AH-WR-0806

USS Independence

Light Aircraft Carrier · United States · Lost 1951 · San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

A World War II light carrier that fought at Leyte Gulf was later exposed to two atomic blasts at Bikini Atoll and scuttled off the Farallon Islands.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

USS Independence served in the Pacific Fleet during World War II, including the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After the war she was used as a target ship in the 1946 Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. Too contaminated and damaged for further use, she was towed to the California coast and scuttled near the Farallon Islands in 1951. A 2015 ROV expedition found her largely intact on the seafloor.

Vessel

Built: 1942
Registry: CVL-22
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Yard: Camden, New Jersey
Material: Steel
Length: 622 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam turbine
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: January 29, 1951
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Near the Farallon Islands, California
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 0
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 2600 ft
Condition: Largely intact, upright, documented by ROV
Orientation: Upright
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Position

Coordinates: 37.73° N 123.03° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Farallon Islands, California
Region: San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

General area only: coordinate of the Farallon Islands from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place recorded for this vessel's disposal (near the Farallon Islands), not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

Precise coordinates of the wreck are not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

KQED News (reporting NOAA/Ocean Exploration Trust survey)
Wartime and Bikini Atoll history, scuttling, 2015 ROV survey findings, depth.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Farallon Islands (via GNIS-sourced gazetteer, geo.mytopo.com)
coordinate of the named place of loss