United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19)

 

USS Hancock (CV/CVA-19) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. Hancock was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the namesake of Founding Father John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.^{[Note 1]} Hancock was commissioned in April 1944 and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning four battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA). In her second career, she operated exclusively in the Pacific, playing a prominent role in the Vietnam War, for which she earned a Navy Unit Commendation. She was the first US Navy carrier to have steam catapults installed. She was decommissioned in early 1976 and sold for scrap later that year.

Description and construction

 USS Hancock (CV-19) launching at the Bethlehem Steel Co Yard Quincy Massachusetts on 24th Jan 1944

The ship was laid down as Ticonderoga on 26 January 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Massachusetts and subsequently renamed Hancock on 1 May 1943. This renaming was done in response to an offer from the John Hancock Life Insurance Company to conduct a special bond drive to raise money for the ship if that name was used. (The shipyard at Quincy was in the company's home state.) CV-14, originally laid down as Hancock and under construction at the same time in Newport News, Virginia, took the name Ticonderoga instead.

The company's bond drive raised enough money to both build the ship and operate her for the first year.^[1] The ship was launched 24 January 1944 by Mrs. Juanita Gabriel-Ramsey, the wife of Rear Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.^[2][3] Hancock was commissioned 15 April 1944, with Captain Fred C. Dickey in command.^[2]

Flight deck arrangements

The USS Hancock (CV-19) featured a large, well-designed flight deck that was central to its operation as an aircraft carrier. The flight deck measured 888 feet (271 meters) in overall length, which provided ample space for the launch and recovery of a variety of aircraft. Equipped with two steam-powered catapults, the Hancock could launch aircraft with great speed and efficiency. The ship also utilized arresting gear to safely land planes, featuring several arrestor wires spaced along the deck. Additionally, the Hancock had several aircraft elevators to transfer planes between the hangar deck and the flight deck, ensuring smooth operations even during high-intensity combat. This configuration allowed the carrier to deploy a significant number of aircraft, making it a valuable asset during wartime operations.

Propulsion

The USS Hancock was powered by four geared steam turbines, which were connected to four shafts, each driving a screw propeller. The steam turbines were fueled by eight boilers, which generated a combined total of 150,000 shaft horsepower (110 MW). This powerful propulsion system enabled the carrier to reach speeds of up to 33 knots (61 km/h or 38 mph), allowing it to operate effectively alongside fast-moving naval task forces. With a range of 14,100 nautical miles (26,100 km or 16,200 miles) at a cruising speed of 20 knots (37 km/h or 23 mph), the Hancock was capable of undertaking long-range missions and providing sustained air support across vast areas of the Pacific Ocean.

Armament

The USS Hancock was equipped with a formidable array of armament to defend itself and its carrier group against both air and surface threats. It carried 12 dual-purpose 5-inch (127 mm) guns, which could be used for both anti-aircraft defense and engaging surface targets. The ship was also heavily armed with anti-aircraft weapons, including 32 Bofors 40 mm (1.6-inch) anti-aircraft guns and 46 Oerlikon 20 mm (0.8-inch) cannons, providing multiple layers of defense against enemy aircraft. These weapons were arranged around the ship, giving it the ability to fend off aerial threats from multiple directions. The powerful armament of the Hancock made it capable of defending itself in combat situations while supporting offensive operations with its air group.

Fire control and electronics

 USS Hancock (CV-19) battle fires on the flight deck after a kamikaze attack

The USS Hancock was equipped with advanced fire control and electronics systems to enhance its ability to detect, track, and engage enemy targets. Radar systems aboard the carrier played a vital role in air defense, allowing the ship to detect incoming aircraft at long ranges and guide its anti-aircraft guns to the target. The fire control systems used radar-guided technology to improve the accuracy of the ship’s anti-aircraft batteries, especially during conditions of poor visibility or nighttime operations. Additionally, the Hancock was fitted with electronic countermeasures (ECM) systems designed to detect and jam enemy radar, providing an added layer of protection against enemy aircraft and missile threats.

Armor

The USS Hancock was designed with significant armor to enhance its survivability during combat. The ship’s waterline belt was armored with 4 inches (102 mm) of steel to protect against enemy shellfire and torpedo impacts. The flight deck was also reinforced with 1.5 inches (38 mm) of armor, providing additional protection against bomb and missile strikes. The hangar deck, which housed aircraft, was protected with 2.5 inches (64 mm) of armor to help shield the valuable planes and aviation equipment below. Additionally, the ship’s conning tower was armored with 1.5 inches (38 mm) of steel, ensuring protection for command personnel during battle. This combination of armor allowed the Hancock to endure heavy damage while remaining operational, making it a tough and resilient vessel during its time in service.

These details outline the USS Hancock (CV-19) as a well-armored, highly capable aircraft carrier, designed to operate efficiently during wartime while defending itself and its fleet with formidable armament and advanced fire control systems.

Service history - World War II

This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) After fitting out in the Boston Navy Yard and shake-down training off Trinidad and Venezuela, Hancock returned to Boston for alterations on 9 July 1944. She departed Boston on 31 July en route to Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal and San Diego, and from there sailed on 24 September to join Admiral W. F. Halsey's 3rd Fleet at Ulithi on 5 October. She was assigned to Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan's Carrier Task Group 38.2 (TG 38.2).^[2]

The following afternoon, Hancock sailed for a rendezvous point 375 nmi (690 km) west of the Marianas where units of Vice Admiral Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force 38 (TF 38) were to raid Japanese air and sea bases in the Ryūkyūs, Formosa,^{[Note 2]} and the Philippines, to paralyze Japanese air power during General MacArthur's invasion of Leyte.

Philippines campaign (1944–1945)

 USS Hancock (CV-19) underway with F6F Hellcats of the Philippines, December 1944

The armada arrived off the Ryukyu Islands on 10th October 1944, with Hancock's planes destroying seven enemy aircraft on the ground and assisting in the destruction of a submarine tender, 12 torpedo boats, 2 midget submarines, four cargo ships, and a number of sampans.

Formosan air bases were targeted on 12 October. Hancock's pilots downed six Japanese planes and destroyed nine more on the ground. She also reported one cargo ship definitely sunk, three probably destroyed, and several others damaged.^[2]

As they repelled an enemy air raid that evening, Hancock's gunners accounted for a Japanese plane during seven hours of uninterrupted general quarters. The following morning her planes resumed their assault, knocking out ammunition dumps, hangars, barracks, and industrial plants ashore and damaging an enemy transport. As Japanese planes again attacked the Americans during their second night off Formosa, Hancock's antiaircraft fire brought down another raider which crashed about 500 yd (460 m) off her flight deck.

As the American ships withdrew a heavy force of Japanese aircraft approached American naval power. One dropped a bomb off Hancock's port bow a few seconds before being hit by the carrier's guns and crashing into the sea. Another bomb penetrated a gun platform but exploded harmlessly in the water. The task force was thereafter unmolested as they sailed toward the Philippines to support the landings at Leyte.^[2]

On 18th October 1944, she launched planes against airfields and shipping at Laoag, Aparri, and Camiguin Island in Northern Luzon. Her planes struck the islands of Cebu, Panay, Negros, and Masbate, pounding enemy airfields and shipping. The next day, she retired toward Ulithi with Vice Admiral John S. McCain, Sr.'s TG 38.1.^[2]

 Japanese cruiser Kumano is bombed by USS Hancock (CV-19) planes of TF38 off Samar on 26th Oct 1944

 Japanese cruiser Kumano is bombed by USS Hancock (CV-19) planes of TF38 off Samar on 26th Oct 1944

She received orders on 23 October to turn back to the area off Samar to assist in the search for units of the Japanese fleet reportedly closing Leyte to challenge the American fleet, and to destroy amphibious forces which were struggling to take the island from Japan. Hancock did not reach Samar in time to assist the escort carriers and destroyers of 'Taffy 3' during the main action of the Battle off Samar, but her planes did manage to attack the fleeing Japanese Center Force as it passed through the San Bernardino Strait. Hancock then rejoined Rear Admiral Bogan's Task Group with which she struck airfields and shipping in the vicinity of Manila on 29th October 1944. During operations through 19 November, her planes gave direct support to advancing Army troops and attacked Japanese shipping over a 350 mi (560 km) area. She became flagship of the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38) on 17 November 1944 when Admiral McCain came on board.^[2]

Unfavorable weather prevented operations until 25 November, when a kamikaze roared toward Hancock, diving out of the sun. Antiaircraft fire destroyed the plane some 300 ft (90 m) above the ship, but a section of its fuselage landed amidships, and a part of the wing hit the flight deck and burst into flames. The blaze was quickly extinguished without serious damage.^[2]

 Hancock being hit by a kamikaze

 USS Hancock (CV-19) pictured after being hit by a kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa 7th Apr 1945

Hancock returned to Ulithi on 27 November and departed from that island with her task group to maintain air patrol over enemy airfields on Luzon to prevent kamikazes from attacking amphibious vessels of the landing force in Mindoro. The first strikes were launched on 14 December against Clark and Angeles City Airfields as well as enemy ground targets on Salvador Island. The next day her planes struck installations at Masinloc, San Fernando, and Cabanatuan, while fighter patrols kept the Japanese airmen down. Her planes also attacked shipping in Manila Bay.^[2]

Typhoon Cobra

14th to 19th December 1944

 USS Cowpens (CVL 25) Typhoon Cobra hit the Third Fleet on 18th Dec 1944

During Typhoon Cobra in 14th to 19th December 1944, a total of nine U.S. Navy ships sustained significant damage due to the severe storm conditions. The typhoon, which struck the Third Fleet in the Philippine Sea, caused extreme waves and winds that battered many vessels in the fleet, in addition to sinking three destroyers: USS Hull (DD-350); USS Monaghan (DD-354); USS Spence (DD-512) and caused the death of 790 sailors.

USS Hull (DD-350) sank due to Typhoon Cobra December 1944
USS Hull (DD-350) which was one of three destroyers which capsized and sank due to the intense weather conditions of Typhoon Cobra in December 1944

USS Monaghan (DD-354) sank due to Typhoon Cobra December 1944
USS Hull (DD-350) which was one of three destroyers which capsized and sank due to the intense weather conditions of Typhoon Cobra in December 1944.

USS Spence (DD-512) sank due to Typhoon Cobra December 1944

USS Spence (DD-512) which was one of three destroyers which capsized and sank due to the intense weather conditions of Typhoon Cobra in December 1944.

USS Hull (DD-350) - USS Monaghan (DD-354) - USS Spence (DD-512)

These destroyers capsized and sank due to the intense conditions, and 790 sailors lost their lives in the disaster.

Other ships damaged during Typhoon Cobra

Aircraft Carriers: The storm caused substantial damage to several carriers, including the USS Monterey (CVL-26), which suffered a severe onboard fire that was difficult to control. Future U.S. President Gerald Ford, serving as a young officer, helped to contain the blaze. Other carriers, such as USS Cowpens (CVL-25), USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), and USS Altamaha (CVE-18), were also damaged.

USS Massachusetts (BB-59) was damaged by Typhoon Cobra December 1944
The battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59), among others, sustained structural damage from the waves and heavy rolling conditions.

Battleships: The battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59), among others, sustained structural damage from the waves and heavy rolling.

Cruisers and Destroyers: Several cruisers and destroyers suffered structural damage, fuel loss, and equipment failures. Some destroyers reported near-capsize events, with USS Dewey (DD-349) and USS Aylwin (DD-355) narrowly avoiding the same fate as the three lost destroyers.

In total, over 100 aircraft were lost on various carriers, washed overboard or damaged beyond repair due to the severe weather. The disaster led to significant changes in Navy weather forecasting, safety protocols, and training to prevent similar incidents in the future.

USS Langley (CVL 27) rolling sharply as she rides out Typhoon Cobra from USS Essex (CV-9) 13th Jan 1945
USS Langley (CVL 27) rolling sharply as she rides out Typhoon Cobra from USS Essex (CV-9) 13th Jan 1945

On 18 December 1944, elements of Admiral William Halsey’s Third Fleet plowed into a powerful Pacific Typhoon east of the Philippines. By the time the tropical cyclone passed, three U.S. destroyers had been sunk, Spence (DD-512), Hull (DD-350) and Monaghan (DD-354) with 775 of their crewmen lost and only 91 rescued. The light carrier Monterey (CVL-26) suffered a serious fire during the storm, losing three crewmen and 18 aircraft. Total casualties across the entire force, including the three destroyers, included 790 killed and 146 planes smashed, washed overboard, or jettisoned. Twenty-seven ships were damaged, eleven requiring major repairs, including Monterey.

Following the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24–25 October, the Third Fleet Fast Carrier Task Force (TF-38) was essentially tied down providing air cover to Leyte as the U.S. Army Air Force was unable to get onto airfields on Leyte and provide their own air-cover to troops ashore, primarily due to abysmal whether that rendered all but the airfield at Tacloban unusable due to mud. (Tacloban had very limited capacity even under ordinary circumstances.) As a result, rather than roaming the Western Pacific, Halsey’s carriers were subject to increasing Japanese kamikaze attacks while tied down off the eastern Philippines. (Actually, more U.S. ships would by sunk, put out of action, or damaged, and with more casualties in the two months it took the Army to secure Leyte, than during the Battle of Leyte Gulf itself, which will be the subject of the next H-gram.) Nevertheless, TF-38 stood in there and kept pounding Japanese airfields with airstrikes and fighter sweeps throughout the Philippines but especially on the main island of Luzon, which MacArthur had originally slated for invasion in mid-December. Halsey’s carriers were conducting operations in support of this planned invasion (which would be postponed until January 1945, but that was not known yet) when the weather began seriously to deteriorate on 16 December, gravely impacting at-sea refueling operations. Many of Halsey’s ships were low on fuel due to the continuous high-tempo combat operations

As of 17 December 1944, TF-38 consisted of seven Essex-class fleet carriers, six Independence-class light carriers, eight battleships, four heavy cruisers, eleven light cruisers and about 50 destroyers. TF-38 was joining with the Third Fleet refueling group that consisted of twelve fleet oilers, three fleet tugs, five destroyers, ten destroyer escorts, and five escort carriers with replacement planes.

With the technology of the time, there was little capability to track typhoons, and avoiding them depended greatly on the “Seaman’s Weather Eye.” The problem with this typhoon was that although it was very powerful, it was very compact and not very big, so warning signs were not apparent until the typhoon was very close, much closer than expected. Initially, as the weather rapidly deteriorated on 17 December, there were no signs that a typhoon was approaching, and the weather forecasters on the Third Fleet staff and on the carriers repeatedly misdiagnosed the situation. As seas built on the morning of the 17th, refueling became increasingly hazardous, with cases of parted hoses and lines and several near-collisions.

At 1251, Halsey gave orders to belay fueling. Halsey also gave orders for ships that had not been able to refuel to ballast down with salt water. However, several ships delayed too long in doing so in hopes that they would be able to take fuel as soon as the seas subsided. Vice Admiral John McCain, Commander of CTF-38, followed Halsey’s order, except for those orders pertaining to the destroyers Spence, Hickox (DD-673) and Maddox (DD-731) which were so low on fuel (10–15%) that they might not make it 24 hours. The Spence and Hickox were ordered to remain with the oilers and grab fuel if the seas allowed. As a result, the three destroyers delayed ballasting down, in the case of Spence too long, which would prove fatal.

Several attempts by Halsey to maneuver the fleet to areas more conducive to refueling put parts of the fleet directly in the path of the storm, unfortunately. For a time, the fleet was on the same course as the storm but slightly ahead and faster, which gave a misleading impression that conditions were slowly improving. It wasn’t until about 0400 on the 18th that it became apparent that the fleet had stumbled into a very serious weather condition. It wasn’t until about 1000 that the barometer started falling precipitously in a manner indicative of an approaching typhoon and not just a bad weather front. By 1400 the wind reached hurricane strength, and several of the carriers were so close that they could see the eye of the typhoon on radar.

In the end, a number of ships ultimately wound up in the most dangerous quadrant, with some passing right through the eye on 18 December. Halsey’s biggest mistake was waiting too long to give individual ships the okay to break out of formation to ride out the storm independently, giving the order only at 1149 (although some commanding officers were already doing so on their own initiative). Others who tried too long to stay in formation caused their ships to take an even worse beating than necessary. At 1314, Halsey issued a typhoon warning, the first official traffic referencing a typhoon. By this time, three of Halsey’s destroyers had already gone down, and others were fighting to survive.

The poor sea-keeping qualities of the Independence-class light carriers (which had been hastily designed and built on light cruiser hulls) became readily apparent by 0900 on 18 December. All were rolling severely. Langley (CVL-27) rolled 70-degrees at one point. Seven planes on Cowpens (CVL-25) were washed overboard and one plane that broke loose started a fire that was quickly extinguished. On San Jacinto (CVL-30), a fighter plane broke loose on the hangar deck and smashed seven other aircraft. By contrast, the escort carriers, with their hull design based on merchant ships, actually fared better than the light carriers, suffering less damage, although about 90 of the replacement aircraft were lost.

The light carrier Monterey (CVL-26) fared the worst, as a plane broke free on the hangar deck and smashed into a bulkhead at 0911, starting a serious fire, that was put out only after three sailors were killed and many more injured, with 18 planes destroyed by fire or washed overboard and another 16 planes seriously damaged as they careened about the hangar bay during severe rolls, exacerbated by the fact that Monterey also lost steerageway when the boiler rooms were evacuated shortly after the fire started. Of note, future President Lieutenant Gerald R. Ford was serving as the General Quarters Officer of the Deck. With Captain Stuart H. Ingersoll on the bridge, Ford was ordered to go down to the hangar deck and report on the fire, noting later that he was nearly washed overboard while planes were smashing into each other. Fortunately, the crew got the fire and the planes under control along with steerage, and Monterey weathered the typhoon, although she required repairs at Bremerton until April 1945.

Spence (DD-512) was a new Fletcher-class destroyer, much more stable than the older Farragut-class, but she was in trouble even before the typhoon hit, with her fuel state down to 15%, which meant she had less than 24 hours’ steaming time at eight knots. After unsuccessfully attempting to refuel from battleship New Jersey (BB-62) on the 17th, she was then ordered to accompany the oiler group to refuel at the first chance, which never came. Her skipper began water-ballasting too late and she began rolling heavily to port. Water entered through the ventilators and short-circuited the distribution board. Then the rudder jammed hard right. At 1110, Spence took a deep roll to port, recovered, and then took another one from which she did not recover, going down with 317 of her crew (23 survived), the first destroyer to sink in the typhoon.

By 1100 the destroyer Hull (DD-350), commanded by Lieutenant Commander J.A. Marks, was in serious trouble. Marks was responsible for screening a group of four oilers and maintained station for too long. Hull was at 70% fuel state and had not taken on saltwater ballast in the tanks. (The Court of Inquiry determined that standard procedures at the time did not require re-ballasting with that much fuel on board, but the failure to do so nonetheless contributed to her loss. Although regulations didn’t require it, re-ballasting was a lesson from an earlier typhoon that had not been learned.) In addition, as an older Farragut-class destroyer, Hull had over 500 tons of extra weapons and equipment added, making her top heavy. By 1100 the wind had reached 100 knots, and Hull was rolling 50 degrees, which just before noon reached 70 degrees. She survived several such rolls before a gust of wind estimated at 110 knots pinned her on her beam ends, and water poured down her funnels and into the pilothouse and she capsized and sank a few minutes after noon with 202 of her crew (62 survived.)

The Farragut-class destroyer Dewey (DD-349) almost met the same fate as Hull, but was saved by the prompt jettisoning of topside weights, re-ballasting with salt water, and the loss of her funnel, which reduced sail area, along with a lot of bailing and pumping. Farragut-class Aylwin (DD-355) also barely survived as she passed very close to the eye wall. By 1100, Aylwin had lost her engines and steering control, rolled 70 degrees to port and stayed there for 20 minutes. Regaining steering control intermittently, Lieutenant Commander W. K. Rogers, through some incredible ship handling was able to hold her up, but temperatures in the engine rooms reached 180 degrees as the blowers failed and the engine rooms had to be evacuated. The ship’s engineering officer, Lieutenant E. R. Rendahl and Machinist’s Mate T. Sarenski remained at their posts despite the intense heat in order to protect the electrical circuits. When they too finally evacuated, they had to take off their life jackets to fit through the escape hatch to the deck, where they collapsed due to the temperature change and were washed overboard. Somehow, Aylwin managed to survive despite serious flooding.

Farragut-class destroyer Monaghan (DD-354) was not so lucky as Dewey and Aylwin. Her fuel tanks were 76 percent full, and although she attempted to ballast down, with great difficulty as valves stuck, it was too late. At 1130, Monaghan lost electric power and the steering engine failed. After several very heavy rolls she foundered just before noon along with 256 of her crew (only six survived). Monaghan had 12 battle stars, having sunk a Japanese midget submarine inside Pearl Harbor during the air attack, served at Midway, performed valiantly in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, drove the Japanese submarine I-7 onto the rocks in the Aleutians and fought in other battles, but she was defeated by a storm.

By the time the typhoon moved through, numerous ships had been damaged. Those that required major repair included Anzio (CVE-57), Cape Esperance (CVE-88), Baltimore (CA-68), Miami (CL-89), Dewey (DD-349), Aylwin (DD-355), Buchanan (DD-484), Dyson (DD-572), Hickox (DD-673), Benham (DD-796), Donaldson (DE-44), and Melvin R. Nawman (DE-416.) Other ships damaged included four light carriers, three escort carriers, one battleship, one destroyer, two destroyer escorts, and an oiler.

A hero of the Typhoon was the destroyer escort Tabberer (DE-418), which had her foremast and radio antennas washed away, and was taking 60 degree rolls. As evening approached on the 18th, Tabberer encountered and rescued a survivor of Hull. At that point her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Henry L. Plage, commenced a box search, despite her own serious state. Over the next 51 hours, Plage didn’t receive (or ignored) repeated orders from Admiral Halsey for all ships to regroup at Ulithi. (Halsey did not learn that any of his ships had been sunk until 0225 on 19 December.) During this period, Tabberer rescued 55 survivors (41 from Hull and 14 from Spence) before being relieved by two destroyer escorts. Tabberer rescued ten of the Hull survivors at night. Many were rescued by Hull swimmers, who went over overboard with lines tied, in order to bring the survivors to nets and life rings on Tabberer’s side, while other crewmen used rifle fire to drive away sharks. Lieutenant Commander Plage was awarded a Legion of Merit and Tabberer a Navy Unit Commendation (the first ever awarded, although others were awarded retroactively for earlier actions). The destroyer Brown (DD-546) rescued the six survivors from Monaghan and 13 survivors of Hull. All told, 93 crewmen who had been washed overboard or survived the sinking of their ships were rescued.

A Court of Inquiry subsequently convened at Ulithi on 26 December 1944 aboard the destroyer tender Cascade (AD-16), with Admiral Chester A. Nimitz in attendance and presided by Vice Admiral John Hoover. The Court of Inquiry placed responsibility for losses and storm damage on Admiral Halsey but ascribed no negligence, stating that Halsey’s mistakes “were errors in judgment committed under stress of war operations and stemming from a commendable desire to meet military requirements.” In retrospect, Halsey should not have attempted any refueling operations on the morning of 18 December, but that would have required him to know where the center of the typhoon was before he did. The Court of Inquiry also determined that the commanding officers of Hull, Monaghan, and Spence maneuvered too long in an attempt to keep station, which “prevented them from concentrating early enough on saving their ships.” In the opinion of Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, it was “too much to expect of junior destroyer skippers-classes of 1937 and 1938, Naval Academy-to have pitted their brief experience against the lack of typhoon warnings and their own want of fuel.”

However, in the words of Fleet Admiral Nimitz, “The time for taking all measures for a ship’s safety is while still able to do so. Nothing is more dangerous than for a seaman to be grudging in taking precautions lest they turn out to have been unnecessary. Safety at sea for a thousand years has depended on exactly the opposite philosophy.”

Sources are: History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 13: The Liberation of the Philippines, by Samuel Eliot Morison; and the Dictionary of American Fighting Ships (DANFS).

Hancock encountered Typhoon Cobra on 17th December 1944, in waves which broke over her flight deck, some 55 ft (20m) above her waterline. She put into Ulithi 24th December and got underway six days later to attack airfields and shipping around the South China Sea. Her planes struck at Luzon airfields on 7–8 January 1945 and turned their attention back to Formosa on 9 January, hitting airfields and the Toko Seaplane Station.^[1] An enemy convoy north of Camranh Bay, Indochina was the next target, with two ships sunk and 11 damaged. That afternoon Hancock launched strikes against airfields at Saigon and shipping on the northeastern bulge of French Indochina.

 

 Japanese cruiser Kashii sinking off the coast of French Indochina 12th Jan 1945

Japanese cruiser Kashii sinking after attack by SB2Cs from USN TF38 off the coast of French Indochina 12th Jan 1945

On 10th December 1944, Kashii was reassigned to the 1st Surface Escort Group and departed Moji for Takao, Taiwan with a convoy of Army transports. From Takao, Kashii was assigned another convoy to Singapore. The new convoy was attacked by USAAF B-25 Mitchell bombers off Hainan on 25 December 1944 but escaped with little damage.

The return voyage with convoy HI-86 consisted of ten ships (4 tankers and 6 cargo ships) and the 101st Escort Group's five frigate CD kaibokans, which departed Singapore on 30th December 1944. On 12th January 1945, shortly after departing Qui Nhon Bay, Indochina, bombers from the U.S Task Force 38 comprising the aircraft carriers Lexington, Hornet, Hancock, Essex, Ticonderoga, Langley and San Jacinto attacked convoy HI-86 during the South China Sea raid, sinking most of the convoy's ships. Kashii was hit starboard amidships by a torpedo from a Grumman TBF Avenger, then a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver struck with two bombs aft, setting off the depth charge magazine. Kashii sank stern first at 13°50′N 109°20′E. Of Kashii's crew, 621 men went down with the ship and only 19 were rescued.

 USS Hancock (CV-19) carrier based planes strike Hong Kong 16th Jan 1945

Strikes by the fast and mobile carrier force continued through 16 January, hitting Hainan Island in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Pescadores Islands, and shipping in the harbor of Hong Kong. Raids against Formosa were resumed on 20th January 1945. The next afternoon one of her planes returning from a sortie made a normal landing, taxied to a point abreast of the island, and disintegrated in a blinding explosion which killed 50 men and injured 75 others. Again outstanding work quickly brought the fires under control in time to land other planes which were still aloft. She returned to formation and launched strikes against Okinawa the next morning. Hancock reached Ulithi on 25 January, where Admiral McCain left the ship and relinquished command of the 5th Fleet.^[2]

 

USS Hancock (CV-19) carrier based planes strike Hong Kong 16th Jan 1945
USS Hancock (CV-19) carrier based planes strike Hong Kong 16th Jan 1945

Battle of Iwo Jima and Battle of Okinawa

She sortied with the ships of her task group on 10 February and launched strikes against airfields in the vicinity of Tokyo on 16 February. On that day, her air group, Air Group 80, downed 71 enemy planes and accounted for 12 more the next. Her planes hit the enemy naval bases at Chichi Jima and Haha Jima on 19 February, as part of a raid to isolate Iwo Jima from air and sea support during American landing. Hancock took station off this island to provide tactical support through 22 February, hitting enemy airfields and strafing Japanese troops ashore.^[2]

Returning to waters off the Japanese home islands, Hancock launched her planes against targets on northern Honshū, making a diversionary raid on the Nansei-shoto islands on 1 March before returning to Ulithi on 4 March 1945.^[2]

 USS Hancock (CV-19) recovers a Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter circa 1944

Back in Japanese waters, Hancock joined other carriers in strikes against Kyūshū airfields, southwestern Honshū and shipping in the Inland Sea of Japan on 18 March. Hancock was refueling the destroyer Halsey Powell on 20 March when kamikazes attacked the task force. One plane dove for the two ships but was disintegrated by gunfire when about 700 ft (210 m) overhead. Fragments of the plane hit Hancock's deck while its engine and bomb crashed the fantail of the destroyer. Hancock's gunners shot down another plane as it neared the release point of its bombing run on the carrier.^[2]

Hancock was reassigned to Carrier TG 58.3 with which she struck the Nansei-shoto islands from 23 to 27 March and Minami Daito Island and Kyūshū at the end of the month.^[2]

 Curtiss SB2C-3 Helldiver from USS Hancock (CV-19) during strikes on Iwo Jima on 19th Feb 1945

Hancock provided close air support for the landing of the US 10th Army on the western coast of Okinawa on 1 April,. On 7 April a kamikaze struck her flight deck and hitting a group of planes while its bomb hit the port catapult; 62 men were killed and a further 71 wounded but the fires were put out within half an hour and she was back in action inside an hour.^[2]

 USS Hancock (CV-19) Grumman TBM Avengers over Okinawa supporting the invasion forces 4th Apr 1945

Hancock was detached from her task group on 9 April and steamed to Pearl Harbor for repairs. She sailed back into action 13 June and attacked Wake Island on 20 June en route to the Philippines. Hancock sailed from San Pedro Bay with the other carriers on 1 July and attacked Tokyo airfields on 10 July. She continued to operate in Japanese waters until she received confirmation of Japan's capitulation on 15 August 1945 when she recalled her planes from their deadly missions before they reached their targets. However planes of her photo division were attacked by seven enemy aircraft over Sagami Wan. Three were shot down and a fourth escaped in a trail of smoke. Later that afternoon planes of Hancock's air patrol shot down a Japanese torpedo plane as it dived on a British task force. Her planes flew missions over Japan in search of prison camps, dropping supplies and medicine, on 25 August. Information collected during these flights led to landings under command of Commodore R. W. Simpson which brought doctors and supplies to all Allied prisoner of war encampments.^[2]

End of the war

When the formal surrender of the Japanese government was signed on board battleship Missouri, Hancock's planes flew overhead. The carrier entered Tokyo Bay on 10 September 1945 and sailed on 30 September embarking 1,500 passengers at Okinawa for transportation to San Pedro, California, where she arrived on 21 October. Hancock was fitted out for Operation Magic Carpet duty at San Pedro and sailed for Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands on 2 November. On her return voyage, she carried 4,000 passengers who were debarked at San Diego on 4 December. A week later Hancock departed for her second Magic Carpet voyage, embarking 3,773 passengers at Manila for return to Alameda, California, on 20 January 1946. She embarked Air Group 7 at San Diego on 18 February for air operations off the coast of California. She sailed from San Diego on 11 March to embark men of two air groups and aircraft at Pearl Harbor for transportation to Saipan, arriving on 1 April. After receiving two other air groups on board at Saipan, she loaded a cargo of aircraft at Guam and steamed by way of Pearl Harbor to Alameda, arriving on 23 April. She then steamed to Seattle, Washington, on 29 April to await inactivation. The ship was decommissioned and entered the reserve fleet at Bremerton, Washington.^[2]

Postwar career

 USS Hancock (CVA-19) after completion of the SCB-27C modernization Mar 1954

Hancock commenced the SCB-27C conversion and modernization to an attack aircraft carrier in Puget Sound 15 December 1951 and was reclassified CVA-19 on 1st October 1952. She recommissioned on 15 February 1954, Captain W. S. Butts in command. She was the first carrier of the United States Fleet with steam catapults capable of launching high-performance jets.^[2] The modernization cost $60 million ($681 million today).^[4] She was off San Diego on 7 May 1954 for operations along the coast of California that included 17 June launching of the first aircraft to take off a United States carrier by means of a steam catapult. After a year of operations along the Pacific coast that included testing of Sparrow I and Regulus missiles and Cutlass jet aircraft, she sailed on 10 August 1955 for 7th Fleet operations ranging from the shores of Japan to the Philippines and Okinawa.

She returned to San Diego on 15 March 1956 and decommissioned on 13 April for her SCB-125 conversion that included the installation of an angled flight deck.^[2] Hancock recommissioned on 15 November 1956 for training out of San Diego until 6 April 1957, when she again sailed for Hawaii and the Far East. She returned to San Diego on 18 September 1957 and again departed for Japan on 15 February 1958. She was a unit of powerful carrier task groups taking station off Taiwan when the Nationalist Chinese islands of Quemoy and Matsu were threatened with Communist invasion in August 1958.^[2] The carrier returned to San Francisco on 2 October for overhaul in the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, followed by rigorous at-sea training out of San Francisco. On 1 August 1959, she sailed to reinforce the 7th Fleet as troubles in Laos demanded the watchful presence of powerful American forces in water off southeast Asia. She returned to San Francisco on 18 January 1960 and put to sea early in February to participate in the Communication Moon Relay project, a new demonstration of communications by reflecting ultra-high frequency waves off the moon. She again departed in August to steam with the 7th Fleet in waters off Laos until lessening of tension in that area permitted operations ranging from Japan to the Philippines.^[2]

 USS Hancock (CVA 19) underway in the Pacific c 1958

Hancock returned to San Francisco in March 1961, then entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an overhaul that gave her new electronics gear and many other improvements. She again set sail for Far Eastern waters on 2 February 1962, patrolling in the South China Sea as crisis and strife mounted both in Laos and in South Vietnam. She again appeared off Quemoy and Matsu in June to stem a threatened Communist invasion there, then trained along the coast of Japan and in waters reaching to Okinawa. She returned to San Francisco on 7 October, made a brief cruise to the coast of Hawaii while qualifying pilots then again sailed on 7 June 1963 for the Far East.^[2]

 USS Hancock (CVS 19) passes beneath the Golden Gate Bridge en route out into the Pacific c 1963

Hancock joined in combined defense exercises along the coast of South Korea, then deployed off the coast of South Vietnam after the coup which resulted in the death of President Diem. She entered the Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard on 16 January 1964 for modernization that included installation of a new ordnance system, hull repairs, and aluminum decking for her flight deck.^[2] She celebrated her 20th birthday on 2 June while visiting San Diego. The carrier made a training cruise to Hawaii, then departed Alameda on 21 October for another tour of duty with the 7th Fleet in the Far East.^[2]

Vietnam War

 USS Hancock (CVA-19) moored at the Naval Air Station North Island San Diego California 18th July 1970

USS Hancock (CVA-19) moored at the Naval Air Station North Island San Diego California 18th July 1970
Hancock at San Diego in 1970; moored behind are (l-r) Midway, Kitty Hawk and Ticonderoga

Hancock reached Japan on 19 November and soon was on patrol at Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. She remained active in Vietnamese waters until heading for home early in the spring of 1965.^[2] November found the carrier steaming back to the war zone. She was on patrol off Vietnam on 16 December; and, but for brief respites at Hong Kong, the Philippines, or Japan, Hancock remained on station launching her planes for strikes at enemy positions ashore until returning to Alameda on 1 August 1966. Her outstanding record during this combat tour won her the Navy Unit Commendation.^[2]

Following operations off the West Coast, Hancock returned to Vietnam early in 1967 and resumed her strikes against Communist positions. After fighting during most of the first half of 1967, she returned to Alameda on 22 July and promptly began preparations for returning to battle.^[2]

In the summer of 1969, she was back in Alameda preparing for yet another deployment to southeast Asia. In July, while in pre-deployment night landing exercises, an F-8 came in too low and crashed into the round-down splitting the aircraft into two pieces which hurtled down the deck and erupted in a massive fuel-fed fire. While there were no deaths, damage to the flight deck was extensive, resulting in a frenetic 24 × 7 repair effort to be ready by the deployment date.

Aircraft from Hancock, along with those from USS Ranger and USS Oriskany, joined with other planes for air strikes against North Vietnamese missile and antiaircraft sites south of the 19th parallel in response to attacks on unarmed U.S. reconnaissance aircraft on 21–22 November 1970 (Operation Freedom Bait). Hancock alternated with Ranger and Kitty Hawk on Yankee Station until 10 May 1971, when she was relieved by Midway.^[2]

 Douglas A-4F Skyhawks VA 55 aboard USS Hancock (CV-19) for a mission over Vietnam 25th May 1972

Hancock, along with USS Coral Sea, was back on Yankee Station by 30 March 1972 when North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam. In response to the invasion, Naval aircraft from Hancock and other carriers flew tactical sorties during Operation Freedom Train against military and logistics targets in the southern part of North Vietnam. By the end of April, the strikes covered more areas in North Vietnam throughout the area below 20°25′ N. From 25 to 30 April 1972, aircraft from Hancock's VA-55, VA-164, VF-211 and VA-212^[5] struck enemy-held territory around Kontum and Pleiku.^[2]

On 17 March 1975 Hancock was ordered to offload her air wing. On arrival at Subic Bay, she offloaded CAG 21.^[6] On 26 March, Marine Heavy Lift Helicopter Squadron HMH-463 comprising 25 CH-53, CH-46, AH-1J and UH-1E helicopters embarked on Hancock and then proceeded to Subic Bay to offload the other half of CAG 21.^[6] After taking on more helicopters at Subic Bay, Hancock was temporarily assigned to Amphibious Ready Group Bravo, standing by off Vung Tau, South Vietnam, but on 11 April she joined Amphibious Ready Group Alpha in the Gulf of Thailand.^[6]: 110  Hancock then took part in Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh on 12 April 1975 and Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon on 29–30 April 1975.^[7] From 12 to 14 May, she was alerted, although not utilized, for the recovery of SS Mayagüez, a US merchantman with 39 crew, seized in international waters on 12 May by the Communist Khmer Rouge.^[2]

Decommissioning

Hancock was decommissioned on 30 January 1976. She was stricken from the Navy list the following day,^{[Note 3]} and sold for scrap by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) on 1 September 1976.^[2] By January 1977, ex-Hancock was being scrapped in Los Angeles harbor and artifacts were being sold to former crew members and the general public, including items ranging from portholes to the anchor chain. The Associated Press noted that some of the scrap metal from the World War II-serving aircraft carrier would ironically be sold to Japan to manufacture automobiles.^[8]

Awards

Hancock was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and received four battle stars on the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal for service in World War II.^[2] She also earned 13 battle stars for service in Vietnam.

According to the US Navy Unit Awards website, Hancock and her crew received the following awards, in approximately chronological order:

American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4 battle stars)
World War II Victory Medal
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Philippine Liberation Medal