Boston (CA 69) - Naval Cruise Book

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uulllnlu-lnlullllunIsnnuuull lazy 5 Zz S S 244m y 8 BY HENRY G. LEADER spqxpsfc ' If you see a sailor whose campaign ribbons, star studded, resemble the milky way, chances are he's off the USS Boston: for this new Baltimore class heavy cruiser has seen a- major share of action in the Pacific. Striking with cat's paw swiftness and accuracy at the Iap, she bombarded islands and downed planes of the Rising Sun while carrying the war .from the islands south of the equator to the home land of Iapan itself and chalk- ing up one of the most impressive records of any ship in the Pacific area. ln achieving this she has lived up to her proud lineage, for a Boston has served almost continuously in the United States Navy since the first ship of that name, a 24 gun frigate, became part of the tiny fleet comprising the original U.S. Navy back in 1776. This sleek cruiser is the sixth ship to bear the name of the Massachusetts capital and represents the most modern developments in the building of men-of-war. Built for speed, maneuverability and tremendous fire power, the USS Boston is the second ship of the Baltimore class. Ordered Iuly l, 1940 prior to the outbreak of the war, her keel was laid June 30, 1941 in the Fore river yard, Quincy, Massachusetts by the Bethlehem Steel Company On August 26 1942 Mrs Maurice I Tobin wife of the Hon orable Maurice I Tobin Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sponsored the launching and on Iune 30th of the following year the ship s ensign fluttered in a gentle breeze as she was officially commissioned and accepted by her first commanding officer Captain Iohn H Carson USN Slipping smoothly through Atlantic waters the Boston be gan her maiden voyage on August 13 1943 en route to the Gulf of Paria between Trinidad and Venezuela for the shakedown cruise designed to accustom her crew to the sea and enable officers to detect any possible wrinkles in her makeup A month later the Boston returned to her home port a fighting ship with her crew well trained to fight the enemy On the record of her engineering trials she was established as one of the K After a few more weeks in the port of Boston and some trial runs off Rockland, Maine, the USS Boston set out on November 18 to fulfill the job for which she was designed and built-the defeat of this country's enemy in the Pacific. After passing through the Panama Canal, followed by a two day lay-over in San Francisco, she arrived at Pearl Harbor on the eve of the second anniversary of the Iapanese sneak attack. Six weeks were spent in Pearl Harbor waters engaging in more of the exercises that are so essential to the maintenance of the fighting qualities of a First Class Warship. All hands manned theirtbattle stations on Ianuary 19, 1944 as the USS Boston got underway from Pearl Harbor and began her long war career as a unit of the soon-to-be famous Task Force 58. Planes from the old Saratoga, the later-to-be-sunk Princeton and the Langley soared overhead on anti-submarine patrol as the Boston pointed her prow towards the Marshalls. On February 2nd planes from the Saratoga bombed a direction- finding station on Utirik Atoll and as the smoke from their hits floated skywards men on board the Boston knew that this was it . During the following five days the carrier planes struck fiercely at Eniwetol Atoll while the Boston kept a wary eye out for lap planes and subs Covering the seizure of the Marshalls she roamed between Wotje and Eniwetok After Kwayalein was secured the Boston anchored in R01 Harbor for three days and then returned to Eniwetok where for 18 days she circled the Atoll with the rest of the force prepared to lend fire support to Marines ashore who fought to secure the base which was to become so vital in the prosecution of the war When Eniwetok was secured the Task Group put in to Mayuro and the Boston s crew received its first taste of Liberty in the Pacific Early in March the Boston left Majuro for Espiritu Santo in the ew HebrideE'X. 1 From th e,the B ton sailed n once more to rejoin Task o e 58, in the fi t raid on fthe Palaus ends he Western heavy ships in the fleet on the record of her gunnery she was established as a good gunnery ship .2-M E--1-f5 S 2- planes of March 30'rh::-Carrier Cabot s.....N r'-'wi' . . . . - ' ' 7 - 1 - - 1 X u I ' I I ' . . , . . - - 1 , . , 1 1 . I - 1 . ' 1 1 - . - 1 - . . ,, . ,, 1 I . 1 . J ' ' ' v . - . 1 is ' f 0 ,,-. - . ,Q -N, , 4 .f-- M- . , , - ' ,f c , .. l 9 l I - I' ' II 1 'QWWNN , . I, i . . l . I ' I 5q,,....,.va,.. , ' I 0 I 0 df ... ' g Num'-w MM:-. ' ff 2 ... ...,..,, . 'mm-:ha J' V- f -' ,. nz. , - :' ' .. ., f fQ.1ffL -5, A, 5 ' 2 ---.-gh -wav. -13 fax? 1 , - . L-421 ' - f - ' f - '- ' ,Q 4, dj- 1. .M z.2 ff,'.'E .Q - -' '4 r, 'W I 1 4' .4- E. .f Y -f ' '- Y -. - ', .. V U were kept busy det ting enemy!

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0.5'T s ,M .S 3. we 'sill in THE LALINCHING OF THE BOSTON BY THE ROUTE WE TOOK IT WAS 185,000 MILES FROM BOSTON

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l 2 5 5 l v F i ............ QA... reported that her fighters had shot down all enemy planes in a formation of seven. At dusk Iapanese torpedo planes attacked- the Task Force and for the first time the guns of the Boston fired at the enemy. Later a Iapanese pilot was picked up by a ship of the group, and his story indicated that his plane was the Boston's first victim. It was in this area also that planes from the Boston rescued an officer pilot and two enlisted men from a plane that crashed during one of our carrier strikes. On the return trip to Majuro, sideswipes were taken also at Woleai and Yap. The Iaps, having felt the sting of the Task Force were leaving it strictly alone and no trouble was ex- perienced. D On April 22nd, the Boston once more sortied from Majuro with the Task Force to support General MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Forces in the seizure and occupation of Hollandia in New Guinea. One week later, on the way back from Hollandia, the Task Force journeyed slightly afield to deliver a sharp crack at the Iap Fortress of Truk. An enemy plane fifteen miles away sighted the deadly group and radioed a warning to fellow air- men on the island. Knowing the Iap was alerted, the Carrier Monterey launched ten planes to repel the expected attack. Suddenly an enemy plane was sighted off the Boston's starboard bow and the Boston's guns opened fire. In the subsequent action, which has been recorded in technicolor for the movie Fighting Lady, the Boston scored her first definite kill shooting down the at- tacking Iill Seconds later the drum like sound of the Bostons Forties and the chattering of her Twenties were heard as gunners opened up on a smoking enemy plane which was headed for the Carrier Yorktown Accuracy of the fire stopped this plane short of its goal and all hands cheered as it burst into flames after striking the water In this action the Boston claimed two of the three planes which had pierced the formation The next day the Boston journeyed southward to Satawan where her guns threw five and eight inch shells into that Iap held island without opposition Explosions were heard and fires were still raging as she turned her back on the island and headed once more for Majuro and a brief relief from war Salty now the Boston was assigned in Mid way to escort some newly islands of Marcus and Wake which proved to be more of a pleasure cruise than a war mission Formed up once more with Task Force 58 the Boston headed for Guam with a new commanding officer at the helm Captain E E Herrmann USN of Washington D C who boarded the ship on Iune 5 and was destined to carry it safely through many missions against the enemy Guam was the first stop on what was to be one of the longest cruises of her career, and also one of the most vital missions of the entire war-the attack on the Marianas. When it had been completed, we had secured operating bases for the B-29s, had nearly snipped in two the Japanese Life Lines to the South, and had almost annihilated Iapan's Carrier Air Power. As the force approached Guam, a Jap plane, spotting the mighty ships, radioed a warning: but fighter planes making a sweep over the island, nevertheless took'the enemy by surprise by their departure from the usual procedure of striking at dawn. Results were very successful. Speeding northward, the group then -struck swiftly at Iwo lima and headed southwestward again with orders to launch a long range search for the Iap fleet reported passing through San Bernardino Straits, their obvious intent being a bolstering of the defense of the Marianas. At 10 O'clock on the morning of Iune 19th carrier planes were launched to intercept a raid of 30 enemy planes. This was the first of seven major raids during the day, numbering from one to 90 planes. The most significant fact of the action was the complete annihilation of every enemy plane. The following day searches for the lap fleet were con- tinued, and late in the afternoon one of our airmen radioed that he had sighted the enemy Task Force 215 miles to the west. The Boston increased her speed, hoping for a surface battle. Again our carrier planes struck and badly damaged one Iap carrier and other units of the enemy s dwindling fleet. The next day the lap force was out of range but the mission was successful for the enemy had been chased back to his lair, and the amphibious landings of the Marianas continued with- out interruption The Commander of our Task Force expressed sympathy that our ship s gunners did not get a chance to take a crack at the lap fleet and labelled the enemy Not only yellow in color but 1n spirit as well A summation of damage inflicted showed that 402 enemy planes were destroyed in the action which will be forever re- membered by airmen as the Marianas Turkey Shoot Darn- age to the enemy fleet was also revealed to be substantial, in- gglcillgg the sinking of one Carrier two Destroyers and a Tanker amage to three Carriers one Battleshr ' I p two Heav Cruis- ers one Light Cruiser two Destroyers and three Tankers Y Warm congratulations were received from Admirdl Nimitz 31123 13113221 glggjt Your Air Groups have just turned in an- althinithef Punch at Iwo lima was landed on June 24th and 9 Our planes were outnumbered we quickl shortened h Y Qfehjids Score for the dUY 116 planes shot down to our loss I , I Er ' ll I ll If . . , I , ' ' - ll - Il - - . , 1 I E . . . . . . H . . . . . . . ,, . , I ' ' , - l 1 . - . - - . ,I - I V' . . ' . 2, I ' ' .. - - I , arrived carriers on a combat shakedown cruise to attack the , ' ' I ' ' ' bf i - I . I I ' I I -- - I - I u .ll is ' - - 'Q ' ' I I 1 0 vi . .2 ' H ' ' 1 gg . . . - , ' I . .