 USSGambier Bay | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Gambier Bay |
| Namesake | Gambier Bay onAdmiralty Island, east ofAngoon, Alaska |
| Builder | Kaiser Shipyards |
| Laid down | 10 July 1943 |
| Launched | 22 November 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. H. C. Zitzewitz |
| Commissioned | 28 December 1943 |
| Out of service | 25 October 1944 |
| Stricken | 27 November 1944 |
| Honors & awards | Fourbattle stars,Presidential Unit Citation awarded to all ships of "Taffy 3" |
| Fate | Sunk by Japanese battleshipYamato on 25 October 1944 in theBattle off Samar |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Casablanca-classescort carrier |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 65 ft 2 in (19.86 m), 108 ft (33 m) maximum width |
| Draft | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
| Installed power | 9,000 ihp (6,700 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 19 kn (22 mph; 35 km/h) |
| Range | 10,240 nmi (11,780 mi; 18,960 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Complement | 860 |
| Armament | |
| Aircraft carried | 28 |
| Aviation facilities |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of: | United States Pacific Fleet |
| Commanders: | CaptainHugh H. Goodwin, Captain Walter V. R. Vieweg |
| Operations: | Mariana and Palau Islands campaign,Philippines campaign,Battle off Samar |
| Awards: | |
USSGambier Bay (CVE-73) was aCasablanca-classescort carrier of theUnited States Navy.[1] During theBattle off Samar, part of the overallBattle of Leyte Gulf, during a successful effort to turn back a much larger attacking Japanese surface force,Gambier Bay was sunk by naval gunfire, primarily from thebattleshipYamato, taking at least 15 hits between 8:10 and 8:50. She was the only American aircraft carrier sunk by enemy surface gunfire during World War II.[2]
Named for Gambier Bay onAdmiralty Island in theAlaska Panhandle, she was originally classifiedAVG-73, was reclassifiedACV-73 on 20 August 1942 and again reclassifiedCVE-73 on 15 July 1943; launched under a Maritime Commission contract by theKaiser Shipbuilding Company,Vancouver, Washington on 22 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Zitzewitz, wife ofLieutenant Commander Herbert C. Zitzewitz, the Senior Naval Liaison Officer (SNLO) assigned to Kaiser's Vancouver Yard from the Navy's Bureau of Ships; and commissioned atAstoria, Oregon on 28 December 1943, CaptainHugh H. Goodwin in command.[1]
The ship was referred to as the "Bonus Ship" by yard personnel because she was the 19th carrier delivered in 1943. The yard had originally projected 16 carriers would be delivered before the end of 1943. However, in September the Navy asked the yard to increase that number by at least two more. To rally the workers, Kaiser initiated a campaign called "18 or More by '44" to meet the new challenge; being the 19th and last Kaiser-built carrier commissioned in 1943,Gambier Bay was dubbed the "Bonus Ship". No ships of her class survive today.
After shakedown out ofSan Diego, the escort carrier sailed on 7 February 1944 with 400 troops embarked forPearl Harbor, thence to rendezvous off the Marshalls, guarded by thedestroyerNorman Scott, where she flew 84 replacement planes to the fleet carrierEnterprise.[3] She returned to San Diego via Pearl Harbor, ferrying aircraft for repairs and qualified carrier pilots off the coast of SouthernCalifornia. She departed on 1 May 1944 to joinRear AdmiralHarold B. Sallada's Carrier Support Group 2 (TG 52.11), staging in the Marshalls for the invasion of the Marianas.[4]
Gambier Bay gave close air support to the initial landings of Marines onSaipan 15 June 1944, destroying enemy gun emplacements, troops, tanks, and trucks. On the 17th, hercombat air patrol (CAP) shot down or turned back all but a handful of 47 enemy planes headed for her task group and her gunners shot down two of the three planes that did break through to attack her.
The following day, warning of another air attack sounded. As her fighters prepared to take off, they found intense antiaircraft fire of the entire task group covering their flight path. Captain Goodwin called the event "another shining example of the adaptability and courage of the young men of our country". Eight pilots of Composite Squadron 10 (VC-10) did take off to help repulse the aerial attack.
Gambier Bay remained off Saipan, repulsing aerial raids and launching planes which strafed enemy troop concentrations, bombed gun emplacements, and supported Marines and soldiers fighting ashore. Meanwhile, American carriers slashed the carrier air strength of the combined Japanese Mobile Fleet and turned it back in defeat in theBattle of the Philippine Sea.Gambier Bay continued close ground support operations atTinian (19–31 July), then turned her attention toGuam, where she gave identical aid to invading troops until 11 August.
After a respite for logistics in the Marshalls,Gambier Bay spent 15–28 September supporting the amphibious attack which drove ashore and capturedPeleliu andAngaur, Southern Palaus. She then steamed by way ofHollandia (currently known as Jayapura),New Guinea, toManus Island, Admiralties, where the invasion of thePhilippines was staged. Screened by four destroyer escorts,Gambier Bay and hersister shipKitkun Bay escorted transports and amphibious landing ships safely toLeyte Gulf before joining Rear AdmiralClifton A. F. Sprague's escort carrier task unit on 19 September offLeyte.
The task unit comprised six escort carriers, screened by three destroyers and four destroyer escorts, and was known by its radio call sign: "Taffy 3". Under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague, three groups of six-carrier task units, known as "Taffy"s, maintained air supremacy over Leyte Gulf and eastern Leyte. During the invasion their planes destroyed enemy airfields, supply convoys, and troop concentrations; gave troops driving inland vital close air support; and maintained combat air patrol over ships in Leyte Gulf. While "Taffy 1" and "Taffy 2" were respectively stationed off northernMindanao and off the entrance to Leyte Gulf, "Taffy 3" steamed offSamar.
Meanwhile, the Japanese threw their entire fleet against American naval power in a desperate gamble to destroy the large concentration of American shipping in Leyte Gulf. Powerful Japanese forces—composed of carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers—attempted to converge on the Philippines in a three-pronged attack to the south, center, and north. The Japanese Southern Force met disaster before dawn on 25 October as it tried to drive throughSurigao Strait to join the Center Force off Leyte Gulf. While steaming through theSibuyan Sea en route to theSan Bernardino Strait on 24 October, the Center Force was hit hard by hundreds of planes from the carriers ofAdmiralWilliam "Bull" Halsey'sThird Fleet. After theBattle of Sibuyan Sea, Admiral Halsey no longer considered the Center Force a serious threat, and he sent the carriers north to intercept decoy carriers of the Japanese Northern Force offCape Engaño.
The departure of Halsey's carriers left the escort carriers of "Taffy 3" as the only ships guarding the area around Samar. American commanders were unaware of night-time movement of the Japanese Center Force toward Samar. However, shortly after sunrise on 25 October, a gap in the morning mist disclosed the pagoda-like masts of enemy battleships and cruisers on the northern horizon.Admiral Takeo Kurita's still dangerous Center Force—consisting of four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and 11 destroyers—had slipped undetected through San Bernardino Strait and down the fog-shrouded coast of Samar, bound for Leyte Gulf. Visibility was approximately 40,000 yards (37 km) with a low overcast and occasional rain squalls which the American ships would use to their advantage in the coming battle.[5]
"Taffy 3" was overwhelmingly outgunned by the Center Force. Immediately, an urgent call for help went out from "Taffy 3" as the escort carriers steamed eastward to launch planes before gradually turning south to seek concealment in a heavy squall. American pilots attacked the Japanese formation with torpedoes, bombs, andstrafing runs until their ammunition ran out, after which they made "dry runs"—dummy attacks with no ordnance or ammunition—to break up the enemy formation and delay its advance. Smoke was laid down to cover the escort carriers' escape as the destroyers ducked in and out of the smoke and rain to engage the Japanese warships at point-blank range until ordered back to cover the escort carriers with more smoke.
In spite of these efforts,Gambier Bay would come under fire from multiple ships at around 8:10. Theheavy cruiserChikuma closed to 10,200 yards and fired off her eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, but a few minutes later switched fire to the destroyer escortUSSSamuel B Roberts. Meanwhile at 22,000 yards, the Japanese flagship, thebattleshipYamato, landed a hit on her first salvo as an 18.1-inch (46 cm) shell smashed throughGambier Bay's flight deck near her stern, starting a fire on the flight deck which was put out in three minutes. At 8:16, another shell fromYamato cut through her hanger bay.Haruna also fired a single salvo atGambier Bay before switching fire to escorting destroyers.[6][7][8]
Around 08:20,Gambier Bay was crippled by a shell hit which flooded her forward engine room, immediately cutting her speed to 10 knots as she gradually slowed until dead in the water 15 minutes later.[9] The damage was initially recorded as a high explosive 8-inch (203 mm) cruiser shell. However, Japanese records dispute this, insisting the hit was scored by an 18.1-inch (46 cm) shell fromYamato from around 20,000 yards.[10] On paper, the difference between a cruiser round and a battleship round should have been apparent, butYamato, having mistakenGambier Bay for a full-sized fleet carrier, was firing armor-piercing shells that over-penetrated her hull without exploding.[7][11] Most photographs ofGambier Bay under fire show her under attack from six-gun salvos and white splashes, corresponding withYamato's gun layout, firing angle, and undyed shells. The Japanese heavy cruisers also never switched to high explosive shells (as evidenced by the damage inflicted toUSSKalinin Bay andUSSFanshaw Bay byTone andHaguro), thus any cruiser shells that hit the ship would not have exploded.[12]
Kongō then switched fire from an enemy destroyer toGambier Bay at 26,300 yards. At 8:24, two 18.1-inch (46 cm) shells hitGambier Bay, one hit amidships below the waterline and cut through a fresh water tank, flooding the ship with sea water, while another sliced through her bow. These hits were claimed by bothYamato andKongō, butYamato was at a much closer range and had the matching firing angle, awarding her the hits. At 8:28, two more hits fromYamato made their mark, the former a 6.1-inch (155 mm) shell which exploded in her hanger bay, and the latter an 18.1-inch (46 cm) shell that tore through her flight deck and started a fire which was never put out by damage control for the rest of the time the ship was afloat. Simultaneously, a column of Japanese heavy cruisers engaged an enemy aircraft carrier which was close toGambier Bay's position, leading several historians to conclude they assisted in battering her, but evidence proves their target wasKalinin Bay, the escort carrier right next toGambier Bay.[13]
At 8:30, a high explosive shell, probably fromYamato's secondary battery, exploded inGambier Bay's officer quarters, causing minor damage, another shell ripped through her bulkhead at 8:32. Simultaneously, an attempt was made by the destroyersJohnston,Hoel, andHeermann to coverGambier Bay. This achieved only partial success:Kongō engagedHeermann, but Yamato only engaged and helped to sinkHoel with her secondary battery and continued to poundGambier Bay with her main battery, scoring another two hits at 8:37 which destroyedGambier Bay's steering and fuel supply, followed by another hit at 8:43.[14][15] By 8:45,Gambier Bay had fully stopped, promptingYamato to cease fire and turn north and the light cruiserNoshiro to fire on her. At 8:50, the abandon ship order was issued as a resultYamato's gunfire damage. AsGambier Bay was being abandoned by her crew, two 6-inch (152 mm) shells fromNoshiro exploded in her store keeper's office.[16][17] Fires raged through the riddled escort carrier, and she capsized at 09:07 and sank at 09:11, at approximately11°31′N126°12′E / 11.517°N 126.200°E /11.517; 126.200. Her sinking was witness byYamato, which was concluded to have sunk one enemy "fleet carrier".[18][1][failed verification] Most of her nearly 800 survivors were rescued two days later by landing and patrol craft dispatched from Leyte Gulf. 147 crewmen were killed. The Americans also lost four other ships in the battle—St. Lo,Hoel,Samuel B. Roberts, andJohnston.Gambier Bay was the only US Navy aircraft carrier sunk exclusively by surface naval gunfire during World War II, and one of only three worldwide (along withHMS Glorious in 1940 and IJNChiyoda in 1944).[19][20][21]
Aircraft from "Taffy 2" joined in the battle off Samar. The events that followed were described by Admiral Sprague:
"At 09:25 my mind was occupied with dodging torpedoes when near the bridge I heard one of the signalmen yell 'They're getting away!' I could hardly believe my eyes, but it looked as if the whole Japanese fleet was indeed retiring. However, it took a whole series of reports from circling planes to convince me. And still I could not get the fact to soak into my battle-numbed brain. At best, I had expected to be swimming by this time."
Gambier Bay's VC-10 Squadron and other ships of "Taffy 3"—aided by planes of "Taffy 2"—had stopped the powerful Japanese Center Force and inflicted significant losses. Three enemy cruisers were sunk, and much damage was inflicted on the other ships. Overall, the overwhelmingly powerful Japanese surface fleet had been turned back by the escort carriers and their screen of destroyers and destroyer escorts.
Gambier Bay received fourbattle stars for service in World War II and shared in the award of thePresidential Unit Citation to "Taffy 3" for extraordinary heroism in the Battle off Samar. Commanding officer Captain Walter V. R. Vieweg received theNavy Cross for his "extraordinary heroism".[22] Executive officer Richard R. Ballinger received theSilver Star "for conscious gallantry and intrepidity".[23]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
