Salt Lake City (CA 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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and then bent on full power to pay an afternoon visit to Iwo. A few lap planes put in an appearance and were either shot down or driven off. That night, after the very successful bombard- ment of Iwo lima, a more determined air attack was successfully evaded. Altogether it had been an eventful day. There was a pause in mid-Ianuary when the group acted as a patrol force to cover the northern flank of the invaders going ashore at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Cn Ianuary 24 it again bombarded Iwo lima, this time with the added support of the sixteen inch guns of the battleship Indiana. Cn this occasion the Salt Lake assisted in the shooting down of an inhospitable Iill. When finally the now famous invasion of lwo was begun on February l6, it seemed to the crew of the Swayback almost as if they were going back home to stay, so familiar had the island become. For twenty-five days the ship laid off that unlovely volcanic island shooting at the laps from all angles and at all ranges, sometimes approaching within a stone's throw of the hostile beach. Scarcely a day went by that was Q TAKING ON AMMUNITION 25

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caught the laps so by surprise that lights were still burning on the island when the boinbardnient started. Other things than lights were burning at its conclusion. A month later, on December 8, the second attack was con- ducted, in full daylight this time with a handful of our bombers overhead carrying spotters who helped direct the fire. Then a Christmas Eve delivery of more high explosives, followed three days later by another blow designed to catch the laps completely off guard. lt did. A number of landing craft and a destroyer were found in the harbor, presumably carrying reinforcements and supplies. They were promptly dis- patched. On the first of these two raids another lap destroyer had been intercepted and sunk by the task force. Cn lanuary 5, l945, the same group of cruisers with six destroyers penetrated to within 350 miles of lapan and held reveille on the inhabitants of Chichi lima, the principal island of the Bonin group. Une of the destroyers touched off a mine and had to limp back' Steaming southward from Chichi, after torpedo boats and a midget sub were seen, the task force tossed a few shells at l-laha lima, the next island in the chain, I-Fr'-1 THE AFTER BATTERY LETS ONE GO. IWO IIMA, 8 FEBRUARY. 1945 li s 24 i 2

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not spent in bombarding the enemy in support of the marines' bloody advance through the stubborn maze of pill-boxes, gun emplacements and caves. Time out was called only for refuel- ing and rearming at sea. Nor was there much rest at night. Illumination had to be furnished over the front lines, and harrassing fire to keep the laps awake. But that kept the crew awake, too, until the men learned from sheer necessity to sleep through the roar and vibration of the firing. Two Salt Lake City officers were killed when their observa- tion plane was shot down by lap AA over the island. The ship herself was unscratched although many shells missed her by narrow margins. The Pensacola was badly pummelled by lap fire a few minutes after relieving the Salt Lake City and taking over her firing station. The Chester was damaged in a collision, leaving the Salt Lake the only operative warship in Crudiv F ive. Rear Admiral A. E. Smith, division commander, moved aboard her with his staff. The Swayback was in the first group of ships to arrive at lwo. She was one of the last major warships to leave. Her ammunition expenditure totaled 3,322 rounds of eight inch and THE LCI'S APPROACH THE BEACH AT OKINAWA 26