The Men of the Gambier Bay: The Amazing True Story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf

Rating:
Summary: Brave Ship, Brave Crew
Review: By June 1942, it had become clear to the U.S. Navy that some type of smaller aircraft carrier would be needed to provide antisubmarine protection as well as air support for troops on the islands of the Pacific. Thus, the concept of the "baby flattop" or "jeep carrier" was born.

These carriers were built on converted liberty ship hulls. Their flight decks were a little less than 500 feet long, or about 350 to 400 feet shorter than that of a fleet carrier such as the Essex or Enterprise class. The Gambier Bay was one of these small carriers.

This informative book by noted historian Edwin P. Hoyt describes the brief life of the U.S.S. Gambier Bay and her dedicated crew of sailors, officers, and pilots. After her commissioning in December, 1943, the Gambier Bay sailed for the hostile waters of the Pacific. Her first mission was to ferry replacement planes to the larger fleet carriers, but the battles in the Pacific were growing in size, and more ships were needed for actual fighting. The Gambier Bay soon found herself in the midst of the fighting.

Her first real action took place during the Marianas campaign in the summer of 1944. During this battle, the Japanese lost over 350 planes in what has become known as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". The Gambier Bay's fighter contingent gave a good account of themselves in this battle by downing enemy planes and flying sorties against enemy shipping.

By the fall of 1944, the objective had shifted to MacArthur's return to the Philippines, and once again, the Gambier Bay was called upon for her services. Formed into a larger group of other escort carriers, the Gambier Bay and her sisters were to guard the American beachhead on Leyte from enemy attack. There would be no help from the battleships or fleet carriers, as Admiral Halsey fell for a Japanese trap and headed north to pursue the Japanese flattops. The Japanese flew their planes off their carriers to land bases, but Halsey couldn't resist the urge to chase after the now planeless flattops. Halsey has been criticized for this decision for years, because he left the invasion beaches wide open to Japanese attack while he was off chasing carriers which were virtually harmless.

Meanwhile, a large force of Japanese cruisers and battleships were steaming through the San Bernardino Strait directly for the American transports. The only ships in their way were the Gambier Bay and her fellow baby flattops. The actions of these ships can only be described as heroic, as the baby flattops, their planes, and the escorting destroyers held the much larger Japanese fleet away from the beaches with timely air and torpedo strikes. However, Several Japanese cruisers managed to get close enough to the American fleet to begin firing shells, and the Gambier Bay, being nearest to the Japanese ships, became the focal point of their attack. The little carrier was raked for over an hour by Japanese shells, and finally, the brave ship rolled over and sank, the only American carrier to be sunk by gunfire during the war.

Many of the survivors had to spend up to three days in the water before they were rescued, due to faulty rescue procedures. Unfortunately for the Americans, this would not be the last time during the war when a failed search and rescue would occur, for nine months after the sinking of the Gambier Bay, the U.S.S. Indianapolis was torpedoed, and the survivors had to deal with much the same obstacles as the survivors of the Gambier Bay did, including sharks, thirst, hunger, and hallucinations.

The crew members who did survive were finally rescued and put aboard destroyers for their journey back to Leyte. Many of the survivors were sent back to the United States for leave before shipping out again as crewmembers on a different ship to continue the fight against the Japanese.

I enjoyed this book very much. From her launching until her sinking, the Gambier Bay and her crew fought bravely in each engagement they were involved in. I especially liked the way Mr. Hoyt devoted a chapter each to the captain, crew, pilots, and ship herself. The battles which the Gambier Bay participated in are described in great detail, but the author does an especially good job describing the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the plight of the survivors after the sinking. I give this book my highest recommendation. Read it and learn about a heroic ship and her crew and how they put up such a brilliant fight against a much stronger enemy.