Louisville (CA 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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THERE WAS DEATH IN MANY FORMS, NONE OF IT PLEASANT sending a wall of fire up -through the superstructure to the main battery director at the foretop. After the first shock of the explosion the crew performed magnihcently. Many individual and collective acts of heroism and skill under great stress took place. Momentarily the ship hesitated, as the engines backed down at the Captainys order. With control established in Batt. Two We proceeded at full speed ahead to regain our position. Quickly, reinforce- ments Were rushed to re-man the AA batteries affected and they were reorgan- 165

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job was one which had become familiar to us in many operations during the past year 'and a half. From previous experi- ence we knew that fire support missions had their difficulties, for it was seldom possible to provide them with adequate air coverage. , In the late afternoon of January 41, steaming again up the Sulu Sea with enemy-held territory on each side, the huge armada knifed its way northward. The rapidly setting sun variegated the western sky, casting in ever diminishing intensity its blinding core. Reports of bogies sent us scurrying to our gun stations. The clanging of the shipjs gen- eral quarters alarm was in direct contrast to the serenity of the sunset. The warning was late, for even as we ran to our guns the escort carrier, Ommaney Bay, erupted with massive black smoke. A fanatical Jap had found his mark. The Navy lostw an important ship as her fires raged, out of control. The Ommaney Bay going up in a terrifying, light-of-day explosion, was a grim fore- warning of dark days ahead. After this attack the enemy planes kept their distance, but, like a tiger stalking her Casualties were hurried to the emergency dressing stations. , ..,..,-x,.-.- prey, they were always with us. During the afternoon we passed Manila. This city was our ultimate goal, but for the present our task was to clear the beaches at Lin- gayen Gulf. Nothing could deter us. Not even an air attack the next afternoon could slow us up. This attack, coming twenty-four hours after the Hrst one, was even more severe. The TBS gave its terse warning, uBogies -low-closing fast? Targets appeared instantaneously and the path of tracers shredded the sky as our batteries barked defiance. The Louisville was under direct attack by two kamikazes. These human-controlled projectiles took position as though for a ski jump. The first plane rushed into an angular dive at the ship. On and on it came through the great barrage of steel. It seemed that nothing could stop it from crashing into us. Then suddenly it made a last-minute swerve from the Louisville to plow into a nearby destroyer. As the second plane plunged at us, all port guns were immediately on it. Tense figures throughout the ship drew a sigh of relief as they saw projectiles drive into the rapidly descending plane, setting it ablaze. However, their relief was soon spent. The plane merely wavered and then plunged on towards the ship. The crescendo of its motor became a roar, reaching its zenith with a terrific explo- sion as she crashed into turret two, rip- ping the gun compartment open and iv, I I r a T1 1 1 4 U 4 J i 2'

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VV ,1 4 1 1111, 1 11 , 41, 11, 1111 1 H7 11 1 ,3-1 ,. ,1,I 111 I 1-1 11 ,,1 111 11 ,1 1 11' 113 11x 1 1 1 1 1 1, 1,1 1i.111 1,3 .N 1'1I 1 '11 ,,11 1 1 111 11 11 1 ,V 1 1 1 ,11 1'1 ,J , 1 1, 111 1 111 1, 1 XI1, 1 1 11 M 1 , ,W1 1 11, 1 ,li 1i ,1 11 1 1 ,M 1 1 ,11 11 .11 1 1 3 11 166 A 11 11 Wa1'd rooms, mess halls and passage ways became wards for the many wounded. The less seriously injured had to wait for treatment. ized to continue the fight., Our Captain, though severely burned, remained on the bridge directing the damage control par- ties and the rescue of two men trapped in the turret. Though every moment seemed an hour, the fire was actually extinguished in ten minutes. Our casualties were low, consisting of one man killed and many burned. How- ever, We had seen enough to make each of us shudder with unabashed fear at this terrifying Weapon confronting us. Vice Admiral Oldendorf sent a cheering aggressive message over the TBS saying that he knew we would stay up with the formation, but if We should temporarily drop behind he would keep the formation intact around us. We were a HDO or Dieu crew, we kept our place in formation. The next morning, as the sun rose bathing the sea and sky with brilliant hues, our guns in turrets one and three opened on schedule. Soon all the targets on the nearby beach Were destroyed.