Shannon (DM 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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i i 5 SASEBO A SHANNON PRIORITY The Shannon got underway again in the early morning, September 14, and steamed down the swept channel to Nagasaki, where we moored alongside the Phantom tAM 2731 XYhen Commodore Farrow returned from his conference with the .-Xdmiral, he ordered the Shannon to get underway in order to carry out the orders l1e had just received. Two hours later we anchored in the Matsu Shima area. :Xt 1353, we were again underway in accordance with verbal orders from the Naga- saki-Sasebo Area Commander. The Shannon passed through the entrance to Sasebo at 1445. At that moment. she be- came the first U. S. Man-o'-War to enter that harbor. Sasebo, normally a city of l33,000, is one of it the principle naval bases and shipyards in japan, and the largest in Kyushu, The city is built around the harbor, with the residential sections extending well back into the hills. The countryside is not as rugged as that around Nagasaki, although there are a great many large and rather steep hills. Nor is it as picturesque as Nagasaki, but from the harbor the scenery is pretty. The harbor entrance is narrow and the approaches confined -both protected by Well concealed fortifications. At the southern end of the harbor, near the entrance to Omura VVan, lay several new ships, the largest of which were carriers. These were abandoned-some not even completely built. We steamed east for two and a half miles and then turned north to enter the main part of the harbor. Shortly after turn- ing, the installations around the perimeteriof the harbor be- came visible. On the western shore there were fuel storage tanks, coal yards, wharves, and caves presumably used for storage and as air-raid shelters. Along the eastern shore Could be 'seen a' Naval air station, torpedo testing station, a large ammunition dump, a mine base, and numerous smaller instal- lations such as barracks and shops. At the head of the harbor were several large drydocks, piers, shipyards, an outfitting 1 R Standing into Sasebo Harbor - The first Allied Man-O'-War. wharf and arsenal, naval gun factories, machine shops and an aircraft factory. On the highest hills we could see radar and radio antennae. The base was, on the whole, Well equipped and well protected. At 1503, the Shannon anchored close to the western shore, in the First District, Sascbo Harbor. Twenty minutes later a small tugcame alongside with the boarding party. Rear Admiral K, lshii, the Chief of Staff, Sasebo Naval Station, came aboard with his staff. a Captain, Commander, Lieutenant Commander, and an Ensign. The Admiral, after saluting the Quarterdeck, saluted and bowed very formally to Captain Ingram. The others of the Japanese delegation followed suit. Captain Ingram was assisted in receiving them by Lt. Cjgl Coffin, who acted HS interpreter, Lt. Cjgl Berg, l..t. O87 Geyer, and armed g2mg'W9-Y petty officers Allen, BM lc, and Reisinger, QM Sc. The delegation was then escorted to the wardroom, VVIICII all was ready, Commodore Farrow entered and the confer- ence began. 64

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AKI Clutter-eel with debris, Most ol' tlie-tlestrnetion visible front the harbor had been catisetl by incendiary and high explogivg bombs dropped .by .Xrmy lieztxty bonilmers and Carrier-based Navy bombers, not .by the :ttontie liontlm, Effects of the atomic bomb were noticeable from the harbor, manifested mostly in at large burn scar on the side of a hill, and somewhat tin the tlestrnetion ot' buildings in the northwestern part ot the city, but not prevalent as one would expect, The main reason for this is that the bomb, dropped through a lteaxy oxercast which limited visibility, missed its target. lt landed somewhat north till the center of the city in one of the valleys which runs off the large valley in which Nagasaki is located, 'l'he hills which form this valley generally limited the moye- ment of precussion waves and heat from the explosion to the direction in which the valley runs, and, therefore, lim- ited the destruction to less than was expected. The atomic .bomb explosion had a much greater effect on the people of Nagasaki than on the physical structure of the City. Many were killed outright, and many more died later from radioactive burns, which generally destroy the blood cells and vital organs of the body, At the time of our arrival, a month after the explosion, there were still about twenty or thirty people dying each day, Doctors working at the local hospital and on board the hospital ship were obtaining much valuable information and perience. A very decided mental effect was evident in those natives who still lived, Every one of them was very apathetic and reticent, They moved about on their busi- ness, but very little was accomplished, A death-pall of silence hung over the city, These people of Nagasaki were completely beaten and submissive. The atomic bombing had not accomplished the com- plete destruction that was expected, but its effect was great and complete enough to achieve one desired purpose: effecting or at least aiding in effecting unconditional sur- render. Late in the morning we moored alongside the Phantom CAM 2735 in Berth C, First District, Nagasaki Harbor. where We remained until l600, while Commodore lfarrow called on the Admiral to discuss future plans and obtain orders. In the late afternoon, we turned to 'tFarrow's Cove, between Matsu Shima and Kakmoura Shima, where we anchored and remained throughout the next day, f ,.,r r ,,f,,, ,V ya t K x fr-. I e - rl 'lj , Nagasaki street scene. Looking across a bridge in the Nagasaki business district In Looking north from the harbor toward the valley ' l Nagasaki commerce canal. which the atomic bomb landed.

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1 The base was informally surrendered by Admiral Ishii and then the principal topics of the conference were discussed. Charts of the harbor defenses, particularly the location of controlled minefields, were turned over and explained. Methods of and arrangements for disposing of the mines were discussed and agreed upon. Other topics of discussion included the number and types of japanese ships available for minesweep- ing outside of the harbor, the facilities of the har.bor and the base which would be available for use by Allied ships and the occupation forces, control of the natives during the early days of occupation, and the disposition and employment of Japanese troops during occupation. This conference by no means settled all of the questions and problems that presented themselves at this time and in the future, but it did lay the foundation for occupation, and arranged preparation of the harbor and station. As soon as the conference was over, Admiral Ishii and his staff left the ship. Shortly afterwards, we returned to Matsu Shima, where we anchored for the night, The visit of the Japanese delegation had an interesting and ironical sidelight. The Japanese Ensign, who was a member of the party to act as interpreter, had been a classmate of Lieutenant Petersen at Pasadena tCaliforniaJ Junior College in 1936. just before the delegation left the ship these two former fellow-students recognized each other and exchanged very formal and somewhat cold greetings. . The following day the Shannon returned to Nagasaki with Commodore Farrow. When the Commodore had reported the results of the Sasebo conference to the Admiral, he re- turned aboard, The Shannon went back to Matsu Shima, only to return to Nagasaki the next day to ride out the typhoon which was approaching and of which we had warning. During the afternoon and evening of September 17, the typhoon reached its full fury, In spite of the protection offered hx by the surrounding mountains, winds in the harbor increased to well over 65 knots. Fortunately, the center of the storm passed about 100 miles to the east of Nagasaki. Our mooring held and no damage was sustained, By midnight the storm had abated, and dawn broke clear and fresh. 1Ve left. Nagasaki at 1400, enroute to Sasebo, where we anchored in the outer harbor three hours later, and remained throughout the night. The following day, Lt. 1180 Ayres and Lt. Cjgl Coffin went ashore to supervise the destruction of the controlled mines which guarded the harbor entrance, After some difficulty, most of the mines were detonated, and arrangements were made for the destruction of those which could not be flred from the control station. Upon their return, in the late after- noon, the Shannon left for Matsu Shima, our anchorage for the night. Ships, by this time, were coming into Sasebo in preparation for the Occupation Forces, which were to follow. When we returned to the harbor on the 20th, we moored alongside the Flusser CDD 3683, in berth 17, remaining over night. The Shannon's duties continued to be varied, some of them becoming menial, others providing considerable interest and excitement. September 21, we met and escorted the Rooks CDD 8045 into Sasebo, and then,went alongside the Cossatot CAO 773 to fuel, After fueling, we moored with the Smith and transferred 25 radar refiector buoys from her tracks to ours. That night, we anchored again in f'Steward's Cove. The occupation troops arrived in the har.bor September 22nd, and landed the same day, Shortly after their arrival, CominDiv 7 ordered the Shannon into Sasebo so that he could call on and confer with the Admiral in command of Occupation Forces. 65