Talk:USS Hancock (CV-19)

Claims: first carrier with steam catapults to be able to launch high performance jets, last carrier with wooden deck flight deck
These claims need some references. I think I previously found a claim that another ship (maybe Randolph) had the first steam catapults. Is this the same claim, or a claim that Hancock had bigger ones. As for wooden decking, I think it needs to be clarified. I doubt the ship had wooden decks throughout her career, so when did the decking get replaced?Busaccsb (talk) 18:48, 25 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Randolph never had steam catapults; her original H-4 units were replaced with H-8s in the early 50s, and she kept those for the rest of her career. Hancock was the first of the class to undergo the SCB-27C refit, which included C-11 steam cats.--Solicitr (talk) 08:14, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

USS Hancock (CVA-19) was the first to have steam catapults, according to every history I've ever read. (Hydraulic, not steam, cats were used in earlier ships, including, I THINK, the Ticonderoga.) I was public affairs officer aboard USS Hancock (CVA-19) from 1967-69. I should be noted that Hancock was named after the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, which ran the bond drive to fund construction of the ship; while the name carries the name recognition of John Hancock, the ship was not actually named after that founding father, though the resemblance carried considerable PR value. The ship, according to my records, was commissioned Hancock on Apr. 15, 1944, at the Fall (not Fore) River Shipyard, Quincy, Mass. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.166.124.108 (talk) 12:11, 9 November 2014 (UTC)


 * There was no Fall River shipyard in Quincy, MA. The Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy, MA shipyard was located on the Weymouth Fore River and was previously operated by the "Fore River Ship & Engine Company" of Quincy. Fall River, MA is 40 miles away. As for the naming, I think that's been hashed out before in this article, the US Navy Historical Center says she was named for John Hancock as does a period newspaper article (Jan 1944). --Dual Freq (talk) 14:45, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

Recommended addition re: SCB-125 conversion
New user to Wiki. Recommend more experienced user add/edit section on the SCB-125 conversion to indicate that it took place at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, CA in 1954 per the History section of the 1968 - 1968 Cruise Book, see identified source.

Dates can be pinned down by citing the NavSource page on the ship that states it was decommissioned 13 Apr 1956 until 15 Nov 1956 for this conversion.

Since I am not yet Wiki-savvy, I leave it to those that are to consider my input and make adjustments as they see fit. User The Dude (talk) 15:39, 6 April 2016 (UTC)