San Jacinto (CVL 30) - Naval Cruise Book

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' On 6 july' the Task Group commenced retirement toward ENIWETOK, in the Western MARSHALLS,arr1v1ng there on 9 july for a five-day replenishment period. We got underf way againion 14 July to return to the MARIANAS area. Wye resumed strike operations' on 18 july, emphasis now being devoted to GUAM and ROTA. On 20 July Ensign Jack O. GUY, USNR, made the 3000th landing aboard. We remained in support of our ground forces ,landings on GUAM until 22 July, then we steamed southward to conduct operations against PALAU, YAP and ULITHI. On 25 July, a division of' SAN JACIN TO fighters on an anti- shipping strike, encountered an enemy destroyer, thirty miles northeast 'of BABELTHUAP escorted by a Jake Ensign L. A. BIRD, USNR, attacked and shot down the enemy air- craft while the other three fighters made strafrng runs on the destroyer. The enemy ship, apparently loaded with munitions, blew apart with a terrific mushrooming explosion which sent smoke and debris billowing upwards3,000 feet. The force of .the explosion so severely damaged the airplane piloted by Ensign N. J. ADAMS, USNR, that it was barely able to reach the Task Group where it made a water landing. The pilot was rescued unhurt. H 2 f Pictures of PALAU andlsurroundingislands,taken DYPSAN JACINTO photo planesreceived high praise from authorities in PEARL' HARBOR! and were used in subsequent landing operations. ' A . . One of the torpedo planes, piloted by Lieutenant R. R. HOULE, with'O. E. INGRAM and W.l E. MINTUS as air- crewmen, was shot down over MALAKAL HARBOR on 27 , ' . - X' . I . I - U, ' 1 . 1 W ' craft were observed. putting out from the shore .to effect cap ture. All three were declared missing in action since it was impossible to ascertain which one may have survived A. The Task Group turned northward on 28 July and anchored ,.i4i If GARAPAN SAIPAN n 31 jul to r 1 h 1' ' o , , 0 Y ep enis supp ies July. One parachute was seen to open and JapaneSC Smalllw lid J it ammunition. Artillery ,fire and surface 'bombardment TIN IAN were clearly visible from our anchorage. , g 2555 'We got underway again on 1 August' and proceeded 'north-iq, ward, striking the BONIN and VOLCANO ISLANDS on 'vft 4'f and 5 August. There was no air opposition and we sulferedlnoii, combat losses although anti-aircraft fire was intense and accu-'25, destroyed, runways were cratered and photographic missions successfully carried out. B ' r Task ForceiFIFTY-EIGHT commenced retirementon' rate. Ground installations and shipping were ydamagedlandli l lf JI August and on 9 August anchored at ENIWETOK.,Replenish-AZ, ment of suppliesvand provisions, repairs to machinery, and hundreds of items of deferred maintenance occupied the time' of all hands, both night and day, in preparation for our next. sorties. But in spite of this the crew didx get ashore on' the bomb-pocked and shell-cratered atoll for their tirst series 'bf is ka fl I N formal recreation parties since departure from PEARL HARif4gg BOR three months earlier. Movies were held nightly and volf leyball -matches daily. Boxing competitions were held with' other ships. The Wardroom resounded to cake-cutting cere-V monies traditional to even-thousandth landings., 1 S The MARIANAS Campaign was behind us. A ' ff. w fs t ..- -1 7 ., 1 . J A, Lt: Comdr. CLANCY, Air Group Commander, leads our fourth Group ' A 'U f - y ' aboard on 21 August.- . . X 'lt was a proud day for the SAN IACINTO when the 'Marine detachment was An augury for the future- V picked to land on japan at YOKOSUKA. I ' All hands pause to join the Chaplain 1n prayer after the, f ' that the war is over. -the flight deck in use for recreational purposes. ', l

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'Impressive and solemn memorial services were held aboard ship the next day, Chaplain CORDES officiating. So far as is known, Ensign McILWANElwas the first American pilot tolose his life on SAIPAN in the MARIANAS Campaign. Pre-invasion pounding continued through the 14th. On the 15th, we supported the initial landing of our troops. On this day Ensign S. P. BUTCHART, USNR, landed the 2000th plane aboard. At dusk on 15 June, our Task 'Group was subjected to intensive attack by a large group of enemy aircraft. A SAN JACINTO Combat Air Patrol was airborne at the time and shot down seven Jap planes, probably destroying two more. Eight other planes broke through the screen and made a deter- mined torpedo attack, concentrating on the large carriers. All eight were shot down by anti-aircraftrfire, most of them within the screen. This attack was noteworthy for the manner in which it was pressed home, some enemy aircraft getting within one hundred yards of our major units before crashing. SAN JACINTO guns shot down one plane and assisted in shooting down one other. One man receivedga slight bullet wound. This ship received no damage. It was the first action for the ship and came six months to the day after our commissioning ceremonies. Beauty has no place in total war but more than one remark was passed that night on how luridly beautiful the confused pattern of cherry- red tracers, mushrooming puffs of black fiak, and Hamilng orange-yellow brilliance of the exploding bombers stood out against the backdrop of grey ships of war and the gorgeous colors of the sunset. Operations in support of the landings on SAIPAN continued until l7 June, at which time .the Task Force steamed westward in the hope of engaging the main body of the Japanese fleet, reported: moving eastward in Philippine waters. On 19 June occurred the famous turkey shoot, when upwards of four hundred Japanese Fleet aircraft attacked Task Force FIFTY- EIGHT. The attack was broken up at terrific cost to the enemy. nearly all of his planes being shot down. Our airborne fighters destroyed seven Jap planes and assisted in the destruc- tion of four others. A few enemy planes did get past our air- craft and attackedithe force. SAN JACINTO guns brought down one of the six which attacked our Task Group. No dam- age was incurred by the ship, -although one of our fighters. piloted by Ensign T. E. HALLOWELL, was lost in combat. His body was subsequently found on GUAM by our invading forces and interred there. Memorial services were conducted aboard ship by Chaplain CORDES. A On 20 June the Task Force steamed steadily VVest to attempt J . gf- - -it-A.--,-,-.-. ..-h,- cc-.-.-.W-,--.-,..c..a.,a.,..g,. ... -. v-,.....-.-.N-.-G .. .Q -..... .. .. 1 to close the Japanese units. The distance was so great it became apparent that they would escape if not attacked immediately, so a long-range strike was ordered launched in mid-afternoon. SAN JACINTO torpedo planes participated in the attack. sinking a large destroyer and damaging a HIYATAKA class carrier. For this feat, Lieutenant Commander D. MELVIN, USNR3 and Ensign O. GUY, USNR, were later awarded the NAVY CROSS. The extreme range made it well after dark before the strike returned. with all aircraft dangerously short of gasoline. Searchlights were turned on and aircraft ordered to land on the first open deck, but a high percentage of' losses was sustained by the force as a whole because of ,the lack of fuel. One SAN JACINTO Avenger, piloted by the 'skipper of Torpedo Squadron FIFTY-ONE, Lieutenant Commander D. MELVIN, 'made a water landing near a destroyergand the crew was rescued. XfVe recovered all our other planes -safely and ten strange aircraft from other carriers, one of which made a dead-stick landing on our flight deck, demolishing the plane but the crew was unharmed. f An unusual incident occurred during these recoveries. A strange aircraft entered the landing circle and made not one but two excellent approaches but was waved off each time be- cause his tail hook was not down. After the second wave-off, he flew down the length of our flight deck about fifty feet above the deck into the glare of the searchlight, where his red meatball markings were clearly visible. It was a Judy Uapanese dive- bomberj ! J He made no attempt to strafe or bomb. but veered off. to port and flew out to the VVest. He was tracked by the radar to a distance of fifty miles, then disappeared. Curiosity, courage, or confusion? The next day, 21 June, we continued our westward course and many survivors were rescued in the area of the attack on' the Jap Fleet. On the 22nd, we reversed course and returned to the vicinity of SAIPAN to resumed our attacks upon the entire MARIANAS Chain: PAGAN, SAIPAN, TINIAN. ROTA and GUAM: these were continued without interruption through 5 July. J I During this period, enemy aircraft raids by small groups were consistently intercepted and broken up by our Combat Air Patrols without damage to the ship or workouts for our gunners. adding to our Air Group's mounting tally fourladdi- tional enemy planes. Q , ' Vice Admiral S. MCCAIN, who was soon to become Com- mander SECOND Carrier Task Force and Commander Task Force THIRTY-EIGHT, landed aboard in an Avenger for an informal visit of several hours on 25 June, flying off in the late afternoon. ' J X On 3 July, Lieutenant W. R. MOONEY, who had been shot down near 'GUAM on l6 June, and 'missing since, was returned to the ship, having been recovered by a seaplane from the battleship WASHINGTON. He had got clear of his sink- ing plane, though badly lacerated about the face and limbs, and-into his raft. He spent seventeen days paddling about off- shore in the day-time pushing into an isolated stretch of beach at night to grub at roots, shellhsh, and spring water. 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1 CHAPTER IV PALAUS CAMPAIGN URING the replenrshment perrod at ENIWETOK fol lowmg the MARIAN XS Campargn the SAN JACINTO was detached from Task Force FIFTY EIGHT and assrgned to duty wrth the SECOND Carrler Task Force of Admrral HALSEY S THIRD FLEET In company wxth other unrts of thrs force we sortred from ENIWETOK on 28 August to com mence operatrons agarnst the PALAU ISLANDS by makrng prelrmrnary drverslonary strrkes agamst the BONIN and VOL CANO ISLANDS on 31 August and l and 2 September As rn the prevrous rards ln early August there agarn was no arrborne o posrtlon but flak was mtense and accurate Already damaged lnstallatrons were further severely mauled One Avenger tor pedo plane p1lotedbyL1eutenant Q gj G H W BUSH wxth Lxeutenant KJ gj W G WHITE andj L DELANEY ARM2c as arrcrewmen was h1t by an antr arrcraft burst just as lt went lnto 1ts due Bombs were released and the I'lam1ng plane levelled by the prlot just long enough for the prlot and one crewman fwhrch one rs not knownj to ball out The crew man s parachute farled to open but the prlot landed safely and was rescued by a lrfeguard submarme after coverrng Fighters had drxven off and sunk two enemy small craft whrch put out from shore to attempt capture Lreutenant Q gj BUSH was taken on a war patrol by the submarme and eventually re turned to the shlp two months later Lreutenant Q gy WHITE and DELANEY are mrssrng ln actxon The Task Group retrred southward after the 2 September strrkes and anchored off GARAPAN SAIPAN on 4 Septem ber to re arm On 5 September we got underway and pro ceeded south to the v1c1n1ty of YAP and ULITHI Islands where numerous strrkes were conducted on 6 and 7 September Resultrng devastatron was so great that strrkes scheduled for 8 September were called off and the force proceeded to the vrcrmty of PALAU commencing operatlons agamst PELELIU ANGUAR and NGESEBUS on 10 September Conslderable bad weather was experrenced but enemy arrborne opposrtlon was n1l and numerous and effective strlkes were Hown prepara tory to and 1n support of the landlngs on PELELIU and ANGUAR One Avenger prloted by Lleutenant Qgj F M WATERS wrth H ATUN and P P BENSMAN as alrcrew men was lost w1th 1ts prlot and crew to antr arrcraft ire over PELELIU on 15 September Operatrons were contmued through I8 September at whrch trme the Task Group com menced retlrement toward SEILADLER HARBOR MANUS Admlralty Islands En route proper homage was pald to Neptunus Rex and hrs cohorts of the Order of the Deep as the shrp crossed the Equator the ceremonles provmg of great morale worth to the crew We dropped anchor at MANUS on 21 September to commence a four day re armmg and re plemshment perrod Our part 1n the PALAUS campargn was over and our crulse under Captarn MAR'I IN all but completed for he had hrs orders to new duty and was to be relreved before the next operatron was more than well started On hrs return to the States he was awarded the Leglon of Merrt for hrs SCTVICCS as Commandmg Ofhcer of the SAN JACINTO 1 w 1 x I Scenes from our Crossmg the Lme ceremonzes 1n September. v