Rodman (DD 456) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 24 text:

Battle Damage April 6, 1945 16 'll

Page 23 text:

the ship as high as the top of her mast immediately after, extinguishing the flames topside. The cover of a hatch on her bow was torn off and thrown into the water astern of the ship. . One frag- ment of a plane was found dangling from the sign al halyards. Fires had broken out in the forward part of the ship. Attempts to save her seemed futileg but the crew pitched in to perform the dangerous tasks of fire fighting, control of flooding and removal of ammunition forward. One five- inch shell exploded in a handling room while the work of ammunition removal proceeded but for- tunately no one was in the space at the time. The U. S. S. EMMONS shot down the plane that had been diverted by the RODMAN'S gunfire and she came to the assistance of her sister vessel. A call had been made by radio for aerial fighter protection, but before the EMMONS could come alongside the attack was renewed. Friendly fighters arrived -about the same time and the battle was on again. The J aps were coming low over the water apparently finding the high-diving methods too hazard- ous and costly. Hellcats and later Corsairs of the combat air patrol plunged at the risk of their lives straight into the cross fire of the two minesweepers in order to down the oncoming sons of nippon. For two long hours the fight continued with most of the RODMAN'S main battery inoperative as a result of the first hit. The ship then suffered another kamikaze hit in the superstructure. Meanwhile the EMMONS had received' several direct hits, her magazines exploded, fires got out of control and she had to be abandoned. When last seen, she was a veritable holocaust. ' The plane which struck the superstructure was one of thirteen that approached simultaneously from behind an island and opened attack. It penetrated the bulkhead of the captain's stateroom, where the entire fuselage, engine and pilot remained until the RODMAN was brought alongside a repair ship. Devasting fires were started which almost completely gutted the superstructure :from Within. Almost all hands Whose battle stations were on the superstructure were forced over the side by the flames. A 15 ' fx. p . Y ...rear 3 f - ilk , wg, L J ,,. fur ', 1 ,x

Page 25 text:

lt was another hour a.nd a half before the gruelling attack was over, an hour and a half of desperate efforts to control the flames, limit the flooding and pump dry the compartments that could be isolated. Part of the time the rudder was jammed full left, causing the ship to steam in circles until that could be freed. But during this time the guns of the RODMAN were not idle. Machine guns were blazing away at the attackers continually. The after five inch gun kept up an almost steady barrage of fire as more and more attackers roared in from small islands nearby. Some were shot down only a few thousand yards away. Many were picked off by fighters. Others closed to within less than 50 yards before they were knocked down, only to crash into the water in flames. A few even crossed over the crippled ship flying low and crashed near her on the opposite side. One crossed so low that his wing clipped oi the trainer's sight on the starboard 40 millimeter mount and loud- speaker mounted nearby. A small minesweeper came alongside and the wounded were transferred under the care of a medi- cal officer and the pharmacist's mate. The ship's chief pharmacistls had been killed when the first plane hit and the task of rendering first aid to the burned and wounded was consequently a gruelling one for the medical department, left so shorthanded. By this time the fires in the superstructure were under control and the captain had definitely de- cided that the ship could be saved, provided she did not take another serious hit. A skeleton crew was kept aboard and the remainder were transferred to the minesweeper alongside or to life rafts from which they could be picked up by other SWQGDQTS- 17