Hancock (CV 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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Bombs Away and Fourteenth Army Corps. Across the globe, on April lst, Navy landing craft fooled the Germans by showing up to ferry the troops of Generals Patton, Simpson, Hodges, and Field Marshal Montgomery across the Rhine. Rockets by the thousands flashed from carrier planes to blast gun emplace- ments and strongholds but the enemy gave ground dearly, exacting a heavy toll for this important island. A part of the cost of victory was paid by the Hancock's own crew when a Jap plane skimmed through heavy fire in a low level attack that ended with the enemy cartwheeling sickeningly across her flight deck into the spotted planes of Air Group Six. His bomb hit the port catapult with a terrific explosion, followed by the blast of pent-up gasoline fumes as tanks burst under the onslaught of the Japanese juggernaut. Hit hard at both bow and stern the Hannah reeled once more under searing flames as the fire immediately spread to gallery and hangar decks. Many men were blown over the side by the initial explosion while others were forced to jump to the comparative safety of the open sea by the heat waves that spread over the flight deck, distorting and refracting vision like some sur- realist painting of an imagined hell. Destroyers circled among the bobbing heads, some frantically waving, others inert and motionless except for movement imparted as the waves sought to

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Avengers Along French Indo-China, Coast another enemy plane as it neared the release point of its bombing run on the Hannah, the bomb striking the water within one hundred feet -of old number nineteen. Enemy planes were everywhere and fighter pilots took many chances by following them right into the formation and through the fire sent up by their own ships. One F6F, set afire as he courageously dove after the raiding planes, managed to right his ship for a water landing but his plane exploded as he hit the water and searching destroyers were unable to find a survivor. Attacks continued through the night and into the Zlst with little let-up. During the raids our own ships hit the Hannah's stack with ack-ack in their efforts to knock down the persistent Japs. Air strikes were launched against the Nansei Shoto Islands daily from the 23rd through the 27th. On .March 28th, strikes were directed against Minami Daito Jima, about T80 miles from Okinawa while strikes on f-the 29th con- centrated on Kyushu again. From March 3Oth to April 6th the Hannah's planes flew in close support to the Tenth Army which landed on the western coast of Okinawa on April lst, Again the Japs fought from deep-prepared entrenchments against the onslaught of the Fifth and Sixth Marine Divisions

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close over the life-jacketed figures. Aboard the Hannah men struggled to close off and subdue the fire that threatened her even as the Franklin had been threatened in the previous week. Once again the Hannah left the formation to fight against destruction. Wheeling in high speed right turns the skipper attempted to throw the three burning planes forward over the side and to dislodge the sixteen planes parked aft from their moorings as the carrier heeled with the wind and force of gravity. The Task Force Commander kept his force near at hand to fight off renewed attacks on the crippled carrier and in less than 50 minutes the Hannah was back in action, hurt and breathing hard, but ready for action. By heroic and skillful work the damage control party had the fire under con- trol wit-hin a half-hour and planes returning from strikes were able to 'land aboard four -hours later. At quarters next morning the ranks were thinned by 62 absentees-27 had been killed and 35 were missing in action as a result of the fires and explosions of April 7th. On the 8th the destroyer Eng- lish came alongside with Hannah survivors picked up from the water on the 7th. The Hancock and Cabot were detached from Task Group 58.3 on the afternoon of the 9th and ordered to Ulithi for repairs. Three hours after leaving the formation the Hancock crew gathered on the hangar deck in honor -of the 27 men who were killed aboard the Hannah dur- ing the Okinawa operation. At l5I 5 their bodies were committed to the deep off Okinawa in solemn burial ceremonies conducted by Chaplain James J. Doyle. lFor his heroic work in rescuing wounded and dying personnel during t-he trying hours of the Hannah's misfortune Chaplain Doyle was awarded the green and white striped Commendation Ribbon as a small tribute to his devotion to his shipmates, duty and country.i When the Hannah left the Okinawa area the occupation was still meeting fierce resistance, ia resistance that was to continue for seven long weeks. ' Enroute from Ulithi to Pearl Harbor for drydocking and repairs the Hannah found time to take count on her seventh operation against the Japanese. Air Group Six had racked up 30 planes destroyed in the air, 45 on t-he ground, and sank one enemy ship. Three more were listed as probables, while 26, including tw-o carriers, were heavily damaged. Honolulu provided the closest approach to a real stateside liberty for the Hannah's crew and the famed beach at Waikiki drew many sailors for surf- riding and shuffle-board at the Navy-operated Royal Hawaiian. There were few dates for the average officer or sailor and ten o'cIock curfew found the busses and taxis crowded with Navy men laden wit-h their purchases of grass skirts, photos, shoes lunrationed in Hawaiil, and other souvenirs of the Territory of Hawaii. The crowded, popular Liberty House department store presented a stateside appearance and record or music stores found the Navy men buying records and instruments for shipboard amusement. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, A. L. Gates, honored the Hancock with a visit on May 20th. After several weeks of post-repair speed and gunnery trials the Hannah joined up with the new Lexington, Cowpens and destroyer screen to form Task Group I2.2 under command of Rear Admiral Albert Jennings, ComCarDiv I I laboard the Hancockl. The Task Group passed through the anti-submarine nets on June I2 on a strike against the by-passed Jap Garrison on Wake Island. OPERATION EIGHT The Hannah's planes struck the surprised enemy on the morning of June 20th and gave them a thorough pasting with rockets and bombs. Wake was a test for the new white phosphorous bombs which covered the visi-on of enemy gunners and made things a little easier for succeeding waves of bomb- ers and strafers. There were not many planes in evidence and the attackers retired westward to the dawn of a new day-the end of Japanese resistance on Okinawa and the beginning of the end for the doctrine of Japanese expansion.