Louisville (CA 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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i 1 1 MI .N .N .. N. M if , iV' Iii H4 WE li .. il H 11.5 ti Vi 'i:, ,li fi ,J ,Ll up 1. 3 :ii ,Wi V N! w N i 1' 131 4.7: x 1 .yt U Ll li ,lg .V , ,,. il ill, Q. M if WS W? I Z Wit MH it yn. ti .'3 .pg as W. . i . ni 4 I 178 uw . V T i it . Nearly every day we observe a new fleet of landing craft take away from hopelessly besieged laps, spinning another strand while others 'copenedn and maneuvered to come in again. A large number of the planes were being splashed, but we knew some were bound to get through. Then came a radio announcement which caused a shudder on the Louisville. The Stormes, our escort from Pearl Harbor, had been hit as she stood her first nightis duty on the picket line. The kamikazes were getting through. There were too many to hold. Already, estimates indicated over 100 planes in the area. Every gun was ready, every radar another section of the beach in the web of encirclement. searching. A bright full moon made fine targets of the ships on the water. uDelegate's,' voice had become almost incessant as one transmission followed immediately after another. He was flush- ing up bogie after bogie, raid after raid. On a second reporting circuit came the calls for help from the crippled and dying ships on the picket line. And the reports of ships being hit continued to mount. Expectant moments ticked by as We waited for the inevitable. A lookout reported a fire to the north-

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On the fire support line automatic weapons are often kept busy blazing at suspicious surface objects while the larger caliber guns continue bombardment of the island mobile enemy units were joining for the attack. The Louisiiille, along with other major ships, trained her heavy batteries on the troop concentration. Then, as directions came from Charlie-Oboe, we opened up with all turrets. Reeling from the concus- sion of each explosion, we repeated, and repeated again the thundering salvos. During the bombardment, planes rushed in to bomb and strafe the enemy troops. When the laps had planned their attack from a point outside artillery range, they had not adequately calculated upon the heavy batteries floating off shore, and their deadly, disastrous accuracy. ln less than fifteen minutes uCharlie-Oboeu gave the order to cease fire. The enemy was either destroyed or dispersed. During the morning, we were pleased to see the Missouri, with Admiral Halsey and his staff aboard, standing into the anchorage. The Admiral had come to dis- cuss the general situation with Admiral Spruance, Commander of the Fifth Fleet, aboard the battle-damaged New MexiC0. When the conversations were completed, Admiral Halsey relieved Admiral Spruance, who returned to Guam in the New Mexico, and we automatically became a member of the Third Fleet. In parting, Admiral Spruance sent us the simple, stirring fare- well printed on these pages. lt was quiet from the air that first day. Then came the second night at Okinawa. Enemy observation planes appeared, and then were gone again, the usual sign for a coming attack. However, throughout the early-evening, c'Delegate maintained an ominous silence-a silence which worried rather than reassured. A We were still lobbing star shells over the beach at 2200 when 'cDelegate,' broke silence to announce several bogies coming in from the northwest, fifty miles from Bolo. The raid was soon 'ctalleyhoedfg and 'csplashedw by the C. A. P. However, immediately following that raid, HDelegate announced another from a northeasterly sector. This was followed by a third and fourth raid. ln a half hour, more than twenty raids were reported. '6Delegate', was having difficulty keeping up with them-some moving in closer and closer I77

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Each evening about dusk the air raid warnings would hoot and wail, and the little smoke boats would faithfully begin their task of covering the immense fleet with a protecting blanket of fog. ward at Hagushi Anchorage. lt was such a raging fire that We suspected it to be a tanker. The blaze sprung to alarming height and intensity, lighting up the entire area. HDelegateM continued, 'Tiaid 73, clos- ing. This is Delegate, out .... 9, 6'Splash one Valfp came the familiar radio voice. uThis is Delegate, outf' UCIQM Combat Information Center, was full of darkness, green luminescent dials, tense, peering faces. The clamor of amplifiers and usquawk boxesp' never quite drowning out the persistent staccato of This is Delegate, out. From the chaos of sound and dials and gadgets, the ship got the now familiar Word of targets and approaching danger. A target at 050 de- grees was within 10,000 yards. No lights were showing, meaning target was not in- dicating friendly signals. 6'Sky control soon reported the target sighted. The ,lap plane started circling us from a low altitude, hunting his target, getting poised. Then came the terse order aboard ship to hold Hre, to wait until We 179