The following is a word-for-word copy of a newpaper article
in the Treasure Island Digest dated October 27, 1945
Copyright (c) Treasure Island Digest, 1945 - All Rights reserved
and donated to the Website by Doc "Andy" Gibbons
Caption Under Photo"THE FIGHTING HANNAH" -- The Essex Class carrier, USS Hancock is home after more than 14 months in the Pacific completing her epic-making war cruise, the Hancock established one of the war's outstanding combat records with 723 enemy planes, 17 warships and 31 merchant vessels to her credit. She is berthed at Pier One today where hundreds of guests will visit the ship during the Navy Days.
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Famous U.S. Carrier Here Today
The USS Hancock, famous flattop, which set a fleet record when her planes shot down 71 enemy planes in a single day over Tokyo and established one of the most outstanding records of the Pacific War during her ten months in the battle zone, weighed anchor at Pier One, USNDD, last Sunday to participate in today's Navy Day celebrations.
A member of the fast carrier task force of the Third Fleet, the Hancock was less than 100 miles from Japan when the war ended and is credited with shooting down the last Japanese plane to attack allied Naval forces in the war. The Jap pilot who failed to get the word was shot down by Lt (jg) R. S. Farnsworth, USNR, of Caldwell, N. J. Farnsworth is a pilot of Air Group Six, which attached to the USS Enterprise at Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, was the first Air Group to see action in this war.
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Knock down 723 Planes
Twice knocked out of action during her 10 months of combat, the "Fighting Hannah's" planes destroyed 723 enemy planes, 17 warships and 31 merchant ships and her anti-aircraft guns 20 attacking planes. Commissioned 25 April 1944 in Boston, she joined the Third Fleet at Ulithi on 5 October 1944 and since that time has left the Japs reeling from Wake Island to French Indo-China and from the Philippines to Okinawa, Formosa, Luzon, Iwo-Jima, Tokyo, Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Leyte, Hong Kong, Wake Island and Kobe Harbor are only a few of the targets to feel the impact of the Hancock's bombs.
During her war cruise, three air groups have been attached to the Hancock. Air Group Seven when through the first five operations with outstanding success. Then came Air Group Eighty which set the record in its first flight over Tokyo in February 1945 and finally Air Group Six which became the only air group with three full war cruises. In the first big strike at Tokyo in February, 1945, Air Group Eighty, operating from the flight deck of the Hancock, shot down 71 planes in the air to surpass the famous "Mariana Turkey Shoot" set by the Lexington's pilots. The record still stands.
Out of action twice
The Hancock was first knocked out of the race to Tokyo on 21 January 1945 when a 500-pound bomb from one of her own planes broke loose and exploded on the flight deck, putting her out of action for two weeks. She as again put out of action, this time, for two months when a Jap plane dropped his bomb on her flight deck, then cartwheeled the length of the deck , causing fires that raged the entire length of the ship. Hurriedly repaird at Pearl Harbor, Hannah returned to the fleet in time for the big push on Japan and was slugging it out with her famous one-two punch when the Japs finally surrendered.
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