Search for Richard Bong's Plane-- Part 3

Richard Bong's Medal of Honor reads: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action in the Southwest Pacific area from October 10 to November 15, 1944.

"Though assigned to duty as gunnery instructor and neither required nor expected to perform combat duty, Major Bong voluntarily and at his own urgent request engaged in repeated combat missions, including unusually hazardous sorties over Balikpapan, Borneo, and the Leyte area of the Philippines.

"His aggressiveness and daring resulted in his shooting down enemy airplanes totaling eight during this period."

Bong also earned the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses and 15 Air Medals.

--GreGen

USS Maryland

From the February 19, 2024, National Interest.

The USS Maryland was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked and sustained damage, but not seriously.  It later played a significant role in the Pacific War.

The battleship featured eight 16-inch guns in four turrets and entered service in 1920.  As such, she was one of America's most modern battleships due to the Washington Naval Treaty's limitations on new battleships.

Post Pearl Harbor, the Maryland underwent a rapid refit to modernize for operations in the Pacific, including improved anti-aircraft capabilities and torpedo protection.

Throughout the war, she served primarily shore bombardment roles, terrifying defenders with her formidable firepower.  Despite taking a torpedo hit and suffering from kamikaze attacks, she continued to support U.S. advances, including the critical Battle of Leyte near the Philippines.

After the war, she was placed in reserve, and, despite her historical significance, efforts to preserve her as a museum ship were not pursued and she was scrapped.

--GreGen

Ise-Class Japanese Battleships: End of the War

While waiting for their air groups, the two sister ships were used to ferry troops and material to Japanese bases.  They participated in the  Battle off Cape  Engano in late 1944 where they decoyed the American fleet supporting the invasion of  Leyte away from the landing beaches.

Afterwards, both ships were transferred to Southeast Asia and in early 1945 participated in  Operation Kita, where they transported petrol and other  strategic materials to Japan.  They were then reduced to reserve until they were sunk during American airstrikes in July.

On 19 March, they were in Kure Navy Base and both were hit by bombs.  After that, they were turned into floating anti-aircraft batteries.  On 24 July, the Ise was struck by five bombs and began to sink  The Hyuga was hit by ten bombs and began foundering, both sustaining heavy casualties.

After the war, they were  scrapped in 1946-1947.

--GreGen

The Japanese Battleship Kongo-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

The Kongo was named for Mt. Kongo and built originally as a battle cruiser in England but was transformed into a battleship.

It was commissioned in 1913 and during World War I, patrolled off the coast of China during World War I.

It underwent two major reconstructions beginning in 1929 and was stationed off the Chinese coast again during the Second  Sino-Japanese War.

It fought in many engagements in World War II, covering the  Japanese amphibious landings  in British Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies in 1942 before engaging American forces at the Battle of Midway and during the Guadalcanal Campaign.

Throughout 1943 she primarily remained in the Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands, Kure Naval Base (near Hiroshima), Sasebo Naval Base (near Nagasaki) and Lingga Roads.  She deployed several times in response to American aircraft carrier raids at island bases across the Pacific

The Kongo also participated in the  Battle of the Philippine Sea and  the Battle of Leyte Gulf  in 1944, engaging and sinking American ships in the latter.  It was torpedoes and sunk by the American submarine USS Sealion while in the Formosa Strait on November  21, 1944, becoming the only Japanese battleship sunk by a submarine during the war.

--GreGen

Kongo-Class Japanese Battleships-- Part 2

The Kongo-class battleships of the Japanese Navy were among the most active capital ships during the war.  The Hiei and the Kirishima acted as escorts during the attack on Pearl Harbor while the Kongo and Haruna supported the invasion of Singapore.  

All four participated in the  battles of Midway and Guadalcanal.  The Hiei and the Kirishima were both lost at the Naval battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.  The Haruna and Kongo both shelled  the American Henderson Field airbase on Guadalcanal.

The two remaining Kongo-class battleships spent most of 1943 moving between Japanese naval bases before participating  in the major naval campaigns of 1944.  They both engaged American naval forces during the Battle of Leyte Gulf  in late October 1944.

The Kongo was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sealion in November 1944, while the Haruna was sunk at her moorings by an air attack on  Kure Naval Base in late July 1945, but later raised and scrapped.

These were the Japanese ships cartoons used to show with their huge foremast areas.  Well, after looking at pictures of the rest of the ten Japanese battleships I'd have to say all had those huge foremast areas.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 5: Action Off the Philippines and Iwo Jima

The McCall spent most of November 1944 off Leyte supporting  land operations there.  She sortied  27 December to Lingayen Gulf to support the Luzon invasion.  In mid-January 1945 she was attached to  TG 78.12 for transport convoy escort duty and on the 28th for fire support duties.

From February to March the McCall was off Iwo Jima screening transports and providing shore bombardment, harassing and illumination fire services.

On 27 March, she departed for Pearl Harbor and then to the west coast  to San Diego, arriving  22 April.  Within a week she got underway for a scheduled overhaul in New York where her yardwork was completed by  4 August and was undergoing exercises at Casco Bay when Japan surrendered.

Two months later, she entered Norfolk Navy Yard where she was decommissioned. 30 November 1945 and struck from the Navy Register 28 January 1947 and sold for scrapping in 1948.

The McCall was quite the busy ship during World War Ii and received nine Battle Stars.

--GreGen

USS McCall (DD-400)-- Part 4: Rescue of George R. Tweed and Further Operations

1944

In July 1944, the Gridley, along with sister shop the USS Gridley took up patrol off Guam.  On July 10, the McCall observed  signals from  the island and rescued George R. Tweed, who had been evading the Japanese on the island for two years.  In the meantime, he had acquired a wealth of information on the enemy forces on Guam.  Information that was put to good use.

During the next nine weeks, the McCall guarded the carriers as they attacked Iwo Jima and then supported offensive actions against  the Palaus, Yap and Ulithi.  By 10 October, she was off  Okinawa and also moving to and from  Formosa and Luzon.

On 23 October, the ship was supporting  forces in Leyte Gulf and on the 27th, engaged Japanese forces off Cape  Engano where the Japanese lost three more cruisers and  several destroyers.

--GreGen

USS Russell (DD-414)-- Part 5: Okinawa and End of the War

On 27 January 1945, the Russell sailed north again arriving off Nasugbu Bay in the Philippines and covered the minesweepers  as they cleared approach channels then fired on enemy positions.  Relieve4d late in the afternoon, she returned to Lingayen Gulf and then to Leyte, Bew Guinea and the Solomons.

On 15 February she was at Guadalcanal and rejoined the 5th Fleet for Operation Iceberg, the Okinawa Invasion.  On April 1 she arrived off the invasion beaches and commenced  screening until  May 28 when she got underway for the United States for a much-needed yard overhaul.

Still undergoing the overhaul in Seattle, Washington, when the war ended.  Then on November 15, the Russell was decommissioned and struck from the Navy List thirteen days later.  In September 1947, she was sold for scrap to the National Metal and Steel Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles.

**************************

During the war, the USS Russell received  16 Battle Stars, making her one of the most decorated U.S. ships of the war.

--GreGen

'Deepest Wreck Dive' Reaches U.S. Destroyer Off the Philippines-- Part 1: Destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557)

From the April 4, 2021, Japan Times.

A U.S. Navy destroyer sunk during World War II and lying 6,500 meters below the surface off the Philippines has been reached in what is considered to be the world's deepest  shipwreck dive.

An American submersible filmed, photographed and surveyed the wreckage of the USS Johnston off Samar Island during two eight-hour dives completed late last month.  This was a project by the Texas-based  undersea technology company Caladan Oceanic.

The 115-meter-long ship was sunk on October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf as U.S. forces fought to liberate he Philippines, then an American colony, from Japanese occupation.

It's location in the Philippine Sea was discovered in 2019 by another expedition but most of the wreck was beyond the depth its  remotely operated-operated vehicle could go.

--GreGen

Al Oesterle Remembers USS Princeton Sinking-- Part 2: One Powerful Explosion

The explosion from the Japanese dive bomber's bomb started a fire that spread quickly across the ship.  Oeseterle and the other crew members scrambled to fight the fires as other American ships came to assist.  The USS Birmingham (CL-62) a light cruiser, pulled alongside the stricken Princeton.

The Birmingham's crew used high pressure hoses to pour water on the burning ship, but the fire reached  stored munitions and a massive  explosion rocked the Princeton.

The explosion shot out a storm of fire and debris.  On the Princeton,  108 men were killed.  On the Birmingham, where many of the crew were on deck or superstructure fighting the fire and assisting in rescuing,  233 men were killed and  another 426 wounded (out of 1255 crew).

Oesterle, who was standing on the deck of the Princeton next to Captain John Hopkins at the time of the explosion, suffered light burns on his neck, but otherwise was not harmed.    Captain Hoskins lost the lower part of a leg.

--GreGen

101-Year-Old Navy Veteran Al Oesterle recalls the End of the USS Princeton (CVL-23)-- Part 1

From the November 10, 2020, Coloradoan "101-year-old Fort Collins veteran remembers escape from ill-fated World War II carrier" by Kevin Dugan.

This story originally appeared in my November 11 Running the Blockade blog in honor of Veterans Day.  There was so much about this event (which I had never heard of) that I figured to write the rest of the story here.

Al Oesterle left the U.S. Navy in 1965 after a long career in it.   And, he had a near run-in with death that his family didn't learn about until nearly 40 years after it happened.  It was at a reunion of the crew that had served on the USS Princeton (CVL-23), a light aircraft carrier that was lost during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.  His wife, Joan heard that her husband might have been the last man to leave the stricken carrier before it sank.

Mr. Oesterle grew up in Joliet, Illinois and joined the Navy in 1939 at age 20 and attended the University of Illinois Dental School.   He graduated in 1942 and was appointed to the U.S. Navy Dental Corps.  After further training, he was assigned to the USS Princeton in December 1943.

The Princeton was operating in the Pacific Theater.

On October 24, 1944, east of  the Philippine island of Luzon, a lone Japanese dive bomber emerged from the clouds and dropped a bomb on the Princeton,  penetrating the flight deck and exploding  in the hangar bay, where aircraft were being armed and fueled.

--GreGen

Happy 76th Birthday Battleship USS Wisconsin

From the April 16, 2020, We Are the Mighty Blog "World War II battleship celebrates 76th birthday" by Jessica Manfre.

Congress authorized her construction in 1939 and work started on her in 1941 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.  The Wisconsin was launched on the second anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1943.  It was commissioned  April 16, 1944.  She fought in WW II in the Pacific, earning five Battle Stars with actions at Luzon, Formosa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan.

Decommissioned after the war, she was recommissioned for the Korean War and later, the Gulf War.  Finally, decommissioned for a third time, she sat in mothballs before becoming a permanent museum ship at Norfolk, Virginia, where she is today.

Happy Birthday Big Wis..  --GreGen

Naval Wreckage Found Off Philippines: Might Be the Wreck of the Destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557)

From the November 1, 2019, Archaeology publication.  U.S. Naval Institute News "World War II-Era wreckage  found in the Philippines."

Discovered over 20,000 feet deep in the Philippine Sea and may be all that is left of the destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557) which was sunk during the Battle of Samar on October 25, 1944.

It was found by a team of researchers from Vulcan Inc, a company founded by the late philanthropist Paul Allen.

During the battle, four Japanese battleships surprised the Johnston and other U.S. ships supporting troop landings on Leyte.  Only 141  of the Johnston's crew of 327 survived.

The wreckage includes unidentifiable pieces of twisted metal, a gun deck and a propeller shaft.  It will be necessary to find part of the ship's hull with the identification number or crew personal effects in order to positively id the ship.  Another Fletcher-Class destroyer, the USS Hoel (DD-533) was also in the area at the time of the battle and sunk.

There was a lot of confusion at the battle.

Always a Great Thing to Locate One of the Sunken Warships.  --GreGen

USS Helm (DD-338)-- Part 4: Iwo Jima, Formosa, Leyte Gulf

After the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Helm and the fast carriers she protected attacked Japanese islands at Bonin and Volcano and supported the invasion of Guam.  On 25 July 1944 they began attacks on the Palau Islands.  Then came Iwo Jima.  The Helm sank a small Japanese freighter on 2 September.

Then came Okinawa, 10 October and Formosa.  Japanese retaliation came strong and on 12 October, the Helm's 5-inch guns shot down a Japanese bomber and assisting in the destruction of several others.  After Formosa, Task Force 38 returned to Leyte and the Japanese made one last attempt to destroy the American fleet in what is known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

After victory here, the Helm and carriers resumed supporting ground operations on Leyte.  During this time, they were attacked by aircraft and on  28 October 1944, they had a submarine attack where the Helm and Gridley used depth charges to sink the Japanese submarine I-46.

On 30 October, two of the group's carriers, the Franklin and Belleau Wood were badly damaged by kamikazes.

--GreGen

USS Abner Read (DD-526)-- Part 1: Fletcher-Class Destroyer

From Wikipedia.

The USS Abner Read was a Fletcher-class destroyer named after Lieutenant Commander  Abner Read (1820-1863) who died in the Civil War.  It saw action in the Aleutian Islands Campaign where its stern was blown off by a Japanese mine in 1943.

After repairs, she returned to service and was involved in the New Guinea Campaign and the Battle of Leyte.  She was sunk off Leyte in 1944.

Built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding  Corporation of San Francisco.  Laid down 30 October 1941, launched 18 August 1842 and commissioned 5 February 1943.  Commander Thomas Burrowes commanding.

376.6 feet long, 39.8 foot beam, 336 crew, Five 5-inch guns, 17 AA guns, ten torpedo tubes,  six depth charge projectors and two depth charge racks.

--GreGen

Stern of USS Read Found-- Part 7: Sunk By a Kamikaze in 1944

Another destroyer managed to tow the ship out of danger.  It was later towed to Bremerton, Washington, where it got a new stern and rejoined the fighting.

It participated in several actions before sailing to Leyte Gulf by the Philippines.

On November 1, 1944, the Abner Read was struck by a suicide kamikaze and sank in about 30 minutes.  All but twenty of her crew were rescued.  Daryl Weathers was burned but survived, in part because a shipmate gave him his life jacket.

--GreGen

Survived Seven Torpedoes and Came Back: The USS West Virginia-- Part 2

It took a long time for the USS West Virginia to become battleshape again.  After being raised, patches of concrete and wood were used to plug the hull damage and the ship went to Washington state for full repairs.  The ship's entire deck and armor belt were replaced.  The ship was also updated and became state of the art.  Work was completed in late 1944.

It then returned to Pearl Harbor and refueled, ready to get some payback.  It pounded Japanese shore fortifications on Leyte on October 17.  One week later, the Japanese fleet arrived and the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.

On October 24, the West Virginia and three other battleships resurrected from the ruins of Pearl Harbor spotted four Japanese ships and engaged them.  They sank two battleships and a cruiser in a nighttime combat.  This was the last time that battleships ever engaged each other.

--GreGen

Japanese Battleship Musashi Found Near Philippines

From the March 4, 2015, NPR "Japanese World War II Battleship Musashi Found, Billionaire Paul Allen Says."

The formidable battleship was sunk by U.S. planes on October 24, 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the world's largest-ever naval battles.  The exact location of the wreck has not been known until now.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, whose father served during World War II, says his research team found it March 1st in the Sibuyan Sea by the Philippines.  They used historical records from four different countries, detailed topographical data and advanced technology aboard his yacht M/Y Octopus.

Photos and film were taken at the wreck site, about a kilometer deep.  The ship was launched in 1940 and 1023 died with it.  Mr. Allen has been looking for it for eight years.

Always Great to Locate a Lost Shipwreck.  --GreGen

Follow Up On Richard Crosariol

I looked up his name since this was a 2013 article, and, sadly, Mr. Crosariol died May 25, 2014 at age 96.  He lived in Indian Head, Maryland and had been born in Illinois on April 15, 1918.

After the attack began, he helped load a 5-inch 25 caliber anti-aircraft gun.  He evidently served aboard the USS Maryland after it was repaired during the rest of the war in the Pacific.  The ship was hit by a torpedo off Saipan and had to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs.  Later, a kamikaze crashed into the ship in Leyte Gulf.

One of the Greatest.--GreGen

The USS Princeton (CVL-23)

From Wikipedia.

The Independence-class light aircraft carrier was lost at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.  It was laid down as a Cleveland-class light cruiser Tallahassee CL-61 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. of Camden, NJ on June 2, 1941 and reclassified as the CVL-23, in Feb. 1942 and renamed Princeton in March.

Launched Oct. 18, 1942, sponsored by Margaret Dodds, wife of Princeton University President Harold Dodds.

The new aircraft carrier was 622.5 feet long with 71.5-foot beam, weighed 13,000 tons, capable of 31 knots and crew of 1,569 officers and men and could carry 45 aircraft.

It was sunk Oct. 24, 1944. 

This is a follow-up to my March 7, 2012, blog entry on the death of Harold T. Berc, 92, who served as fire director on the USS Princeton when it sank and was awarded a Bronze Star for his efforts.

GreGen