Pennsylvania (BB 38) - Naval Cruise Book

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., , 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

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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

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special column, consisting of three cruisers and one battleship, the PENNSYLVANIA, was formed, and this column fell in astern of a mine sweeping group and proceeded into and across Leyte Gulf. At I407 the PENNSYL- VANIA reached her assigned fire support station off the eastern coast of Leyte and commenced bombarding. As usual, fire was directed at predetermined targets and targets of opportunity, the obiect being destruction whenever possible. Chief emphasis, however, was placed on covering beach reconnaissance and underwater demolition teams and mine sweeping units operating in Leyte Gulf and San Pedro Harbor. This action was continued until l7I4, when the ship took its retiring position within Leyte Gulf. From 0830 until I555 the following day the PENNSYLVANIA continued the bombard- ment of Leyte. On the morning of Able Day, two days later, she delivered fire in sup- port ofthe landing. Negligible enemy gunfire was observed coming from the beaches. Of the PENNSYLVANIA'S bombardment on this morning, CBS's overseas correspondent, Web- Iey Edwards, had this to say in a radio broad- cast: LEFT: Alert in the engineroom. At the throttle: MMlfcf talker to the bridge: J. R. Snyder,,F2fc. The boys call the PENNSY 'Old Falling Apart' because she turns out such a volume of gunfire you'd think she was falling to pieces. Actually she is solid and sound al- though one of the oldest U. S. battlewagons. Recently in a Pacific bombardment action somebody yelled to me, 'Come here and look. The old PENNSY'S hit, and she's on fire.' It turned out the old gal shoots so fast and so much that at times she really does look like she's afire. Throughout the nights of the 20th and the 2Ist the PENNSYLVANIA delivered harassing and night illuminating fire. Twice during the day of the 2lst the ship took position and executed call fire missions with her main battery. On the morning of the 24th it became ap- parent that a maior naval engagement was developing. Our carrier search planes had located two Japanese forces, each composed of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. One, the Central Force, was in the Sibuyan Sea headed for San Bernadino Strait, from which it could strike southward for the eastern en- trance to Leyte Gulf. The other, the Southern Force, was in the Sulu Sea, headed for Suri- C. E. Morris, MM3fcf in charge: H. E. Heyer, RIGHT: Lt. J. Philip Bromley helps Radioman Gordon E. Nelson with his studies in the Library. ,