USS Columbia - Naval Cruise Book

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75 (apparently carrier based) enemy aircraft developed. Enemy planes seemed to be every- where. All ships kept firing almost continuously to beat off the attack. Ships reported being hit by suicide planes in rapid succession. The CALIFORNIA was hit at 1720— the AUS- TRALIA at 1 727. At 1 729 the Gem commenced firing with all weapons at a Japanese Val diving at her superstructure from off the star- board bow. This plane was seen to be hit by 40mm fire in its right wing which caused the plane to swerve to starboard missing the Gem ' s bridge. As this plane passed down the port side it suddenly dove and crashed into the Gem ' s main deck on the port side of turret number four. The plane, pilot, and engine penetrated the main deck and the 800 kg bomb which the plane carried penetrated the second and third decks before exploding. Several fires resulted on the main and second decks. All power including steering control was lost aft. The magazines in the vicinity of turrets three and four were sprinkled and it is believed that this action coupled with the sea water admitted through six holes in the hidl is all that saved the ship from destruction from a magazine explosion. Turrets three and four were put out of commission and remained so for the rest of the operation. Nine compartments were flooded causing the ship to settle about five feet by the Damage — Kamikaze crashed main deck aft through large hole, bomb through small hole. 27 Cf A , 4 j Above: Number two Kamikaze coming in — January 6. Below: She hits and explodes. stern. A total of 77 casualties were sustained of which 17 were killed or died of their wounds and 20 were listed as missing in action. Upon loss of steering control in the pilot hou.se, shift was made to the starboard cable as it was believed that the port cable was severed. Steer- ing control was momentarily regained by this method but soon lost again as the starboard cable was flooded out. Steering aft then took control. Between 1732 and 1735 (two to five minutes) after the ship had been hit, the COLUMBIA fired almost continuously at enemy planes attacking other ships. At 1800 all fires were

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Number one Kamikaze — January 6. South China Sea. This was the first group of U. S. surface ships to enter the South China Sea since the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese. At about 16.30 a major, determined, concentrated enemy suicide plane attack devel- oped. In rapid succession the LOUISVILLE, STAFFORD (DE), MANILA BAY, H. M. A. S. ARUNTA, and H. M. A. S. AUSTRALIA were hit by suicide planes in spite of the tre- mendous fire put up by our ships. In the fray the COLUMBIA succeeded in shooting down two of the attacking planes. Two days later, on January 6, an enemy dive bomber dropped a bomb just off the Gem ' s port bow. No damage was sustained. Air attacks continued throughout the morning. The TG, however, by this time had reached a position off Santiago Island at the entrance to Lingayen Gulf and at 1023, the scheduled bombardment of this island commenced. At 1 1 55 that day an enemy suicide plane crashed into the destroyer R. P. LEARY. Enemy planes at this time were continuously in the area and fire was opened whenever one came in range. At 1251 the destroyer WALKE was hit by a suicide plane. At 1423 the Gem commenced firing with all weapons at 3 Zekes headed for her superstructure. One plane was turned away. Another crashed into a nearby destroyer and the third although badly hit by the Gem ' s fire continued in his dive (strafing all the way). This plane overshot (fortunately) passing down the COLUMBIA ' S radio antennae and crashed close aboard her. The explosion that followed showered gasoline over the entire superstructure. Salt water from a hose on the forecastle was immediately sprayed on the super- structure and undoubtedly prevented a flash fire and many casualties. One man was slightly wounded. At 1525 that afternoon the fire support ships formed column and began entering Lingayen Gulf to support the minesweepers. This forma- tion, with necessarily restricted maneuverability and slow speed in the narrow channel swept by the minesweepers, seemed to be what the Japs were looking for. At about 1615a large, con- centrated persistent attack by approximately 26

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H.M.A.S. Australia — Lingayen Gulf, January 8, 1945. reported out. At 1828 the Gem ' s forward 20 mm ' s did a beautiful job of shooting the tail off an enemy plane attempting to crash dive the H. M. A. S. AUSTRALIA. The remainder of the task group commen ced retiring shortly thereafter, but the Gem remained temporarily as it was believed (in view of the bombardment schedule for the next three days) imperative that she recover her planes which had been aloft. At 1930 all power was lost to the steering engines. By means of an auxiliary electric lead to the crane, and while steering with engines, one plane was recovered. Darkness set in and the second plane (after rescue of its occupants) was sunk by one of two destroyers standing by. At 2027 steering control was regained in steering aft and the Gem was able to rejoin the task group forming outside of the Gulf. The ship was steered by trick wheel from steering aft until 1430 two days later at which time emer- gency repairs permitted steering control from the pilot house. Since 163p on January 5, a total of 21 ships had been hit, several of these had been hit twice. In view of this fact and because of the possibility of a Jap surface attack, the Third Fleet was ordered into the South China Sea. While the Gem ' s doctors worked without respite during the night (their facilities by now greatly overtaxed) to save the badly wounded, the Gem ' s crew buried their dead. It was indeed inspiring to witness the manner in which all hands turned to tirelessly to repair and prepare the ship for action the next day. Throughout the night the Task force was snooped continuously, but entry was made into the Gulf again early on the following morning and no doubt presented a sight the Japs did not expect to see. At 1015 the scheduled bombardment from Lingayen Gulf commenced. Throughout the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of January, the complete 6 bombardment schedule of the Gem was carried out with turrets one and two. The COLUMBIA had been assigned a close-in support mission including 40mm fire on the beach areas to cover the work of the underwater demolition teams on the seventh. Although the fathometer was out of commission (due to the hit on the previous day) , and the ship was down five feet by the stern, necessity demanded that the ship go in close in order to carry out its assigned task. The ship was brought in to within 3200 yards of the beach from which station the required covering fire was delivered. In addition, adjacent areas were covered because the vessel assigned to these areas had been ordered to retire from the Gulf after being hit 28