Author: steve

Here’s a Really Big   Overview of the situation in the Pacific in mid October, 1944.   By the 10^th or so, Japan began to scramble her defenses in anticipation of an American invasion –   by their reckoning, Formosa or the Philippines were the most likely targets.   In fact, the Americans had put into play (months earlier) the next invasion site –   The Gulf of Leyte in the Philippines, and had established Oct. 20 as Invasion Day.   By the time Task Force 38 had finished attacking Okinawa and Formosa by October 13, Japan had suffered crushing losses of fighter planes (more than 500 shot down).   Meanwhile, the American Invasion Armada of more than 450 ships carrying troops, supplies and equipment steamed steadily westward and northward toward Leyte.

The four task groups of TF38 ranged north and east of Luzon during those days, hammering away at targets up and down Japanese territories to soften their ability to break up the invasion at Leyte.   As we have already seen, Task Group 38.1 kicked up swarms of attackers off Formosa on the 12^th and 13^th, and the cruiser Canberra was torpedoed and rendered inoperable (requiring a tow). Twenty four hours later, Canberra’s replacement, the light cruiser Houston, was also hit and needed a tow.

The Boston took her in tow and Task Unit 30.3, called CripDiv1 (Cripple Division) began the arduous 1200 mile journey through enemy waters at the whopping top speeds of 4 to 5 knots per hour.   Over the next several days, CripDiv1 came under blistering attacks by enemy planes.   Part of the Japanese Fleet was dispatched to sink the cripples (what they erroneously believed to be the last remnants of the American fleet.

The Boston was relieved of tow-duty on the 16^th when fleet tugboats arrived. At 10 am, Boston, finally freed from the tow,  took up position to screen the cripples.   Four hours later, a swarm of 70 planes attacked.   Two small carriers were less than 20 miles away, and their fighter planes knocked down most of the enemy planes, but five dive-bombers got through.   While the Boston and the destroyers fought them off, the Houston was torpedoed AGAIN.   The destroyers, who were still transferring the survivors from the first torpedoing of the Houston, now had to rescue the rest of the crew that once again had to abandon ship.

This rag-tag collection of vessels now earned the name BaitDiv1 (the Streamlined Bait) by Admiral Halsey, as he hoped the Japanese Fleet would come after the cripples, allowing him the opportunity to have a once-and-for-all kick-ass naval battle   –   mano a mano  – with the Imperial Japanese Navy.   (Before they reached the cripples, the Japanese figured out that Task Force 38 was still intact, and they retreated.)

Up next:   The Battle for Leyte Gulf, also known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea.

By dusk (October 13), the ships came under attack again, and a well-executed attack by enemy torpedo bombers resulted in Boston’s sister cruiser, the Canberra being slammed by a torpedo that instantly killed dozens of men below decks.

The events that followed over the next week or so are too complex for me to give a detailed account in this blog.   I will try to “paint a broad brush stroke picture.”

The Boston and her task group is less than 80 miles off Formosa — a half hour plane ride for enemy pilots.   In the inner circle of the formation lies a heavy cruiser that is on fire and has lost all power.   The admiral aboard the Boston orders another cruiser, the Wichita, to take the Canberra in tow.   The goal: tow the cruiser to the anchorage at Ulithi, some 1200 miles away.

The next day, the light cruiser Houston, that had taken the Canberra’s place in the formation was also slammed by a torpedo dropped in another attack on the ships. A massive explosion caused the captain to give the abandon ship order.   By the time half the men (more than 800) had jumped overboard, the captain requested a tow.   The Boston, in pitch darkness, hooked up the cripple and took her in tow.

This is not, by any means, the end of the Cripple Division (also called “Streamlined Bait” by Admiral Halsey — because he purposely dangled the wounded ships as bait to lure the Japanese Fleet into a massive sea battle) saga.

I’ll post more on this (Houston was torpedoed AGAIN while under tow     . . . . .   ).

The four task groups of Task Force 38, having closed to within 100 or so miles of the coast of Formosa on Oct 12, 1944, began launching a series of airstrikes at dawn.   Through the day, naval forces inflicted heavy damage on enemy planes (in the air and on the ground) and ships.   The Boston, a unit of Task Group 38.1, saw plenty of action.   Following below is some excerpts I have pulled from the Captain’s Report for the Battle of Formosa. (Note: Navy time is based on a 24 hour clock, so 1848 is 6:48 pm (already almost dark out), 2215 is quarter past 10, and 0243 is quarter of three the next morning)

12 OCTOBER, 1944

. . .   a dawn attack on the task force had been expected, but it did not materialize. All was quiet around the formation until dusk. A few unidentified planes were contacted during the day, and the CAP (Combat Air Patrol) of TG38.1 shot down at least two enemy planes near the task group, but the organized attack did not appear until just before sunset.

At 1848, after all carrier planes except night fighters had been recovered, the first of many bogies was contacted 20 miles to the southeast.   Eight minutes later gunfire was observed in the direction of TG38.4.   Just after 1900 two raids were picked up simultaneously at 35 mile range, one bearing 050T estimated as 8 planes, the other at 130T estimated as 3 to 5 planes.   Both of these closed directly on TG38.1, coming in from two sides in a well planned attack.   One group struck the formation from the east. BOSTON opened fire at 1929 at 3000 yard range on a plane flying about 200 feet off the water.   The plane turned away without being hit.   At 1940 BOSTON fired again at 12000 yards, and later it was seen to crash in flames 15000 — 18000 yards away.

From this time on until 0400 next morning there were enemy planes on the radar screen almost constantly . . .       Raids continued to come in at irregular intervals.   The task group commander used evasive maneuvers and smoke as defnsive measures. At 2054 a night fighter from the Wasp shot down an enemy planes 20 miles from the formation.

. . . Four or five more attacks were made on TG38.1 before midnight, but BOSTON was able to fire on one only.   It approached from the northeast at 2215, flying low.   Again it was turned away but not hit. WASP recovered night fighters at 2314, with enemy planes within 15 miles. The enemy began using flares about 2330, and the task group commander countered with smoke.   Between 2215 and 0200 next morning there was a lull, but the task force was under periodic surveillance by enemy planes which hovered nearby.

13 OCTOBER, 1944

Shortly after midnight flares were observed to the northeast and to the west. The next raid came in just before 0200.   It was picked up some 60 miles to the northeast at 0130 closing directly on formation and appeared to be 3 or 4 planes. At 0154 BOSTON commenced firing 5” battery to starboard at plane coming in from 000T. Flames observed a few minutes later believed to be same plane shot down by this ship.   During this attack the task group was maneuvering on evasive courses and was ordered to make smoke.   During about the next hour, enemy aircraft orbited in the general vicinity at distances between 30 and 60 miles.

At 0243 a raid was contacted at 62 miles heading for the formation from the northeast, estimated 3 to 5 planes. This group closed directly coming in to about 5-mile range, then veered off to the southeast, circled around formation clockwise at about 8 miles range, and turned to attack from the west. BOSTON opened fire on this group at 0334 at 6000 yards on bearing 200T.   No plane on this group observed shot down.   Evasive maneuvers and smoke were employed during this attack also. Planes retired to the southeast, and this proved to have been the last attack for the night.   HORNET launched two night fighters at 0346.

More to come . . . .

October 1944 began with the men aboard the Boston steaming north and west after a few days of rest and resupply in the lagoon anchorage of Eniwetok (Marshall Islands).   Operation King was in full swing, and Task Force 38’s job was to support the various amphibious attacks on enemy strongholds in the   Philippine archipelago.   They were headed for the heavily-fortified Ryukyu Islands, where the airfields on the Okinawa and Amami Guntos were launching endless attacks against American forces in the Philippines.

On October 3 they hit the edge of a typhoon, and by Oct 5 they were in heavy seas   –   on Oct 7 the ship recorded a 32 degree roll in the height of the storm.   On Oct10, the Task Group launched airstrikes against Okinawa.   The next target (October 11) was the airfields at Luzon (near Manila), followed by the very heavily fortified occupied island of Formosa (Taiwan) on the next day.

from Pat Fedele’s Diary, compliments of Pat

And from the journal kept by Augustus Harris, S1C, compliments of his family:

(Note line 1, where seaman Harris identifies Oct 4 as “1 year from home.”   Also, he adds the marginal note for Oct 12 that the Boston shot down 3 planes during the Battle of Formosa.   The Captains’ logs for October 1944, (copied by Bill during his trip to NARA), confirm the B shot down three planes during this fierce two day battle.   The action off Formosa resulted in the three separate torpedo strikes against cruisers in the Boston’s task group – one on the Canberra and two on the Houston).   I want to express my profound gratitude to the men who contributed these incredible first-hand accounts (including Frank Studenski   –   whose war diary was the basis of my book “A Bird’s Eye View”).

More to come . . . . . . .

The time the Boston spent participating in the epic struggle in the Pacific in the early 1940’s was not-so-long   –   a year and nine months from their Pearl Harbor departure as a unit of Task Force 58 until the signing of The Surrender in Tokyo Harbor.   By today’s standards, a year and a half blows by in the blink of an eye.   Nothing could be further from the truth for the guys aboard the heavy cruiser USS Boston . . . especially the long hours that ticked away during the month of October.

Sure, October 1943 was easy enough.   The ship was in final preparation for departure to the Pacific.   There were drills and more drills, classes and more classes, trial runs and more trial runs, and more new guys coming on board.

And, October 1945 was easy enough too.   The Boston was a command ship of an Occupation Fleet that went up and down the western coast of Honshu, visiting towns, villages and cities, removing weapons from civilians, destroying suicide boats and submarines and their facilities.

But October 1944   –  well now, that was a different story all together.   The ships were engaged in a long and complicated plan to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese.   I consider the last half of 1944 to be the toughest six months of the War for the men aboard the Mighty B.   It didn’t get any tougher than October of 1944.

I will post again soon and we’ll take a look at the Battle of Formosa.