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For other ships of the same name, see USS Bunker Hill.
USS Bunker Hill (CV/CVA/CVS-17, AVT-9) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the first US Navy ship to bear the name, was named for the Battle of Bunker Hill. Bunker Hill was commissioned in May 1943, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning eleven battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. Bunker Hill was sometimes known as the "Holiday Express" for her many attacks launched around the end of the year[citation needed]. She was badly damaged in May 1945 by Japanese kamikaze attacks, with the loss of hundreds of her crew, becoming one of the most heavily damaged carriers to survive the war.[1] After the attack she returned to the U.S. mainland for repairs and was decommissioned in 1947. While in reserve she was reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA), then an antisubmarine carrier (CVS), and finally an aircraft transport (AVT), but was never modernized and never saw active service again. Bunker Hill and Franklin were the only Essex-class ships never recommissioned after World War II.[1] Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1966, she served as an electronics test platform for many years in San Diego bay, and was sold for scrap in 1973.
[edit] Construction and CommissioningBunker Hill was laid down on 15 September 1941 at the Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, and launched on 7 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Donald Boynton. She was commissioned on 24 May 1943, with Captain J. J. Ballentine in command. [edit] Service history[edit] World War II[edit] 1943-44Reporting to the Pacific in the fall of 1943, Bunker Hill participated in carrier operations during: the Rabaul strike (11 November 1943); Gilbert Islands operation, including support of the landings on Tarawa Atoll (13 November–8 December); the Kavieng strikes in support of the Bismarck Archipelago operation (25 December 1943, 1 January and 4 January 1944); Marshall Islands operation (29 January–8 February); strikes against Truk (17–18 February), during which eight Japanese combatant vessels were sunk; Mariana Islands raid (23 February); Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raids (30 March–1 April); Truk-Satawan-Ponape raids (29 April–1 May); Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) operation (21–28 April); and Marianas operation (12 June–10 August), including the Battle of the Philippine Sea.  On 19 June 1944, during the opening phases of the Marianas battle, Bunker Hill was damaged when an enemy near-miss scattered shrapnel fragments across the ship. Two men were killed and over 80 were wounded. Bunker Hill continued to fight, with her aircraft shooting down some of the 476 Japanese aircraft destroyed during the battle, and assisting in the sinking of a Japanese carrier. During September, she participated in the Western Caroline Islands operation and then launched strikes at Okinawa, Luzon, and Formosa until November. On 6 November, Bunker Hill retired from the forward area and steamed to Bremerton, Washington, for a period of yard availability.[clarification needed] Repairs completed, she departed the west coast of the United States on 24 January 1945 and returned to the war front. [edit] 1945 During the remaining months of World War II, Bunker Hill participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima: the 5th Fleet raids against Honshū and the Nansei Shoto (15 February–4 March); and the 5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of the Battle of Okinawa. On 7 April 1945, Bunker Hill's planes took part in a Fast Carrier Task Force attack on a Japanese naval force in the East China Sea. Yamato, one cruiser, and four destroyers were sunk during Operation Ten-Go.   On the morning of 11 May 1945, while supporting the Okinawa invasion, Bunker Hill was hit and severely damaged by two kamikazes. An A6M Zero appeared from a low cloud, dived toward the flight deck and dropped a 551 lb (250 kg) bomb, which went through the vessel and exploded in the sea. The Zero then crashed onto the flight deck, destroying parked planes full of fuel, causing a huge fire. The remains of the Zero went over the deck and dropped into the sea. Then, a scant 30 seconds later, a second Zero, piloted by Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa, plunged into a suicide dive. The Zero went through the AA fire, dropped a 551 lb (250 kg) bomb, and crashed into the flight deck near the control tower, as kamikazes were trained to aim for the island superstructure (as was the case with Sangamon). The bomb penetrated Bunker Hill's flight deck and exploded. Gasoline fires flamed up and several explosions took place. The ship suffered the loss of 346 men killed, 43 missing, and 264 wounded. Although badly crippled, Bunker Hill managed to return to Bremerton via Pearl Harbor. [edit] Post-WarIn September, Bunker Hill reported for duty with the "Operation Magic Carpet" fleet, returning veterans from the Pacific. She remained on this duty as a unit of TG 16.12 until January 1946, when she was ordered to Bremerton for deactivation. She was decommissioned into reserve on 9 January 1947.  While laid up, she was reclassified three times, becoming CVA-17 in October 1952, CVS-17 in August 1953 and AVT-9 in May 1959, the latter designation indicating that any future commissioned duty would be as an aircraft transport. As all Essex-class carriers survived the war, the peacetime navy had no need for the services of Bunker Hill. She and Franklin, which also had sustained severe damage from aerial attack, were the only carriers in their class that did not see active duty after the end of World War II, despite being repaired. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in November 1966, Bunker Hill was used as a stationary electronics test platform at San Diego during the 1960s and early 1970s. She was sold for scrapping in May 1973. [edit] AwardsBunker Hill received the Presidential Unit Citation for the period 11 November 1943 to 11 May 1945. In addition, she received 11 battle stars for her World War II service. [edit] See also
[edit] References[edit] Footnotes[edit] SourcesThis article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
[edit] External links
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