Pennsylvania (BB 38) - Naval Cruise Book

I Bering Sea, and on westward. Its objective was Attu. Japanese forces were known to have oc- cupied two islands in the Aleutians, Attu and Kiska. It was decided to strike first at Attu, the less strongly garrisoned of the twovand the westernmost island in the chain. .The weather in the Aleutians is notoriously bad. It is cold, the fogs are thick and almost continuous, and the seas are usually rough. More unfavorable conditions for an amphib'-Q ious operation would be difficult to find. "Dog" Day was set tentatively for the eighth of May, but on that day the seas were too heavy to permit a landing. The PENNSYL- VANIA patrolled first to the northeast of Attu and then with the two other battleships and a cruiser force to the west. "Dog" Day was set definitely for II May. On the afternoon of the IOth the battleships ioined with the transports of the task force, and that night in a dense fog two approach dispositions were formed, one of the transports and fire support ships, including the PENNSYLVANIA and IDAHO, to operate in the Holtz Bay-Chi- chagof Harbor area and the other of the ves- sels to operate in the Massacre Bay area. On the morning of II May the task group to which the PENNSYLVANIA had been as- signed arrived in the vicinity of Red Beach, which had been occupied before daylight by scout troops landed from submarines and an UPPER LEFT: lnformal attire is the order of the day in the press shop. UPPER RlGHTg War and peace make little difference to the barber. LOWER LEFT: Captain William A. Corn, Commanding Officer, and Commander Thomas H. Templeton, Executive Officer, 1943. LOWER RIGHT: Coming up in the wake is the quarterdeck dive bomber. 4, V 1 :WZ f "mag: A.: