Wreck of USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95)
| Second World War 1939-1945, military, aircraft, shipwreck, aircraft carrier, United States Navy
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Second World War 1939-1945, military, aircraft, shipwreck, aircraft carrier, United States Navy
The USS Bismark Sea was the 40th Casablanca Class Escort Aircraft Carrier (CVE) built for the United States Navy, laid down at the Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard in January 1944 and commissioned into service with the US Pacific Fleet in May of the same year.
Assigned to the US 7th Fleet at Ulithi Atoll, the Bismarck Sea and her crew steamed to the Philippine Islands where they provided air support to US forces fighting on Leyte Island before moving up the archipelago and taking part in the Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945. Retiring to Ulithi for a period of upkeep, reprovisioning and rest for her crew, Bismarck Sea arrived off the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima on February 16th after escorting a reinforcement convoy from Ulithi to the front lines.
Disengaged from her convoy the Bismarck Sea began providing close air support for the troops fighting on Iwo Jima which involved almost nonstop air operations from well before dawn to well after dark every day. Crews aboard ship found no respite in between busy flight recovery and launching cycles from the ever-present threat of massed Kamikaze attack by Japanese aircraft, something they were first exposed to in the Philippines.
In the early afternoon of February 21st the Bismarck Sea had launched her scheduled afternoon strike and was maneuvering out of the combat area when her task force came under Kamikaze attack by a small group of Japanese aircraft. Despite her evasive maneuvering and a pall of AA fire thrown up by her gunners and those on her escorts, a single Japanese aircraft managed to weave through her defenses and slammed into the Bismarck Sea's Starboard hull directly beneath her 40mm battery. The plane's motor punched through the unarmored steel of the Carrier's hull and hangar deck before striking the armored casing around the forward magazines, causing several large fires which were soon spreading through the ship and threatening to set off the explosive-filled compartment. Damage control teams flooded her magazines and raced to confront the rapidly spreading fires as her Captain maneuvered his vessel to keep the flames forward, and after a few hours of tenacious efforts the gasoline fires were nearly under control.
Unfortunately another wave of Kamikaze's were soon overhead, eager to destroy the damaged American Carrier. Obscured by smoke from her own fires, Bismarck Sea's gunners again tried in vain to repel the coordinated suicide attack, but another aircraft penetrated her defenses and slammed into her rear flight deck elevator, severing her fire main and coating much of her hangar bay in gasoline-fed flames. Now severely damaged and with no way to fight the rapidly spreading fire onboard, the Bismarck Sea was ordered abandoned.
As her surviving crew swam clear of the ship to nearby Destroyers, the onboard fires reached the Bismarck Sea's rear magazines and set off an enormous explosion that sealed the Carriers fate. As her escorts withdrew from the area, the burning hulk of the Bismarck Sea sank Stern-first at this location on February 21st, 1945 with 318 of her crew still aboard ship.
For her actions during the Second World War, USS Bismarck Sea was awarded three Battle Stars.
www.navsource.org/archives/03/095.htm
Assigned to the US 7th Fleet at Ulithi Atoll, the Bismarck Sea and her crew steamed to the Philippine Islands where they provided air support to US forces fighting on Leyte Island before moving up the archipelago and taking part in the Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945. Retiring to Ulithi for a period of upkeep, reprovisioning and rest for her crew, Bismarck Sea arrived off the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima on February 16th after escorting a reinforcement convoy from Ulithi to the front lines.
Disengaged from her convoy the Bismarck Sea began providing close air support for the troops fighting on Iwo Jima which involved almost nonstop air operations from well before dawn to well after dark every day. Crews aboard ship found no respite in between busy flight recovery and launching cycles from the ever-present threat of massed Kamikaze attack by Japanese aircraft, something they were first exposed to in the Philippines.
In the early afternoon of February 21st the Bismarck Sea had launched her scheduled afternoon strike and was maneuvering out of the combat area when her task force came under Kamikaze attack by a small group of Japanese aircraft. Despite her evasive maneuvering and a pall of AA fire thrown up by her gunners and those on her escorts, a single Japanese aircraft managed to weave through her defenses and slammed into the Bismarck Sea's Starboard hull directly beneath her 40mm battery. The plane's motor punched through the unarmored steel of the Carrier's hull and hangar deck before striking the armored casing around the forward magazines, causing several large fires which were soon spreading through the ship and threatening to set off the explosive-filled compartment. Damage control teams flooded her magazines and raced to confront the rapidly spreading fires as her Captain maneuvered his vessel to keep the flames forward, and after a few hours of tenacious efforts the gasoline fires were nearly under control.
Unfortunately another wave of Kamikaze's were soon overhead, eager to destroy the damaged American Carrier. Obscured by smoke from her own fires, Bismarck Sea's gunners again tried in vain to repel the coordinated suicide attack, but another aircraft penetrated her defenses and slammed into her rear flight deck elevator, severing her fire main and coating much of her hangar bay in gasoline-fed flames. Now severely damaged and with no way to fight the rapidly spreading fire onboard, the Bismarck Sea was ordered abandoned.
As her surviving crew swam clear of the ship to nearby Destroyers, the onboard fires reached the Bismarck Sea's rear magazines and set off an enormous explosion that sealed the Carriers fate. As her escorts withdrew from the area, the burning hulk of the Bismarck Sea sank Stern-first at this location on February 21st, 1945 with 318 of her crew still aboard ship.
For her actions during the Second World War, USS Bismarck Sea was awarded three Battle Stars.
www.navsource.org/archives/03/095.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bismarck_Sea_(CVE-95)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 24°2'21"N 141°18'49"E
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