View source for USS Gambier Bay

{{short description|Casablanca-class escort carrier of the US Navy}}
{{More footnotes|date=April 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=CVE 73 Gambier Bay.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Gambier Bay''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1943}}
|Ship name=''Gambier Bay''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Kaiser Shipyards]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
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|Ship laid down=10 July 1943
|Ship launched=22 November 1943
|Ship sponsor=
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|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=28 December 1943
|Ship recommissioned=
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|Ship struck=27 November 1944
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|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sunk on 25 October 1944 in the [[Battle off Samar]]
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Casablanca|escort carrier}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|7800|LT|t|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|512|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} ([[Length overall|o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|65|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}, {{convert|108|ft|m|abbr=on}} maximum width
|Ship draft={{convert|22|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power={{convert|9000|ihp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 × 5-cylinder Skinner Uniflow reciprocating [[steam engine]]s
*4 × 285 psi boilers
*2 × screws
|Ship speed={{convert|19|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship range={{convert|10240|nmi|mi km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=860
|Ship sensors=
|Ship armament=*1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|sigfig=3}}/38 cal]] [[dual purpose gun]]
*16 × [[Bofors 40 mm gun|{{convert|40|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} Bofors]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft gun]]s (8×2)
*20 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} Oerlikon anti-aircraft]] [[Autocannon|cannon]]s (20×1)
|Ship aircraft=28
|Ship aircraft facilities=*2 × elevators
*1 × [[Aircraft catapult|catapult]]
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label=
|partof=[[United States Pacific Fleet]]
|codes=
|commanders=[[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Hugh H. Goodwin]], Captain Walter V. R. Vieweg
|operations=[[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign]], [[Philippines campaign (1944–45)|Philippines campaign]], [[Battle off Samar]]
|victories=
|awards=*[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]]
*4 [[Battle star]]s
}}
|}

'''USS ''Gambier Bay'' (CVE-73)''' was a {{sclass|Casablanca|escort carrier}} of the [[United States Navy]].<ref name="danfs" /> She was sunk in the [[Battle off Samar]] during the Battle of Leyte Gulf after helping to turn back a much larger attacking Japanese surface force. She was the only American aircraft carrier sunk by enemy surface gunfire during World War II.

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 (United States)|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.<ref name="danfs">{{cite DANFS | last = Evans | first = Mark L. | title = Gambier Bay | url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/gambier-bay.html | date = 2019-07-09 | accessdate = 2021-04-12}}</ref>

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.

==Service history==

===World War II===
[[File:Gambierbaymodel.jpg|left|thumb|Model of ''Gambier Bay'' at [[USS Midway (CV-41)|USS ''Midway'' museum]]]]

After shakedown out of [[San Diego]], the escort carrier sailed on 7 February 1944 with 400 troops embarked for [[Pearl Harbor]], thence to rendezvous off the Marshalls, guarded by the [[destroyer]] {{USS|Norman Scott|DD-690|2}}, where she flew 84 replacement planes to the fleet carrier {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}}.<ref name="Hoyt">{{cite book |last=Hoyt |first=Edwin P. |date=1979 |pages=51–56 |title=The Men of the Gambier Bay |publisher=Avon Books |publication-place=New York, NY |publication-date=1981 |isbn=0-380-55806-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/menofgambierbay00hoyt |url-access=registration |oclc=7857043}}</ref> She returned to San Diego via Pearl Harbor, ferrying aircraft for repairs and qualified carrier pilots off the coast of Southern [[California]]. She departed on 1 May to join [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Harold B. Sallada]]'s Carrier Support Group 2 (TG&nbsp;52.11), staging in the Marshalls for the invasion of the Marianas.{{sfn|Hoyt|1979|pp=85&ndash;89}}

''Gambier Bay'' gave close air support to the initial landings of Marines on [[Saipan]] 15 June 1944, destroying enemy gun emplacements, troops, tanks, and trucks. On the 17th, her [[combat 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 the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]]. ''Gambier Bay'' continued close ground support operations at [[Tinian]] (19–31 July), then turned her attention to [[Guam]], where she gave identical aid to invading troops until 11 August.
[[Image:CVE 73 Gambier Bay underway.jpg|thumb|left|''Gambier Bay'' underway]]

After a respite for logistics in the Marshalls, ''Gambier Bay'' spent 15–28 September supporting the amphibious attack which drove ashore and captured [[Peleliu]] and [[Angaur]], Southern Palaus. She then steamed by way of [[Jayapura|Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura)]], [[New Guinea]], to [[Manus Island]], Admiralties, where the invasion of the [[Philippines]] was staged. Screened by four destroyer escorts, ''Gambier Bay'' and her [[sister ship]] {{USS|Kitkun Bay|CVE-71|2}} escorted transports and amphibious landing ships safely to [[Leyte Gulf]] before joining Rear Admiral [[Clifton A. F. Sprague]]'s escort carrier task unit on 19 September off [[Leyte (island)|Leyte]].

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 northern [[Mindanao]] and off the entrance to Leyte Gulf, "Taffy 3" steamed off [[Samar (island)|Samar]].

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 through [[Surigao Strait]] to join the Center Force off Leyte Gulf. While steaming through the [[Sibuyan Sea]] en route to the [[San Bernardino Strait]] on 24 October, the Center Force was hit hard by hundreds of planes from the carriers of [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William F. Halsey, Jr.|William "Bull" Halsey]]'s [[United States Third Fleet|Third Fleet]]. After the [[Battle 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 off [[Cape Engaño (Luzon)|Cape Engaño]].

====Battle off Samar====
{{main|Battle off Samar}}
[[File:USS Gambier Bay at the Battle off Samar.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''Gambier Bay'' under Japanese fire during the [[Battle off Samar]]. The smudge in the upper right corner is a Japanese [[heavy cruiser]], likely {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Chikuma|1938|2}}.]]

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. The 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 {{convert|40,000|yd|km}} with a low overcast and occasional rain squalls which the American ships would use to their advantage in the coming battle.<ref name="Lundgren">{{cite book |last=Lundgren |first=Robert |date=2014 |title=The World Wonder'd: What Really Happened Off Samar |page=15 |publisher=Nimble Books |isbn= 978-1-608-88046-1}}</ref>

"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, and [[strafing]] 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'' was fired on and hit by multiple Japanese ships. ''Gambier Bay''{{'}}s lone {{convert|5|in|0|adj=on}} gun fired at an enemy cruiser that was shelling her, and the destroyers {{USS|Heermann|DD-532|2}} and {{USS|Johnston|DD-557|2}} made an unsuccessful effort to save her.
[[Image:USS Gambier Bay on fire.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''Gambier Bay'' on fire. Shells from Japanese surface forces splash down beside her (the circled ship is a Japanese battleship, probably {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}).]]

Around 08:20, ''Gambier Bay'' was severely damaged by a shell hit which flooded her forward engine room, cutting her speed in half.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cox |first=Robert Jon |title=USS Gambier Bay (CVE 73) |url=http://www.bosamar.com/pages/cve73 |access-date=16 March 2011}}</ref> While most US accounts report this as an {{convert|8|in|mm|abbr=on}} shell from the Japanese heavy cruiser {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Chikuma|1938|2}}, Japanese sources report it was more likely a damaging near miss from {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}} as both ''Yamato'' and {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Kongō||2}} claimed hits on an aircraft carrier at this time but ''Yamato'' had the shorter range and a better target angle.{{sfn|Lundgren|2014|p=131}} ''Gambier Bay'' was soon dead in the water as the battleship ''Yamato'' closed to point blank range. ''Yamato'' is seen in the background of American photographs taken during the attack on "Taffy 3".<ref name="Polmar">{{cite book |last=Polmar |first=Norman |collaboration=Genda, Minoru; Brown, Eric M.; Langdon, Robert M.; Mersky, Peter B. |date=2006 |title=Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events |volume=1: 1909&ndash;1945 |publisher=Potomac Books |page=434 |isbn=1-57488-663-0}}</ref> Fires raged through the riddled escort carrier, and she capsized at 09:07 and sank at 09:11, at approximately {{coord|11|31|N|126|12|E|display=inline, title}}.{{sfn|Hoyt|1979|p=232}}<ref name="danfs" /> Most of her nearly 800 survivors were rescued two days later by landing and patrol craft dispatched from Leyte Gulf. Sharks killed many drifting crewmembers. The Americans also lost three other ships in the battle—{{USS|Hoel|DD-533|2}}, {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|DE-413|2}}, and ''Johnston''. ''Gambier Bay'' was the only US Navy aircraft carrier sunk by surface naval gunfire during World War II.{{sfn|Hoyt|1979|p=248}}

Aircraft from "Taffy 2" joined in the battle off Samar. The events that followed were described by Admiral Sprague:

<blockquote>"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."</blockquote>
[[Image:LeyteGambierBayStraddle.jpg|thumb|300px|''Gambier Bay'', burning from earlier gunfire damage, is straddled by a salvo from a Japanese [[cruiser]], most likely {{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Chikuma|1938|2}} (faintly visible in the background, center-right), shortly before sinking during the Battle off Samar.]]

''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.

==Awards==
''Gambier Bay'' received four [[Service star|battle star]]s for service in World War II and shared in the award of the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] to "Taffy 3" for extraordinary heroism in the Battle off Samar. Commanding officer Captain Walter V. R. Vieweg received the [[Navy Cross]] for his "extraordinary heroism".<ref name="viewegNavy">{{cite web |title=Vieweg, Walter Victor Rudolph |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-v/vieweg-walter-victor-rudolph.html |website=Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library |access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref> Executive officer Richard R. Ballinger received the [[Silver Star]] "for conscious gallantry and intrepidity".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ballinger, Richard Robert |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-b/ballinger-richard-robert.html |website=Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library |access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of U.S. Navy losses in World War II]]

==References==
{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/gambier-bay.html}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Astor |first=Gerald |date=2004 |title=Wings of Gold - The U.S. Naval Campaign in World War II |publisher=The Random House Publishing Group |isbn=0-89141-853-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Cutler |first=Thomas J. |date=1994 |title=The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23–26 October 1944 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-0601-6949-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Hornfischer |first=James |date=2004 |title=The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors |publisher=Bantam Dell |isbn=978-0-553-38148-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Morison |first=Samuel E. |author-link=Samuel Eliot Morison |date=2011 |title=Leyte, June 1944 – January 1945 |series=[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]] |volume=XII |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn= 978-1-5911-4535-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Ross |first=Al |date=1993 |title=The Escort Carrier Gambier Bay |series=[[Anatomy of the Ship series]] |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-8517-7613-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Sears |first=David |date=2005 |title=The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices of Leyte |publisher=Praeger Publishers |isbn=978-0275985202}}
* {{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Evan |date=2006 |title=Sea of Thunder |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7432-5221-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/seaofthunderfour00thom |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Y'Blood |first=William T. |date=1999 |orig-year=First published 1987 |title=The Little Giants: U.S. Escort Carriers Against Japan |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-5575-0980-2}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73)}}
* [http://www.ussgambierbay-vc10.com/ USS ''Gambier Bay'' (CVE-73) & Composite Squadron VC-10] official website
* [http://www.ussgambierbay.org/ USS ''Gambier Bay'' (CVE-73) & Composite Squadron VC-10] association website
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/073.htm NavSource Online: Escort Carrier Photo Archive USS ''Gambier Bay'' (CVE-73)]
* [http://www.ussgambierbay-vc10.com/special_pages/T_Montague.htm The Ship Has Sunk and the Sharks are Hungry] — the account of survivor Earl Bagley
* {{cite web |author=National Museum of the U.S. Navy |title=Gambier Bay (CVE-73) |medium=Photography Exhibit |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/ships-us/ships-usn-g/uss-gambier-bay-cve-73.html |publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]}}

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{{Casablanca class escort carrier}}
{{Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambier Bay (Cve-73)}}
[[Category:Casablanca-class escort carriers]]
[[Category:United States Navy Alaska-related ships]]
[[Category:World War II escort aircraft carriers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vancouver, Washington]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1944]]
[[Category:S4-S2-BB3 ships]]