Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Whiskey - Uniform
| Casablanca Class Escort Carrier | |||||
| Awarded | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Stricken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jun 1942 | 10 Jul 1943 | 22 Nov 1943 | 28 Dec 1943 | 27 Nov 1944 | |
| Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash. | |||||
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Fate: Sunk by gunfire of Japanese surface warships off Samar, Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 25, 1944. USS Gambier Bay and the other ships and aircraft of "Taffy 3," aided by planes of "Taffy 2," gallantly fought and stopped the powerful Japanese Center Force, and inflicted significant losses on the enemy. However, Gambier Bay was heavily damaged in this action; she capsized at 0907 and sank four minutes later. Nearly 800 survivors were rescued by Task Group 78.12. More than 130 of her crew were lost with the ship and remain on active duty. |
| Click On Image
For Full Size Image |
Size | Image Description | Contributed
By And/Or Copyright |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 NS0307301 |
15k | (Poor quality) Undated, as completed. | USN | |
 NS0307302 |
76k | Underway, good image showing AA armament. | USN | |
 NS0307307 |
94k | Ensign Darrell C. Bennett, A-V(N), USNR, stands beside his plane, a General Motors FM-2 Wildcat fighter, on board USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), 1 August 1944. Note pinup art and nickname "Smokey's Lucky Witch" adorning the engine cowling; what appears to be a Composite Squadron Ten (VC-10) insignia below the cockpit windshield; plane numbers ("27") in white on the wing leading edge and in black under the lip of the cowling; and Ensign's Bennett's flight gear and .45 caliber M1911A1 pistol carried in a shoulder holster. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (# 80-G-243864). Doug Bennett comments: "Ensign Darrell C. Bennett had an older brother stationed on the St. Lo. Both were stationed on their ships when they sank AND both are still alive [as of May 2009]! They are my uncles." |
NHC | |
| Battle off Samar, October 25, 1944 |
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 NS0307305 |
20k | Straddled by gunfire. | Haze Gray & Underway | |
 NS0307303 |
74k | Gambier Bay burning and shells from Japanese surface forces splashing down beside her. (Circled ship is a Japanese heavy cruiser. This is one of the few photos showing both American and Japanese ships in the same image.) | USN | |
 NS0307304 |
89k | Another photo of Gambier Bay under Japanese fire during the Battle of Samar. The smudge in the upper right corner is another Japanese heavy cruiser. | USN | |
 NS0307306 |
33k | Obscured by intense fire. | Haze Gray & Underway | |
 NS0307308 |
60k | USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) bracketed by Japanese gunfire during the Battle of Leyte Gulf (US National Archives photo from Nemesis: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45, by Max Hastings). |
Robert Hurst | |
 NS0307309 Get FREE Adobe Reader  |
144k | Letter from Captain Walter V.R. Vieweg, Commanding Officer, USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), to the Commanding Officer and Crew of LCI(L)-337, thanking them for saving the lives of the survivors of the escort carrier, sunk by enemy gunfire on 25 October 1944. |
Marc Levine | |
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Last update: 14 June 2009
