Shannon (DM 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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The attack ended abruptly, as it had started. For a moment a death Sll6l1CC Seemed to llflllg' over the ships. Tl1en across the water we could hear clearly the roar of tire-tires fed .bv hundreds of gallons of gasoline from the suicide planes, fires that reached from main deck to yard arms enveloped the superstructures of the crashed ships, These had to be brought under control before the wounded could be reached for treat- ment. Only superb damage control plans and heroic efforts of repair parties kept casualties from soaring much higher. Aid was quickly dispatched to the stricken ships to help with the fires and with the grimmer task of treating the wounded and burned, and caring for the dead. The damaged Ships were escorted into Kerama Retto while the remainder continued to the south on retirement. The next two hours were quiet and the other planes that approached during the night and early morning did not press their attacks. But nerves were a bit unravelled by this pre- view of the coming months of hell. It was not a future that one might anticipate with relish . . . if one could anticipate a future! In the afternoon of Love plus two day, TransRon 17, es- corted by several DM's and DE's, took departure from Kerama Retto, and for the next twelve days steamed in a large square 300 miles southeast of Okinawa. This proved to be a good rest and relaxation period. Some of the crew even resumed the old pre-Okinawa practice of taking their clothes off when they went to bed. Nothing interrupted us but a few alarms caused by unidentified friendly planes, false sonar and radar contacts, and the usual hour to hour and is--- one-half long routine G.Q.'s at dawn andk A X ligible. Then a Betty was sighted coming in on a glide-bomb- ing or suicide dive. We opened up immediately, but had fired for only a minute when several Corsair fighters swooped out of the clouds and onto the tail of the Betty. They splashed it and sent seven more japs to Davey Jones before any damage could be done to ships in the area. The Betty had hardly hit the water when a Val, which had been threatening, came' in from the starboard bow in another suicide attempt. Again we ceased fire as the Corsairs took him on. It was practically the same as suicide for the Jap pilot. He didn't get to fire a shot at our fighters. One sprayed the cock- pit then pulled out of his dive to the right, letting a second Corsair go in to finish the Nip. But the second was superfluous- his target was already on his way to the sea in fiames. THE SHEA HAS A FIELD DAY By this time the Shea and the AM had left us to take their screen stations southwest of Ie Shima. The Shea seemed to attract most of the nearby planes-to the Japs' regret, for she splashed no less than seven of them before the raid was over. We finally got to our station at 1045 and patrolled until ordered to the assistance of the Bowers CDE 6371, which had been hit by a suicider. By the time we arrived, the Bowers needed no further assistance for she was under control and proceeded on her own power to the transport area. We re- mained to conduct an unsuccessful forty-five-minute search for survivors. IE BECOMES ERNIE PYLE dusk! -f ri The troops we were escorting were finally A ls, X X-N5 MEMORIAL needed for replacements Zfnd to make a new 1 HS? 'Q xlrqx The Ie Shima attack progressed as sched- landmgy so OH Loveiplub fourteen day our N 5 'Q ' f X Q uled and b f the end of the first dav the air- Task Group returned to Okinawa and Wag Q'T 'TT'--. T i'fQx field' had bizen captured It was during the dissolved. Q- 5 - ' Q '- - +1 --'1 - f first few hours of fighting on Ie that the At 1700 we were assigned to patrol station il , ,, Ti ffifflffd and beloved news Correspondent' 155-A in the anti-suicide boat screen .between X 1' ' X Efme Pyle, WHS kllled by 3 bUfSf Of .THD Okinawa and Kerama Retto. Our principal duty on this station was to provide a group of LCS gunboats with illumination and fire support on their patrol off Naha. between Kezu-Saki and Kiyamu-Saki. Surrounding land-Okinawa, Kerama Retto, Keise Shima, and Mae Shima-provided excellent navigational aids, but at the same time made the station extremely hazardous due to the difficulties of search. WE GET TWO SITTING DUCKS As we arrived on station at dusk several planes were sighted on Jap-held Naha Airfield. General quarters was sounded and, upon receiving permission from Commander Southern Attack Force, the planes were taken under fire. Wie had only twenty minutes in which to work before darkness and smoke made us cease fire. But during that time one Betty was destroyed and another made such a repairmen's headache that it wouldn't take to the air for a long time. By 1915 we were doing our graceful figure eight on station. In our absence the japs had changed their usual time of attack to shortly after midnight-they had found that with even a visage of light our gunners made suckers out of suiciders-and that night they came right on time. General quarters lasted until 0605 for, while no planes approached close enough for us to shoot at, there were a great many in the area providing a constant threat. April 16 was D-day at Ie Shima, an island just west of OklH3W2,S Motabu Peninsula. The main objective was to secure an excellent concrete airfield for our own use-an air- field that the japs were using all too effectively for lightning stabs at fleet units. The Shannon's part in the landings was in an anti-aircraft and anti-sub screen just northwest of the island. As we passed to the east of Aguni Shima, enroute with the Shea CDM 30, and an AM to our new station, warning of approaching enemy planes was received. Immediately we went to G.Q. and, at 0937, just after the Shea had opened up, we commenced firing at a Val as it began a suicide run. The plane, thrown slightly off its collision course by the volume of Hre, overshot and crashed close aboard the Shea and thc AM. ' A second Val was taken under tire by all three ships, .but It-soon passed out of range eventually to be splashed as it tried to reach troop transports in the I-Iagushi area. For an hour activity in our immediate area was almost neg- 00YLWe 's machinegun fire. After several days the en- tire island was in our hands. Following two days in this sector, the transports having returned to the anchorage, the Shannon was shifted to a sta- tion off the coast of southern Okinawa to screen the third demonstration landing. At 0345 the transports moved in. Throughout the morning empty boats shuttled between their ships and the shore in feints to draw the enemy away from our hard-pressed front lines. Upon completion of the demonstration, we entered Kerama Retto for ammunition and then joined Task Group 54.2, the heavy defense force. This group, consisting of six cruisers and six destroyers, steamed in an area northwest of Okinawa to intercept any heavy enemy force that might venture into those waters. ORCHIDS AGAIN Throughout our second night as a part of this group, we were under air attack. Many planes came Within range and were taken under fire, while the group maneuvered at high speed. The Shannon's radars were usually the first to spot enemy planes approaching, and her guns the first to fire. This vigilance and speed brought the following message from the Task Group Commander, during a lull in firing: Your reports and action have been excellent. Well done! Combat had kept a continual fiow of information on the location and move- ments of the enemy going out over the radio circuits to the task group, allowing the OTC to maneuver the group more rapidly and efifectively. In addition we had fired some 275 rounds of five-inch pro- jectiles. While the effectiveness of our fire could not be observed, the bogeys had been turned away before they could come close enough to cause damage to the ships in company. It had been a good change for us to operate with big ships, after weeks of slow speed sweeping with ships of limited fire power, speed, and maneuverability. VVith the heavies it becomes a matter of rapid, well executed maneuvers and effective fighting. The speed with which orders were given kept everyone on his toes, but they were so well executed that the operations became easy. VVe were sorry to have to leave their company. The next day was the first of many operating as escort to a tanker, during fueling operations. VVe soon dubbed our- selves Fuel Div 7. This duty entailed first getting fuel ourselves, and then patrolling to protect the tanker as other sltips scheduled for refueling took their turns alongside her. 47

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,f OKINAWA In addition to the capture of the Kerama Retto group, establishing therein a logistics supply and naval repair base and a seaplane base, the small island of Keise Shima, about 20,000 yards from the landing beaches and 11,000 yards from Naha city was seized, landing Army artillery there to command the lower end of Okinawa. The island of Okinawa, which is about 65 miles long, is roughly divided into almost equal northern and southern parts. The northern area is generally rugged, mountainous, wooded, and undeveloped.-The southern area, which is gen- erally rolling but frequently broken by deep scarps and ravines, is the developed part of the island, containing the greater number of towns, roads, and cultivated areas, the capital city of Naha, all tive of the island's airfields, and the strongest defenses. ' In the early morning hours of Love Day CApril lj, the main attack force moved within striking distance and stood by waiting for H-Hour, Admiral R. K. Turner, USN, Commander Task Force Sl, assumed command of all forces in the area, and directed the operations. The preferred plan called for our ground forces to land on six miles of beach on the southwestern shore, a location best protected from the wind and weather, and closely bordering the island's Yontan and Kadena Airfielcls. Four divisions were to be landed abreast on these beaches. XN7ith the two center divisions advancing directly across the island to the east coast, and with the left and right Hank divisions pivoting toward the north and south respectively, the Japanese forces in the south- ern part of the island would be isolated and were then to be overcome by attack from the north. Coincident with the main troop attack, there was planned for the southeast coast a demonstration landing, and an actual landing if necessary. The first wave of assault troops, embarked in amphibious vehicles of all sorts, hit the beach just south of point Bolo in the Hagushi area, precisely at the 0830 H-hour, and stormed rapidly inland. The Marine Corps and the Army landed side by side-the 6th and lst Marine Divisions north of Hagushi town, and the 7th and 96th Divisions of the XXIV Corps, Official US. Navy Phofograplt Our troops met surprisingly little resistance on the landing beaches, capturing Yontan and Katena Airfields in the first two and one-half hours. Prior to dark, with 50,000 troops ashore, they had established an eight and one-half mile long beachhead and had driven two and one-half miles inland. As the attack progressed from day to day, it became evident that the Japanese, having made no attempt to stop us at the beaches where we had landed, had withdrawn most of their forces into the southernmost part of the island, and had estab- lished their defenses in depth on terrain admirably suited for defense and delaying action tactics. The enemy defense COU' sisted of blockhouses, pillboxes, and caves, protected by barbed wire and minefields. Here the enemy used his artillery 1111- stingily, and his defensive tactics were described as artful and fantastic. At Kerama Retto the Shannon was assigned to 9. Hlgllf retirement group as part of a six-ship screen for the APALS and APD's of TransRon 17. The retirement course waS lald out to the southwest, following almost exactly the route Howl' by Jap planes from Sakishima and Formosa. We soon discovered this, for each night that we were in thlS SYOUD Our Sleep was continually and unpleasantly interrupted by the presence of bogies. Many, but not all, passed us for the blggfif game at Okinawa. The morning of April 2 we were at CHQ- for seven hours with only a slight break. Several plHI1e5 were taken under fire, two of which were identified by emergency means as friendly. The retirement unit WHS 415' Solved Upon return to the area, and we took a screening staflfm south of the island while waiting our turn to load ammunition in the afternoon. 4 Kgihat evening as theiretirement group rendezvoused south' gf F'-yldlnft Fetto, a warning of approaching planes was receivek- AW? as Ofe the Hmup could form up, we were'und-er attach- . P AUC from the first raid to approach started its dive-b0m,' mgqfllllkxirllef Sky became a plaid pattern of tracers and 525 ion E .lout half WHY down the plane was lnt. It swervl ITNCCISIOH and then picked out '1 target to suicide-tie Tenth Army, to the south. i I 1 luckless Henrico CAPA-155 only 3000 vardsito our starboard. The Shannon's assignment in this Easter Sunday parade was A second, then a thitd Nancy foncmjed an the tail of the in an anti-submarine patrol, screening the demonstration land- hi-st. Number two was turned bv our hre only to crash the ings, The demonstration force did not land, butimade a feint Dickerson CAPD 315 while the tim-d - I 'def from the be' to draw enemy troops away from the actual landing. All boats ginning, crashed the' Goodhue QA1-,A'1557iuici . returned to their ships soon after H-l-lour, their mission hav- ln the short qwwc of Evo mimlt Q 1 , - tl .G fifteen minlflle ing been accomplished. The transports withdrew shortly he- mir attacli three ,,.OO,!hdCn Qhiwol fairflm 111' blazing Dy,-qs, fore noon and the Shannon was ordered to Kerama Retro for Five ,l?1l3,Dl?1llCS had IbeienAdestrbyeddluitebiilve two were new assignment. down without completing their infamous missions. is 46 tti.'i i . if

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That night we returned to our favorite station-ln: Able. the anti-boat screen. During the night the S1111-11102115 f21111'11 for illumination to intercept several suicide boats 111111 W1'1'1' trving to filter into the Hagushi anchorage for a crack at ftllllk' of the transports and heavy ships. These boats were 1111101111 disposed of. The usual enemy air raids arrived on schedule, but 119110 111 the planes approached our area. They came lll a few miles to the north making high altitude passes over the ll'2ll.lhl9l1l1 anchorage and the American held airftelds, but we e011S11l01'U11 our area to be only the space that could be reached by our guns. LINE UP FOR AMMO The drain on ammunition in the Okinawa area was heavbk with thousands of rounds being expended daily 111 1116-5111211011 and anti-aircraft fire. What supply was on hand waS 1tl11Ck15' expended and each new ammunition ship arriving in the area with a full load was soon cleaned out. As there were 1101 enough ammo ships to fill the demand, many warships had to wait hours, sometimes even a day or two, for their turn- to replenish magazines for hungry guns. Yes, as for everything else in the Navyj one had to stand in line even for the am- munition with which to fight the enemy! We waited a full day for our supply, and then took station northwest of Okinawa for radar picket tgulplj and anti-sub- marine patrol duty. To our surprise and relief-for Roger Peter stations were poison to tin cans-the night proved to be one of little activity.i We went to GQ. only twice that night and both times the alerts were caused by friendly planes showing bogey. ' At times we were sure that PBM patrol bombers caused more alarms than real bogeys. They gave indications of unfriendly planes so often that they were regularly reported as Peter Bogey Mikes by disappointed fighter pilots sent to intercept them, and by disgusted lookouts sent to general quarters stations, only to find a friendly boxcar flying by. Unfortunately many of these unidentified friendly planes were fired upon by allied ships, and a few shot down. Occasionally it might have been due to faulty equipment, but mostly it seemed that the pilots just couldn't understand that at night ships could not risk holding fire until a plane could be identified visually. We shot the wing tip off a Corsair one night. After howling over the radio that he was friendly, he finally identified himself properly. We talked to him again after he set his ship down on a nearby airfield without further damage. We were anxious to learn how he made out. He was so relieved that he actually apologized for alerting us. We couldnit take chances. Auda- cious Nip pilots even resorted to turning on their wing and tail running lights in efforts to appear friendly and sneak in without being fired upon. A whole night and the entire next day OH, with only our regular eight hours of watches and dawn and desk alerts was almost as good as a vacation. During the day we were again Fuel Div 7. The night of April 25-26, we patrolled one of the most vulnerable screening stations, just west of Kerama Retto, At 0201 we were routed from ourrsacks for GQ. by a plane that made two runs on us before he was turned awav. He gave ns a rough few minutes, but caused no damage.'Other planes kept us up the balance of the night, but none came close enough to draw our fire. Morale was getting pretty low at this point. Day after night after day of patrolling and screening, under almost con- stant air attack, with little sleep and no ,diversion began to grate on nerves. It would have sunk lower had we known thnt months more of it lay ahead! It wouldn't have been so bad if we had something to show for it, but the side of our bridge was as nude of Jap flags as the day the Shannon Wire launched-we hadn't officially knocked down a single plane. Apparently we just weren't getting the breaks. Many who griped realize now how lucky we really were! The Shnnnfm seemed to have the knack of being in the wrong place for right place, depending on how one looks at ith at the right time. ' The next day we moved back to one of the stations north- west of Okinawa for another day and night of alerts, Then we Went back to old Shannon Alley, 155 Able. As had happened tust a week before severtl s111c1de 110115 tried to get through to the transport area All but one of this bunch were destroyed by 1 CI gunboats For the list one we searched without results until well after daylight it which time we were ordered back to our place in the screen nound the transport anchorage The next day was again spent super West of Hagushl SLEEP JUST A DAY DREAM tlnr station .Xpril 20-30 was again i11 support of the anti- boat screen. 'lihree times before midnight, we were called to GQ, by l l:1sh lied condition. After 2357, when we secured for the third time, everyone oft' watch tried to catch some sh-ep, hoping against hope that we would have the rest of the night i11. Wie tumbled into our sacks and most of us had fallen into a restless sleep when, at 0053, the dreaded and indescribable clanging of the general alarm brought us to our feet, into our shoes, and racing for our battle stations. f Those short minutes between the sounding of the alarm and the time when eaeh station is manned and readv are endless-filled with uncertainty, for only those on watchiknow what causes the alert and. if it is an air raid, how far and in what direction the planes are. That's enough to make evervone lose as little time as possible in reaching his station. ' A hre was observed to the north of us, probably from the 1-lagushi transport area, and several raids of planes were tracked Oll o11r radar, but none came within range. At 0115 all was quiet again and we secured from GQ.--to be called back fifty minutes laterl Many enemy raids were reported approaching from the north. Several miles north of le Shima the raids split and headed in various directions-some for the lonely picket stations, some for Kerama Retto, some for le and the Hagushi transport area, and others for Army and Marine installations on Okinawa. One raid that headed for Kc-rama Retro veered off just north of Tokashiki and began to orbit between ten and fifteen miles northwest of us. liinally he seemed to make up his mind for he commenced a direct approach, coming in low. At 0245, whe11 we commenced firing. the plane showed a weak identification but his direct, hostile approach was considered sufficient to warrant tiring. Vve couldn't take any chances at that point. PLANE GETS ANTENNA-WE GET PLANE Eyes strained into the darkness trying to find this aggressor, but nothing could be seen until he had closed to about 2000 yards. lt was definite then that he was a Kamikazeg a fanatic pilot deliberately going to his death in an attempt to take as many as possible of tl1e Shannon's crew with him. The Captain, acting instantly on information from Combat, maneuvered to keep the plane on the beam. This brought the greatest number of guns to bear and at the same time gave the suicider the smallest possible target in range. It was no easy job keeping' up with the movements of a 1113116 going ten times faster tha11 we. He was trying to come in from astern. lt was like ducking a mosquito in the dark. Our 40 millimeters commenced firing, warning of 1116 near- ness of the enemy, Then the twenties opened up in accom- pantment to the heart-stopping screech of the diving P18119- Although still unseen, we knew where he was and knew 116 112111 bicked us. There was no other target for him w1tl1111 four miles. The sky was ablaze with bursting' shells and the red strealiS of tracers, piercing' the shroud of smoke from our guns. Suddenly-huge, black. and roaring almost straight down, 1110 Dlflue loomed ottt of the darkness. At almost tlte same instant, with an abruptness that heeled us over, We Swllng 10 11011 51111111151 10 21 split second the range and bearing 011116 blanc on information from Combat, the Skipper had ordered the hard turn that saved many of our lives! 1118101111 of C1'i1511111tI just abaft the britltlei 1116 1913115 935591: between our- stacks, so low that he ripped away 2111 39113 before crashing twenty-five yards off the starboard beam. I 1111 CXl110sion rocked the ship, Men were soaked in gasolms 110111 1110 l112111C's tanks and nearly drowned where tl1CY S100 113' 1110 avalanclte of water that 'shouted into the air. VV?-ter 1'911 C11 H. 1001 110011 Over the main deck. The deck house Was 17111011 with dents made by flying debris. Parts of 1116 Plane len QV9 3'W110103 l1111'1s of a wing, a section of fuselage Com' Dlfftft with meat ball , a chunk ol' wing flap, part of the bullet' ' tg t . . , - - ' , v 11 ffflmfl 11141 kill, some ot the mstrutncut hoatd, and even 3 atleron control rod, 11' H 111 l thttl td the ship for casualtter m Lf it p ttttd tntcunt Mtraculoug 1 1 tt ttcl ull Xl my were N03-ke 1 fl iptn their spirits now that WC c 1 td up our first p 4 N 111111 1111ts tfttt out hrst splish another 611 tcttt l 11 11s tutttx tttkx were almost anX101f1 t 1 lx1n11k'11e KN H 1' t , V ,V r Q . . I lla a 1 cot 'o tm,-tips . N. - 5 ' , 3113 , i . C 4 y . 1 .V , :ig 1.1 :txt-tv but found only Il Y, 2 . , I X 2. . V ybflt J - X .4 -. g I - 5 on - was hu 't---not even s 1 'z '1- . .'z ' 5 ' ., - r l 1,7 1 t 1 t-V11 that Cmuld not dan i N. by . . V . lla , - , . , , 2 hz lk' . pm, ' V K , ,'i , J iz if lllfl Init if . ,. . , , Q . vtslng and screening fueling operations in tl1e waters north- tlllint was itpotltegl in our area. lfVe had had our appgs L '. 1 1 't no 111111, e-elif . .. . .,,. .. 3 1 f take 21 cpzlck at m,,,H,,.,. of VNC tt - .K ,I 4,. lynn At . ' . 48 if '