VF-84_Ghost
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« on: December 29, 2008, 09:22:40 am » |
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The USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) was one of 24 United States Navy Essex-class aircraft carriers completed during or shortly after World War II. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name, it was named for the Battle of Bunker Hill. Bunker Hill was commissioned in May 1943, and saw service in many campaigns in the Pacific until heavily damaged in a kamikaze attack in May 1945. The ship survived, but never saw active service again. Bunker Hill was sometimes known as the "Holiday Express" for her many attacks launched around the end of the year.
The Bunker Hill was launched on 7 December 1942 at the Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, sponsored by Mrs. Donald Boynton, and commissioned on 24 May 1943, with Captain J. J. Ballentine as commander.
Class and type: Essex-class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 27,100 tons standard 36,380 tons full load
Length: 820 feet (250 m) waterline 872 feet (266 m) overall
Beam: 93 feet (28 m) waterline 147 feet 6 inches (45 m) overall
Draught: 28 feet 5 inches (8.7 m) light 34 feet 2 inches (10.4 m) full load
Propulsion: 8 × boilers 565 psi (3,900 kPa) 850 °F (450 °C) 4 × Westinghouse geared steam turbines 4 × shafts 150,000 shp (110 MW)
Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
Range: 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Armament: 4 × twin 5 inch (127 mm) 38 caliber guns 4 × single 5 inch (127 mm) 38 caliber guns 8 × quadruple 40 mm 56 caliber guns 46 × single 20 mm 78 caliber guns
Aircraft carried: 90–100 aircraft 1 × deck-edge elevator 2 × centerline elevators
On 19 June 1944, during the opening phases of the Marianas battle, Bunker Hill was damaged when an enemy attacked the ship. Two men were killed and over 80 were wounded. Bunker Hill continued to fight, with her aircraft shooting down some of the 476 Japanese aircraft destroyed during the battle, and assisting in the sinking of a Japanese carrier.On 6 November, Bunker Hill retired from the forward area and steamed to Bremerton, Washington, for a period of yard availability. Repairs completed, she departed the west coast of the United States on 24 January 1945 and returned to the war front.
Bunker Hill participated in carrier operations during: -the Rabaul strike (11 November 1943) -Gilbert Islands operation, including support of the landings on Tarawa Atoll (13 November–8 December) -The Kavieng strikes in support of the Bismarck Archipelago operation (25 December 1943) -Marshall Islands operation (29 January–8 February) -Strikes against Truk (17 February–18 February) -Marianas raid (23 February) -Palau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raids (30 March–1 April) -Truk-Satawan-Ponape raids (29 April–1 May) -Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) operation (21 April–28 April) -Marianas operation (12 June–10 August), including the Battle of the Philippine Sea. -Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 – March 26, 1945) -the 5th Fleet raids against Honshū and the Nansei Shoto (15 February–4 March) -the 5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of the Battle of Okinawa.
On the morning of 11 May 1945, while supporting the Okinawa invasion, Bunker Hill was hit and severely damaged by two kamikazes. A Japanese Zero fighter appeared from a low cloud, dived toward the flight deck and dropped a 250-kilogram bomb, which went through the vessel and exploded in the sea. The Zero then crashed onto the flight deck, destroying parked planes full of fuel, causing a huge fire. The remains of the Zero went over the deck and dropped into the sea. Then, a scant 30 seconds later, a second Zero, piloted by Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa, plunged into a suicide dive. The Zero went through the AA fire, dropped a 250-kilogram bomb, and crashed into the flight deck near the control tower as Kamikaze were trained to aim for the island. The bomb penetrated Bunker Hill’s flight deck and exploded. Gasoline fires flamed up and several explosions took place. While the attacks the most VF-84 pilots were killed in the briefing room of the carrier. The ship suffered the loss of 346 men killed, 43 missing, and 264 wounded. Although badly crippled, Bunker Hill managed to return to Bremerton via Pearl Harbor. -->
In Pacific Fighter is only the USS Essex (CV-9) and the USS intrepid (CV-11) based, therefore our homebase is the CV-9 or CV-11 in game.
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