Topeka (CL 67) - Naval Cruise Book

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It took the entire day to negotiate the Canal, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. and not the least amazing as- pect of the trip was that the ship traveled southeasterly, instead of westerly direction, due to the fact that the isthmus of Panama nearly doubles back on itself in connecting the North and South American continents. The Panama Canal is truly one of the great wonders of the modern world. The isthmus is formed by a range of rugged mountains which are the southern extremity of the American Rockies. It is necessary, by a system of giant locks, figuratively to lift the great ships over the mountains and deposit them on the other side. The lock system is relatively simple in theory, but it becomes grandiose when it is conceived and engineered on the tremendous scale of the Panama Canal. The ship steams into the first lock and the gates are secured astern. Water is pumped into the en- closed area, raising the ship to the height of the water beyond the gates forward. Then the gates forward of the ship are opened and the ship steams into these waters. There are three series of locks raising the ship to the level of Lake Gatun in the middle of the isthmus, and three more which lower it to the level of the ocean on the other side. Along all lock chambers powerful cable cars, called elec- tric mules, on either side of the canal pull the ship into position within the locks. The gates separating the locks are also used as pedestrian bridges. Shut in from the cooling breezes of the sea by the high hills on both sides, it was intensely hot during the transit of the Canal, and the leisurely manner in which the canal' workers maneuvered the ship.-plus an occasional bright- frocked native girl-kept nearly everyone topside for the entire trip. Late in the afternoon, just before mooring, sight of the heavy carrier Franklin en route home with her decks twisted and charred, cast a momentary measure of forboding over the ship. The Topeka moored that night alongside a dock in Balboa, Canal Zone, and the first real liberty in a foreign port be- gan shortly thereafter. Everyone on the ship went ashore either that night or the next, and these were perhaps the most memorable libertiesjin the Topekais career. Balboa, in the Canal Zone. is a quiet, sober, Army and Navy controlled community. But the city of Panama, in the Republic of Panama, is a sensational, wide-open, dirty, native-controlled Rabelaisian city. A single avenue separ- ates the two geographically, but from a sanitary, cultural, moral or spiritual standpoint, they are worlds apart. Sailors linger in Balboa only long enough to cadge a ride to Pana- ma. Even Chaplain Albrecht was seen in Panama, giving the main drag the jaundiced eye and the curled lips. Sou- venirs were available at highly infiated prices, and many Hwlelcome to Panama pillow covers will bring Topekamen daydreams and nightmares as they settle down on the family sofa in years to come. On the morning of 2I April the Topeka, still in company with the Oklahoma City shoved off from Balboa en route to Pearl Harbor. Speculation on the possibility of making a west coast port was soon dispelled-the ship was taking the direct route to Pearl. Again the tedious but necessary round of drills, exercises, and classes began, interrupted only by Captain's inspection. In addition, large numbers of men were studying for ad- vancement in rate. It was an ll.-day trip to Pearl Harbor, but there was little time for idleness--the Navy was cling- ing tenaciously to its timeless policy that a busy man is a happy man. On the afternoon of 2 May the Topeka stood into historic Pearl Harbor, backdrop for the uday that will live in infamyfl The ship remained in the Hawaiian area for I9 days, but her crew had little time to spare. Since this was the last major Navy base the Topeka would enter for some time, it was necessary to make all required repairs here, and to load up to the hilt with stores and ammunition. On three dif- ferent occasions, the ship steamed out to sea for three and four day periods of gunnery exercises--certain requirements of the Pacific Fleet had to be satisfied, and again the Topeka came through with one of the 'highest gunnery scores ever earned by a light cruiser. Exercises included the customary drone, sleeve and sled firing, plus shore bom- bardment of Kahoolawe Island. On the days the ship was in port, all-day liberty was granted by sections. Honolulu, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Waikiki Beach were the principal points of interest. Buses were chartered for day-long excursions around the island of Oahu, including a stop at one of the pineapple processing plants. One evening a troupe of Hawaiian en- tertainers were brought aboard to present what was billed as a typical Hawaiian show. And of course, the souvenir hunters found Hawaii ready and waiting for them. On 22 May the Topeka steamed out of Pearl Harbor. en route to Ulithi Atoll in the Western Caroline Islands. The ship and its crew were now presumed to be ready for com- bat. Aboard her was Commander Cruiser Division 18, Rear Admiral Carl F. Holden, USN, and his staff, and accom- panying her was her old friend, the Oklahoma City. Three days after leaving Pearl, the ship crossed the 180th meridian --the International Date Line-and the date jumped over- night from 25 May to 27 May, leaving out 26 May entirely. For the benefit of those men who lost a birthday in the shuffle, every man whose birthday was 26 May was given a special birthday cake on 27 May. There still remains some confusion in their minds, however, about how old they are now. Crossing the International Date Line also made every- one aboard eligible for membership in the uSacred Order of the Golden Dragon, and membership cards were issued to all hands later. Amidst the regular round of exercises and drills the ship continued westward, and on I June steamed into Ulithi to anchor near an island which bore the fascinating name of lVIog Mog. Ulithi is a typical Pacific coral atoll, consisting of a string of small coral islands which form a sort of circle, the center of which becomes a reasonably sheltered harbor. Because it was only 60 miles from the Jap-held island of Yap, the ship maintained gun watches throughout the short stay there. Liberty was granted morning and afternoon to play ball, swim and drink beer and coke.

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Jil ,.., 4' 0 I: M if ' ' -fgf f,4 A' 3-'1 M ' X u ' Mog Mog Island, where the liberty parties went ashore, still had a number of native thatched huts, but most of the natives had been carried away by the Japanese or removed to other islands of the atoll. Native cemeteries were every- where on the island, and despite the presence of the newly constructed Navy buildings, there was a timeless air of placid permanence to the place. On 4 June the Topeka steamed out of Ulithi in company with the carrier Bon Homme Richard, the Oklahoma City and two destroyers to join with the fueling group then on its way to rendezvous with Task Force 38. The ship was at last about to move into the front line. The rendezvous with Task Force 38 was effected on 6 June, and the Topeka was ordered into Task Force 38.1, one of the groups comprising Task Force 38. The ship was now fulfilling the role for which she was designed-she was a part of the Fast Carrier Task Force whose mission was to destroy Japanese shipping, aircraft and shore in- stallations and whose lightning raids up and down the tenuously stretched Japanese Empire were fast annihilating the Japanese Fleet and demoralizing the Japanese govern- ment. These Task Groups were ordinarily composed of a half-dozen carriers, three or four battleships, seven or eight cruisers and a score or more destroyers. With their speed and fighting power, plus their ability to stay at sea for in- definite periods, they were the 'most devasting and most feared forces in the history of naval warfare. The group which the Topeka joined consisted of the carriers Hornet, Bennington, and Bon Homme Richard, the Battleships Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama, the light carriers San Jacinto and Belleau Wood, the heavy cruisers Baltimore and Quincy, the light cruisers San Juan, Okla- homa City, Atlanta and Topeka, and 15 destroyers. The group was operating about 300 miles east of Okinawa. On June 8 the carriers of the group launched an aircraft strike in support of the Okinawa campaign against enemy aircraft and installations on southern Kyushu, one of the three principal islands of the Japanese homeland. This was the Topeka's first taste of offensive action against the enemy. The ship went to General Quarters for the launching of the strike and for the recovery of the planes when they returned from the strike. This procedure was to become routine in the days to come, but on this day it was new and highly exciting. The crew had been warned that the greatest danger lay in the recovery of the planes by the carriers, for the Japanese aircraft frequently followed the planes back to the Task Group to attack at the time of recovery, when the carriers were most vulnerable. A few minutes after noon that day, the shrill call of air defense sounded over the ships Hsquawk-boxesf' Thirteen hundred men raced to their battle stations, believing that this, finally, was it. As it turned out, a bogey-unidentified aircraft-had been detected closing on the group, but it was identified as friendly just after the men reached their battle stations. This, too, was to become a familiar proce- dure, for it was not always possible to identify planes as friendly until they were close to the group. On 9 June the group fueled at sea in the morning and launched another air strike in the afternoon, and the fol- lowing day another strike was launched against Okino Daito Shima. For this strike, the Topeka lanuched one of its seaplanes for the air-sea rescue, but its services were not required. Late that day the entire group was underway for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, Philippine Islands. The Topeka had had herfirst opportunity-however short and indecisive it may have been-of playing on the first team. From now until the war ended, she would be a regular member of the first team. Three days later, with the decks hot enough to fry an egg from the merciless beating of the sun, the ship anchored in San Pedro Bay for minor repairs, painting and a general cleaning up. The 18-day stay at Leyte would have been more welcome had it not been for the weather. The sun bore down relent- lessly, and it was virtually impossible to sleep below-decks at night. From 1900 on, the topside decks were jam-packed with sleeping men. Those who cultivated the sun emerged with magnificently tanned skins. Because of the threat of enemy air action, gun watches were maintained just as they had been at sea. One night all the ships in the harbor were alerted by the shore radar station, but again the bogey turned out to be friendly. ' Liberty facilities at Leyte were limited, to put it mildly. The crew went ashore in groups of 200 or more to drink beef, SWIIH and play ball, but the oppressive heat confined 22