Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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i l xrfviq, l 1 131 0 3,5 EJ 1 1 in Fx! , 1 1 111 'll v , 4 ii. 1 z I I , V. '1 W If 1 ' 4 -1, rl 1 1 , A r, ' 1 1 i Peacock put his Avenger crewmen in pOS1t1011 to score at least a probable- Lieutenant Weber scored for a daily double by routing out a 300-ton patrol craft and pouring his bomb load on it, sinking it before squadron mates could get around to do muCh strafing damage to it. During all this time, other bomber and torpedo pilots had gone from one end of the island to the other raising all sorts of hell, firing ammo dumps, fuel storage tanks, blast- ing barracks and hangar areas and causing gasoline rationing to go into immediate effect with the destruction of the facilities of the Asiatic Petroleum Company. The early morning Hghter sweep, getting negative results on a search for shipping off Cebu, returned to Negros to paste a group of thirty Bettys, Topsys, Judys, Zekes and Oscars found around. Mindanao loomed darkly out of the sea as we pulled away from the area, the following two days dedicated to standing by to support the landings on Palau but not until September 17, D Plus Two, were we called upon, and then but to do pin-point bombing on Angaur, where troops also were going ashore. No-someone was kidding! Manila? Nobody was kidding, Manila was the next target, so we took another hitch in our belts, followed the progress of the Browns and Tigers in the American League pennant chase, and prepared to do some more slugging. The mail delivery was remarkable, destroyers sid- ling up to us a couple times a week with letters from those S 8: S gals. That helped. September 21. Admiral Halsey marched American air power back to Manila . . . The white-starred fighters, bombers, torpedo planes threw shadows over Cavite, Correg- idor . . . Promised to come back . . . Commander Shifley was nominated ship- ping evaluator for the entire force, and combed the area in routing out a total of 107 ships, at least forty-two of them ranging from med- ium to large transports and cargo ships, in and around Manila Bay Cavite, Subic Bay, Marivele s Harbor and off' the Capone Islands ' f 4 'tg Q A' lu.. 1 1.4 , The first fighter sweep caught the Jap with his planes down at Clark and Nichols fields, and the bombers hunted down a five-ship convoy outbound from Subic Bay, sinking two definitely and leaving the other three in sinking conditions. 4-fc Q F V , 1, ' ,31 'f , ' Q Q5 'ffm -Ji. ,K 'fl bb-f'7if.'f , , ,,., b I V . t iT ',:4V.,:, , J P Tfljilffj F . - ' gi':.'1'g.:L'5 1 , .N Q ,y -,.l,-,...,,,.., A , Q ' ff ..,g1i1:i..g1L,7i:,zf 5?'1iml??Q'l . 'C ' 1 1 I . 3 1 C f . ,f-M-. 1 .f C 1 5? :fff .. X ...M f-ff' '41 1 ' Q ' ff 'f 1 ...-...,.,, 'a-time ff' ,ff f f Jr -'wif IJ.-Q ff TJ -. ,,'5'- J' fi . . . fr' flffif 1571 L ' ,z 5 QM s .. 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W -.-nn...,.. --.......-................... I -A-3, -- ...- v,.,...,..,.... f.f..., -. s..s.-,.. Na-..-...,..-...--.....-.---....1. ,, -,... .--..,.,... ..- w5il'.5S'i2. Y-.. .f..v....n....,.......-........-...............-1.. -T-......----- .., . .Af ,F .sa .....r...-..., .f...-...,...... ,, , ...,.......,.l..-.......... The air opposition that did rise to meet the attack was swiftly slaughtered by ram- paging Fighting Eight. Lieutenant Com- mander McCuskey burned down three, Lieu- tenants Cjgj Topliff and Longino flying hiS wings accounted for a pair apiece, as did Lieutenant Cjgj Johnny Galvin and Lieuten- ant Kirk. Everybody was scoring and the word got around fast that Fighting Eight finally had hit a jackpot. Bombers continued their powerhouse pal'- ade across Clark and Nichols fields, while back aboard the Bunker Hill the tension was .Off a little as the Jap made no attempt to strike back, heavy rain squalls keeping the entire force well covered. Sole shadow over the day's operations was the loss of Lieutenalff R. D. Horne and his rear-seat man, Lesl1C Stinson, whose plane was hit by AA thr0Wn up by the convoy outside Subic BRY- A two-strike schedule was carried out the following day, hitting such additional targets e seaplane base and shipping in Llngaye , Where one large and one medium S1 5 . . ' as th ' ' ' H . J i Zed' - transport were sunk, and two others left in 1 148 ifjfi z- ii fr F-

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about, probably never knowing what a stir they caused among American seamen, who curiously fought for a good look at their enemy specimens. QSEQL PHILIPPINES Gperations the next day continued in the same area, with strikes sent out over Legaspi, Fabrica, Cebu and Alicante. Strong air opposition was encountered by our lighters on their first sweep over the Legaspi and Negros areas. Our fighters and planes from another of our carriers joined up and were busily engaged straiing airfield installations when they discovered that a swarm of Jap Zekes had moved in above them. Lieutenant Cronin, with a three-plane division composed of himself and Lieutenants C gj George Groves and john Vanderhoof were working together, and 'Hoof' discovered that enemy planes were present when Zero bullets began passing through his cockpit. Miraculously unhit, Van- derhoof found that his engine was missing, coughing oil and threatening to conk out on him. Groves turned to cover him, and the two began a flight toward friendly waters. Vanderhoof was forced into the water about four miles offshore, with one Hellcat above him standing between him and sure capture. Groves provided the one-man cover until his gasoline was running low. He then joined the flight back to the ship, which had been radioed for a rescue plane. 'Hoof' pulled out all the survivors' tricks in the bag, spurred considerably by the sight of three Jap patrol boats combing the water for him but encouraged by a pair of Hellcats that were keeping him in sight. For six hours he fought the currents to stay out from shore and relievedly greeted the sight of the rescue plane, escorted by two night fighters. The cruiser pilot made the pick-up without diffi- culty but on retirement a Betty stood in to challenge,making no attempt to run until the Black Chickens, Lieutenant Commander Aur- and and Lieutenant Cjgj Connor, pounced down. The scene was enlivened by the ac- curacy of the Jap tail gunner, who scored scratch hits on both night lighters before Connor finally made the put-out. Over Negros, Fighting Eight was having the Held day that it had sought for so long. The japs fielded some fierce airborne resist- ance, led off by a four-plane group of Oscars attempting a run on the bomber and torpedo planes. Lieutenant Commander Ron Hoel's division put a stop to that, I-Ioel smoking one from a head-on run and his wingman, Jack McGuire, throwing so much lead into another that the pilot parachuted for his life. McGuire then got into a rat-race with a Zeke and literally flew it into the ground. Over in another corner of the arena Lieutenant Cjgj George Kirk set up a kill for his wingman, Lieutenant Cjgj Tommy O'Boyle, then jumped the tail of another Nip fighter, leaded it down with .50 caliber and caused it to crash, and then went on to make his bomb drop. Pulling out, he found himself in the middle of another dog-fight, burned one out of the sky and broke up that party. Lieutenant Lloyd Hein- zen had his division working up a good lather, too, setting the pace by plugging an Oscar while Ensign Czekala exploded a Zeke, Lieu- tenants I-Iobbs and Mendoza tagging a single- ton and a pair, respectively. Czekala, however, had taken some damage to his plane and was forced to bail out, but mounted a life raft dropped to him, and was picked up after five hours of sun bathing. The bomber and torpedo pilots weren't wasting time that morning, either. Lieuten- ant Les Ward spotted an Oscar below him in his dive and smoked it with a few choice bursts, part of a double play that saw Lieu- tenant jack Weber, following Ward, tag the Nip for a kill. Lieutenants Cjgj Pete Evanoff and Tommy Shea, and Ensign Ralph Fierce of the bombers also had similar experiences but could claim no better than probables. Lieutenant Cjgj Ernie Leggett picked up a Zeke in his dive, but couldn't quite reach him with his wing guns, so Lieutenant Cjgj johnny 147

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sinking condition. The heavy weather con The boys had just been flexing their muscles in the Luzon operation, it seemed for on even further stymied when Admiral Bogan We rode out C15 a typhoon and C22 the tinued and we retired for a fueling rendezvous. shifted his flag to another carrier. J , i September 23, flying ranging strikes over the Central Philippines, they really scored in high figures. Commander Shifley led a search- strike over to Coron Bay, on the western edge of the Visayan Sea and flushed twelve ships, the Helldivers leaving every one of them either sunk or heavily damaged, including a 10,000-ton oiler and a 5,000-ton transport. A companion strike over Ormoc Bay at Leyte also had good hunting, Skipper Arbes getting a direct hit on a 9,000-ton AK which was left sinking, and other hits going to Lieutenants Hardy, Conklin and Pete Sachon. On the last hop of the day the bombers sank two more AKS and marked another as a prob- able, while the torpedo squadron rammed home block-busters on another pair of large cargo ships. People were getting tired, though, and a look at the record showed that in the nine- teen-day period the Bunker Hill and Air Group Eight had been in action against the enemy on twelve of the days, flown 1,389 sorties and dropped more than 500 tons of explosives exclusive of the torpedoes thrown at Manila Bay. Photographic evidence showed that in that period the Bunker Hill's Air Group had sunk or damaged the staggering total of 108,850 tons of Jap shipping, thirteen ships amounting to 44,600 tons totted up as definitely sunk, 40,150 tons represented by ten ships probably sunk and the remaining eleven ships, estimated at 24,100 tons, heavily damaged. Oh yes, what was the name of that carrier that was coming out to relieve us? We're going back, eh? Straight dope? From where we stood we saw seven ammunition lighters waiting to come alongside as soon as we Cl1'0pped the hook in Saipan Roads Septem- ber 28. That doesn't spell relief for us or the Air Group, Mac! The cynics were abashed temporarily when We dragged the anchor to another port and storm of scuttlebutt in the next few days, finally taking aboard replacement aircraft and deciding that there'd be just one more op- eration. Down in the torpedo ready room some artist reflected the weary pilots' reaction with a blackboard drawing of a crying infant, captioned: My Daddy flies for Halsey. The staunch supporters of the St. Louis Cards picked up their thoughtfully placed bets, arguments opened up on the merits of the Navy football club, a few more letters were mailed to Sally and Sue, and October 7 we hit the road again. It was evident enough as to the necessity for the Bunker Hill to be included again in the lineup when we heard that the invasion of the Philippines had been stepped up, with General MacArthur sched- uled to return via Leyte. The belly butterflies did wingovers, though, when we learned that we were to hit Okinawa Jima, in the Nansei Shoto group. That was the Jap Empire, Bud! October 10 . . . A Hghter sweep and three strikes on shipping and shore installations, with a feature performance by Ensign Ray Baldwin of the fighters, who sank a pair of Jap submarines anchored side by side. Lieu- tenant Boydston sank another while Lieuten- ant Cjgl Al Prejean picked out a small AK and sent it to the bottom with a direct hit. The old masters of ship sinking, the bombers and torpedo pilots, weren't idle, either. Skip- per Arbes and Lieutenant Jim Keefe teamed up to punch a 6,000-ton transport to the bottom as Lieutenant Spanky Spohn severely damaged a smaller one, later polished off by another group. Greatest attention was given the airfields and installations that might be used in staging Jap aircraft to the Leyte area during the invasion, however, and the Air Group went over the target area with a heavy hand. Two of the fighters, Lieutenants Beauchamp and F eightner, recorded precision jobs on a pair of small transports, sinking them both.