Pennsylvania (BB 38) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 29 text:

N SEPTEMBER I944 while the PENNSYL- VANIA was steaming toward the Caro- lines the enemies of the United Nations all over the world were beginning to crack. On I September the Russians entered Bucharest. On the fourth the British captured Brussels and Antwerp and the U. S. Army had driven 40 miles above Lyons in France. On the fifth the three years of war between the Finns and the Soviets ended in an armistice. I The New Guinea campaign had been suc- cessfully concluded and General MacArthur was ready to push on into the Dutch East Indies. After conferences between the two Pacific Area Commanders, it was determined that MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Forces transported by the Seventh Fleet should seize the Island of Morotai simultaneously with an attack -by Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet upon the Carolines with the First Marine Divi- sion as the Landing Force. ' For three days prior to the landing on Peleliu, the PENNSYLVANIA bombarded Jap- anese' installations on the island. The ob- iect was again the complete destruction of known targets. On the morning of I5 Sep- tember the PENNSYLVANIA delivered the same sort of intensive fire support before and during the landing that had been given at Guam. Fifteen minutes after the first wave had hit the beach, enemy mortars were ob- served firing on the beach from inland. The secondary battery took them under fire and neutralized the area. On the morning of the I2th the APD NOA collided with a destroyer west of Peleliu. The NOA was badly damaged and quickly sank. Survivors were picked up by the NOA's boats, which had been launched before she went down, and they were brought to the PENN- SYLVANIA. They remained aboard one week, through all the ensuing firing missions. Three days later in the afternoon several large caliber shells landed close to the PENN- SYLVANIA. The ship cleared the area. Again the following morning, as the ship was lying to about 5000 yards south of Peleliu, a me- dium caliber proiectile splashed and exploded 50 yards off the port bow. As the ship was maneuvered clear, two more splashes in quick succession were sighted astern. In this in- stance, it was probable that the splashes were caused by ricochets from friendly tanks on the island rather than enemy fire. At Angaur the PENNSYLVANIA delivered a bombardment so devastating that there was no return fire from the enemy emplacements on the rocks and cliffs flanking Red Beach. Peleliu andAAngaur, the two southernmost islands in the Palau group and the only ones we assaulted, afford no fleet anchorage. To replenish ammunition,-the PENNSYLVANIA was directed to Kossol Passage, at the north- ern end of the Palau Islands. Kossol Passage is nothing more than a large expanse of water, surrounded by a submerged coral reef. Babelthuap, the largest island in the,Palaus and a Jap strong point, lies a few miles to the south. I On September the 25th the PENNSYL- VANIA left Kossol Passage and proceeded southward to Seeadler Harbor in the Ad- miralty Islands. On the first of October she entered a floating drydock for emergency re- pairs to number four strut bearing, which had caused trouble since April when considerable' vibration developed in 4 shaft. At Sydney divers had reported excessive clearance in the strut bearing. Thereafter, whenever possible, divers had effected such repairs as they could and had managed to keep the shaft turning. At Manus the ship was allowed only seven days in drydock, a period inadequate to ac- complish a thorough repair iob, even if the drydock had had the facilities, which it did not. But temporary repairs were made. ' 25

Page 28 text:

V ' A - ...,. ..-,,.,.. ,. '-,,, , ,K ff - ' -. f .: , ,: - -f.- - . f sd'm -2 1.?'1 i-Wt? L?-.5 : 21. -'i1?'?f: f1't'AL 'j Sj,f5.5f:ifi':j: '11 ag! 5 5.','ag:fzg' ,- :J 11:7'-gf-Lxyy-41:3-e..u'g-3,-y.4.?.primal gpg..-,.,:.-:H vi, Jw, k 71 .dv I , V , ,, , ,r THE MARIANAS CAMPAIGN Continued A twelve machlne guns two ant:-boat guns numerous mortars, and much tleld artlllery The shlp discovered and destroyed a very large ammunition storage near Adelup Polnt detected two mortars of the enemy flrmg on our landmg craft and permanently sllenced them On the morning of August the thlrd the PENNSYLVANIA fired her last fire support mlsslon and then shoved off for Enlwetok She lay at anchor there for two weeks and then proceeded southward to Esplrltu Santo, In the New Hebrides, then northward again to take perance Guadalcanal and flnally Into Port Purvls She stood out from Port Purvls on the slxth of September with the Palau Bombard ment and Fare Support Group 5 l 0 , 0. . I 0 O 0 . Affh 1' tthl d' A tB h h' .A t . ' e lmeo e on mg on ga eg? 'S e part In another practlce assault on Cape Es- 0 0 I I . .

Page 30 text:

., , s....--..---- -V ' 'A' A ' I , , ,. ,, ,,,,-,..,,,..?1f,,-.- 1- Q--4-'-'-1'-'P-w'A ' - f S f The PI-IILIPPI ES if V ,, K, '4' W Bristling with guns, the PENNSYLVANIA in the Seventh FIeet's owe f lb t I I' , p r u a t e me, steams into Lingayen Gulf preparatory to General Douglas MacArthur's first landing on Luzon. Beh' d h rn er are the COLORADO, the LOUISVILLE, the PORTLAND, and the COLUMBIA. N October the twelfth the PENNSYL- VANIA, serving as one of the six battleships in Rear Admiral Jesse B. Olden- dorf's Bombardment and Fire Support Group, and under the general command of Vice Admiral Thomas Cassin Kinkaid, Commander Central Philippine Attack Force, got underway from Seeadler Harbor for the Philippines. The ensuing operation was to become the most memorable of the war in the Pacific, espe- cially to the crew of the PENNSYLVANIA. The PENNSYLVANlA'S bombardment, while not as prolonged as at Guam, was heavy, she was subiected to incessant air attacks, she par- ticipated in a maior land her onlyl surface engagement, and she remained in the area longer than during any other operation. On the morning of the l8th the Bombard- ment and Fire Support Group arrived oft the eastern entrance of Leyte Gulf. At 0805 a