Randolph (CV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 32 text:

V ' r it , YA,. 5 k. flares were dropped: againsi fhese lighfs fhe ships musi have sfood ou+ clearly. Then ihe firsf plane sfaried in, noi more ihan I50 feei oi? ihe wafer. Randolph furncd, rwisfed, zigzagged fo gef ou? of The way. Below declcs we swea+ed and prayed as ihe guns began pound- ing. and ihe empiy ammuniiion ra'Hled on ihe decks over our heads. Then came fhe welcome announcemenf fha? fhe plane had been shoi down. We sighed wifh relief. li seemed ihe Jap had crossed 500 yards ahead of our ship. As ii passed over a desfroyer on our siar- board quar+er if was hii, bursf info flames and crashed info fhe darlr sea. Then we heard fhe ofher plane was closing in. Bach on 'lhe decl: we flopped, while fhe gun- ners opened up again. This Jap was likewise seni io his ancesiors. Three days lafer we underwenf anofher a'H'acl: worfh menfioning. Abouf 0520 a Jap plane was sighfed off fhe sfarboard quarfer, closing fasi. Trying fo crash our sfern, he missed and flew along fhe porfside of 'lhe ship, close aboard and abouf 50 feei above 'the wafer, his guns blazing. Under fire from our ba'H'eries he crashed info fhe water IOO feei oi? fhe ship's porl' bow. Aboui nine o'cloclz fha? morning more bogeys were sighied. Two dived a+ us 'From abou? 6000 feet As fhe leading plane came ou'l' of a cloud he was hii' by one of our five-inch shells. The plane exploded and 'ihe piloi' bailed ou1', floafing down io ihe wafer in view of all I'

Page 31 text:

ol I .. l f' Rear Admiral G. F. Bogan, USN, in command. On April 8 we began our parl' in ihe bafile for Olzinawa. For ihe nexf 5I days, uniil May 29, we remained off ihe coasi as pari of +he ileei ihai came io s+ay. One reason we were able io sfay so long was ihai, for ihe firsf iime, large-scale iransiers of provisions and ammu- niiion were made while underway. Randolph personnel showed slrill and ingenuiiy in solving problems connecied wiih 'lhese pioneering eliforis. ln addiiion io giving direci suppori fo ground iroops on Okinawa iiself, ihe ship launched sweeps and sirilces on, or pairols over, such oiher Nansei Shofo islands as Amami, Kilcai, Tolcuna, Yolroaie, le, and Kalreroma. Sfrilces were also senl' againsf Minami Daiio Shima and againsf airfields in Kyushu. If we go? off lighily in fhe firsl' Tolryo raids, we gol' our fill before fhe Olcinawa campaign was finished. lf was long and fough. Rarely did a day pass wiihouf gen- eral quariers or 'torpedo defense being sounded because of fhe approach of enemy aircraft Several days will be long remembered. One was April I4 when, ai' I9l5, fwo enemy aircraf+ were repor'l'ed. One of ihese closed fo aboul' six miles and showed a red lighl' which remained burning un+il a siring of almosi' a dozen closely-bunched

Page 33 text:

f I' 'I ' 9 'v 'if' ug, 15- fhose on fhe flighf deck. The second plane confinued ifs run fo a poinl' closer fo fhe ship where one of our 40mm shells knocked ifs righl' wing off, causing il' fo spin in+o fhe waier. Anofher enemy aircrafl' aH'emp'red a dive on a nearby Iighi cruiser, +he Pasadena. If was faken under fire by our sfarboard bafferies and crashed, narrowly missing ihe cruiser's sfern. During fhis morn- ing's aH'ack, in which sfill ofher Japs dived on ships in 'rhe group, our gunners accounfed for fhree enemy air- craft We had learned fo play for keeps. The nighf of April 28 a bogey approached and was fired af by several ships of fhe group, including Randolph , her guns flashing while as ihe shells whisfled info fhe sky. Somehow, fhe plane escaped. Thai nighf ihe moon was like brighf gold. Any momenl' fhe plane mighl' dive on us. Then a sirange scene developed. As fhe ships zig-zagged radically, black smoke poured from iheir funnels. The frick was effecfive. The Jap plane did nof aifack. On The I Ifh of May, +he Japs gof ihrough. Abou+ ren in fhe morning, iwo planes dove from cloud-cover and smashed Bunker Hill , fhen 2000 yards on our siarboard bow. The iniured ship fell oul' of formafion, burning fiercely. Many men were observed in fhe wafer. We fhrew life iackefs and belly fanks fo fhem, and dropped floai lighis +o assisf fhe des+royers engaged in rescue work. Six Bunker Hill planes landed aboard us fha? day. Three days lafer, in ihe wafers of Kamikaze Junc- +ion , off Kyushu, The Japs goi' fhrough again 'io our formaiion. This iime an enemy plane, diving ai' a sleep angle hif fhe forward end of fhe En+erprise Fligh+ deck, causing an explosion, fires, and heavy smoke. There was a lull for aboui an hour, fhen 'rhe aH'acks resumed. Abouf eighi' o'clock fhai morning many enemy aircrafi' sfaried coming in from all direcfions. Soon +he sky was filled wifh black smoke puffs and bursiing shells and burning planes. Four of fhem were shof down by anfi-aircraff fire in which our gunners pariicipaied. If was a wild sigh? for fhose fopside. For +hose of us below decks we could only sweaf and wonder wha? was happening unfil an announcemenf was made over ihe loudspeaker sysfem. We wanfed +o hear all fhe news we could. The nex+ day, May I5, if was announced +ha+ fhe Task Force Commander, Admiral Marc A. Mifscher, would fransfer his flag fo Randolph. We wen? around 'lhe ship wifh fingers crossed. Hope he doesn l' bring fhe Kamikazes wifh him, we said. Admiral Mifscher had been on fhe Bunker HilI. Affer she go+ hii' he frans- ferred fo fhe En+erprise, sfaying +here uniil she was likewise hi+. When he came aboard our ship fha? affer- I ,