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Hancock provided close air support
for the invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945. On April 7 a suicide plane
cart wheeled across Hancock’s flight deck and crashed into a group of
planes. The aircraft’s bomb hit the port catapult, causing a tremendous
explosion. 62 men were killed and 71 wounded. Meanwhile, damage control
parties quickly doused fires, enabling Hancock to return to
operations less than an hour after the attack. On April 9 Hancock
steamed to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
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