Hamlin (AV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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1 On sunny days, recreafion ashore was pleasant, for There were many strange Things To do and see. A Page 28 XJ ,

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Kllliillllil lHlll'l l'0l Belying The deaTh which lurked cuT of sighT, The Tranquil waTers and scenic landscape of The islands of Karama appeared as beauTiful as any group in The WesT Pacific. We could noT see The suicide boaTs, Their bows crammed wiTh explosives, lying in shelTered inleTs waiTing for darkness. The heavy foliage hid from us The Japanese who would laTer make human Torpedoes of Themselves, while The land abouT was an ever presenT screen for The approach of lovv flying planes. IT was a greaT advenTure and no man TelT Tear. Page 27

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Q X , 3sX ' XX.Q Y T ' 3- ., K V ,E u il W X, s .was N ss: c KAMIKAZE The most fearsome weapon used by the Japs was the suicide plane and it was not Y , long before we knew from our own ex- perience why this was so. lt all happened so quickly in much less time than it takes to write it down. One moment there was a low-wing Judy, heading straight in at us. Then a burst of a five inch proiectile in the path of the plane caused it to waver, then to sheer off and dive away in an apparent effort to escape. And there, ahead of the plunging aircraft, lay a ship, an ammunition carrier. Into the super- structure of this vessel crashed the plane and a huge puff of flame and smoke rose into the air. We could see men leaping over the side to avoid the hot fire which soon enveloped the upper decks. At 2200, she blew up. The following morning, there was no wreckage in sight and another score was chalked up for the Kamikaze. x T 4 as .vi X W w l xl NX Page 29 l l l v Il it l l