Last volume of Morison-GREAT story...

[polishshooter]

I just started the last volume of Samuel Morison's "History of US Naval Operations in WWII," (well, SECOND to last if I also get the 15th on "Index and Errata...) "Victory in the Pacific...." (It's been a LONG but fun ride! )


But I HAD to share this one with you... You just gotta' LOVE those US Sailors!

The Fifth Fleet is making the first Carrier raid on Tokyo, picket destroyers ranging out in front, DD Haynesworth sinks three small Jap picket boats, and recovers a few survivors. There's a footnote, and at the bottom Morison wrote:

"Haynesworth recovered several survivors, who were transferred to Essex and placed in the brig under Marine guard. The prisoners became objects of considerable interest to the carrier's crew. who clustered around the cell doors, plied the prisoners with candy bars and cigarettes, and gave them their first lessons in Navy English. Thus, when Admiral Sherman came below to take a look at them, he was startled by the Japanese politely folding their arms across stomach, bowing from the waist, and remarking what they had been told was the proper greeting to a flag officer, "F--- you, Joe!"





Plus a LONG time ago when I was ranting (Moi? ) about the Wildcat, somebody took me to task about one of my claims, that Wildcats NEVER sunk a submarine by themselves...well, maybe not Uboats, BUT they DID sink Subs!

TWO of them....FM2s off of CVE Anzio just before Iwo....RO-43, and I-368...according to Morison "A fighter plane from Anzio....sighted RO-43 and destroyed it by a depth bomb drop from 150 feet"....and....."flew a repeat performance on the 17th and sank I-368, a few miles west of Iwo Jima."


I had to check, a FEW CVEs flew Hellcats, but there it was, plain as day in the appendix, Anzio had FM-2s and Avengers...PERIOD.

[Xracer]

Polish....if you're interested in CVE operations in WWII (and I know you are) two books you've got to get:

Clear The Decks by Capt. Dan Gallery....a very humorous look at ops on the USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) off Iceland. Gallery was the CO, and is an Irishman with a great sense of humor.

U-505 by Capt. Dan Gallery.....this is a more serious book covering the capture of the U-505 by the Guadalcanal

[polishshooter]

TRIVIA TIME!

What US Carrier was nicknamed "Queen of the Jeeps" at Iwo?

It's a FAMOUS one....

[MRMIKE08075]

currently reading VOLUME VII: ALEUTIANS, GILBERTS, AND MARSHALLS JUNE 1942-APRIL 1944

best regards, mike.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Xracer

Clear The Decks by Capt. Dan Gallery....a very humorous look at ops on the USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) off Iceland. Gallery was the CO, and is an Irishman with a great sense of humor.

U-505 by Capt. Dan Gallery.....this is a more serious book covering the capture of the U-505 by the Guadalcanal

I've read both of those, X, and I agree, they are excellent. It's interesting to note that Gallery was almost court-martialed for capturing the U-505 because the Navy was worried that the Germans would eventually get wind of it, realize that we might have captured their Enigma coding machine and codes, and thus changed the cypher. We were, of course, reading their codes, not because of Gallery's capture, but because of the British code breaking work at Bletchley Park. Gallery wasn't court-martialed in the end because he had no knowledge of the code-breaking work at the time of his action. I think he went on to retire as a rear admiral after the war.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by polishshooter

What US Carrier was nicknamed "Queen of the Jeeps" at Iwo?

It was the old Saratoga, Polish, CV-3. By that stage of the war the Sara was considered less capable than the new Essex class carriers and was used for fleet defense while the other carriers struck at Japan and elsewhere. She was a gand old lady indeed. They later used her as a target for nuclear bomb testing after the war, at Bikini I think.

[polishshooter]

Ahhhhhh....CLOSE but no cigar, PS....

Sara and Enterprise were both converted to "Night Flying Carriers" When Spruance took over the 5th Fleet shortly before Iwo, and even though nobody REALLY figured out how to use them yet, (They did before the end of the war though!), and the pilots were run ragged flying BOTH day missions AND dusk to dawn CAP and interceptions...they fought together as one Task Group on the first raid on Tokyo by the 5th....then the 5th went to support the Iwo landings, and Sara got detached to serve with the Jeep carriers, to provide night cover and night illumination missions for the Marines after they landed....


BUT shortly after arriving off Iwo, Sara got hit by a couple of bombs and/or Kamikazes (the planes dropped bombs and may have been shot down during the runs and crashed her, OR it may have been Kamikazes, even though not many were used at Iwo Jima....)but anyway, Sara is badly damaged, (AGAIN!) and has to leave the battle for stateside repairs....



....and Enterprise is sent in to cover the CVEs...and not only sets the record for carriers in the war for continuous operations, 174 consecutive hours, but after maneuvering so long and well with the CVEs as one big task group, she earned the name "Enterprise Bay, Queen of the Jeeps!" from the rest of the CVEs.....

(and incidentally, the SECOND place in the record was shared by a couple of Jeep carriers in the SAME operation...172 consecutive hours!) There was some SERIOUS close support operations by naval air, day AND night, off Iwo....





And Mr Mike, enjoy the RIDE! I did! And someday I HOPE I find at a yard sale or flea market a complete set I can own for myself!

Are you doing it like I did, ordering it volume by volume from the library? I have to give the ladies at my Public Library kudos, they did a TREMENDOUS job over and above tracking these down, in order, and getting them in for me! For the cost of $1/volume to cover shipping costs, it's the best value OUT there....

In fact, I have to change one of my statements I made earlier, I don't mind paying taxes for the military, AND for Public Libraries! Everything ELSE I have a problem with....


You know, I found it kind of amazing how Morison "got it right" the first time! Even WITH all the "new" historical information and declassified stuff (like Ultra) from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and even coming out TODAY, he may not have known (but I suspect just MAYBE he did, or at least SUSPECTED and kept it SECRET as ordered.... ) NOT MUCH of his information is "out of date," or is patently WRONG....unlike many historians of WWII, especially those SO CLOSE to the conflict....