8-12-12
On August 9, 1945, the Boston broke away from the Task Force and formed up with other cruisers, battleships and destroyers into a bombardment group. The ships lined up outside the northern Honshu industrial city of Kamaishi (area of the recent tsunami) and pounded it with volleys of 8″ and 14″ shells. (The Boston fired 411 8″rounds.) During that attack, Nagasaki was leveled by another atomic bomb.
On the 10th, the Task Force carriers launched deckload after deckload of fighters and bombers hitting strategic targets in and around Tokyo. No industrial city on eastern Honshu was spared. The weather turned “typhoon-ish” – no planes could be launched until the 12th. On the 13th, the planes took off for Tokyo again. Rumors of “peace” began to swirl around the ships. On the 14th, the ships retired from the area, but on the morning of the 15th, they returned within striking distance of Tokyo and deckloads of bombers took off in the direction of the seat of the Empire. The planes struck airfields around the city. The second round of bombers, on their way to Tokyo, were ordered to ditch their bombs at 1147 hours. President Truman announced the unconditional Surrender of Japan. The War was over.
steve