Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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Th flew their hops, they got their results, but became mechanical work for them. -111 San Bernadina Strait, standing by in strateg 'Ji Support of the Philippines landing at Ley1 and the following day Cebu fell under t g ff--f' ,,p. a hammer-.and-bomb blows of the Helldivf Z-'jf , ,,,,, f' A and Avengers and the rampagmg strahng 1,555 the Hellcats, with airfields and dispersal are ffdz 6 at Mahug and Opon center of the attack. if I t was Air Group Eight's last flight agai if 4 the Jap from the Bunker Hill, for on the 22 ' we stood by to support Leyte landings 7, X45 -,gif -y1, 4:1 e-'.' lf fC'ontnued from page 1.50 had negative results, and the afternoon search found all hands tense again, awaiting word of a contact. As the hours wore on tension mounted. Pilots went into Condition Eleven. A contact was made, a Jap Heet unit of two Kongo class battleships, a Natori class cruiser and seven destroyers which appeared to be fueling from the heavies. Lieutenants Boyclstrun, Al Prejean and Baldwin, flying fighter cover for Helldiver Tommy Shea, made the contact and the double-duo was greeted by heavy anti-aircraft fire. They relayed the information back to the force, which changed its course to close the range, but an attack was impossible because of the extreme range and the short period of daylight remaining. The escorting lighters on all search legs were scoring kills, totaling seven, including a pair of large transport planes under heavy fighter protection indicating important cargo. Searches the next morning found nothing, and we turned back to the Philippines. On October 18, tired, combat-weary pilots again flew, this time in diversionary strikes against Appari and Laoga airlields on north- ern Luzon, with intensive searches for ship- ping. Results were good on all counts as more than 25,000 tons of shipping were either sunk or left in sinking condition. Air Group Eight, however, was weary and more and more they looked forward to the day, the we were detached, with a two-destroyer esco and ordered to a base where the Air Gro would be relieved. Possibly the Bunker Hi, We hoped so. r n b were not called upon, and the following da 1 reef A ONE-SHIP SHOW. hattle-mates W the cudgelin g flat-top, were oft a souree cy' conversation during the long da qt steaming and fighting. They became a pa of us, living their own lives, going ahout th own duties, yet fighting the same hattles a feeling the same sweat. Always, when ti smaller ones came alongside, we thronged it eatwallts to talze a look at them, and tri: CThe ships around the carrier, guardians as e 1 , WEN A ill' illl S51 1 1x fl, .1 5-il llllli l' Nik l !:',ll!I!.1'fL, 1.1 lll 1'l' Lllixsll l ,. 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L to figure out how they lived. Of them dll, no ship drew greater cheers nor deeper respect, 'than ez .single destroyer, the U.S.S. Burnrj No story of the Bunker Hill would be com- plete without a mention of its rampaging rumpus-mate, the U. S. S. Burns--the rowdy little destroyer whose presence in our task force always brought grins of satisfaction. That comraderie between the big carrier and the sea terrier that tagged along as a plane guard, or blazed away with salvos of AA when we were under attack, was deeper than the usual feeling between the mother- ing-and oft-times helpless-carrier and her defending screen. . It revolved about an operation during the campaign for the Marshall Islands. Our squadrons were carrying out a relentless, day- long attack on one of the atolls of the target group, an air field and its surrounding install- ations the specific target of the bombers and torpedo pilots. However, each torpedo pilot had been instructed to save one bomb for a concentrated bombing run on a 6,000-ton Jap transport that had been found huddled in a nook of the harbor. Lieutenant Cjgj Guy Brown, twenty-six-year old torpedo pilot of VT17, had made his run on the ground installations but heavy cloud banks prevented him from rendezvousing with the rest of the squadron to join the attack on the ship. He decided to make his drop alone. Spotting the ship down on the blue lagoon he made his glide bombing run through a storm of anti-aircraft fire, leveled off and started upstairs He then discovered that his bomb had failed to release-and that his right wing had been riddled by small calibre AA. Despite possible structural dam- age to the wing, Brown made his second run and saw his bomb drop close enough to the transport's waterline to assure damage to the ship. Brown's Avenger, however, was seriously damaged, its hydraulic system shot away, one elevator virtually demolished and a severe oil leak resulting from a hit in the engine. He informed his squadron mates by radio that he was Usettin' her down, and went into a long glide that carried him approximately fif- teen of the 100 miles in the direction of the carrier. In hitting the water, Brown's radio- man, Frank Nugent, ARM 2c, of Jersey City, N. J., received a severe back injury and George Sandburg, ARM2c, of Camden, N. J., the gunner, extricated him and together with Brown, got him into the life raft. The trio prepared for a long stay under the hot sun, taking encouragement from the circling Aven- ger of Lieutenant Paul Dickson, who droned over them for nearly five hours awaiting the Burns, which had been dispatched for the rescue. The carrier force, meanwhile, had been l. --:ij t 'hifi ' . p Q 5 , 3-J-3 V .. 1 '- :.:::: ' ,Z - L , i . .i .1 A. , A --------- ifw ifig :lv I J! ------- -M.,-F q 5. , AQ- Y.: 'Q-1 f . . is , Q---i-. - A TI ..'.:.4q ------ f .1 X. ' A I ' u ------- '--- - A N l A ' - . o ' M X f 'EN 'X 0 A ,-- X . if-'lfillrfl ' - X ' - - - ,,, 11-fn' - Q., f? '-4,-Q-V' 'A-' --f:?.i.,,'-1-,e..--fy ,E T'-q,..g e f J f+z.- 155