World War II Database

Contributor: David Stubblebine

ww2dbaseIn 1941 in the United States, the Todd Shipyard in Tacoma, Washington was operated by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. The shipyard had eight shipways and in late 1941 and early 1942, all eight were occupied with Type C-3-class hulls under construction. Normally, this hull design was the basis for several manners of merchant ships but on 1 May 1942 all eight were acquired by the United States Navy for completion as auxiliary aircraft carriers. These would ultimately become Bogue-class escort carriers Bogue, Card, Nassau, Altamaha, Core, Barnes, Block Island, and the British lend-lease escort carrier HMS Tracker.

ww2dbaseOn 15 Sep 1942 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, what began as Maritime Commission Hull #170 to be named "Steel Advocate" was commissioned as Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Bogue, lead ship of her class. Commanding was Captain Giles E. Short, a 1918 graduate of the United States Naval Academy who would later command the fleet carrier USS Intrepid.

ww2dbaseAfter a brief shakedown period at San Diego, Bogue transited the Panama Canal and began her service in the Atlantic. On 5 Mar 1943, Bogue departed Argentia, Newfoundland as an escort for Convoy HX-288 bound for Liverpool, United Kingdom. According to plan, Bogue and her escort group detached from the convoy mid-ocean and started back toward Newfoundland. The day after Bogue turned around, one of her escort ships, USS Belknap, came across a lifeboat from the freighter SS Jonathan Sturges with 21 men aboard. Eighteen were survivors from Jonathan Sturges and three were Dutch seaman from SS Madoera. Both ships had been sunk 15 days earlier by German submarines U-707 and U-653 respectively during Wolfpack Ritter's attacks on Convoy ON-166 bound from Liverpool to New York.

ww2dbaseBogue spent the next two months escorting trans-Atlantic convoys before arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There, she had High Frequency Direction Finding equipment installed. Abbreviated HF/DF but usually called "Huff-Duff," this was an essential tool for detecting German submarines operating in the Atlantic. HF/DF detected and gave a direction toward submarines transmitting radio messages.

ww2dbaseOn Bogue's return voyage escorting Convoy ON-184 to North America, the convoy came under attack from the 21 boats of Wolfpack Mosel. On 21 May 1943, Lieutenant Commander William Drane, commanding officer of Bogue's Composite Squadron VC-9 flying a TBF-1 Avenger, attacked and damaged submarine U-231. The next day, with the wolfpack still attacking, several of Bogue's aircraft executed five different attacks against different submarines. U-305 was moderately damaged and U-569 was damaged so badly that she was later scuttled by her crew. Once Bogue delivered Convoy ON-184 to Argentia on 26 May 1943, her mission was redirected to lead a dedicated anti-submarine Hunter-Killer group.

ww2dbase"Black May" was just drawing to a close and the value of the Hunter-Killer concept had more than proven itself. Built around the Navy's smallest aircraft carriers, Hunter-Killer groups became feasible with the convergence of several factors as the war progressed. One was the availability of enough small aircraft carriers, escort ships, and aircraft to outfit these groups; another was the development of specialized anti-submarine weaponry like the Mark 24 FIDO homing torpedo and the growing dependability of sonobuoys; and finally, the breaking of the German submarine enigma codes that allowed the Allies to reasonably predict U-Boat (German submarine) locations. Much of the enigma traffic related to when and where submarines would meet other submarines for replenishment, something that played perfectly to the hands of the Hunter-Killer groups. Hunter-Killer groups were formed in both the Atlantic and Pacific and in time, 14 United States escort carriers would lead them: USS Santee, Bogue, Card, Core, Block Island (Bogue-class), Croatan, Anzio, Mission Bay, Guadalcanal, Tripoli, Wake Island, Solomons, Tulagi, and Hoggatt Bay. Additionally, British and Canadian escort carriers led other Hunter-Killer groups in the North Atlantic but subscribed to a slightly different doctrine.

ww2dbaseOn 4 Jun 1943 in the Central Atlantic during Bogue's first Hunter-Killer mission, Bogue had a HF/DF contact and launched five Avengers. Those planes interrupted a meeting of three surfaced submarines and the ensuing attack damaged U-228, U-603, and U-641. The next day, Bogue aircraft sunk U-217 with the loss of all hands. Over the following week, Bogue aircraft damaged U-758 and sank U-118 before arriving at Norfolk, Virginia at the end of this very auspicious first patrol.

ww2dbaseDuring a maintenance period at Norfolk, Bogue had a routine change of command with Commander Joseph Dunn relieving Captain Short. Commander Dunn was a 1925 graduate of the United States Naval Academy who had spent much of his career in the submarine service.

ww2dbaseShortly after sailing on her next anti-submarine sortie, Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Bogue (ACV-9) was reclassified as Escort Carrier USS Bogue (CVE-9). A week later, one of Bogue's escorts, destroyer USS George E. Badger, made a sound contact on a submarine in the eastern Atlantic and attacked. Floating debris and an oil slick were reported and U-613 was lost with all hands. That same day, Bogue aircraft came across a rendezvous between U-527 and U-648. U-527 was sunk outright but U-648 escaped. Five more weeks of searching yielded no submarine contacts and Bogue put into Norfolk once again. Upon arrival, Commander Dunn's orders came through finalizing his promotion to Captain.

ww2dbaseBogue then made another Hunter-Killer sortie that lasted six weeks without any confirmed attacks on submarines. Her following sortie in Nov 1943 would prove to be more productive. In the normal U-Boat refueling area east of the Azores, Bogue aircraft and task group destroyers made an aggressive attack against U-764 but inflicted no damage (some sources say this attack sank U-86 but this is less likely). The following day, U-238 was caught on the surface and attacked by two Bogue aircraft. In accordance with Großadmiral Dönitz' new "fight back" policy, the U-Boat put up considerable anti-aircraft fire. Neither airplane was damaged and the submarine escaped with minimal damage but the strafing killed two and wounded five. After a brief stop at Casablanca, Bogue and her escorts entered a two-day running battle with submarine U-172. After deploying over 200 depth charges, U-172 was sunk with 13 killed and 46 rescued. Among the prisoners was the U-Boat's commanding officer, Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Hoffmann, one of the youngest submarine commanders in the German Navy at 22. Four days later, Bogue Avengers launched FIDO homing torpedoes at the submerging U-850 and the boat was lost with all hands. After a brief stop at Bermuda, Bogue arrived at Norfolk.

ww2dbaseBogue returned to escort duty for one convoy from New York to Scotland and back. In late Feb 1944, Bogue returned to offensive anti-submarine assignments and departed Norfolk. In the early morning of 13 Mar 1944, Fortress aircraft from RAF No. 220 Squadron based on Terceira Island in the Azores dropped depth charges on the surfaced German submarine U-575 that caused little or no damage. Responding to the bomber's radio reports, surface ships closed in. These included Canadian frigate HMCS Prince Rupert, detached from a nearby convoy just for this attack, and aircraft and escort ships from Bogue's task group. They made a day-long attack that ultimately sank the U-Boat with 18 killed and 37 rescued. After ports of call at Casablanca and Trinidad, Bogue returned to Norfolk on 19 Apr 1944.

ww2dbaseWhile at Norfolk, Captain A.B. "Abe" Vosseller relieved Captain Dunn as Bogue's commanding officer. Captain Vosseller was a 1925 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and was a veteran of the anti-submarine PBY Catalina patrol squadrons operating out of Argentia. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his part in creating the Navy's Hunter-Killer anti-submarine doctrine when he served at Quonset Point, Rhode Island with the Aircraft Submarine Warfare Development Detachment, a unit that he commanded from the detachment's beginning.

ww2dbaseBogue put to sea on 5 May 1944 on another anti-submarine mission. On 13 May 1944, one of Bogue's escorts, destroyer escort USS Francis M. Robinson, made sonar contact with a submerged submarine. Robinson attacked with Hedgehogs and depth charges armed with magnetic fuzes. Large underwater explosions were noted and although it was not clear to the US Navy for several weeks, the Japanese submarine RO-501 was lost with all hands. RO-501 was the former German U-1224 that had been transferred to the Japanese Navy with a Japanese crew three months earlier at Kiel, Germany. When she was sunk, RO-501 was bound for Japan with a cargo of mercury, lead, steel, uncut optical glass, aluminum, and blueprints for Type IXC submarines and Messerschmitt Me-163 "Komet" rocket interceptors.

ww2dbaseAt the other end of Bogue's eight-week sortie, Captain Vosseller received an intelligence report describing a mid-Ocean meeting between a German submarine and a different Japanese submarine. The German U-530 had been sent to meet the northbound Japanese I-52 to transfer radar detection equipment and three German technicians. Bogue attempted to intercept this meeting but arrived shortly after the rendezvous was completed and the boats had separated. Bogue's planes detected the Japanese submarine on the surface, however, and attacked with FIDO torpedoes; I-52 was destroyed with all hands.

ww2dbaseI-52 had been on a Yanagi mission that used submarines to exchange valuables and technology between Germany and Japan. At the time of her sinking, I-52 carried 2 tons of gold, 120 tons of tin, 113 tons of tungsten, 54 tons of raw rubber, 9.8 tons of molybdenum, 3.3 tons of quinine, 2.88 tons of opium, and 58 kg of caffeine plus 14 engineers and technicians as passengers. In the entire war, only two Japanese submarines were sunk in the Atlantic and Bogue's task group sank both of them just six weeks apart. Bogue and her escorts put into Norfolk on 3 Jul 1944.

ww2dbaseAfter a month of refit and anti-submarine exercises off Bermuda, Bogue resumed her anti-submarine patrols. On 20 Aug 1944 300 miles south of Newfoundland, Bogue aircraft spotted the German submarine U-1229 running on the surface in broad daylight. In a coordinated attack by 5 Avengers and 2 Wildcats using depth charges, FFAR rockets, and strafing, the submarine was sunk. 18 were killed and 41 were rescued. Among the survivors was Oskar Mantel, an intelligence officer who was to be landed in the Gulf of Maine had U-1229 not been sunk. This attack also gave United States Naval Intelligence their first detailed photographs of a German submarine equipped with a schnorkel device. On 24 Sep 1944, Bogue arrived at Norfolk.

ww2dbaseOn 5 Oct 1944 while at Norfolk, Captain George Dufek relieved Captain Vosseller as Bogue's commanding officer. Captain Dufek was a 1925 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and in 1939, he had been navigator on Admiral Richard Byrd's flagship during his third Antarctic expedition.

ww2dbaseBogue entered a six-month period where she operated out of Bermuda, Argentia, and Quonset Point training aviators and destroyers in the Hunter-Killer tactics. The exercises often involved friendly submarines acting as targets, including the 1919 submarine USS R-6, formerly commanded by Bogue's second commanding officer, Joseph Dunn.

ww2dbaseIn late Mar 1945, United States intelligence services learned that a German submarine wolfpack, Gruppe Seewolf, was bound for the American coast. Reports suggested, but could not confirm, that these submarines were capable of launching the Vergeltungswaffe V-1 "Buzz-Bomb" pulse-jet missiles against American cities. These reports were later proven to be without merit but at the time the fear was fueled by propaganda statements from Germany's Albert Speer that such capabilities existed and they were reinforced by interrogations of captured German agents, including Oskar Mantel. Concern over these submarine-launched missile attacks led the United States Navy to implement Operation Teardrop. Operation Teardrop involved two Barrier Groups that were sort of Super-Hunter-Killer groups where the number of escort carriers was increased from one to two and the accompanying destroyer escorts were increased from five to twenty. A north-south Barrier Line of destroyer escorts stretching 120 miles per group would be formed across the Central Atlantic, backed by the carriers, to intercept Gruppe Seewolf as the wolfpack's advance was monitored through enigma intercepts. The First Barrier Force, centered around carriers USS Mission Bay and Croatan, formed at sea on 8 Apr 1945. The Second Barrier Force would be centered around carriers Bogue and Core with Bogue's Captain Dufek in command.

ww2dbaseBogue put to sea from Quonset Point on 16 Apr 1945 and once her force was assembled, they established their barrier line in the mid-Atlantic as a southerly extension of the line formed by Mission Bay's force, stretching their entire net to 240 miles. Together, the two forces retreated westward as intelligence reports tracked the advance of Gruppe Seewolf. On 23 Apr 1945, Bogue's air squadron commander observed the U-546 coming to the surface. More airplanes and escort ships pounced on the scene and the hunt continued through the night. The following morning, destroyer escort USS Frederick C. Davis picked up a strong submarine signal on her sonar but when the ship turned to attack, she was struck by a GNAT acoustic torpedo fired from U-546's stern tubes. The torpedo struck Davis in the engineering spaces resulting in a tremendous explosion. Davis broke in two and sank. 126 men were killed and 66 survived. U-546 was now surrounded by destroyer escorts and was attacked, forced to the surface, and ultimately sunk by gunfire. 26 were lost and 33 were rescued.

ww2dbaseOperation Teardrop continued maintaining its barrier line for two more weeks until Germany's formal surrender on 8 May 1945. At that point, Bogue's task group was dissolved and its ships sailed independently for ports in the United States; Bogue to New York.

ww2dbaseWith the Atlantic war over, Bogue sailed for the Pacific with a load of aircraft. Bogue sailed from the west coast as far west as Guam and back. On 14 Aug 1945, as Bogue was preparing to depart Alameda, California for Adak, Alaska, the war in the Pacific ended. Upon Bogue's return to Alameda from Adak, Captain Dufek was relieved by Captain Jesse McClure, a 1926 Naval Academy graduate.

ww2dbaseBogue crisscrossed the Pacific as part of Operation Magic Carpet touching ports in Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Okinawa, and Japan. On 16 Jan 1946, Bogue arrived back at Puget Sound's Commencement Bay and Tacoma, Washington. This was Bogue's point of origin but on this occasion, she had returned for her deactivation overhaul. During that overhaul, Bogue experienced her last change of command when Commander Paul Griggs relieved Captain McClure. Nine months later on 30 Nov 1946, USS Bogue was decommissioned and placed in the Reserve Fleet. While still part of the Reserve Fleet, Bogue was sold for scrap on 25 Jun 1960 and broken up a short time later.

ww2dbaseBogue aircraft and escorts sank a total of 10 German submarines and two Japanese submarines (some sources put the total at 13 with U-86 but this is doubtful). Additionally, Bogue attacked and damaged at least seven submarines. For six of Bogue's eight anti-submarine missions combined, she was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation that also extended to all of the ships and air squadrons serving in those groups. Moreover, three of Bogue's more successful Hunter-Killer sorties were individually authorized for Battle Stars, one on the American Campaign Ribbon and two on the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon. Bogue also earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Navy Occupation Medal with "Asia" clasp.

Escort Carrier Bogue (CVE-9) Interactive Map

Photographs

Bogue Operational Timeline