80 years ago today:
A great shot of the brand new Essex-class fleet carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) underway in Boston harbor on 15 April 1944, the day of her commissioning from the Fore River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts. The paint scheme is Measure 32, Design 3A; note the small hull number on the Dull Black bow area.
Official US Navy photograph from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NH&HC), # NH 91546.
As noted of this image by Wolfgang Hechler at Navsource:
Hancock was the only “long bow” Essex to wear Design 3A. Since all the Pattern Design Sheets had been prepared for “short bow” Essexes, there were several noticeable differences in the bow area for Intrepid (CV-11), Hornet (CV-12), and Franklin (CV-13)—compare, for example, to this photo of Intrepid. Two 40-mm quad AA mounts were fitted on the extended forecastle of the “long hull” ships. Hancock had two more 40-mm mounts on the fantail but none on the starboard side, amidships. There were four deck-edge masts.
Just six months after the above image was snapped, the new carrier had completed shakedowns and air group quals then joined the Pacific Third Fleet in time for the brutal Philippines Campaign in October 1944.
Hannah earned four battle stars in her short but hectic WWII service. Reconstructed twice during the Cold War (SCB-27C then later SCB-125), she was dubbed an attack carrier (CVA-19) and went on to complete nine deployments to Vietnam– eight with Carrier Air Wing 21 (CVG/CVW-21), and one with CVW-5.
She would earn 13 Vietnam battle stars along with five Navy Unit Commendations and was present for the endgame in April 1975 when Saigon fell, saving 2,500 souls.
USS HANCOCK (CVA-19) With men of VA-55 and crew members information of “44-74” in honor of the ship’s thirty years of service. Photo taken 3 January 1974 by PH1 Cook. NH 84727
Of her sisters, the wooden-decked Hancock outlived all in the fleet except the training carrier USS Lexington and 1950s latecomer USS Oriskany. Even with that, the newer (and steel-decked!) Oriskany was laid up just eight months after Hannah.
Decommissioned for the last time on 30 January 1976 and struck from the Navy list the following day, Hannah was sold for scrap that same September.