USS Gambier Bay ( CVE - 73 ) USS " Gambier Bay " ( CVE - 73 ) was a " Casablanca " - class escort carrier of the United States Navy . She was sunk in the Battle off Samar after helping to turn back a much larger attacking Japanese surface force . 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 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 . 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 . " Gambier Bay " — being the 19th and last Kaiser - built carrier commissioned in 1943 — hence was dubbed the " Bonus Ship " . No ships in her class survive to this day . Service history . World War II . 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 , where she flew 84 replacement planes to the fleet carrier . 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 H . B . Sallada ' s Carrier Support Group 2 ( TG 52 . 11 ) , staging in the Marshalls for the invasion of the Marianas . " 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 . 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 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 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 . 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 , 18 escort carriers — divided into three , six - carrier task units ( " 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 . 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 William " Bull " Halsey ′ s 3rd 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 . Battle off Samar . 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 . " Taffy 3 " was strongly outgunned by the Center Force , but the presence of enemy ships in Leyte Gulf was unthinkable , so " Taffy 3 " turned to engage the enemy . Immediately , an urgent call for help went out from " Taffy 3 " as the escort carriers steamed eastward and launched planes . 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 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 gun fired at an enemy cruiser that was shelling her , and the destroyers and made an unsuccessful effort to save her . Around 08 : 20 , " Gambier Bay " was severely damaged by an shell from the Japanese Heavy Cruiser which flooded her forward engine room , cutting her speed in half . " Gambier Bay " was soon dead in the water as the battleship closed to point blank range . " Yamato " is clearly seen in the background of photographs taken during the attack on " Taffy 3 " . Fires raged through the riddled escort carrier , and she capsized and sank at 09 : 07 . The majority of her nearly 800 survivors were rescued two days later by landing and patrol craft dispatched from Leyte Gulf . Sharks killed many drifting crewmembers . Three other ships — , , and " Johnston " — were also lost in the battle . Aircraft from " Taffy 2 " joined in the battle off Samar . The events that followed were described by Admiral Sprague : " At 0925 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 . " " Gambier Bay " and other ships of " Taffy 3 " — aided by planes of " Taffy 2 " — had stopped the powerful Japanese Center Force and inflicted significant losses . Two 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 battle star s for service in World War II and shared in the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to " Taffy 3 " for extraordinary heroism in the Battle off Samar . Approximate Sinking Location . References . " Flat Top Flash " , published weekly by Kaiser Company , Inc . ' s Vancouver Yard during years of carrier construction . Henry J . Kaiser Manuscript Collection , Bancroft Library , University of California at Berkeley .