San Jacinto (CVL 30) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 29 text:

Captain Hugh H. Goodwin, USN arrives aboard on 22 Iuly, 1945 , W, r, ,A o . ,-1.A..-,,..N.,,i,,,, A -1 -----.-.f-4-.,-rf.-.-.,,..,.,.-,vxwx - -- , W . .-V-rv..-, -,,-.,.,N.,,,,.x.,, h , . .wax W.----..,....,1, ,, ,h A H .f-.-,.,..,.,,,....,.,,. X V-m..-.-- -.,..., 'N-f'Q-1--Q--.-,,.,........fvf..-....:., . 1. Af-A--1 --P-1-.-.,.,-r ,... , . .. W.. .-..- ....,,.1-:-:- -,--1 -- ---- -L-Q.h..,, 1 -L ,. L 1- as-zrgzzm- -':1::.z-izxzfg-p..... -.. 42. : :-1 5- -..,w-1:1-'f--eg---,,'..5 .. .. . . ---.-.-.RN-.-., ,,.g-,.,,,,,-,v,r,L, H If 4-V1 . . ,,,.,-..-.N V-.,., .N A V4-V

Page 28 text:

...-.--...., N.- . . , .,.,--f-......,.....,.---,-.,...---f A: ff: 1' 1 I-. -M--Q-.ff fem--.------5'--'--I-14-,.. 4.1 1:-11v ' ' ' -.:,.i.1.-,.-:'::'x:'-rn-frm: , ,I . . ., . ..,. ...si -. A .-..f.mk.-SDF.-v.e ff.v. . . - ... ., - .... -... .4 CHAPTER rx JAPAN RAIDS p N July' 1945, the SAN JACINTO sortied from SAN PEDRO BAY, LEYTE GULF, with other units of Task Force THIRTY-EIGHT, to begin an extended and fruitful period of operations against the Home Islands of JAPAN. The Task Force immediately began an intensive series of training exercises during the passage northward to the vicinity of Central HONSHU. On 9 July a high speed run-in to the launching area, southeast of TOKYO, was commenced. Our planes took off at dawn on the 10th to catch the enemy by complete surprise and sweep his airfields almost at will. Wide dispersal and clever camoufiage prevented a higher toll than might otherwise have been taken, but SAN JACINTO planes destroyed 13 grounded enemy aircraft, damaged 14 others, and infiicted considerable damage on ground installations. Enemy counter-action was nil, a lone reconnaissance plane being shot down by fighter patrols well clear of the Force. The Task Force retired, at high speed, and proceeded north- ward to attack the HOKKAIDO-NORTH HONSHU area on 14 and 15 July. Weather, ever the important factor in this area, closed in most of the airfields, forcing our aircraft to targets of opportunity. Buildings, and rolling stock in the towns of OBIHIRO and KUSHIRO, and minor shipping in NEMURO WAN were struck heavily both days, with consider- able damage resulting. On 16 July, in waters east of HONSHU, Task Force THIRTY-EIGHT. was joined by Task Force THIRTY- SEVEN, the combatant units of the British Pacific Fleet, who were to be our welcome colleagues for the entire balance of the operation. - An abortive attempt to strike the TOKYO PLAINS area on the 17th was cancelled after the only strike launched was forced by extremely foul weather to discharge their bomb .loads at targets of opportunity with negligible results. The morning of the 18th found the weather still unfavor- able, but it began to clear in the afternoon when an all-out strike was launched against the battleship NAGATAO, moored at YOKOSUKA Naval Base. SAN JACINTO aircraft partici- pated, but because of the number of planes involved and the pall of smoke shrouding the target, it was difficult to assign credit forithe damage. The net result was a bad mauling for the NAGATO, sufficient to keep her from the battle line for many months to come. The combined Task Forces cruised int waters south of HON- SHU from the 19th through the 23rd. On the 24th, strikes in force were launched over a wide area from KURE to NA- GOYA, naval shipping at the former being the primary target. Overcast weather at the targetureduced the effectiveness of our attacks,but SAN JACINTO planes shot down four intercepting fighters, destroyed four grounded enemy bombers at NAGOYA, and scored damaging hits on the carrier AMAGI. X The attacks' were continued on the morning of the 25th, despite the poor weather which later forced. cancellation of the scheduled afternoon attacks. Only a handful of planes got through to the target, and most were forced to' targets of op- portunity. Two SAN JACINTO planes were among those which did get through, and one scored a direct bomb hit on the bridge of the ISE, a battleship which had been partially converted to an aircraft carrier. .A-.1-N - .5 -- . ,. -Y .,.,. ...,. - ,.---,. ----.,W.,...,..,, M,...,wa m,m,,,. . 0 -----A1-1... 1-1- ,nv - u-.--. 'v---s.-VV.-v-.. - -'fv-'11-fr The enemy's feeble counter-attacks were easily handled by the Force fighter patrols, two reconnaissance planes being shot down on the 24th, and six mixed recgnnaissance and torpedo planes being intercepted and destroyed on the 25th. No strikes were made on the 26th and '27th, but 28 july brought fair weather and the Task Force made the most'Qf it, humbling the once proud ships of the Imperial Navy into use-I less battered hulks. The converted battleships ISE and HYUGA were left resting on the bottom, the light cruiser OYODA capsized, the battleship :HARUNA beached with heri bow smashed, the carriers AMAGI and KATSURAGI still afloat but gutted and with most of their flight decks. missing, an obsolescent heavy cruiser beached and on her .beam ends, and a KOBE type escort carrier heavily damaged. SAN JACINTQ planes contributed several direct' hits on the ISE and AOBA as their part of this wholesale carnage, also destroying or daml aging ten enemy aircraft Aon the ground at AKENO-GAHARA. There were no attacks on the'29th, but on the 30th, heavy strikes were launched against airfields and installations inthe TOKYO-NAGOYA area. Our planes destroyed thirteen grounded enemy aircraft, set a large freighter afire, and dam! aged miscellaneous ground installations. ' V Continued bad weather caused an unplanned recess inthe operation from 31 July until 8 August, as the Task Force maneuvered to escape the path of a persistent typhoon. A 8 August found us in position to launch strikes against HOKKAIDO, but extremely unfavorable flying weather caused the cancellation of all scheduled operations. On the 9th the weather cleared, and our planes 'took off against shipping targets at ONAGAWA WAN where smallcraft were sunk and damaged. Installations on nearby airfields were hit effectively. The 10th of August is bound to go down as one of the SANS JACINTO'S most notable days in the air. The Task Group Commander was not guilty of understatement when he re- ported that we had hit the jackpot. Our assigned targets that day were airfields in North Central HONSHU, and the first strike in the morning started out to be a routine affair. Very few aircraft were noted on the first field, and a small part of our ammunition took care of them. At this point our planes decided to go down on the deck -altitudes of less than 500s feet-to see what they could see. They did this, braving pos- sible anti-aircraft fire which is more lethal at such altitudes than higher up, Q and they saw plenty! At-low altitudes our pilots could discern innumerable enemy planes whose clever camouflage kept them from being detected at higher altitudes. The enemy apparently never suspected that these planes would- be detected, because no anti-aircraft fire developed. Our pilots burned and destroyed everything in sight and gave arepeat performance at two other airfields, taking photographs all the time. When the pictures were developed they indicated that there were many more untouched aircraft at these fields than had appeared -at first. Our find was deemed so important that the Task Group Commander ordered strikes launched in the afternoon from every carrier in our group and, the crdwning honor, he designated Lieutenant C. H. PETERS, our Torpedo Squadron Skipper, to lead the combined strikes. , The SAN JACINTO alone accounted for 78 planes destroyed on that one day, and for 7l additional probably destroyed or f A ww ,,,,,,,,,,m-,mein -Q , W I ,,,,,Wv vw N 1 - ...v-.....,......,-.,.-..-cfm-.-......,-...-............ . .. -. ...,... . . .. . -N . . . . I f.. --,-.-P:-243 .x....-, .........mj3t.fr:aL ,, i,.::f:.:u1fi- '- W ilia m - -fgxjggigr-:gQ:':e1-:zwvzm-2:-1..-twsafrn-survfuzsygffgiff 0,1-.wif fc rg ,. J E, g,5.1rrf.:-an-fx:

Page 30 text:

damaged Our ship s individual score that day was a sizeable fraction of that for the whole THIRD FLEET. Some months before when the number of Jap planes en- countered in the air and seen on the ground began to dimin- ish the question was asked Where are they hiding them? It was a widely accepted theory that out of the way fields in North HONSHU were being utilized to conceal the better part of the Jap airforce so that it would be available to meet our invasion forces whenever they might come. It remained for the SAN JACINTO to prove the validity of that theory. It was on this occasion that we were nrst given the name of The Little Giant The llth and 12th were spent refueling and replenishing ammunition and supplies. On the 13th we went back in to strike airiields and industrial targets in the TOKYO area. We followed the same tactics as on the 10th, our pilots going in low, with almost as good results. Sixty-nine enemy aircraft were destroyed and an additional twenty-four more were prob- ably destroyed or damaged. Extensive damage was also Hicted on airfield installations and industrial targets. Late in the afternoon a number of enemy planes began to close the Force and the SAN JACINTO launched an emergency patrol to intercept them. One of our lighter pilots shot down one enemy plane. . On the 14th we retired out of range to refuelhand await the outcome of peace rumors, meanwhile remaining doubly alert lest the Japs practice any of their well-known treachery. And the 15th is a separate story by itself. ' Officers and men have spirited volleyball games on the forward elevator U in port and underway when operating conditions permit. Our 2000th landing was made on 15 June 1944 ID-Day in the MARIANAS Campaignl by Ensign S. P. BUTCHART, USNR, Vice Admiral l. S. M CCAIN aboard for an informal visit. IGP deSirOyer blown up by our planes off PALAU.