Bataan (CVL 29) - Naval Cruise Book

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2' ie 'S i ri, , X Q gifs , - may , 3 '- ' P fi. ,uf a Q R ,. , , V -r .f f.w- X ' , .,,., x- 'W f 3 prix, . h i ifff. ini ,sit . , -ge Y, ,L ,hvi i f Y is X' 'Q if , is ,V ,fs ' , ,VS W, , i :W ,14-if ' Ai' Li., .V 'fx Air Group 47 destroy a pock-mark dispersal and rev merit area near Yontan airiie 4 Okinawa. Page Ninely-th nd Cf- ld, VCC ! - - ---Af, 2 f i ff! -f ,,-5--. -

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jggiillltp QT i f ' infra y if - f fff isa, it Illllll ll Illllllt , 1 T is f ggi'Wigflifffggrctctt gg ' F-Ly e 'IHI x fsT NlTi , f - gfe- hfx X 2l-24 March '45-The southward retirement continued during the 21st, and the FRANKLIN eventually reached the Brooklyn Navy Yard. On the 22nd the BATAAN reported to Commander Task Group 58.3 for duty. Lt. Comdr. CLANCY led the first strike against the Nansei Shoto on the 23rd. Minami Daito Shima was to have been the taret, but the weather interfered and tiny Okino Daito Shima took the bomb load instead, receiving a new name at the same time-CLANCY's DUMP. Then, on the 24th. the Air Group flew 3 strikes against Minami Daito, the first of a longvseries of Minami Milk Runs. Ensign J. XV. MURPI-lY's TBM was hit by flak and forced to make a water landing. He and aircrewmran E. F. MUEGER, ARM3c, were rescued from their liferaft by King- fishers from the cruiser XVILKES-BARRE. On the same day Oki- nawa got its first strike by Air Group 47, barracks and ware- houses being left in flames. 25-28 March '45--More strikes against Minami Daito and pre-landing attacks on Okinawa. The caves on the latter got their share of attention: they were one reason why it took 90 days to take the island. 29 March '45-A return trip to Kyushu-with Chiran airheld on the south- ern tip the target. LT. HIBBARD shoots down another Judy. 30-31 March '45--Minami and Okinawa again. AA positions, bridges. bar- racks. a factory, a radio station and other buildings are destroyed and airfields cratered. l April '45-The invasion of Okinawa begins. and so does the long series of missions flown in support of the ground troops by the BA- TAAN and other carriers. Wm NN ' is ra.:-461.4 3 April '45-Our sweep of 12 VF over Kikai airfield is jumped by about l4 Japs: 4 Zekes and 3 Tojos are shot down. XVe lose two Hell- cats, with one pilot reported missing. The other. Ensign O. L. SXVISHER, is rescued by the destroyer AULT. The CAP in- creased the ship's total for the day to 10 planes, splashing 2 Nicks and a Tony. 4 April '45-Lieutenant YVHEELER of VT-47 knocks over the le Shima lighthouse with the first bomb dropped. The day before this target had successfully defied the combined effort of 14 of our planes. 6 April '45-Kikai airfield is worked over some more. The CAP gets another Zeke. Page Ninety-two 1, 3

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-T1 3 April '45- Our C. A. P. today splashed two Nicks and one Tony. There's a lot more to it th-an the above extraction from our action report. Somebody had to provide the pilots with tactical informa- tion, navigation data and weather dope. Some- body had to be watching for those Japs so they could tell the pilots where to pick them up. This job is handled by the so-called white collar part of the Air Department, the V-3 division. A. C. I. CAir Combat Informationj starts the operation by providing tactical data for the pilots-target locations, enemy plane performance data, enemy AA locations, sub- marine rescue data, disposition of friendly and enemy forces-, the list is endless. Upon com- pletion of a flight A. C. I., in turn, collects as much information as possible from the pilots on wh-at they've seen and what damage they have inflicted upon the enemy. Air Plot provides the latest Navigational data prior to take off, coordinates pilot assignments and plane spot, -and acts as liaison between Fly Control on the bridge, the pilot ready rooms and Combat Information Center. It digests the oper-ation plans. interprets the regulations and doctrines of carrier warfare, and plans the flight schedules. Aerology furnishes the pilots with the latest weather information and keeps the ship's lookout for storms and typhoons. While planes are airborne-either over the force or on C. A. P. or out on a strike-C. I. C. has a big job to do. Here it's necessary to keep in touch with the planes by radio and also keep their positions plotted on the radar scope. Hundreds of planes are tracked daily in C. I. C. When emergencies occur. a plane gets in trouble-the engine is cutting out. or gas is running low. or is possibly lost-C. I. C. is on the spot to lend the pilot a helping hand. These are the routine jobs. the everyday jobs of C. I. C. When bogies begin appearing. the blip jockets really go to work. The bogey reports are made to and received from the flag who then assigns one of the ships the job of vector- ing the C. A. P. out to intercept. If the un- identified plane turns out to be a Jap. he is shot down and the C. A. P. is returned to station. It is here that the skill of the V-2 radiomen Page N inety-four and the V-3 radio techs is appreciated. With- out communication, the present day combat pilot and plane become useless. The radar technicians are constantly on watch to nurse the sets along. They have an ability to see, smell, hear and feel the bugs that frequently occur in the temperamental old ladies called radar aboard the BATAAN. Twenty-four hours a day C. I. C. must live up to its name, Combat Information Center. -and report to the O. O. D. on the bridge any danger affecting the ship, either on the sur- face or in the air. Its long range eyes pick up skunks -unidentified surface vessels--and the vessel's course is plotted to determine if on a collision course with the BATAAN. Its eyes are on the task group watching for a battleship or a cruiser closing on the BATAAN in the dark of the night at a relative speed of 40 knots. Its ears listen to a multitude of inter-ship voice cir- cuits-t-actical, administrative, fire control and lighter director. C. I. C. looks, acts and sounds like a mad- house but the BATAAN well knows it has an excellent reason. At Fly Control, in Air Plot, in A. C. I. and in the Air Department Oflices, the yeomen must maintain accurate records of assignments. opera- tions, logs of pilot and plane time, and keep up correspondence seven copies deep. The photographers have been left until l-ast because that's where they come in on the offen- sive side anyway. After the photo planes land. the photogs turn to developing and printing the films for analysis by the Photographic Interpre- ter Officer of A. C. I. In addition to this thev are busy making documentary pictures of deck crashes. enemy attacks, and, in their spare time. ship's activities which made this book pos- sible. Teamwork. intelligence and individual action are -at a premium in V-3. All its many jobs are necessary for the smooth operation of this floating air strip and very much helped in the writing of the action report- Cut C. A. P. today splashed two Nicks and one Tony.