Belleau Wood (CVL 24) - Naval Cruise Book

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As we fueled on June 4 the weather closed. Several messages had come in warning of a prowling typhoon O11 the loose. In ominous tones the words came over the speaker, All departments secure for heavy weather. Securing for heavy seas meant lashing down every moveable object-from airplanes to ash trays. Men worked into the night-and hoped the lines would hold. In the wee hours of the morning the storm struck. Keeping just enough speed to maintain a course into the wind, the ship pitched violently-the bow soaring high into the air and then plunging viciously downward, crashing the waves with a blasting crack which shot tons of water outward and skyward to be blown as clouds of spray down the flight deck. The violence with which that bow' slapped the water made you wonder how it kept from snapping off. Near daybreak we heard the PITTSf BURGH call the flag, Romeo, this is Barbarian. My bow just carried away and is floating down my port side. Am dropping and will back into the storm. We quit wondering and began praying-that ours wouldn't go too. For stability, the elevators were dropped to lower the center of gravity. Masses of water crashing against the ship fsome of the waves were over fifty feet highj washed two men from the flight deck down the elevator opening into the hangar. Water poured into the air inf takes, flowed through ventilators, and tumbled into com' partments below. This immediately blocked the ventilaf tion system. Nobody could sleep, it was almost imposf sible even to stay in a bunk. Extinction of fresh air supply made the air hot and foul. In some compartments water from four to six inches deep sloshed back and forth with a myriad of floating debris-books, socks, shoes, paper, and pencils. In aerology office Tony DeLuca glanced down at a book floating by entitled Hurricanesf' It had opened itself to the chapter, Typhoons of the Western Pacific. All gun watches and unnecessary watches topside were ordered below to escape the waves. A howling wind of nearly 100 knots spun the propellers of the planes to the flight deck and beheaded the waves, filling the with spray. Visibility dropped to almost zero. Ships be yond the hills of water were obscured from view. The ship was momentarily caught in the trough gf the sea and rolled heavily. A tractor broke loose on the hangar deck and went on a rampage. It cut a swath of destruction through the parked planes, tearing them loose to skid around and crush each other. 1 The few who dared eat breakfast found that the only possible position was sitting on the deck fsetting up benches and tables was actually dangerousj. But even then there was no assurance that you and your breakfast wouldn't go scooting across the deck. By noon the storm had subsided sufficiently for the ships of the task group to refform. To our surprise we discovered a fleet tug, a 'small escort vessel, and a mer' chantman had strayed into our outfit. We recovered from the furious round with the ty' phoon, received replacement aircraft from a CVE in a refueling group, and took one last crack at Kanoya on June 8. So near to the Philippines last Uctober, we still had never caught sight of the land. Stories of the guerillas, our spies, daring visits of U. S. submarines, the bitter fighting on Leyte just a few months earlier, all was fresh in our minds as we steamed past Homonhon Island on june 13 toward the new fleet anchorage in San Pedro Bay. To our nautical eyes which had seen scarcely any land since leaving Pearl Harbor in January, the towering mountains of Leyte loomed twice as high as they really were. On June 16 Air Group 30 departed for home after establishing an impressive record. Succeeding them came Commander B. S. XVeber with Air Group 31 possessing one of the best reputations in the fleet. Pictures at the extreme left and right are of the U.S.S. LANGLEY ' , . i

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mmm of timcj. tlic xxnii' svuiiiml mighty I.ii' away. R Bgfore turning iwci' tlie IIUUI mi May '27 tu Adiiiiial I it , Q, WilliZ,,11 F, Halsey QC.viiiiii4imIi'i' Tliird ldlcetj, mir Im I mirall Rziyiiiminl A. SIWI'Il.II1Ci', ECUUITIITTJIITLIUI' Fi A Qt, originated tlic llTll'TV.'IITQI LIISIMILCIIZ lI.S. Nanail lfmiiiiiiiiiivalliu Sc' THE OPERATION WHICH WE HAVE BEEN CON DUCTING FOR THE CAPTURE OF OKINAWA HAS BEEN THE LARGEST AND LONGEST ONE SO FAR UNDERTAKEN BY THE FIFTH FLEET X THE FIGHTING BY SHIPS OF THE FLEET HAS BEEN MARKED BY GREAT COURAGE AND DETERNIINATION AND HAS CAUSED US THE HIGHEST NAVAL CASUALTIES OF ANY OPERATION UP TO THIS TINIE X IN PAR- TICULAR THE DESTROYERS AND SIVIALLER TYPE VESSELS WHICH HAVE SO SUCCESSFULLY SCREENED THE TRANSPORTS AND UNLOADING AREAS AROUND OKINAWA FROIVI ENEIVIY AIR AND SUBMARINE ATTACK HAVE SET US EXAIVIPLES OF GREAT HEROISNI IN ACTIONS TOO NUMEROUS TO BE CITED INDIVIDUALLY X OUR AIR FORCE HAS ONCE IVIORE EXHIBITED ITS IVIARKED SUPERIORITY OVER WHAT THE ENEIVIY HAS HAD TO OFFER IT ...L.... Wwgiz :L A , Xe :life Mr XS AS TARGETS X I AIVI PROUD TO HAVE BEEN ASSO- CIATED ONCE NIORE WITH SO FINE A BODY OF FIGHTING NIEN AND I REGRET HAVING TO LEAVE YOU BEFORE OUR JOB IS COIVIPLETED X WELL DONE TO ALL HANDS X SPRUANCE The Fast Carrier Task Force became a unit of the Third Fleet and was designated Task Force 38, eomf manded by Vice Admiral john S. McCain who relieved Vice Admiral Mitseher. Rear Admiral J. Clark ref maimed iri elizirge of our group, new 38.1. 97 ,wif 4 , 0 jri g, . l - .... ..,,, .,.. ,,.. ...,. - ., .,,,. ..- ,,,. .,... - ....,.,.. .,.. V i vW i:Yjg iW I ix?MYT E

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F EU G DAY During the war the Navy developed an amazing sys tem of rnaintuning and supplying a fleet at sea so that the ships could stay on the offensixe indefinitely without returning to port Ewery fourth day or so 1 train f tankers cargo ships ammunition ships and eseort ear riers rende xoused with the fast carrier task groups who had retreated 1 safe distance from the forxvrrd area Contaet was nude in the early hours of the morning audible over our receivers Ships in need began sending their requirements and 1 sustained volley of messages filled the TB3 eh innels the rest of the day -...nisn l D L c v V I C , Q 2' ' V . f' . . M C 7 ' g . Y . 4 , 4 . e ' g . ' f f . 'L ' 1' o , U .M . . . a I g I . Z Y J V. 1 C . V g .t C yt . Tc U g A y V I . C 1 . K when TBS transmissions in the fueling group began to he . . , K I M . V t z Q I . - 4..,1.,,,, ,- ..., M .a.,.r , rr,, , o ruouu ,r..,..,- A , . Ai gwvxwmi gl, .N-.....1n