USS Hancock

Not to be confused with USS Hancock (1775), USS Hancock (1776), or USS Hancock (AP-3)

## Information

### Fate

Scrapped 1977

USS Hancock (CV/CVA-19) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth ship to bear the name 'Hancock'.

### Career

Hancock's first assignment was the United States 3rd Fleet's Task Group 38.2 in October 1944.

She arrived off the coast of Ryukyu on October 10, 1944. Her aircraft shot down 7 Japanese aircraft, and sank 1 submarine tender, 7 torpedo boats, 2 midget submarines, 4 cargo ships, and many small sampans.

On October 12, Hancock's air wing struck Formosa, destroying air bases. She shot down 2 aircraft with her anti-aircraft guns.

Several more aircraft attacked and 1 dropped a bomb through Hancock's gun platform, however it landed in the water. She shot down 2 more aircraft.

Her aircraft attacked the Center Force after the Battle of Samar. Throughout early November her aircraft bombed the Philippines.

Hancock shot down a Kamikaze on November 25th but took minor damage when pieces of it hit the deck.

On November 27th, 1944, she returned to Ulithi and then went back to the Philippines, using her fighters to patrol for kamikazes. The aircraft also bombed several airfields.

On December 17th, she was hit by Typhoon Cobra. She returned home on the 24th and then patrolled the South China Sea. Her aircraft bombed Hainan, Indochina, Hong Kong, and the Pescadores. One of her aircraft exploded on the flight deck, killing 50.

On February 10, 1945, she sortied to Japan and bombed bases around Tokyo. She also attacked Haha Jima and Chichi Jima. Her aircraft also softened up Iwo Jima before the landings.

She attacked Honshu before returning home on March 4th, 1945.

Hancock returned on March 18 to attack Kyushu. On March 20, while refueling USS Halsey Powell, she shot down 2 kamikazes.

In late March she was reassigned to Task Group 58.3.

On April 1, she took a hit from a kamikaze that killed 60 men. She was in action an hour later.

In June Hancock struck Wake Island and Sagami Wan, where her aircraft destroyed 3 Japanese aircraft.

Hancock's aircraft were a part of the victory flyby over the USS Missouri when Japan surrendered. She helped ferry troops home after the war.

In 1952 she received the SBC-27C upgrade and was redesignated CVA-19.

In 1956 she received the SBC-125 conversion upgrade.

From 1957 to 1964, she deployed to the Far East repeatedly, as well as South Korea.

On November 19, 1964, she took over Yankee Station. She returned home in the spring of 1965.

She performed airstrikes against Vietnam throughout 1966 and 1967.

In 1969, an F-8 Crusader crashed while landing.

Her air group joined USS Oriskany and USS Ranger's in November 1970 to destroy SAM sites. She alternated with USS Ranger and USS Kittyhawk on Yankee Station until May 1971 when she was relieved by USS Midway.

Hancock and USS Coral Sea returned to Yankee Station in 1972, striking truck convoys and other logistical targets. In April she bombed occupied South Vietnam.

In 1973, her air wing was replaced by a helicopter unit.

She was ready for use during the Mayaguez incident but was not utilized.

She was decommissioned in 1976 and scrapped in 1977.