​ビスマルクシーについては次のように書かれている

The sun set at 6:25 P.M. Only half light remained when the lookouts on the Bismarck Sea saw three planes headed toward the escort carrier Lunga Point on the port bow. The Bismarck Sea's batteries shot down one of these.

A few seconds later the lookouts saw a second plane flying at twenty to twenty-five feet above the water directly toward the Lunga Point. Just as the plane got to within what seemed to be feet from the Lunga Point, it dodged around its stern and came directly for the Bismarck Sea.'

Whether it was caused by the detonation of the plane's bomb or was simply a combination of the noise of the gasoline tank exploding coin-cidentally with the impact of the plane, the crew heard an explosion of horrendous proportions. A huge fire followed. This seemed more or less under control when, four minutes later, a second plane, using the flames as a guide, crashed through the flight deck and exploded among the fueled fighters. This explosion demolished the

entire rear of the hangar and blew all members of the crew on the fantail into the sea. It also killed most of the fire fighters. The inner part of the ship became volcanic, with flames shooting high into the air through the holes in the flight deck and the gaping sides of the hangar. An escort vessel standing by described the fire as a "holocaust engulfing the carrier from

her stern to amidships."

While the word was being passed for all hands to abandon ship, a third and much more violent explosion occurred in the vicinity of the fire on the hangar deck as one of the torpedoes blew up. This demolished the after end of the flight deck and blew away the sides and after end of the

hangar. Walkways and gun sponsons blew into the air and fell into the sea.

Captain John L. Pratt, who remained on the bridge, said he thought about 125 men were killed in the explosions in the ship. Many others were lost in the water. The wind had been blowing at twenty knots all day and the sea was rough and very hard for the swimmers. It was made even

harder when a Japanese plane, using the light of the burning ship, machine-gunned the men in the water. Bullets hit a raft containing most of the quartermasters, all of whom were killed.

A Mexican-American named Montoya, one of the Bismarck Sea's best lookouts, was on the searchlight platform, about eighty feet above the water. He heard the order to abandon ship and looked over the platform to the burning deck. Not caring for what he saw, he climbed the

rail on the searchlight platform and made a superb shallow dive into the night and the rough sea eighty feet below.

The flames of the Bismarck Sea continued to spread until they engulfed the whole ship. Just after eight o'clock, the Melvin R. 1Vewman, which was trying to rescue survivors, reported that about thirty-five men remained on the stricken ship and that few of the survivors in the water

wore life jackets. As the Melvin R. Newman watched, it heard loud crashing noises from the Bismarck Sea. She listed sharply to starboard and hung for perhaps thirty seconds at an angle of eighty degrees. The island broke off and crashed into the sea. At 8:08 P.M. she rolled over on

her beam ends, then completely turned over and sank. Two hundred eighteen officers and men went down with her.

The planes responsible for the surprise attack on the Saratoga came from Mitate (Shield of the Emperor) unit No. 2, under the command of Lieutenant Hiroshi Murakawa. Although the times in the Bismarck Sea's action report differ from those of the Japanese, it is possible that the loss

of that ship also was caused by Mitate unit No. 2. The attacks were direct reprisals for the fast carrier task force attack on Tokyo on February 16.

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2月21日硫黄島沖で特攻機が突入したのは護衛空母ビスマルクシーと正規空母サラトガ以外に防潜網輸送艦キーアカック、戦車揚陸艦LST-477, 809にも損傷を与えた。

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​下記写真は「写真太平洋戦争　丸５　特攻」より