West Virginia (BB 48) - Naval Cruise Book

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-.nk-,-.-.-,....... f f N ' et f-fvw1 f-I sz... ..,- . . , enemy to arrive. Then, about 2 3oo, one of our PT boats in the south entrance to the Strait reported a large black shape had entered and turned north, and we went to General Quarters. Then another report-a 'very large ship had passed through, but still out of range. Some time later the PT's were ordered to attack, and we wondered if they'd finish them off before we got a crack at the targets ourselves. The reports weren't clear-not all the Word came over the cir- cuit. But it seemed as if the PT7s hadn't done too much damage, and soon We were tracking out three of our destroyers which were sent to in- vestigate. We trained the director out on the Strait, and I promised my operator the biggest gedunk I could wangle out of the soda fountain if he picked up the targets before anyone else found them. Repel Air Attack! We were facing right down the Strait now, a strip of Water about fifteen mrles Wide and fifty miles long, and we strained our eyes to be sure not to mrss the faintest sign of the enemy s approach Several very large vessels were now reported moving up through the murky blackness, and oe casionally I'd look through my powerful spotting glass or raise up through the hatch to scan the hori- zon through my binoculars. But all was solid black- ness, and the faint glimmer of occasional lightning flashes still only lit up minor areas in the sky. Our destroyers were still moving out. , Suddenly-there they were! f'On target! Cn target! Commence tracking, plot! We were trained on a large enemy ship, sneaking up on us through the black of night, hop- ing to catch us unawares-and here We had him right in the notch! Soon other targets appeared, some of them large and others obviously the destroyer screen. Still out of range of our guns, they were coming straight at us at high speed. Their T was crossed! And by a lady who'd been rudely mussed up almost three years before, who was now out here for some satisfaction. We picked up the largest closest target, trained out our guns, and waited for the order to commence Hring. Destroyers Go In First We watched our three destroy- ers move in on the enemy's port beam, and checked and rechecked to be sure our range was not fouled by friendly ships. VVe got a little anxious about who was going to fire on whom first, our target was well within range now, brrt strll no or der L imc from the bridge Then things happened rn 1 hurry Vie sfm the destroyers open rrp, md the tnemx frnsu er back bfrlls of fir e loprng atross our lrne of srglrt rppal' Then our erursers torrrrrrcnttd hrrng, and their first salvo was lrrgh rn the sltx md vs tll on its vi ay when at oggg xr e got the xx or d ' ' ' .. , e ' 7 , P . ' . 7 ' ' - 4 1 rv. - 7 . '- Here They Come! I ently at short range because of the Hat trajectory. - V ic - 7 ' ' ,Z ' . !63l

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,. . . 15' 1 qi' F S K5 ,Q .M .if rf igaf' ix A' Lv, , ,, we f. ... , . 'I . -S 4 a ? y l l kept us at our guns until 3 o'clock before we could CM. That Old Scuttlebutt Rumors were running wild through the ship that the jap fleet was out, on its way from Borneo and Manila and Formosa and even from japan. Groups of battleships, large groups of heavy and light cruisers and masses of destroyers were escort- ing their largest carriers, and closing in from all directions. But these rumors were largely laughed at and classed as the usual scuttlebutt-bum dope that helped keep us amused and pass the time of day. But at quarters we got it straight. Four battle- ships, six cruisers, a couple of carriers and a large number of cans had been sighted, steaming through the Mindanao Sea on their way up to Surigao Strait, and we were going out to meet them! Now we were really going to do some business. The evening meal was a substantial one, and welcome, for we'd been on lean rations for several days. We were issued K rations to keep on our battle stations, for no one knew when we'd get fed again. As dusk approached there were many little preparations in evidence-jugs of water and blan- kets were lugged to battle stations, and once in a while a can of fruit that had been 'Lbig-dealed from Zac. the Commissary issuing room. Char- he didnlt draw much of an audience r ,nnn that night, as we had bigger game 'i in mind, and most of the crew was at battle stations long before Gen- eral Quarters. The Wee Vee in the Van The battle line steamed out of Leyte Gulf through a gorgeous red and pink sunset. Our small observa- tion planes were flown off the ship, i l67l as the expected gunfire would blast them to shreds on the fantail. They would be of little or no use in a night engagement. The West Virginia was in the van again, leading more of the victims of Pearl Harbor and once more flying the colors she'd carried to the bottom. From the hatch in my battle station, in the main battery director on top of the mainmast, l looked down the column of this scrap iron Navy, and out to the cruisers and destroyers escorting us. The night came up black. The sea was smooth, with moderate ground swells. There was intermit- tent AA fire at various points on the horizon, and occasionally unidentified lights flared up on vari- ous bearings. Small lightning flashes lit up isolated portions of the sky. I settled back inside the director and plugged in on the Captainls battle circuit to listen to the dope. My pointer and trainer and others of my crew lounged in the open doorway, laughing and chat- tering about some liberty back on the coast. l trained the director into the breeze to try to cool it oil, for it had been soaking up the hot sun all day. Watchful Waiting Back and forth we patrolled, east and west across the northern end of the Strait, waiting for the Main Battery Bombarding l.cytc

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Commence firing! Commence firingll' Fire one, was the calm word from plot, and the Wee Vee rocked back on her side in a great cloud of flame as our first salvo was on its way. My eyes were glued on the spotting glass now, waiting for the signal that tells us when our shots will land -hoping to get a glimpse of the target so as to spot the next salvo on. At this range it was almost too much to hope for a hit or even a straddle on the first salvo. The buzzer sounded, and Isaw our balls of fire arcing downward and WHAM! Right on: Ya hit 'iml Ya hit 'iml No change, no change! Out there on the horizon I saw a tremendous burst of flame. Only a heavily armored target would ex- plode our 16 inch armor-piercing projectiles on impact, and almost immediately we fired again. Salvo after salvo went out, and nearly all of them were right on. Part of the time I was halfway out of the director hatch, not even conscious of the concussion from the giants below, and Part of the time my eyes were glued to the spotting glass to help guide them to their mark. Our cruisers had opened up in rapid fire now, and soon our next battleship in column was Hring. Sheets of flame were bursting from the targets. Sometimes I caught glimpses of a great hulk sil- houetted in the flares-other times it looked like Niagara Falls out there from the splashes of the many salvoes. My pointer claims he saw the pagoda superstructure of a battleship. I was too busy on other details to confirm or deny. Plot reported the target slowing in the water, then turning around-and the Captain ordered Cease firing. Why Waste Bullets? And then I watched the great glowing masses on the horizon as reports came in that only one of our destroyers had taken a hit, and she was still under 9 I l -Courtesy Time Magazine control. One PT had rammed an underwater ob- struction, and the Strait was filled with Nips who had abandoned ship-or whose ships had abandoned them. The destroyers were picking up survivors those that would come aboard A few small targets were escaping out of the southern end of the Strait, but we had word that our planes would be out there to work them over as soon as It was light enough Until dawn we watched the great fires burning l6l