_underway_at_sea_in_1945.jpg){kind=link}
_underway_at_sea_in_1945.jpg#Licensing){kind=link}
A later generation of carrier
Bennington was an Essex-class carrier commissioned in August 1944. She belongs to the later phase of the Pacific carrier war, rather than the small American carrier force that fought at Midway in June 1942. The Naval History and Heritage Command’s ship history establishes her identity and service dates. YT-Y17
Hull numbers keep that history clear. This is CV-20. A familiar carrier name appearing in a 1945 account must not automatically link to a ship lost in 1942.
The air group as a fighting force
Report 67-45 names Bennington as the carrier for a Marine Corsair sortie during the attack on the Japanese surface force. Its supporting-aircraft table also lists Hellcats, Helldivers and Avengers. Their presence matters: the attack involved different aircraft and weapons, rather than a single kind of bomber making identical runs. YT-Y03
The narrative says that two divisions of Corsairs were intended to accompany the strike, but only Huntington’s aircraft was launched in the hurried departure. The others remained below on the hangar deck. That is a useful reminder that an intended strike and the aircraft actually in the air could differ.
What one report can tell us
The form’s own-aircraft table covers one F4U-1D. Its broader narrative ranges across the whole battle and repeats claims about enemy losses. Those two parts have different evidential scope. The report can document this aircraft’s carrier, load and reported actions much more securely than it can allocate every sinking. YT-Y03
VT-82’s separate report now adds the torpedo squadron’s experience. Ten TBM-3s launched and nine attacked. Extra fuel tanks and the omission of most radiomen helped prepare for the long flight; the torpedoes’ shallow settings then contributed to a decision to attack escorts rather than Yamato. The Avenger profile follows that chain of decisions. YT-Y18
VB-82’s bombing report adds eleven Helldivers launched and nine attacking, with four attacking Yamato and five attacking escorts. It identifies the radar crew that helped locate the ships and records one aircraft missing. The Helldiver profile follows their account, including its warning about duplicate hit observations. YT-Y20
Bennington’s contribution can therefore be followed through more than one squadron’s record, without assigning her air group exclusive credit for destroying a force attacked by aircraft from several carriers.
Follow Under Carrier Attack, or examine the Corsair and its recorded bomb load.