NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIER 'BUNKER HILL', MARCH 1943,HE WORKS ON THE SHIP,GOOD CONTENT

Description

5 PAGE LETTER FROM "RED" WHO IS WORKING ON THE NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIER "BUNKER HILL"
Sent to friend Private Doug N. Blodgett, U.S. Marine Corps.... unable to find him, as postal markings
on both sides show.
"....I like my job here very much and other days I hate it like hell. I'm working on the new air craft carrier
Bunker Hill. It is some ship. About 830 feet long and the flight deck over hangs it so its nearly 1030' over all
length.  There are nearly 5000 men working on it on the day shift. So many in fact that some days it really
hard to get at your own work. When its complete its a floating city with every thing you could ever think of.
The kitchen  hospitals  machine shops, dining rooms, toilet, sleeping quarters and tank space are immense.
..........You may see the sister ship Lexington first.  she is in South Boston nearly ready for duty..........
Your Pal   Red"
letter as pictured.... folded, clean very fine.
cover is complete at the top.
scan does not show this.
add .00 for 1st class/Insured to U.S.....
USS
Bunker Hill
(CV-17)
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For other ships with the same name, see
USS Bunker Hill
.
"CV-17" redirects here. For the Chinese CV-17, see
Type 001A aircraft carrier
.
USS
Bunker Hill
(CV-17) at sea in 1945
History
United States
Name
Bunker Hill
Namesake
Battle of Bunker Hill
Builder
Fore River Shipyard
Laid down
15 September 1941
Launched
7 December 1942
Commissioned
25 May 1943
Decommissioned
9 January 1947
Reclassified
CV to CVA 1 October 1952
CVA to CVS 8 August 1953
CVS to AVT May 1959
Stricken
2 November 1966
Motto
Never Surrender, Never Sink
Nickname(s)
Holiday Express
Honors and
awards
Presidential Unit Citation
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (11 stars)
World War II Victory Medal
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Philippine Liberation Medal
USS
Bunker Hill
(CV/CVA/CVS-17, AVT-9)
was one of 24
Essex
-class
aircraft carriers
built during
World War II
for the
United States Navy
. The ship was named for the
Battle of Bunker Hill
in the American Revolutionary War. Commissioned in May 1943 and sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations, the ship participated in battles in the Southwest Pacific, Central Pacific and the drive toward Japan through Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and air raids on the Japanese homeland.
While covering the
invasion of Okinawa
,
Bunker Hill
was struck by two
kamikazes
in quick succession, setting the vessel on fire. Casualties exceeded 600, including 352 confirmed dead and an additional 41 missing, with 264 wounded.
[1]
These were the second heaviest personnel losses suffered by any carrier to survive the war after
Franklin
. After the attack,
Bunker Hill
returned to the U.S. mainland and was still under repair when hostilities ended.
After the war,
Bunker Hill
was employed as a troop transport bringing American service members back from the Pacific, and was decommissioned in 1947. While in reserve the vessel was reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA), then an antisubmarine carrier (CVS) and finally an Auxiliary Aircraft Landing Training Ship (AVT), but was never modernized and never saw active service again.
Bunker Hill
and
Franklin
were the only
Essex
-class
ships never recommissioned after World War II.
[2]
Stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register
in 1966,
Bunker Hill
served as an electronics test platform for many years in
San Diego
Bay, and was sold for scrap in 1973. An effort to save her as a museum ship in 1972 was