Tennessee (BB 43) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 49 text:

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Page 48 text:

Wi+h renewed Tury, The guns oT The The hiTs were closely paHerned and all bursT upon impacT, mosT oT The damage To boTh personnel and equipmenT being caused by shell TragmenTs. One hiT was direcTly inTo The righT gun porT on mounT 7, disabling The enTire gun crew and sprinkling oil which igniTed, causing a roaring Tire inside The gun mounT. Quick work by repair parTygpersonnel and The close weapons crews subdued The Tlames in abouT Two minuTes. AnoTher hif sTruCk againsT The side blisTer plaTing, bursTing and Tearing an irregular hole in The ship's side. The damage Trom This hiT was negligible, as The ship's armor plaTe resisTed Turfher peneTraTion. The Third hiT bursT on The main deck planking, Tearing a 26 by 36 inch hole in The main deck. FragmenTs Trom The shell enTered The wardroom below, causing some damage To personnel in The viciniTy and damage To The TurniTure in The room. Killed in This engagemenT included John C. Thomp- son, GMIC: John C. Guill, Coxswain: Prank Zemovich, SIC: Harry M. Drummond, SIC: James M. Commings, SIC: Joseph P. BuTTi, SIC: James L. Robie. SIC: and Joe A. Robles, SIC. Those wounded, requiring emergency TreaTmenT Trom The ship's medical deparTmenT, included: Roy J. Pannell, CTMZC: William R. Wissman, SZC: Lee B. MCKoy, STMIC: Jack M. Campbell, SIC: Varney E. Schwarz, SIC: Joseph C. RoberTson, SIC: Thomas A. LinThiCum, Ensign: Wesley CarTer, SZC: Cecil W. McDaniels, I-IAIC: Doyle D. Dobbs, BMIC: William R. Malone, SIC: KenneTh E. Bracey, SZC: Charles E. Brinly, PTC., USMC: Donald A. I-loover, PTC., USMC: James M. CurnuTT, SIC: Joseph W. WaTson, Pl. SgT., USMC: Dora S. Johnson, PTC., USMC: Douglas M. Drager, SZC: ChesTer C. Wall, MM3C: ErnesT J. Ferrero, SK3C: Doyle W. Townsend, SIC: Willie D. McCoy, S2C: John T. Phillips, PTC., USMC: Willard F. MCDermoT, PTC., USMC: Charles I. McClelland, Jr., LieuT.: WalTer J. Doge, SIC. Several oT The wounded were TransTerred To The USS SOLACE, a hospiTal ship, Tor TurTher TreaTmenT. The dead were given burial aT sea, in TheITime honored Tra- difion oT The Navy. Turned Toward Tinian seven minuTes aTTer being hiT and an enemy ammuniTion dump exploded, Tlames and smoke rising high in The dusT-Tilled air. A Tour-gun baTTery mef The same TaTe. ReTurning To Saipan, The guns Covered The approach oT a number oT American landing Tanks To The beach which landed wiThouT incidenT. The advancing Troops on The beach were covered wiTh 40 mm. Tire Trom The TENNESSEE and This being done, Tire swiTched To Tinian, silencing a baTTery There, Tiring aT enemy Troopsand aT a parked aircraTT. The aTTernoon was spenT in Tollowing up air sTrikes againsT boTh islands wiTh heavy Tire againsT blockhouses, gun emplacemenTs and enemy Troops. AT I82O, men oT The TENNESSEE, dirTy, Tired and saddened aT The loss oT Their shipmaTes, secured Trom quarTers, only To be recalled in a Tew minuTes when an enemy air aTTaCk developed. IT was Two more weary hours beTore The baTTle sTaTions could be secured again and The exhausTed men could drop To Their bunks. QuarTers The Tollowing morning were again early, sleepy men crawling ouT aT 0430 Tor a sTrike aT Tinian blockhouses, pill boxes and Troops. An enemy sub was reporTed in The viciniTy by oTher ships. All day The TENNESSEE sTalked The area, Tiring aT TargeTs on boTh islands unTil ISOO when, The day's work over, They Could secure and leave The area. Several days Tollowed in which The Tennessee WGS noT called upon Tor Tire supporT, as Tiring would have endangered our own Troops slogging Through The cane Tields oT Saipan. L IT was noT unTil June 2I when The TENNESSEE Tired again, This Time aT liTTle Manigassa Island, in The viciniTy. The special mission accomplished, The TENNESSEE secured aT IOl5 ThaT morning, buT was again called upon aT T245 ThaT aTTernoon. AT I726 The Task was Tinished and The TENNESSEE was able To reTire Tor The nighT, buT was called upon The nexT day Tor addiTional Tire againsT cerTain designaTed TargeTs which needed aTTenTion.

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The TENNESSEE's main baTTery began firing aT 0555. bombarding The Town oT Garapan Trom a posiTi0n SOFTIS 6,000 yards OTF shore while The island was yeT deep in The purple morning shadows. DusT and smoke rising Trorn The shaTTered Town made hiTs diTTicuIT To see and iT re- sembled Tiring inTo The AleuTian Tog. The TargeT was shiTTed To The bony ridge norTh oT IvlounT Tapochau where The main and secondary baTTeries unlimbered againsT designaTed pillboxes and gun emplace- menTs. From baTTle sTaTions on sky aTT, observers could waTch insfallafions being reduced, logs, concreTe, sTeel. armamenT pieces and human bodies being hurled high in The air amid a cloud oT smoke and dirT. The shells Then landed in a ravine on The wesTern slopes behind Tanapag I-larbor where I4-inch shells undermined a cliTT unTil iT slid across a road, blocking The highway. For The nexT 60 minufes, guns raked The Tields, The hills and The valleys, Tearing up The roads, desTroying pillboxes and sTarTing a Tire which burned Tor many hours. TENNESSEE guns knocked ouT an enemy arTillery piece while iT was engaged in shelling American Troops who were Then working Their slow way inTo The souihern ouTskirTs of Garapan. Sweeping back To Garapan, The north beach was walked wiTh gunfire and aT l2I5 baTTeries were working over a wooded area in The viciniTy oT The observaTion Tower To The norTh oT The Town. The TENNESSEE Then anchored oTT The wesT coasT oT Saipan, where iT was joined by The baTTleships CALI- FORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA, IDAI-IO and NEW MEXICO. Also on hand were The MARYLAND and COLORADO which had been on The bombardmenT line since mid- morning. From prepared posiTions on commanding Terrain, The enemy had oTFered sTubborn resisTance To The advancing Americans on The beach. Enemy arTiIIery and morTar Tire was inTense aT Times, and iniTiaI deep peneTraTions by The Troops were someTimes erased by The TanaTical Japanese. The slopes oT IvlounT Tapochau was reached and The advance became more rapid. By July 9, all organized enemy resisTance on The island had disappeared, al- Though Nippon's snipers were To harass The conquerors Tor many monThs. Long beiore ThaT The TENNESSEE's services were in demand aT anoTher parT oT The lvlarianas, where anoTher invasion had been planned. Leaving baTTered and bleed- ing Saipan on June 23, The TENNESSEE reached EniweTok June 25 where iT remained unTil July lo, geTTing underway on ThaT day Tor Guam. Number oi OperaTions AgainsT Enemy The BaTTle of Pearl Harbor. BombardmenT of Kiska in The AleuTians. Assaulf and CapTure oT Tarawa. AssauIT and CapTure of Kwaialein. AssaulT and CapTure of EniweTok. BombardmenT of Kavieng, New Ireland, AssaulT and CapTure of Saipan. AssaulT and CapTure of Guam. AssauIT and CapTure oT Tinian. Assaulf and CapTure oT Angaur, Palau Islands. AssauIT and RecapTure oT LeyTe, Philippine Islands. I Ba++Ie oT Surigao STraiTs. AssaulT and CapTure oT Iwo Jima, Assaulf and CapTure oT Okinawa, OperaTions in The EasT China Sea,