Bunker Hill was put back into service between Sept 1945 and January 1946 as a unit of TG 16.2 returning veterans from the PTO

Point taken. However OPERATION MAGIC CARPET duty was a far cry from the demands of even normal peacetime operations. You don't need much material refurbishment to bring redundant forces home.

As others besides me have pointed out, there were many other ESSEX assets in much better material condition. So there was little economic or national security incentive for the Gummint to modernize BUNKER HILL or do more than make FRANKLIN temporarily seaworthy at war's end.

--
Mike Kanze

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."

-- General William Tecumseh Sherman

"Keith W" wrote in message ...

"DDAY" wrote in message
k.net...
My suspicion is that Bunker Hill was in poor condition and that's why she
was not modernized and was retired early.

Franklin was clearly in bad condition and bringing her back to flight
status
was not considered practical. But Bunker Hill suffered from a bad fire,
and
the info I have seen implies that she really did not regain flight
capability after the damage.

The Navy probably could have repaired her, but they had a lot of Essex
class
carriers and they didn't need more. In fact, if anything, they probably
needed a few ships laid up to provide spare parts.

But I don't have anything that confirms that.


There are articles that suggest the precise opposite

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/...unkerhill.html

States that Bunker Hill was put back into service between Sept 1945 and
January 1946
as a unit of TG 16.2 returning veterans from the PTO

Other records indicate she was repaired at Puget sound between June and Sept
1945

http://warlords.hobbyvista.com/history.htm

Keith



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----