Tag Archives: USS Cowpens

Deck The P-Ways!

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Naval Base San Diego just held their annual Christmas decoration contest and the ships, as always, look great. Surely some of these images will be celebrated by generations not yet born as icons of the “Old Navy” pre-whatever war comes in future decades.

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO (December 15, 2022) The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), displays lights for holiday festivity. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Erica K. R. Higa)

USS Sterett DDG-104

USS Zumwalt DDG-1000

USS Princeton CG-59

USS Boxer LHD-4

USS Paul Hamilton DDG-60

USS Cowpens

USS Tripoli

For the record, the “People’s Choice” from online votes was Boxer, which is important to me personally as I was a constructor plankowner, working on her both pre and post-christening at Ingalls many, many years ago, and sailed on her during her pre-commissioning tiger cruise.

Tilting Moo, 75 years ago today

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USS Cowpens (CVL-25), “The Mighty Moo,” starboard side flight deck facing aft from the island. Photo was taken around the time Typhoon Cobra hit the Third Fleet on 18 December 1944.

Named for the 1781 Revolutionary War Battle, Cowpens (CV-25), was laid down as light cruiser Huntingdon (CL-77) on 17 November 1941, reclassified to CV-25 on 27 March 1942, renamed Cowpens on 31 March 1942, reclassified to a small aircraft carrier (CVL-25) on 15 July 1943, and finally reclassified to an auxiliary aircraft transport (AVT-1) on 15 May 1959, but the latter was a formality as she was in mothballs ever since 1947. She earned a full dozen battle stars in WWII.

In Cobra, Cowpens lost a man: ship’s air officer LCDR Robert Price, several planes, and some equipment, but skillful work by her crew prevented major damage, and she reached Ulithi safely to repair her storm damage. Price earned the Marine Corps Medal (Posthumously) for his role in securing the planes you see above.