Posted on 09/11/2005 10:38:43 PM PDT by SAMWolf
She was the first of her flock to go, but before war's end in 1945, the ill-fated CVE-56 would be joined by five more American-built escort carriers (CVEs) sunk by enemy action. They were: Block Island (CVE-21), sunk by the German submarine U-549 in the Atlantic on May 29, 1944; Gambier Bay (CVE-73), sunk in the Battle of Samar by Japanese cruiser gunfire on October 25, 1944; St. Lo (CVE-63), sunk by a Japanese kamikaze plane attack on October 25, 1944; Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), scuttled after being struck by a kamikaze on January 4, 1945; and Bismarck Sea (CVE-95), sunk by a kamikaze off Iwo Jima on February 21, 1945.
Forces on land got most of the press in WW2. You sometimes get the impression from all the war films that soldiers and marines were the only ones who paid the ultimate price. Having your ship shot our from under you with the sea waiting on you wasn't a pleasant prospect.
70% of the crew of the Liscome Bay! Terrible tragedy. The brave sailors on these ships never get the recognition they deserve. Thanks for this thread.
Ping to this poem. I think you might like it.
WOW!
Thanks for the Kleenex warning.
This is wonderful.
If I ever become a motion picture producer/director...I will do my utmost to bring to the big-screen, in a very historically-accurate way, the Story of TAFFY 3 vs. Admiral Kurit'as Battleship & Cruiser Fleet.
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