Comet (AP 166) - Naval Cruise Book

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Load I -,--- . V, V e,,,,.,, ,m - , lb Talking to the Tower NJ' WWW ... Z v Saipan Highway and Jap cave defenses

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This was to prove a memorable afternoon. After the COMET had shifted berth to No. 3 anchorage, a Japanese torpedo bomber ap- proached unnoticed at 1603 from behind the hilly terrain of the island, skimming the surface at an altitude of about 15ffeet. When only a few yards from the COMET, it launched a torpedo which struck the cruiser HONOLULU in an adjoining anchorage. The explosion blew a large gaping hole in the port side of the ship just forward of the bridge, flooding a boiler room and other compart- ments, and causing her to take on a heavy list. The attacking plane apparently escaped although fired upon by destroyers. One of the 5 inch shells landed about ZS yards off the COMET'S starboard beam and exploded, but luckily caused no damage to the ship. Even though the plane flew directly over the COMET, gun crews were unable to open fire because of endangering the other ships. It is understood the HONOLULU was beached to prevent it from sinking and thus saved to fight again, although she suffered a large number of casualties. . D , E . Enemy planes were reported overhead several times during the night, and in the early morning hours some passed over the ship at a very low altitude, but they were not sighted due to the dense smoke screen which had been laid to hide, the 'anchored transports. Unloading continued throughout the second day despite Flash Red alerts and attacking enemy planes. With the aid of two LCT's and one LST the ship was completely unloaded on schedule and got underway at 1911, 22 October, leaving Leyte Gulf with a convoy bound for Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea. Ar we leftLeyte Gulf under cover oftmolee Jcreerz we were to have more excitement. Our sitter Jhip, the USS WARHA WK, rammed the battlethip, USS TENNESSEE. She came thru with a large hole in her bow,lea1fing the battle wagon with .tome Juperjicial scratches in the paintworki on her armor plated rider. I 1 , 54

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IM- . LEYTE REINF ORCEMENT . 1 The Task Group retired to the'South Pacific steaming at an approximate speed of advance of 14 knots, arrived at I-Iollandia 26 October, and anchored in Humboldt Bay. The COMET re- mained in the harbor for 10 days during which time the ofiicers and men enjoy-ed recreation parties on the beach, and minor jobs of maintenance and repairs were completed. On 5 November, after topping off with water and fuel, the ship sailed in company with the KNOX, CUSTER, SHERIDAN, and MERCURY for Noem- foor Island, about 40 miles off the northwest coast of New Guinea. Arriving there on 7 November, the COMET moored alongside the merchantman SEGUNDO RUIS-BELVIS and .began loading cargo from.her in preparation for a return trip to Leyte. The next day due to a heavy ground swell, it was necessary to move to an adjacent anchorage, and on 9 November loading operations were continued using LCT's to transfer the cargo. About 900 troops of the 503 rd Parachute Infantry cameaboard on 11 November, and on the 14-th the COMET again sailed for Leyte as a part of Task Unit 79.15.4 with OTC on the KNOX. The unit included: the KNOX, CUSTER, SI-IERIDAN, MERCURY, LAMAR, ALPINE, BOLI- VAR, STARLIGHT, ALSHAIN, AURIGA, BAXTER and ALCYONE-all U.S. Navy ships. Screening vessels were the des- troyers PICKING, BADGER, ISHERWOOD, WICKES, W. D. PORTER, SPROSTEM, and the destroyer transports QAPD'sJ SANDS and GOLDSBOROUGH. I , During this trip in which reinforcements were transported to Leyte, the ships did not meet as much enemy action as in the initial landings. However, one attack transport, the ALPINE, suffered severe damage when struck by an enemy Kamikaze plane early on the morning of arrival, 18 November. Even though -interrupted by four Flash Red warnings, unloading was completed in one day and at 1711 the ship weighed anchor-and got underway, joining a convoy bound for Manus. Enroute the destroyer WILKES was fueled by the COMET while underway on 20 November. A dispatch received 24 November ordered the COMET to proceed independently to Noumea, New Caledonia. At a point X56