Denver (CL 58) - Naval Cruise Book

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LIFE IN A BOXKITE THE aviation unit of the [Xiuvr came aboard on the East Coast and stayed aboard throughout the Pacific War until she returned to Norfolk and went into the Re- serve Fleet. During this time the unit oper- ated as a scouting force, did visual spotting for shore bombardment, and accomplished air-sea rescue w ork. The record of the ac- curate shore bombardments in which plane spotting was used is proof of the fine work done by the aviators. Spotting for shore bombardment was not always merely a matter of lazily flying in circles watching the shells explode far be- low. During the first bombardment of Iwo, pilots Haseltine and Yesko, with their radio- men Ivy and Lyons, narrowly missed death when attacking Jap Zeros were diverted by a scout from the SiiiiUi Fc who was shot down instead. A few weeks later during the Jap operation the fly-boys were called upon to demonstrate their daring by landing in Jap infested water s to rescue a downed fighter pilot. All the hazards of cruiser aviation are not encountered during actual combat. Perhaps the two most dangerous times in a cruiser flyer ' s life is the catapulting and the recovery of his aircraft. Never in all the many launch- ings of Denver ' s planes has a single plane been lost; however, two planes were lost during recoveries in rough weather when they broke loose from the sled and were sucked into the ship ' s wake and capsized. Ensign Anderson and Tucker, pilot and radioman of the plane lost at Angaur, were picked up by the Dcmcr, but Ensign Wyss and Mendez, occupants of that lost at Borneo, had to wait for a destroyer to rescue them. The Dtiuir ' .s airmen even have the dis- tinction of being fired at by Jap ground troops. While flying at a very low altitude on a spotting hop at Leyte, Yesko and his raidoman Tucker ran into some AA fire from a 25-calibre automatic rifle. Thinking that since the Japs opened up against him they must have been guarding something impor- tant, he went down for a closer investiga- tion. On this run one of the Jap bullets went through the radioman ' s shoe, but the plane returned safely with only a few holes. At Balikpapan the buzz-boys ran into the greatest opposition in the way of anti-air- craft fire. All experienced the unpleasant- ness of being shot at — this time by 20mm. and 3-inch gunfire. They even had to do a little dodging of our own shells when a U.S. ship mistook our SOC for a Jap Pete and took a few pot shots at it. Borneo was dangerous to the air spotters on yet another count — the Jap shore batteries. Ensigns Wyss and McNickles were maneuvering in their spotting circles for the shore bombard- ment from the Denver when suddenly the Jap five-inch batteries opened on a group of minesweepers approaching too close to the beach. This caught our two SOC ' s in a deadly crossfire as the shells whistled by them in their downward trajectory. For- tunately they were able to get out of that hot spot immediately. Perhaps the less glamorous, but nonethe- less important job of the aviation unit is the maintenance crew. It may be said for them that the Dawcr never lost a plane because of faulty workmanship or lack of proper care. 05

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Sunset in hcytc Cease Present Operations — WAR lu ' ojima Battle Line Denver lon range dueling at Surigao Comdr. Patterson Announces V-J Day Bomhardment of luo 04

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Shrine End of Liberty Wakanoura W ' liii oo