2-3-16
The Boston dropped anchor in the giant lagoon anchorage at Ulithi (Caroline Islands, south and west of Guam) on January 25. The men rested and the ship was reprovisioned and rearmed over the next several days. The Task Force changed again from TF 38 to T 58, with Admiral Halsey (aboard his flagship, the battleship New Jersey) relinquishing control for the next 6 months
(from Frank Studenski’s Diary:) February 10, 1945: This morning we weighed anchor and by early afternoon formed our task group. We are Task Group 58.2, which includes carriers Lexington and Hancock, CVL [light carrier] San Jacinto, BB’s [battleships] Wisconsin and Missouri, CA’s [heavy cruisers] Boston and San Francisco, and 19 destroyers.
For the next six days, the Task Force sailed northwesterly from Ulithi. Before reaching Iwo Jima, they would spend several days supporting the carriers as they launched wave after wave of bombers and fighter planes in attacks on plane manufacturing plants, airfields and ammo depots in the Tokyo area – hamstringing Japanese mainland air support as the U.S. landed invasion forces on Iwo Jima.
By the time the Boston joined into a bombardment group (Feb 21) to bombard Iwo Jima in support of the Marine invasion, it marked the third time she had visited the Bonin Islands in the previous year.
(from the Diary of George Pitts:) June 16-17-18 1944 Our planes hit Iwo Jima, ChiChi Jima and HaHa Jima for the last three days.
(Also:) July 4-44 We celebrated the 4th of July with a bang with the japs paying for all expenses. Three or four cruiser divisions including ComCruDiv 10 in the Boston left the task group to bombard Iwo Jima. We blew the hell out of them with our five inch. Took care of bombers and fighters. Our big eight inchers blew up shore installations. We came in close enough to see the planes on the island. One of the cruisers lost her observation plane due to a Zero.
steve