Block Island (CVE 106) - Naval Cruise Book

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ACH GE OF 0HDER Okinawa well secured, shortly after dark on 16 June, tl1e BLOCK ISLAND, SUXVANEE, GILBERT ISLANDS and SAN- TEE were detached from Task Unit 32.1.3 a11d proceeded to Leyte for a well earned rest. The shipis work continued but the men managed a little time ashore. Word came through that a strike was to be made against Borneo to re-capture the Dutch territories and rich oil lands enjoyed by the Japanese during the war. On his Way to that front, Vice Admiral Barbey, Acting Commander SEVENTH FLEET and CET 78, came tllrougll Lcyte on 23 June. After a conference with the Chief of Staff, Seventh Fleet, it was de. cided that the invasion could be delayed until the BLOCK ISLAND could join the CVEs assigned to provide air coverage at Balikpapan. CVE 106 was desired because it had a Marine support group and night lighters and it was evident that in this campaign that type of air operation would predominate. The mustering of carrier escorts for this campaign was the Navyas ace-in-the-hole to provide against failures on the part of shore. based aircraft. MAKING A BEACHHEAD AT LEYTE CAPTAIN PETERSON x ,f- ' CAPTAIN HUGHES CONFERS WITH ADMIRAL DURGIN I r L., ....-.l't1 BEER AND RECREATION AT LEYTE sl, 1 ' .x TIWING UP

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READY CHECK? ARMED TO THE TEETH v--yr AA X 1 Q -g,.7 x:,7, X C E 'E - -' THE SUN GOES DOWN LIKE THUNDER ? 14 -v

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THE ILD E OF B011 E0 29 June, tl1e BLOCK ISLAND It-l't Lcylc l'12ll'll0l', threaded its way past Salnar, Mindanao and the Islands of the Philippines. steaming south toward the Straits ol' h'Iakassar. through water too blue to describe. One man said it looked as if the sea were blue jello. Tl1e FBI was tl1e first line ship of tl1e U. S. Navy to enter these straits since early 1942. Five IIIIIIIIICS ahead of schedule, at 0855, 1 July, tl1e la11d- ings at Balikpapan were accomplished. Aniphibious forces of tl1e Seventh Fleet, troops of tl1e Seventh Divisio11, Australian Imperial Forces, landed on the Klandasan Beaches a few moments after a staggering barrage of ll101'C Illall 8,000 rockets. LCTS stood a few hundred yards off shore. Farther o11t lay tl1e cruisers and destroyers bombarding tl1e beach incessantly. The attack was successful and, we were informed, worked out ac- cording to plan. Tl1e carriers of Task Unit 78.4 stood about sixty miles off shore during the day. They were not too busy witl1 combat but concerned with Air Patrol and Submarine Patrol. Tl1e FBI was the first aircraft carrier to strike in tl1e Borneo-Celebes area when Captain Secrest with Lieutenants Haidt, Skelly a11d Johnson were ordered from a local patrol to attack a motorized column that l1ad been spotted 3 miles north of tl1e landing P ln-aclies. They found 14 trucks and 12 automobiles along a jungle road. The troops had taken cover in slit trenches at the roadside. When tl1e Corsairs retired, four of the trucks were burned, the remainder damaged a11d the troops in the trenches had been strafed. Squadron after squadron of Army planes came down from Tawi Tawi during tl1e next day to provide the bulk of tl1e bombing and support work for the invasion. Our night fighters flew patrols throughout tl1e hours of darkness and received a MXVEL1, DON lil fl'0Ill tl1e Admiral. 2 July, the BLOCK ISLAND l3llIlUl1Ctl its biggest strike, 24 planes off the deck in o11e operation of which 22 went for the target. It was a field day. Our flyers were assigned an area four miles back of the beach where a concentration of military warehouses, barracks, trucks and troops were 11631611 i11 heavy jungle. Control told them to go after it any way they wanted. The pilots cut loose. Altogether they made 170 passes over those targets, dropped 11 tons of bo1nbs, 82 rockets, besides firing away many thousands of ro1111ds of fifty calibre stuff. This ushootw wound up the Borneo ca111paign in which we can take unusual pride not only because of our achievements but because we had N0 CASUALTIES. 82 sorties over our own forces, 58 over the target, using 21,700 pounds of bombs, 82 five-inch rockets, and 10,800 rounds of .machine g11n ammunition and not a man or plane lost! ., g A MERITORIOUS MAST- CAPTAIN BEAKLEY , G -as-'C , , V PM , 'K 1 X 'V V Q . , , I ,, , . ,, . 1 , 2 ' I 'iw fi , 'f W' 4 , f 5 + CAPTAIN HUGHES AND HIS COMMAND