recreational divers.

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