USS Columbia - Naval Cruise Book

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Catmon Hill — Leyte. followed by what was apparently an oil fire. On September 1 7, the attack force went ashore on Anguar Island against negligible opposition with the Gem ' s guns furnishing call fire support after the successful landing and again on September 18, and 19. In October the COLUMBIA was assigned to the Seventh Fleet for temporary duty in Task Group 77.2. The long awaited invasion of the Philippines was in the offing. The task group sortied from Manus in the Admiralty Islands en route to Leyte Gulf, P.I. All hands felt that this invasion was to be the test of remaining Jap strength in the Pacific. The direct mission of TG 77.2 in this invasion was to destroy enemy personnel, installations, and facilities on the entrance islands to Leyte Gulf, and in the vicinity of the landing beaches along the east First wave to go ashore in Philippines — October 20, 1944.

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ECOXD BATTLE CRUISE T TPON completion of the Navy Yard overhaul - and completion of gunnery training in Pearl Harbor, T.H., the COLUMBIA arrived back in the battle zone of the Pacific for her second battle cruise. On August 24, 1944, she reached Purvis Bay, Florida Island, where she joined Task Group 32.5 under command of Rear Admiral Oldendorf, USN, and proceeded with this force to the Palau Islands. The mission of TG 32.5 was to neutralize and destroy enemy installations in the Palau area by gunfire, aerial bombardment, minesweeping, and underwater demolition operations in order to support American forces in the seizure and occupation of three islands, Anguar, Peliliu, and Ngesebus, in the Palau Islands group. On September 12, the scheduled bombard- ment of Anguar Island began. On September 15 (the day of the landing on Peliliu), COLUMBIA fire initiated a large explosion Effective fire at Anguar, Columbia target, Dulag Airfield, Leyte

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coast of Lcytc in order to assist the U. S. Army troops in the seizure and occupation of that area. The Task Group arrived off Leyte unopposed and it is believed that the COLUMBIA and the DENVER were the first major U.S. surface ships in visual distance of the Philippines since the Japanese occupation. On October 19, 1944, the scheduled pre-landing bombardment of the Leyte area commenced. The targets were the Dulag airfield and gun emplacements on Cat- mon Hill. At first, some return fire (probably from mortars) was directed at the COLUMBIA from Catmon hill. No damage was sustained. The next day (the landing day) the COLUM- BIA moved in to within 2400 yards of the land- ing beaches and laid down a heavy pre-landing bombardment including 40mm fire. Enemy shells began landing in the water near the Gem and at 1009 six enemy shells landed about 200- 300 yards off her quarter. At 0 5 four more shells hit the water uncomfortably close. The Gem laid down a heavy fire in the vicinity of Catmon Hill whereupon the enemy fire was silenced. At 1600 a Japanese plane torpedoed the HONOLULU, about 3000 yards on the starboard bow. There developed a growing conviction that the Japs were going to fight and fight hard for the Philippines. American troops, however, waded ashore on that day and secured a beachhead. On October 22 (two days after the landing) while the Gem was conducting call fire, an enemy plane was taken under fire and later seen to crash. This plane was considered as probably destroyed. At dawn on October 21, an enemy plane was seen to deliberately crash into the bridge of the H. M. A. S. AUSTRALIA. It is believed that this deliberate suicide attack marked the beginning of the Kamikaze Corps (Divine Wind) attacks on allied vessels. On October 22 and 24, attacks by Kamikaze pilots were witnessed from the COLUMBIA on the DENVER, LOUISVILLE, and CALIFOR- NIA. On October 23, COLUMBIA ' S guns delivered effective rapid supporting fire in dis- persing an enemy troop concentration in the vicinity of Tabontabon Village on Leyte. Each evening during landing operations on the Leyte beachhead, Task Group 77.2 pro- ceeded to the north end of Surigao Strait to protect the beachhead from a surface attack in Columbia bombards Tabontabon Village on Leyte. 19