Tennessee (BB 43) - Naval Cruise Book

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v 2. 2 5 4,'3f-15? ' , 2' X, we ja fr mg, is if ' We A 5' T . was over l0,000 yards. AbouT 0830 The TENNESSEE closed in and carried ouT The bombardmenT aT ranges oT 3,000 To 5,000 yards. As The ship lay in very close To The beach her 40mm guns were broughT To bear on shore Ta rgeTs. During This Time we came under Tire oT concealed Japanese shore baTTeries. From Time To Time enemy salvos smashed Tall pillars oT waTer around us, buT They did noT regisTer Their TirsT hiT on The ship unTil abouT 0845 when six sailors were wounded by TragmenTs oT an enemy shell which sTruck a 5-inch mounT aTT. One oT The men died abouT an hour laTer. AT 0940 aTTenTion was drawn To one oT our cruisers abouT Three or Tour miles norTh of us. She appeared To be hiT amidships and a big Tire could be seen burning in her well-deck Trom which arose a considerable amounT oT smoke. DespiTe This raging Tire amidships, The cruiser was hoTly engaging enemy shore baTTeries wiTh her Tore and aTT TurreTs. JusT aTTer This inTerlude an incidenT occurred which will probably always be remembered as The cenTral evenT oT The whole day. A procession oT gunboaTs. and a num- ber oT small craTT, preceded by minesweepers, moved slowly wiTh care very close To The beaches on The souTh- easT coasT. Their mission was To reconnoiTer and eliminaTe obsTacles ThaT mighT impede The landing OT The assaulT Troops. As The vessels probed The island aT close guarTers The Japanese shore baTTeries suddenly opened up aT almosT poinT blank range and They Tound Themselves under a violenT and accuraTe Tire. The waTer abouT Them was being Torn up by The hail oT proiecTiles. T'liTs on The vessels mulTiplied. There were casualTies. One gunboaT was sunk and anoTher was seT aTire. The gunboaTs reTurned The Tire, buT The odds in such a duel were in Tavor oT The shore baTTeries, so ThaT They had To wiThdraw. Three oT These gunboaTs came alongside The TEN- NESSEE and all Their wounded were broughT on board and accommodaTed in sick bay, and Then our sail-maker Turnished Them wiTh heavy canvas To wrap Their dead Tor burial aT sea. This was abouT ll45. y X, y .Q Y - ms: .aa-.zmangsvs ii f