Pennsylvania (BB 38) - Naval Cruise Book

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On the morning of the sixth the PENNSYL- VANIA commenced bombarding target areas on Santiago Island at the mouth of Lingayen Gulf. In mid-afternoon the ship proceeded into Lingayen Gulf to execute counter-battery fire in support of the mine sweeping forces. The ship retired from the Gulf at night. The air attacks reached an all time peak that day. Severe damage was done to our forces. However at daybreak the next morning the entire bombardment force entered Lingayen Gulf to deliver supporting and destructive fire. At 1230 the PENNSYLVANIA took posi- tion to render counter-battery fire in support of the underwater demolition teams. A single enemy gun directed its shells at those teams, and it was immediately knocked out by the PENNSYLVANIA. The support group retired from the Gulf that night and returned the next morning to continue the pre-assault bombardment. There was, however, a distinct scarcity of targets, for although the Japs had landed at Lingayen themselves, they were unprepared for our attack there. During the night of the eighth the bom- bardment group remained in Lingayen Gulf. At 0705 on the 9th the PENNSYLVANIA took station for delivery of supporting fire in pro- tection of the landing waves. The landing beaches were effectively covered, and targets of opportunity, as reported by spotting planes, were either destroyed or neutralized. There was no enemy opposition to the landing. Early on the morning of the tenth Japa- nese speed boats made an attack on our ships in Lingayen Gulf from a stream empty- ing into the western side of the gulf. They at- tacked some LSTs drawn up on the beach near the mouth of the stream, but were them- selves destroyed without effecting any dam- age. General Quarters was sounded aboard the PENNSYLVANIA, but the ship itself was not taken under attack. Two hours later during the dawn period enemy planes made attacks on the force in Lingayen Gulf. A partial smoke screen cov- ered the ships but evidently the tops of the large ships proiected through the screen and served as targets for the Jap planes. During a period of 31 minutes four bombs landed in the water close to the PENNSYLVANIA. On the afternoon of the tenth the PENN- SYLVANIA executed her last fire call mission. A concentration of enemy tanks was located inland, and a shore fire control party spotted the main battery to them. Twelve rounds did the iob. From the tenth of January until the seven- teenth the task group patrolled in the South China Sea off Lingayen Gulf. On the I7th the PENNSYLVANIA returned to the gulf and remained there at anchor for a month. Enemy air attacks dropped sharply in intensity and frequency. During the nights sentries aboard ships at anchor in the gulf kept up a staccato of fire at obiects floating in the water, all of which proved to be nothing more than trash. Afterleaving Lingayen Gulf, the PENNSYL- VANIA travelled back through the Central Philippines to Leyte Gulf and from there southeastward to Manus. Again hopesgwere high that the ship would be roilted fromhthere to the West Coast. These hopes .vanished when CinCPac directed the Commander Naval Base Manus to report whether or not the base was able to make temporary repairs to the PENNSYLVANIA for participation in the t b f the historic crossing of the T. RIGHT: A Kami- LEFT: .laps coming in under heavy fire ius e ore kaze plunges to perdition, having failed to hit his tin can objective. The air is heavy with smoke. - 3

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THE LUZO EXPRESS-From the PENNSY'S quarterdeck the might of the battleline strings out as far as the eye can see-racing into Lingayen Gulf. C fil,ljliTE,l:h, ' . LJULJLQQ N- ' 'H . 'APU 1 X' fTi'lf'7ki3 fT wll Lf, i,,Q,li'1 1,.l,,.,lI,-.ull-'M . L LI Q L gfmlgg,-L L-ea-, .ja 1, cu'L.g----1 I-or QPNU 'ifrwv WFT?-TTTVF 'E 'I-'Z I Ill :rf ,U l f 'pl i- llL'w4 fx ,gl ..1'.:!liQ-'U'-3l'1 J1J ' ' I7 J , I ll r I THE PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN-continued and at long last departed from Leyte Gulf. She had been the first of the battleships to enter the gulf, and she was the last to leave. Everyone aboard was confident that the ship would be sent home for a long overdue yard period, with of course a little leave at- tached. For months past the ship had always been going back to the States after the next operation, but now there could be no ques- tion of it. Unfortunately there was. When the ship arrived at Manus, she was directed to prepare for another amphibious operation. She could not even be assigned another period in the floating drydock at Manus. OFF FOR LINGAYEN From Manus the PENNSYLVANIA pro- ceeded to Kossol Passage to take on ammuni- tion. She remained there two weeks, through Christmas, and on the first day of 1945 got underway with Vice Admiral Oldendorf's Lin- gayen Bombardment and Fire Support Group. On the third day of l945 the force reached Leyte Gulf and, without stopping, proceeded southward into Surigao Strait. The route led southward through Surigao Strait, then west- ward through the Mindanao Sea, then north- westward through the Sulu Sea, out into the South China Sea, and on northward, past Manila Bay, to Lingayen Gulf, at the north- western corner of Luzon. Heavy and determined air attacks began on the evening of the fourth of January. They continued on the 5th, when the OM- MANEY BAY, a CVE, was hit by a suicide plane and destroyed by the resulting fire. Many other ships were damaged.

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THE PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN-Continued next operation. The base made an inspec- tion and reported that the PENNSYLVANIA needed extensive repairs to the main, sec- ondary, and close range batteries, the fire control system for the main battery, radars, and radio equipment, that the port condenser needed to be retubed, that considerable hull work needed to be done to the starboard blister, that number four strut bearing needed extensive repairs, and that satisfactory tem- porary repairs to get the ship ready in time for. the next operation were beyond the ca- pacity of the local facilities. CinCPac then directed the Commander Naval Base Manus to send the PENNSYL- VANIA to Pearl Harbor for further routing to San Francisco. But before the PENNYLSVANIA could shove off from Manus, the strut bearing needed temporary repairs. The ship's divers went to work. After forty-three dives, day and night, with a total of sixty diving hours, they completed the necessary work. THROUGH THE GOLDEN GATE The PENNSYLVANIA departed from Manus on February the 22nd, stopped briefly at Maiuro, stopped again at Pearl Harbor, and passed under the Golden Gate Bridge on the morning of the I3th of March. I At this time the PENNSYLVANIA had set a record of which she could' well be proud. She was the only battleship to take part in every combat amphibious operation in the Pacific Ocean Areas and the two largest operations in the Southwest Pacific Area from the fourth of May, I943, to the tenth of February, I945, from Attu through Lingayen. At Hunter's Point the PENNSYLVANIA was given a thorough overhaul. The main battery turrets and secondary battery mounts were regunned. Additional close range weapons and new and improved radar and fire con- trol equipment were installed. During the yard period twenty-seven days leave was granted to all hands. The first leave party, half the ship's company, left the ship by ferry even before she proceeded into Hunter's Point. On June the fifth Capt. Martin was re- lieved by Capt. W. M. Moses. The ship made three trial runs out of San Francisco and then spent I0 days in the San Clemente-San Diego area, executing every conceivable type of practice. She returned to San Francisco, made one more trial run, and on July the twelfth departed for Pearl Harbor. She arrived on the I8th and shoved off on the 20th for an addi- tional four day training period. This was cut short, and the PENNSYLVANIA returned on the 23rd and headed westward the next day. En route to Saipan, the PENNSYLVANIA made a slight detour by way of Wake Island, which had heretofore been by-passed in our advance across the Pacific, to drop her call- ing cards. With due regard for the formalities, the Japanese returned theirs. Shell fragments hit the ship, but there were no personnel casualties. The shore battery was silenced. The bombardment lasted from 0900 to I500 and was accompanied by air strikes from the CVL CABOT. LEFT: Powder cans for the big guns are brought aboard from an ammunition ship. RIGHT: After the battle. Empty I4 inch and 5 inch powder cans are transferred to an LST at Leyte Gulf, October 27, 1944. I