Wartime carrier orders for a postwar U.S. fleet

Nimitz wanted rapid completion of carriers already under construction, while senior officers also considered the postwar fleet. A 17 August estimate called for three battle carriers, 11 heavy carriers, and 17 escort carriers. The 35 carriers in commission or building at the beginning of the summer were considered insufficient. During that summer, shipbuilders laid down three more Essex carriers, another Midway battle carrier, and two light carriers of the new Saipan class. Another Essex was laid down as late as January 1945. The programme would provide 41 attack carriers, including the old Ranger, from which a smaller peacetime force could be selected.