Farenholt (DD 491) - Naval Cruise Book

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SHIPS HISTORY fcontmuedl Damage was so heavy that lt took months to return the shlp to fightmg form Thls was accompllshed ln February 1943 when the veteran t1n can was routed back to the Sol omons belng uncomfortably present for the huge enemy a1r ralds on Slllpplllg ln that area lncludlng the seventh of Aprll 98 plane rald Other shrps mcludlng the orlglnal Aaron Ward of squadron Twelve were not as fortunate as the FARENHOLT whlch was credlted w1th several downed planes A new ComDesRon Twelve Cmdr T .I Ryan USN reported on board for duty In June landlngs commenced on Rendova Island The Japanese reslsted bltterly mount mg heavy plane ralds attacklng w1th submarlnes and shelllng shlppmg w1th thelr shore bat ter1es The FARENHOLT accounted for three planes two shore batterles and attacked a sub It was a hlghly dangerous operatlon, the loss of any one shlp belng a near calamlty Several tlmes the FARENHOLT maneuvered vlolently and successfully to avold aerlal tor pedoes The USS lVlcCawley, a transport, was torpedoed by the ,laps and later sunk by our own forces Admlral Turner who was ln command of the IIIVHSIOII transferred to the FAR ENHOLT and returned to Guadalcanal on board For almost a month the crew slept httle remalned at battle statlons at nlght and ate canned meat and sardlne sandwlches wh11e alternately bombardlng and screenlng off Ren dova Lt Comdr A C1 Beckman the executrve officer became sklpper ln July 1943 In between the lsland 1nvas1ons the next of whlch was to be Vella la Vella the FAR ENHOLT escorted supply shlps to advance garrlsons ran the Solomons Slot w1th other t1n cans many of whose names are best known by the present 2 200 ton destroyers renamed after them It was rug ed duty No one llked lt Many feared lt There was wuld ICJOICIIID 1n mld October when a Sydney llberty was ordered SIX days of everytlun a sallor could ask for and dld Aclmlral Halsey orlglnally granted ten days but cut lt short and rushed the FARENHOLT back to the Solomons for the Treasury Cmdr A A Burke USN 31 knot Burke Squadron Commander smce early summer was 1C11CV8d by Captaln Rodger Slmpson USN Captaln Slmpson boarded the FARENHOLT at sea when the shlp rendezvoused w1th a ca1r1e1 force on 1tS way to strlke Rabaul 1n support of the Bou a1nv1lle operatlon The pllots scored some of the most Cf1.6Ct1VC strlkes of the wal 1n the succeedlng weeks successfully dlsruptlng J ap re enforcements bound for Bougaln v1lle and s1nk1ng at least Clgllt crulsers By comparlson lt was a mllk run and the detachment from the carr1er force to resume the mghtly ralds 1Ht0 Japanese waters was not celebrated Sometlmes lt was a convoy to Bou galnvllle an antl shlpplng sweep above the Solomons a bombardment of Cholseul B0ug31H v1lle or the Shortlands or a radlo decoy operatlon Shore batterles frequently returned the blasts of the PARENHOLT five lnchers and planes loosed bombs overhead or snooped the group by n1 ht Tl11s type of warfale contlnued for months untll after the Gleen Island 1nvas1on At that tlme the USS St LOUIS several thousand yards away caught a bomb losmg twenty five men February 1944 marked another hlgh polnt 1n the FARENHOLT s hlstory t e Rabaul and Kavleng ralds for whlch speclal engagment stars were later authorlzed Rabaul was to the Solomons what Tokyo was to the home lslands It brlstled Wltll fortlflcatlons Troops numbered more than 100 000 Unknown warshlps were present Mme fields and nav1gat1onal dangers were uncharted lt was llttle wonder that the men of the ive raldlng DesRon Twelve destroyers were sllghtly apprehenslve of the outcome The mlsslon had all the elements of a su1c1de run or at the very least lt was belleved to be such by many men and officers Nme , . . . . . . 9 9 ' 0 I I 0 0 I 9 9 . U I 9 I O O 0 I . , 9 9 . , . . . , , . C 0 , ' 4 C 9 9 ' 9 9 9 ' . . . . . . . O ' O I Q R . . . . . . 9 9 9 ' . . . . . . 9 9 . . . . . C . , . . . C. 1 0 0 n 9 , , 0 I 9 9 ' 9 9 ' 9 . . . . . Hg . . . I Q 0 I 1 C 1 Q I ' T 0' n 1. g c , . 0' 9 Island and Bougalnvllle landlngs. , as 79 - ' ' ' - 9 9 ' 9 1 , 9 ' gc . L ' , u u C C s 9 9 ' ' 9 9 9 ' 9 ' 9 ' 4 -' g . , . . 0 9 9 9 9 ' . . . , . . , , 9 ff H - h L L 1 7 . . ' I , D 4 I 0- n . 9 9

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SHIPS HISTORY fconhnuedl Agaln the sklll and the swlftness of the ralders helped maul a more powerful enemy Troop and supply depots were shredded Wlth shells sh1pp1ng was torpedoed and enemy ln stallatlons were leveled The FARENHOLT fired 214 salvos scorchlng all the pa1nt off the gun barrels and settlng fire to a bloomer on gun number three DesRon Twelve steamed to the harbor nets before unleashmg the worst blow the tor pedo attack The horlzon was spotted Wlth fires flares and flashes Some Jap mlssles whmed over at mast helght others fell short It was a reheved and exhausted crew wh1ch greeted the sun11se Whlle Stlll at General uarters the follow1n mormng Admlral Halsey was st11k1ng hard ln early 1943 and lmmedlately ordered an ant1 shlp plng sweep and bombardment of Kavleng New Ireland a fortress so lmposlng that a month after the destroyer attack the Navy sent several battleshlps to tackle the Job One hapless ,lap merchant shlp was sunk by the FARENHOLT and accompanylng de stroyers shortly before the dawn of the bombal dment Even then the IQ3V16Ilg shore batterles were not alerted The duel began at dayllght the flagship leadlng the way back and forth ln front of the formldable shore batterles It d1d not take the enemy long to determlne our range and speed Shells soon splashed on elther slde always narrow1ng the dlstance Then the shell numbered DD491 arrlved explodlng wlth a dull thud whlle stlll on 1ts way to the forwald fire 1oom Not one man was 1nJu1ed only a pet plg was 1nJured by the concusslon The damage to the Shlp and also to the USS Buchanan was not cr1t1cal and the fight contlnued Flnal tally gave us several shore batterles a huge ammunltlon dump exploded a tankel sunk and satlsfactlon of havlng drlven rema1n1n enemy shlpplng out the othe1 end of the harbor 1nto the gun muzzles of another destroyer squadron Phase two was about over for the tr1m Shlp and several weeks later she made the long voyage home for repalrs to the sl11p and leave for the men and officers The Shlp was then the Green Island landlngs No one needs a descrlptlon of a stateslde leave and 1n June 1944 the war began agfun for the FARENHOLT wh1ch st1ll had many of the old hands on board Flrst came Guam It was a pushover for the Navy the Marlnes deserved the Cfedlt The Flghtlng Fs part was a mlnor but necessary sc1een1n the beach 1n never endln figure elghts for twenty four long days and nlghts The FARENHOLT then Jolned the fast car11ers the vast and overpowerlng fleet wh1ch had mushroomed 1nto reallty 1n the pre VIOHS SIX months A1r strlkes on the Palaus Yap the Phlhpplnes and Morotal were filst on the docket It was not essentlally dlfficult duty but the lnfrequent a1r attacks were a remlnder of what could mater1al1ze Upon completlon of the Mamla strlkes the task roup retlred The FARENHOLT had suffeled a boller casualty and needed repalrs badly Slnce these were not completed 1n tlme the FARENHOLT was delayed and rejolned Task Force 38 just 1n tlme to partlclpate ln the support of the landln on Leyte Phlllpplne and to escort the torpedo crlppled USS Houston and USS Canberra back to Ul1th1 Once anchored 1n Ullthl the FARENHOLT took a back seat ComDesRon Twelve was placed 1n charge of patrol and escort dutles ln the Marlanas and made hlS headquarters on the FARENHOLT first at Ulltlll and later at Ko sol Pas a e Palau Islands Elm en , . I I . , . . , . - , , 7 . 7 - I , I 0 4 - ' . . 7 7 . . , . . .U 9 . . . . L , , . . 7 . . . . . U . , 9 . . I ' 9 7 7 C commanded by Lt. Comdr. K. E. Shook, USN, who relieved Captain Beckman shortly before . . . . 5 3 C . 7 . . . . . g . . . , . i . . 64 9 9 , i gi i . g U . - U . i . y. . . . . 7 , 7 . u ' 9 . . 9 g . . ' I g v Sv . ' . . . . . C ' , ' ' s s g , .