Manchester (CL 83) - Naval Cruise Book

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MANCHESTER AT INCHON By September 15th, United Nations troops were slowly pushing out of the tiny Pusan perimeter. That day also. General MacArthur gambled successfully in his left end run around the southern tip of Korea — into the west coast port of Inchon. 262 ships and 40,000 men were involved in this amphibious assault. Its ultimate objective was the capture of the nearby key city of Seoul. Throughout the invasion the Manchester remained with the carriers — her guns silent, her radars searching for any enemy who might attempt interfer- ence with the vital carrier operations. We were always nd ready, but thinking when our own fcuns could pit

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While at sea we learned that our proceed orders to Okinawa had been changed, and the Man- chester headed for Sasebo Ko on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Sasebo was the jumping-off point for ships participating in the invasion of Inchon, and we were to be one of those ships. Chaplain Albrecht delivers his last sermon at sea before being relieved by Chaplain Koskv. We entered Sasebo harbor at 0700 on September 14th and left abruptly 1 1 hours later to arrive in time for Inchon with Task Force 77.

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FAST CARRIER TASK FORCE 77 The few months following Inchon found our troops pushing steadily north. In order to continue our drive unchecked it was necessary to keep the enemy in con- fusion, his supply routes and communica- tions centers blocked and disrupted. This was the duty of carrier planes from Admiral Ewen ' s task force — and it was the long, tedious duty of the Manchester to keep the flattops from harm.