Hancock (CV 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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Sunset at Sea as Carriers Retwe Bcwges and Gigs for C on ference

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H ungry Guns

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date-the Kamikaze. Heavy ships could take the blows and come out dam- aged but not out of action, the lighter ships were generally forced to with- draw after suffering damage from these attacks. Following astern of the Franklin, nicknamed Big Ben , the l-lannah sortied Ulithi on March l4th as a unit of Task Force 58.2 of the Fifth Fleet. lwo Jima fell to the Marines on the l6th of .March. The first strike came four days later when the fast carriers launched air attacks against Kyushu, southern- most of the main home islands, repeating the attacks on the l9th, hitting the naval base at Kobe. The carrier force was under attack throughout the second day, commencing with a disastrous hit at 0706 on the carrier Franklin as she was launching planes. The enemy 'plane was shot down by her Group Commander but the damage had been done. The entire flight deck was transformed into a burn- ing, exploding mass of planes and bombs as the heat detonated incendiaries and gasoline in the deckload of planes. The Hannah assumed the formation guide as the battered Franklin pulled out of formation, fighting for her life. Dead in the water at times, she drifted Sweating Out Returning Strikes H