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Page 21 text:
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. -- uu.:'.'Aw:..u--.--g -1- ' -- 1 1 'S' ' ' H ---V-J 'H '. -'4 .L 1 'E. 1 ' I : 1 :ru ' 'l ' - ' .. 4. . ...,. ix I Y lu? if F? L' ' -f' il -i NYY , i l lun! Mt' 1 111536311111 '1 cruisers and destroyers concentrated their fire on the smoking Fannie Bee. 1 About 0900 the U.S.S. Gambier Bay capsized and sank after a terrific pounding from enemy heavy cruisers at close range. After two and onefhalf hours of sustained battle the japanese fleet chose this time for a final destroyer torpedo attack and commenced retire' ment to the North, an unexplained but welcome sight to the battered Task Group. Every ship in the Unit had sustained hits while the Gambier Bay, Hoel, Rob' erts and Johnston had gallantly gone to a watery grave. The destroyers Heerman and Denni suffered major damage while the Butler and Raymond were little bet' ter off. Scarcely were the Japanese ships over the horizon when a new battle commenced for the warfweary CVE's. Jap suicide planes arrived to polish off the crippled carriers and succeeded in landing one Kama' kaize on the St. Lo flight deck. The resulting ex' plosions were too much for the battered St. Lo and at 1105 all hands abandoned ship as she slid to the depths of Leyte Gulf. The four remaining CVE's limped southward to Manus for temporary repairs before heading back to the United States. Captain Arnold assumed command on January 10, 1945, and in February, 1945, the Fannie Bee headed back to the Realm of the Golden Dragon. Admiral G. A. F. Sprague rejoined the ship in Ulithi in March, hoisting his flag as ComGarDiv 26. From Ulithi the Fannie Bee headed north for the Okinawa campaign. Again the Fannie Bee assumed the work of the big boys, providing ground support, blasting tanks, trucks, troops and being in turn subjected to every retaliatory trick the enemy had in his bag. The Fannie Bee was subjected to Kamakaize raids, suicide boats, submarines, mines and even suicide swimmers but her luck held, she remained unscathed. For 69 days during the occupation and neutralizaf tion of Okinawa the Fannie Bee operated continuously, with Composite Squadron TWO flying a total of 2,089 sorties. During this period fliers averaged 91 hours of combat flying per month! Pilots from this squadron literally pulverized all opposition, both on the ground and in the air. The havoc created among enemy troops contributed to a greatly reduced casualty rate in our own ground forces as the relentless air pounding blasted tanks, trucks, gun emplacements and equipf ment into uselessness. In addition to lending ground support, fliers of VOG2 also shot down five enemy planes during this same period. July found the Fannie Bee penetrating far into the East China Sea in a highly secret minsweeping expedif Heroic Destroyers and DE's lay smoke screen to hide beleaguered CVE's.
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Page 22 text:
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vw. 'L ,,..,, '.'.:l 4 :ILQLEI ,. .A -5. and .Q tion along the China Coast. Steaming within radar range of Shanghai itself the assembled carriers, cruisers, battle' ships and destroyers fought off enemy planes and submarines in support of fast minesweeps. In this mission, des' tined to be the last combat assignment for the Fannie Bee, is the proof of acf ceptance of CVF,'s for regular fleet asf signments. Returning to Buckner Bay the force was attacked by submarines and Kama' kaizes as the desperate Japanese atf tempted to ward off the assembling of the invasion 'fleet. All vessels escaped damage despite the Herce attacks pressed home to the very mouth of Buckner Bay. From the Philippines the Fannie Bee prepared to add another to the long list of Pacific conquests with orders to join Admiral Frank jack Fletcher's Ninth Fleet at Adak, Alaska. From the Aleuf Airdales take off to harass enemy. Pfxora EIGIITIHQN mm m 'I Salvos blanket CVE's. tian chain the Northern spearhead into the Kurile Islands promised a welcome relief from Kamakaize attacks, swimmers burdened with underwater bombs, not to mention the hot tropic climate. Bnroute to Adak in early August stops were made at Guam and Bniwetok for foul weather gear and provisions for the coming invasion of the homeland, As the ship threaded its way out of the coralfreefed Eniwetok harbor news of the Japanese surrender arrived to make the journey to Adak an antifclimax. Arf riving in Kuluk Bay on the Bering side of Adak Island the Fannie Bee joined the assembled Ninth Fleet anchored in the shadow of snowfcapped peaks surf mounting the treeless green tundra. From the lush, dank foliage of the tropf ics to the Aleutian wastes the Fannie Bee paused before the final journey as an aircraft carrier of the Pacific Fleet. On September 7, 1945 the Fanshaw
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