Tennessee (BB 43) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 85 text:

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

Page 84 text:

L' .A fl , --lui' . ' r .7 K., g i f 'Zn , ..- R I Q 6 - s ,- 0 1 fygf Q - H 4 L' V 13- ll nfl s ,il 1 ' ,. - fb-1' 1. , I A -vw .5 Q, x :. ffl' Q 4' I sf 6

Page 86 text:

'cvvw-wmqmvzvz -is-ww-Juv-u. a. --. The remainder of The day was unevenTTul. The American warships and planes conTinued The bombardmenT of lwo Jima on February l8, l945, in preparaTion Tor Marines landing on The morrow. Again The TENNESSEE's main baTTery was broughT To bear on The norTheasTern slopes oT MT. Suribachi while The sec- ondary baTTery hammered away aT concreTe casemaTed arTillery posiTions on The high ground siTed To The righT flank and overlooking The landing beach and beach ap- proaches. lT was carried ouT aT ranges oT 2,200 To 6,000 yards, during which The ship's 40mm baTTery Tound TargeTs on cliTTs Tlanking The norTh end oT The beach and in hulls oT several Jap ships imbedded in sand near The shore. Several large and small Tires were sTarTed ashore. There was a specTacular explosion when hiTs were regis- Tered on a large ammuniTion dump which wenT up wiTh a cascade oT sparks and burned radianTly wiTh inTermiTTenT explosions Tor several hours. The easTern side oT The air- Tield was liTTered wiTh wrecked Jap planes and looked like a junk yard. Area Trom The waTer's edge To The airTield was pockmarked by vasT craTers caused by American shells and bombs. AnTi-aircraTT and shore baTTery Tire Trom The island was sfill encounTered when The TENNESSEE reTired Tor The nighf. ln The pre-dawn darkness oT D-Day or Monday, Febru- ary I9, I945, The TransporTs, Tank landing ships, landing craTT and vessels oT The EiTTh Amphibious Force arrived oTT The easT coasT oT lwo. AT daybreak The TransporTs halfed abouT eighT miles oTTshore and puT Their l-liggins boaTs in The waTer. Then The Troops were senT over The side inTo The boaTs and The landing boaTs circled again and again near The TransporTs, waiTing Tor The signal To make The run Tor The line oT deparTure. The Tank landing ships deTached Themselves Trom The TransporTs and moved abouT Three miles Trom The shore where They opened Their wide bows and disgorged a hosT oT amphibious landing vehicles carrying The assaulT Troops. Meanwhile, along wiTh oTher baTTleships, cruisers and desTroyers, The TENNESSEE had Taken up her posiTion several Thousand yards oTTshore To deliver The preparaTory bombardmenT Tor The landing. The bombardmenT com- menced aT abouT 0645, and Tollowed a Tamiliar paTTern. STarTing along The beaches The big guns ranged Tar and wide pouring shells inTo The slopes and heighTs which presumably concealed emplacemenTs. For more Than hours The landing area Took an awTul going over. FighTer planes and bombers ioined in The aTTack. While The bombardmenT was aT iTs peak, The leading wave oT amphibious vehicles had Taken sTaTion abouT 200 yards To The seaward oT The warships. Behind Them The resT oT The amphibious vehicles Tollowed by The l-liggins boaTs proceeded To Torm in parallel lines. ln The van was an escorT vessel which direcTed The movemenT by means oT a loud-speaker. The speaker blared, ATTenTion, TEN- NESSEE. You are on The line OT deparTure. The ship aT This Time was lying broadside To The island, her sTarboard side engaged. An unoTTicial voice TloaTed across Trom our quarTer-deck, WhaT do you expecT us To do, push This big Tub sideways? AbouT 0835 The TirsT wave oT amphibious vehicles shoved oTT on Their long Trip To The beach. The resT oT The assaulT waves Tollowed in lines, Timed down To The second. Every warship on The bombardmenT line increased The Tempo oT Their shelling and bombers dropped load aTTer load oT high explosives on enemy prepared posiTions Tac- ing The beach. The noise was incredible. AT The same Time a dozen gunboaTs moved in To Tire numerous salvos oT rockeTs inTo sTrong-poinTs aT very close range. Then TasT planes laid a smokescreen behind The beach To block oTT The Japs' view. Very soon The shore line and whole side oT MT. Suribachi were compleTely obscured by Tlames and smoke. The TENNESSEE was sTaTioned on The leTT Tlank oT The bombardmenT line, direcTly opposiTe MT. Suribachi. and under 3,000 yards Trom The shore line in which posi- Tion iT was our special duTy To mainTain neuTralizaTion oT Suribachi. The hundreds oT landing craTT came up on our porT side in a score oT boaT waves, each some eighTy boaTs 25 yards inTerval aparT, disposed aT disTance oT abouT 300 yards beTween waves. Then, They shaped a course which passed The TENNESSEE's sTern or bow-some pass- ing The bow and some The sTern. They came iniso close aboard we TelT as Though we could reach ouT on eiTher side oT The ship and Touch Them. . Soon The expanse oT waTer beTween The warships and The island was Tilled wiTh a procession oT landing craTT churning shoreward. When The leading wave was abouT,