Photo: NHHC

HISTORY

Photo: NHHC

German Submarine Type IXC being attacked and sunk by USS Pope (DE-134), USS Chatelain (DE-149), USS Pillsbury

(DE-133), and USS Flaherty (DE-135) assisted by aircraft of VC-58 from USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) on April 9, 1944.

Practice division formation and maneuver exercises in Hawaiian waters, January 13, 1944. Photographed

from USS Manila Bay (CVE-61). Ships astern are: USS Coral Sea (CVE-57), USS Corregidor (CVE-58),

USS Natoma Bay (CVE-62), and USS Nassau (CVE-16). These carriers all served in the Marshalls Operation

a few weeks later.

USA in the west, which was securing the Allied

landings in North Africa in November 1942. Later

she operated mainly in the Pacific. Initially, she

spent eight months in the Solomon Islands

area during the Guadalcanal campaign, and in

November 1943, she supported the landings on

Tarawa. On January 25, 1944, during the Battle

of the Marshall Islands, one of the returning

aircraft crashed upon landing, causing a fire

October 2023

that killed seven crew members. In June 1944,

USS Sangamon participated in the Battle of

the Marianas. The next phase of the American

offensive was the Philippines. Before landing in

Leyte Gulf on October 20, her aircraft attacked

Japanese airfields, supporting the American

landing, before being hit by a Japanese bomb,

although the damage was not significant. The

ship then participated in the subsequent battles

in Leyte Gulf as part of Task Unit 77.4.3, also

known as Taffy 1.

At the end of January 1945, USS Sangamon

left the shipyard where she underwent

modernization, including upgrades to its

aircraft handling and weaponry systems. After

leaving the shipyard, she headed towards Japan

and participated in the Battle of Okinawa. From

March 21 onwards, she supported American

amphibious operations and attacks on nearby

Japanese airfields around Okinawa. During this

time, the ship came under attack by kamikaze

pilots. One of them managed to bypass the

ship's anti-aircraft defenses and crashed into

the flight deck, causing significant damage

and killing at least eleven crew members. The

damaged ship was subsequently withdrawn to

the United States for repairs, although these

repairs were not completed due to the war’s

end.

Similarly, to the others, USS Suwannee

(CVE-27) began her military operations by

participating in the North African landings

during Operation Torch. Afterward, she moved

to the Pacific. For the following seven months,

she provided air escort for transport and supply

ships, supporting the Marines on Guadalcanal,

as well as forces occupying other islands in the

Solomon Islands. She also operated as part of

the air support group, with her aircraft bombing

Tarawa. In 1944, she took part in actions at

Roi and Namur islands in the northern part of

the Kwajalein Atoll, and her planes conducted

anti-submarine patrols. She was involved in

campaigns at Palau islands and supported

the battles at Hollandia by transporting

replacement aircraft for larger carriers. It also

supported the invasions of the Marianas and

participated in campaigns against Saipan and

Guam. During the Battle of the Philippine Sea, on

June 19, 1944, one of her aircraft attacked and

sank the Japanese submarine I-184.

In the battles of Leyte, USS Suwannee faced

kamikaze attacks. Although the ship’s antiaircraft fire hit the attacking plane, it still

crashed into the flight deck at 08:04, causing

a hole approximately three meters in diameter.

The bomb carried by the attacking aircraft

exploded between the flight and hangar decks.

However, within two hours, the flight deck

was temporarily repaired, allowing to resume

the flight operations. The following day, the

ship had to confront more Kamikaze attacks.

One Zero aircraft crashed into the flight deck

at 12:40, simultaneously hitting a torpedo

bomber that was being prepared for takeoff.

Both aircraft exploded, as did nine others in

the vicinity. A fire burned for several hours

before being brought under control. During

these two days, USS Suwannee suffered 107

casualties and 160 wounded. At the beginning

of 1945, repairs were carried out, and then she

INFO Eduard

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