 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2010) |
 USS Gambier Bay
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Gambier Bay |
| Namesake | Gambier Bay on Admiralty Island, east of Angoon, 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 and awards | Four battle stars, Presidential Unit Citation awarded to all ships of "Taffy 3" |
| Fate | Sunk by enemy battleship and cruiser gunfire on 25 October 1944 in the Battle off Samar |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Casablanca-class escort 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: | Captain Hugh H. Goodwin, Captain Walter V. R. Vieweg |
| Operations: | Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, Philippines campaign, Battle off Samar |
| Awards: | |
USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy.[1] During the Battle off Samar, part of the overall Battle 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 the battleship Yamato, taking at least 15 hits between 8:10 and 8:40. She was the only American aircraft carrier sunk by enemy surface gunfire during World War II.[2]
Named for Gambier Bay on Admiralty Island in the Alaska Panhandle, she was originally classified AVG-73, was reclassified ACV-73 on 20 August 1942 and again reclassified CVE-73 on 15 July 1943; launched under a Maritime Commission contract by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington on 22 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Zitzewitz, wife of Lieutenant 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 at Astoria, Oregon on 28 December 1943, Captain Hugh 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.
- ^ a b Evans, Mark L. (9 July 2019). "Gambier Bay". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Tillman, Barrett (10 February 2024). "Gambier Bay's final hours".