Sanborn (APA 193) - Naval Cruise Book

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jf l i ,ff 5 I ,if ,154 fi Ry X f I 9 ,V f , ,' , 12 44, 1, f ,f r X 1 1 A f.4,,-4,1-vm' ft, y V 5 ,f X!! 9 1 ' f , f ff' f f 1 Ze f ' f f if -W , f f. f-, f. ,fi-..-ww . - f M, ,- Aifichorerl iii, LST Ron- that got alongside. On the twenty-eighth day of February the Sanborn was ordered to be completely unloaded and ready to proceed to Saipan, She finished unload- ing in less than nine hours and left for Saipan carrying 232 of the 376 casual- ties handled during the entire period. At Saipan she was ordered to Guam, where the casualties were transfered to Army and Navy hospitals. She departed Guam that evening for Saipan, arriving there on the seventh of March. There was no time to relax. Within two days time she had become a part of Task Group 5l.2 under Rear Admiral Jerrauld Wright and had embarked per- sonnel and equipment of the First Bat- talion, Second Marines. ln less than two weeks she was conducting rehearsals off the coast of Tinian in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. The primary mission of this transport group was to conduct a demonstration landing off the southern beaches of Okinawa coin- cident vvith the main landing on the western beaches. The group, however, was to be prepared to make an assault on any of a considerable number of beaches on the main island or smaller islands of Okinawa Gunto, or to land in reserve on any of the Okinawa beaches. High winds and seas persisted through-

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out the period of troining, interfering with the logistic operotions ond the exer- cises of the boot group ond Morine boot teoms. ln less thon o month the Sonborn hod completed one invosion ond hod be- gun preporotions for onother. The first doy of April found her off Okinowo, Ryukyu lslonds. Shortly before down ,the islonds come within sight. While the troctor ond tronsport groups were joining for the finol opprooch to the tronsport oreo, word wos received thot enemy oircroft were ottocking ves- sels of the gunfire support group neor the beoch. At 0546 o violent explosion wos seen, ond it wos loter leorned thot this wos coused by o suicide plone crosh- ing on on LST neorby. Four minutes loter on explosion vvos seen ot the woter line, port side, of the U.S.S. l-linsdole, Divi- sion Flog ond leoder of the column of which Sonborn wos the third ship. This explosion wos coused by onother suicide plone, coming in so swiftly ond so low in the dorkness thot the explosion wos thought to hove been coused by o tor- pedo. The l-linsdole dropped out of the formotion listing heovily to port with o goping hole in her side, os the Sonborn ond other ships pulled on by ond settled