by Willie
The extraordinary story of the USS Yorktown and her part in American history and of one sailor who saw it all from a gun mount on the Yorktown's island structure
What a Pilot
Some men didn’t realize at the time how fortunate they were to be assigned to Mt.5 quad 40mm. It was the highest gun mount aft of the stack on the island structure and from this vantage point they had the privilege of witnessing a portion of WW2 naval history in the making. Trading the risk of topside exposure for that of being trapped below decks seemed like a good bet. While most of this history is well documented and has been written, usually with reasonable accuracy, many events are not in history books and now only linger in the memories of those few who were there and are still alive. Many who read about this one may find it of little importance and forgettable. Not so to those who were there. |
Some of our planes would return from strikes with varying degrees of damage and a decision had to be made whether to take them aboard or have them ditch in the ocean.
When the pilot of a returning TBM reported he couldn’t get his hook down he was instructed to stay aloft until all the other planes were in and the flight deck crews then prepared for a barrier crash.
The pilot was able to touch down at almost the very end of the deck.
His tires started smoking immediately while he stood on the brakes and slid up the deck. As he neared the first barrier a crewman thinking he had a chance to stop lowered it. Others were also lowered until just inches away from the last barrier the plane tilted up with the prop almost hitting the deck, and stopped.
Everyone on the deck and island structure began cheering and applauding. This outstanding feat brought tears to the eyes of some of the witnesses. To the best of anyone’s recollections, recorded or otherwise, this is the only time a plane was able to successfully land on an Essex class carrier without a tailhook and stop before hitting the barrier. And so it happened on the flight deck of Yorktown many years ago. ........I could visualize the pre-dawn launches when we had a full deck load of planes and the roar of eighty or more engines with their blue flame exhausts. The F6F Hellcats in the first rows with those murderous 14' propellers and the chock pullers who were scooting on their rumps defying death doing their thing. Then the flight deck bo'suns with their hand lights, red in the palm and green on the back, calling planes out of the rows one by one in quick orderly fashion and directing them to the launching spot. No matter how the raid on this day or any day played out, these men were in charge now and until all the planes were airborne and on their way it was their show.............
|
|
The USS Yorktown at War
"West...SouthWest sometimes,
Maybe NorthWest at times,
BUT ALWAYS WEST..."
Starting with Marcus Island in August 1943, whenever Yorktown left her anchorage the general heading was west. Southwest sometimes and maybe northwest at times, but always west.
As we drove the Japs from their island bases we moved ours, from Pearl Harbor to the Marshals, then to the Carolinas and then to the Philippines where the final thrust turned north.
We never knew what the latest target was when we weighed anchor but one thing was sure, ultimately it would be the Japanese home islands.
Picture Caption: USS Yorktown May 1943. Just aft of the ship's island. Mt. 5 quad 40 MM in the foreground. It was my battle and watch station when I was in 3rd Div and where I observed several of the events described in my “stories”. The photo was taken before the ship arrived in the war zones because we were not allowed to wear white hats and were given blue “buckeye” dye to color them blue. The Mark 51 director for the gun is right above it and the man with the binoculars is probably a fire controlman who adjusts the sights. Aft and below our gun was mt. 7 and below that mts. 5 and 7 twin 5" gun houses.After my transfer to 2nd Div I was assigned briefly to mt 7 5" before winding up on mt. 8 5". Nobody on the ship had a better view of the flight deck than we did on mt 5. We saw many crashes and mishaps of all kinds including the return of our planes in the dark after the 1st battle of the Philippine sea. It was while up there we came to realize no one lived more dangerously on our ship than the boys pulling chocks from the planes when we had a full deck load with spinning propellers ready for launch. Turn up your speakers to hear what a quad 40mm gun sounds like!
As we slowly made our way past the tankers, ammunition and cargo ships at anchor, we only knew we were going on a raid. That’s what we came for and that’s what the millions of Americans on the home front and in the defense plants expected us to do.
There was always speculation on what our target would be, the strength of Jap defenses and what we could expect in retaliation. For this reason when the force was shaping up we were anxious to see who would be with us.
A carrier task force was divided into two to four groups only rarely coming within sight of each other. Each group was formed around at least one large carrier and usually another or a smaller CVL. It was spread out over three to five miles.
Knowing we would be the target of choice for any enemy counterattack we always liked to see another large carrier with whom to share the honor. There were only ten battleships fast enough to operate with us and because of their firepower we hoped for at least one. The AA cruisers were also reassuring. Some of them could fire fourteen five inch guns at an incoming attack. That’s compared to ten for the battleships, eight to starboard and twelve to port for us, eight for the light and heavy cruisers and five for most of the destroyers. The sight of those AA cruisers opening up on a target was awesome. They could put out over 200 five inch rounds a minute and would almost disappear in the gun flash. Two of these ships were sunk early in the war with a loss of 846 men
We felt fairly secure with two battleships in our group as we headed out for another raid. Rumor had come down it was going to be a “big one.” After we were out a few days the captain told us we going to Truk. We were very apprehensive about this raid because of all we had heard about Truk. At the time it was known as the Japanese Pearl Harbor and had never been attacked before. When our captain spoke to us over the PA system describing Truk and what we expected to find there he closed with, “We are going to give those little yellow bastards their own Pearl Harbor to remember”.
I often think, in this day and time that statement would probably have cost Capt. Ralph Jennings his command if not his career. But this was in the days before our country became a victim of PC insanity and there were no overly sensitive ears on our ships therefore no complaints of harassment or discrimination. The Japs prided themselves on never surrendering and fighting to the death so as one of our admirals put it, we’re here “to kill Japs.”
click here for video; Truk Bombing |
click here for video; Truk traps |
Sometime in the Truk raid time frame, while standing gun watch on the blackest night I have ever experienced I heard a crashing roar somewhere off the port quarter. Other gun mounts were calling in saying they heard it and were wondering what could it be.
We found out at daybreak, Washington and Indiana were no longer with us. They collided in that black night and the fast carrier task forces were down to eight battleships for the next few months.
Memories
You’re bringing back memories Will. What I remember about the Truk raid was our concern we had been spotted the day before we struck. We had hoped to surprise the Japs and didn’t know if their patrol plane got off a message before he was shot down.
Another thing that sticks in my memory is our run in the night before when the force was steaming at thirty knots to close the distance. No matter where you were on the ship you could sense the speed because you felt the vibration and everything loose was rattling.
Hard to believe that was sixty years ago Willie. We were just boys growing up fast. From school books and pinball machines to a warship overnight it seemed. (continued on next page, scroll below)
When the 1997 Yorktown reunion was held in San Diego some of us attendees visited the famous Zoo in Balboa Park. I was anxious to go there mostly to see what had changed in the park since I was last there over fifty four years before when part of it was the Naval Receiving Barracks for FFT’s in and out of the area. I was being transferred from Ream Field near Imperial Beach CA to NAS Ford Island and eventually to Yorktown. All of the buildings there had been constructed for the 1935 Worlds Fair. I never had any contact with the CO but at least a couple of the officers there were typical AO's*. Permanently stateside, probably unfit for anything else, the only way they could justify their existence in the armed forces was to inspect for the pettiest infraction of Naval uniform and personal appearance regulations. Almost all of the men here were passing through, to and from stations all over the US and ships at sea. They hadn't been subjected to such BS since boot camp. These officers had been known to confiscate tailor made uniforms and actually slit regulation uniforms that had been modified in any way. Anyone whose hair was longer than what they deemed "regulation" had his ID card taken away and given a "blue chit". You were then instructed to show the chit to a station barber whereupon he cut the hair boot camp style and apparently took great pleasure doing it. After showing your haircut to the AO your ID card was returned with a lecture and warning that any future violation of hair regulation would result in a stretch at Mare Island Naval Penitentiary. Coming from a auxiliary NAS practically on the Mexican border and with very little regulation I had let my hair grow too long. On my first liberty from BP one of the AO's was on the gate and pounced on me like he was scoring a major hit on the enemy. I was forced to surrender my ID card and handed a blue chit. Earlier in San Diego I had acquired a fake ID card showing my age as 21 to be admitted in the local bars and clubs. Actually only my name and birthdate were changed along with another thumb print. How I got this card is another story for another time. I wondered why Californians were so concerned about that, back home I had been admitted and served alcohol (if I wanted it) since I was fifteen. What a silly bunch of crap I thought. As much as I hated losing my hair I had no choice but to comply. I would have had no problem having it cut regulation but not boot camp style. I went in the barber shop and sat in one of the chairs to wait my turn with the blue chit in my hand. One of the barbers told me, "if you’re in here for a blue chit hair cut you don’t sit and wait, you stand." This from a barber; I couldn’t believe it. I replied with some choice "profanity" only heard on the docks and streets of my hometown then walked out as he shook his scissors at me and said, "you’re in real trouble now mac." I thought he was probably right when I turned and said, "f… you." I stayed out of sight the rest of the day and planned to go over the fence after dark to let a local civilian barber give me a regulation (but not boot) haircut. Throughout the rest of the day I heard a PA announcement calling for someone to report to the station commanders office. I recognized the name as the one on my fake ID card. I carried both cards and had handed the fake over by mistake. Turned out it was a fortunate mistake I went over the fence and got the haircut and then made the most of the evening. Approaching the gate on return I saw the AO on the gate inspecting a jumper and getting ready to cut it up. Besides the possibility he may recognize me my jumper had been cut and altered since I left the NTS. He didn't get around to that the first time he saw me and I couldn't afford to let him cut up my jumper. I was forced to go in like I came out, over the fence. I was around Balboa Park for a few more days but heard I would soon be leaving so I never risked going through the gate again. They never stopped calling for Edwin G. B…….., and probably every SP in southern California was looking for him by the time I left the states. To this day, almost sixty three years later, he may be listed as a deserter. All they have is an old ID card with the picture of a sixteen year old boot formerly known as Willie and the thumb print of a once pretty night club photographer. * anal orifice |
There were seven men on a quad 40 MM gun carriage. Standing was the gun captain (usually between the two pairs of barrels) and the four first loaders. Sitting were the pointer who controlled elevation and the trainer who controlled lateral movement.
The longest I remember going without shore leave and not seeing a female was nine months for me and eleven for the rest of the crew. A few of us snuck ashore on Leyte and saw but had no contact with any women. In my opinion, visits to the atoll islands for recreation didn't qualify as shore leave wasn't worth the effort. However, we knew the Navy was doing the best they could. There is no way to describe the experience of seeing a kamikaze coming in but there is another experience almost as bad. It was extracting a powder case after a misfire on a 5 inch gun. Knowing the case had been hit with the electric charge and mechanical firing pin and believing it could explode at any second, I can relate in a small way to the UXB squads who dealt with with unexploded bombs in Europe.
As you may know, USS Indianapolis carried the Hiroshima a-bomb to Tinian and was on her way to the Philippines when she was torpedoed and sunk by a Jap sub. Of her almost 1200 crew 900 survived the sinking but four days later only 316 were alive when found and rescued. |