Manchester (CL 83) - Naval Cruise Book

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But one afternoon a few days later, Wonsan ' s defensive strong- hold, the now famous Kalma Gak, came alive once more. Shells from her guns were burst- ing on either side of the cruiser Saint Paul nearby on the firing line. Our batteries opened up, smothering the peninsula with white phosphorus until its guns were silent. We learned some- thing new that day: Kalma Gak gun crews were no longer guess- ing — they had drawn a good bead on us and shown a new taste for battle. FROM: COMMANDER TASK GROUP 95.2 TO: MANCHESTER YOUR RECENT PERFORMANCE IN WONSAN PARTICULARLY WHILE UNDER ENEMY GUNFIRE IS CONSIDERED TO HAVE BEEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE HIGHEST TRADITIONS OF THE SERVICE FROM: COMMANDER TASK FORCE 95 TO: MANCHESTER I LEAVE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE FINE SHIP MANCHESTER WITH REGRET BUT IT WAS A PLEASANT STAY AND DAMAGE TO ENEMY CONTINUES IN FINE MANNER X REAR ADMIRAL ALLAN E. SMITH

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After April 6th, the Manchester experienced a severe change in scenery. As Sin Do Island in Wonsan harbor appeared again off our starboard bow, we trained out our guns and continued the siege of Wonsan into its 50th day.

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WINDMILL DIARY Subject: four days (busy ones) in the life of the Manchester ' s gallant offspring APRIL 9— One morning as the Manchester lay in Wonsan harbor during our bombardment of Red coastal targets, two Corsairs from the carrier Bataan wheeled over the area on a morning spotting mission. They approached low over the town of Umido when our pilot felt the jar of AA hits in his wings. On the next pass over the village, shrapnel from a close flak burst tore into the fuselage. Immediately, said Marine Pilot John S. Sumner, I lost oil pressure, and before I knew it, the motor had konked out. Lieutenant Sumner said he turned the plane into the wind for a crash landing in the harbor, telling the Manchester by voice circuit that he was going down. Back aboard ship, helicopter pilot Henry Cardoza was sitting in his craft listening in on the spotting circuit while he waited for his own morning spotting orders. Car- doza said, As soon as I heard what was going on, I kicked over my engine, and by the time Lieu- tenant Sumner had hit the water, I was in the air, hi-balling it in his direction. Cardoza was given the exact spot where Sumner had gone down by Chief Radarman Bill Mitchell who was also moni- toring the circuit from combat. By the time the tail of Sumner ' s plane sank below the water, Cardoza was hovering over the scene with a hoist sling dangling in readiness. Sumner was hauled up to the helicopter, thoroughly drenched and miserable. But I feel swell now, he said later. The only part I didn ' t like was when I kept trying to reach for my life-raft to inflate it, ice-cold water poured down the sleeve of my flying suit into my boots. In a couple of minutes the suit was full of it. And then because I was so heavy with all this water, the crewmen couldn ' t quite pull me into the plane and I had to hang, half in and half out of the cockpit, all the way back to the Manchester! APRIL 13— This evening the Manchester received an emer- gency call from a group of British Sea Furies off the English carrier Theseus. One of the planes had crashed near enemy-held Hungnam, up the coast from the Manchester at Wonsan. With Cardoza at the controls, the ship ' s windmill took off immedi- ately. In a short time it was met by two of the remaining British planes which would be escorts for the trip over enemy territory. When they reached the spot where the British pilot had gone down, Cardoza remarked that the wrecked plane Looked like a dis-assembled training model. Each piece was where it should be, but disjointed. The helicopter dropped for a quick landing in a rice paddy, and after some difficulty, Cardoza and crew- man Herb Hicks managed to pull the pilot from the demolished cockpit. There was a small village a few hundred yards away, so the operation was now complicated by having to keep a close watch for enemy troops. As soon as they pulled him free they saw he had a broken leg and severe face lacerations. They hurriedly piled him aboard the helicopter, and on the way back Hicks held his leg to ease the pain from the engine ' s vibrations. Just at dusk they made their approach on the Manchester and settled down. Before the British pilot was trundled off to sickbay, he managed a weak smile and a thanks to Cardoza and Hicks. APRIL 18 Today the Manchester helicopter rescued one of the luckiest pilots yet to fly the Korean war. A Navy pilot, Ensign Cosgriff, was on a strafing mis- sion near Hamhung when he saw a high tension wire rushing at him. He pulled his plane up and over it, and as he dropped down again on the other side to bring his machine guns on the target, an- other, unseen wire neatly sliced the top of the plane off- — including Cosgriff ' s helmet. Why it didn ' t chop off my head I ' ll never know, he said. The plane went into a violent diving skid, and Cosgriff bailed out, but the jar of the tension wire must have shifted his chute pack, because he couldn ' t find the ripcord. After ten or twelve years I felt a buckle which came loose in my hand, he said. It was what I wanted, though, because I was head down and then the chute opened and jerked me upright. The instant that it did, I hit the ground. I watched as Commie bullets clipped the ground and bushes around me. And though they were shooting at the ' copter, too, the pilot made a pass over me, letting out his hoist. I jumped for the end, and it just grazed my fingertips. But on the second run I made it, and was quickly swung up into the plane. Back aboard the Manchester, when he was breathing more easily, Cosgriff said, I still can ' t believe I ' m not back there on that hill. It ' s amazing that I ' m still alive.