Category Archives: World War Two

Putting the ‘Fortress’ into the B-17: A Look at the Guns

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It is no understatement to say that the B-17 bomber is one of the most famous airplanes to fly a mission. Today we look at the hardware that lived up to its well-deserved “Flying Fortress” name.

When it first flew in 1935, the original B-17 wasn’t very well equipped with defensive gun armament; after all, its main armament was its massive 5,000-pound bomb load.

The YB-17 prototypes had a single gun up front, two in side nacelles, one for the radio operator, and one below – just five all told, all with limited fields of fire. (National Museum of the Air Force)

Boeing YB-17 nose turret via National Museum of USAF 

Boeing YB-17 flex gun turret via National Museum of USAF

Wartime experience soon changed this, and by the time the B-17G model took to the air, it carried 13 .50-caliber air-cooled machine guns and almost 7,500 rounds of ammunition to keep them firing. While a few of the bomber’s crew were dedicated gunners, everyone save for the pilot and co-pilot had a gun at their disposal and were expected to use it if needed.

B-17G Flying Fortresses Drop Bombs On Berlin, Germany 26 February 1945. [91St Bg] 59348AC 342-FH_000123

For a closer look, head over to my piece at Guns.com that includes a walk around we did out at Pima. 

Freemantle days with the BPF

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As part of AUKUS, the Royal Navy is set to forward-deploy one of its precious seven nuclear attack submarines (SSN) to Freemantle from around 2027. Of course, this has all happened before.

Here we see two Royal Navy T class submarines in Freemantle, Australia in 1945, outboard of a light cruiser, while American submarines and a sub tender are off in the distance.

The closest T-boat, with her crew busy working on her 4-inch gun and loading supplies, has her name board out of view but the second is HM Submarine Thorough (P 324).

Via the State Library of WA

Commissioned at Vickers in March 1944, Thorough was posted to the Far East in July, conducting her first 5 war patrols from Trincomalee, then shifted to Freemantle in March 1945 along with the general move into the region by the British Pacific Fleet. It was from the Western Australian base that she conducted Patrols Nos. 6-8.

HMS Thorough (P324), a T-class submarine. The class was equipped with an impressive battery of 8 21-inch bow tubes (2 external) as well as two amidship tubes, with 17 torpedoes carried. However, Thourogh by far used her forward 4-inch mount, 20mm stern Oerlikon cannon, and a trio of .303 machine guns more.

In August 1945, in company with HMS Taciturn, which may be the second T-class boat in the picture, Thorough attacked Japanese shipping and shore targets off northern Bali, sinking a coaster and a sailing vessel with gunfire, bringing her wartime total to 40 “kills” all via surface gun actions.

She survived the war, completed the first circumnavigation by a RN submarine in 1957, and was decommissioned in 1962, scrapped at Dunston on Tyne.

Those wacky Army sea mines

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The beautiful and brand new 188-foot 1,300-ton U.S. Army Mine Planter No. 16, Col. George W. Ricker, at New Orleans’s Pauline Street Wharf, 14 May 1943. She arrived at the New Orleans Port of Embarkation from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, on 11 May 1943 from her builder, Marietta Manufacturing Co. She only served the Army for a year before the Navy picked her up and commissioned her as the Minesweep Gear and Repair Ship, USS Planter (ACM 2), in April 1944. Struck from the Naval Register on 23 December 1947, she was sold to commercial interests and was still in use as a fishing trawler into the 1970s. Official U.S. Army Photograph 298-1-43 via the WWII Museum.

Lost in the sauce when it comes to U.S. mine warfare in World War II is the Army’s sea mine planting efforts during the conflict.

Brainstormed by the Army as early as 1866 from experience gained against Confederate “torpedoes” in the Civil War, by 1876 an experimental defensive minefield was sown at Fort Mifflin in Pennsylvania. This led to an explosion (pun intended) in floating Army minefields during the Endicott Period of coastal defense.

By the Spanish-American War, at least 28 harbors and coastal chokepoints had Army-controlled electric submarine mines installed.

Mine 1919 Fort Pickens, outside of Pensacola. Typically 45 mines in seven groups were planted there between 1917-18

This only continued to grow and, after Army sea mines were transferred from the Corps of Engineers to the Artillery Corps, leading to the dedicated Coast Artillery Corps in 1907, the branch even kicked off an Army Mine Planter Service in 1918. At least 37 large planters, typically named after colonels and generals, were used by the AMPS during this period as well as twice as many “junior mine planters”, or “pup planters.”

Army-controlled submarine nets, mines, and shore batteries protected the entrance to San Francisco Bay May 1942 Ft. Cronkite. Of note, Fort Funston with its modern 16-inch guns, is not listed

By the time WWII came, the Coastal Artillery controlled 27 Harbor Defense Commands with minefields, at least five of them overseas in Hawaii, the Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Speaking of which, USAMP Col. George F.E. Harrison and USAJMP Neptune sowed Army minefields at Manila Harbor in 1941 to help block the Japanese advance. Both planters were sunk during the Luzon campaign, with Harrison earning a Navy battle star.

The 704-ton, 172-foot USAMP Col. George F.E. Harrison moored pierside at Ilollo, Panay, Philippine Islands, 2 February 1933. Sunk by Japanese dive bombers in May 1942, she was later raised and would serve as the Japanese Imperial Navy cable ship IJN Harushima, only to be sent to the bottom again, this time by American dive bombers, in 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps photo # 331549, U.S. National Archives 111-SCA-Album-2986.

On 7 December 1941, the Army had approximately 5,000 controlled mines on hand for harbor defense and during the war would sow 7,320 (3,569 contact and 3,751 magnetic) domestically along with 1,847 mines ex-CONUS.

That doesn’t even count the no less than 12,000 air-dropped offensive mines laid by the USAAF in the Pacific during the war, which is a whole different story.

Operation Starvation. Loading aerial mines on a B-29 of the 468th Bomb Group, 24 January 1945. (NARA)

Via Navweaps: 

By 1945, the Army Air Force was devoting considerable resources to the mining role, with 80 to 100 B-29s based at Tinian being used to mine the home waters around Japan. These B-29s could carry seven 2,000 lbs. (907 kg). or twelve 1,000 lbs. (454 kg) mines. “Operation Starvation” started in March 1945 and continued until early August with 4,900 magnetic, 3,500 acoustic, 2,900 pressure, and 700 low-frequency mines being laid. These mines sank 294 ships outright, damaged another 137 beyond repair, and damaged a further 239 that could be repaired. In cargo tonnage, the total was 1.4 million tons lost or damaged which was about 75% of the shipping available in March 1945.

With the Army’s airborne minedropping capability going in 1947 to the newly established USAAF (which still maintains the little talked about skillset), and the disbandment of the Coastal Artillery branch soon after, when the defunct AMPS was fully zeroed out on paper on 22 January 1954– 70 years ago today– it closed the Big Green’s 88-year run with sea mines.

The Destroyer Escort that Fought like a Battleship

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80 years ago today, a dramatic photo of the side launch of the future USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) leaving the ways at Brown Shipbuilding Company, Houston, Texas, 20 January 1944.

Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 82850

The first American warship named in honor of Coxswain Samuel Booker Roberts, Jr., “a good-looking kid with a cockeyed smile” who earned the Navy Cross, posthumously, at Guadalcanal in 1942, the John C. Butler-class destroyer escort was commissioned on 28 April 1944. She was sponsored at the above launch by Mrs. Anna [Wexler] Roberts, mother of Samuel, and soon sailed for the Pacific to avenge his death. Among her plankowners was Roberts’ younger brother, Jack, who was the “voice” of the Samuel B. Roberts on the ship’s intercom.

Her first combat, as part of RADM Thomas L. Sprague’s Escort Carrier TG 77.4, came while a member of the ill-fated Taffy 3 task unit. There, at the Battle off Samar on 25 October 1944, she and her fellow tin cans attempted to fight off a group of much larger Japanese cruisers and battleships, and the brave little greyhound succumbed to 14-inch shells and her crew– Jack Roberts included— endured three hellish days in the water before rescue.

From launching to loss was 274 days.

The ship’s national ensign was saved by Chief Torpedoman Rudy Skau and is part of the NHHC’s artifact collection.

She is remembered by the Samuel B. Roberts Survivors Association. 

Her shattered hull was located more than four miles beneath the surface of the Philippine Sea in 2022. 

The ship’s fighting spirit, however, echoes through the Navy.

A bronze plaque commemorating the crew of DE 413 was aboard the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) when the ship struck an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf on April 14, 1988. The mine blew a 15-foot hole in the hull of the ship, breaking its keel. Because of the fast actions of the crew, after a five-hour effort to purge water and fight fires, the ship was saved. The captain of the vessel, Cmdr. Paul Rinn noted that while running to their stations to save the ship, the FFG crew would touch the plaque for good luck to honor and recognize the bravery of the crew of DE 413.

Warship Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024: The Little Giant

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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024: The Little Giant

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 43506

Above we see the brand new Independence-class light carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, some 80 years ago today– 17 January 1944– painted in a fresh Measure 33, Design 7a camouflage pattern. She would soon be in combat in the Marshall Islands, beginning a 16-month fight across the Pacific that would end with her Air Group plastering the Japanese Home Islands from Okinawa to Hokkaido.

The Indies

In 1942, the Navy had its ass in a bind.

Starting the war with just six large-deck fleet carriers, within the first six months of combat was down to just four, and by the end of the year; just a single one of these (Enterprise) was still afloat and operational.

While the first huge and ultra-modern 34,000-ton Essex-class carriers were building as fast as the riveters could rivet and the welders could chip slag, they would not be able to arrive in numbers until 1944. This put the Big Blue behind the Japanese 8-ball in naval warfare.

FDR, himself always a Navy man (he won a naval warfare essay contest while a teenager and slept with Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power upon History on his nightstand before being appointed Asst. Scty of the Navy during World War One), came up with the idea to convert a bunch of cruisers that were already partially complete at the New York Navy Yard over to flat-tops. Although the Navy balked, FDR was the commander and chief, so guess who won?

USS Cleveland CL-55 1942. The Navy wanted between 40-50 of these hardy little cruisers. They settled for much less, and nine of those became aircraft carriers while still under construction

USS Cleveland CL-55 1942. The Navy wanted between 40-50 of these hardy little cruisers. They settled for much less, and nine of those became aircraft carriers while still under construction

The 14,000-ton Cleveland class light cruisers were designed after the gloves came off in 1940 and the U.S. no longer had to abide by the Washington and London Naval treaties of the 1920s and 30s. As such, these were very large cruisers, at just a hair over 600 feet long, and very fast (33 knots). Designed to carry a dozen 6-inch and a supplemental dozen 5-inch guns, they were also heavily armed.

In all the Navy wanted something on the order of 40 of these cruisers to lead destroyer groups, escort convoys, scout ahead of battle groups, and screen carriers and battleships. Well, FDR carved nine whose hulls were nearing completion but did not have decks, guns, or superstructures installed yet.

A scale model of the Independence-class light carriers and the Cleveland-class light cruiser. Note the hulls.

A scale model of the Independence-class light carriers and the Cleveland-class light cruiser. Note the hulls.

It was not that hard of a concept. Many of the first carriers were auxiliaries, cruisers, and battleships that had their topside removed and covered with a flat top. Langley, the first U.S. carrier, was a collier. Lexington and Saratoga, the country’s second and third carriers respectively, were originally laid down as battlecruisers.

The first of the class of FDR’s “cruiser carriers,” laid down originally as the cruiser Amsterdam but commissioned instead as the USS Independence, was commissioned on 14 January 1943 and rushed to the fleet. Over the next nine months, eight sisters would join her, roughly one every 45 days on average. They were all constructed in the same yard to keep the program streamlined.

A “30/30” ship, they could make 30+ knots and carry 30+ aircraft while having legs long enough to cross the Pacific and operate on their own for a few weeks before she needed to find an oiler. While they were still much smaller than a regular fleet carrier such as the Enterprise that could carry 80-90 aircraft, they could still put a few squadrons in the air and fill lots of needs.

Simultaneously, they were much faster than the similarly sized quartet of converted oilers that had already been rushed into service and could keep up with a fast-moving battle force. Initially classified as normal fleet carriers (CV), all were re-designated “small aircraft carriers” (CVL) on 15 July 1943.

From U.S. Navy manual FM 30-50: Recognition Pictorial Manual of Naval Vessels, showing U.S. ship silhouettes showing the relative size of the various classes of aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Note the big difference between the size of the large fleet carrier classes (top center), the assorted escort carriers (center to bottom), and the Independence class CVLs, which are right in the middle

Side-by-side comparisons show the principal fleet carriers of the Pacific War compared to an Independence-class CVL. Outside left are the prewar USS Saratoga (CV-3) and USS Enterprise (CV-6), moored near the short-hulled Essex-class USS Hornet (CV-12). Beyond the Hornet is moored the Independence-class USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). U.S. Navy photo 80-G-701512

Worth, in his Fleets of World War II, described the Indys as such:

These were not attractive ships. They had no deck edge elevator, just one catapult, and a small air group (usually 33 planes). Though meant to carry one or two 5-inch DP guns, they never received them. The armor layout provided modest protection, though the first two ships scrambled into service so hurriedly they never got their side armor. In spite of all of this, the design was a success. Not a war winner, it augmented the fleet’s main strength, having sufficient size and speed to bring modern aircraft into battle.

Meet San Jacinto

The second U.S. Navy warship named in honor of the 1836 battle that saw General Sam Houston and his outnumbered troops win independence for Texas by routing a Mexican army at the San Jacinto River, the first was a Civil War-era 4-gun screw frigate that earned a place in history with the Trent Incident that almost led to war with England.

Trent Incident, 8 November 1861. USS San Jacinto removes Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell from the British Mali steamer Trent, in the old Bahama channel. Hand-colored engraving from The Illustrated London News Supplement, 7 December 1861. NH 73990

Laid down on 26 October 1942 at New York Shipbuilding Corporation’s yard in Camden, New Jersey, our subject was originally intended to be the light cruiser USS Newark (CL-100), then, after she was to become a light carrier, initially was going to be commissioned as USS Reprisal, recycling the name of an 18-gun brig purchased by the Continental Congress in 1776. However, before she was christened, it was decided to use the Reprisal moniker for a larger Essex-class fleet carrier, CV-35, and our then-twice renamed hull became the second USS San Jacinto, christened by Texas philanthropist Mary Gibbs Jones (wife of Jesse Holman Jones, then U.S. Secretary of Commerce).

USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) sliding down the building ways at the New York Shipbuilding Corp. yard, Camden, New Jersey, after she was christened by Mrs. Jesse H. Jones, 26 September 1943. 80-G-44590

She was a “freebee” of sorts to the Navy, as the citizens of Houston raised more than $85 million for the carrier’s construction and for the construction of another vessel, as a replacement for the recently lost cruiser USS Houston (CA-30).

According to her “short” 105-page War History, which makes great reading:

From her gaff under the Stars and Stripes she flew in battle the Lone Star State flag of Texas, a tribute to her name and to the citizens who subscribed to her cost.

More detail:

USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) underway off the U.S. east coast (position 36 55’N, 75 07’W) on 23 January 1944, with an SNJ training plane parked on her flight deck. Photographed from a Squadron ZP-14 blimp. The ship is painted in camouflage Measure 33, Design 7A. 80-G-212798

Same as the above, 80-G-212799

Her first embarked air wing was the newly formed Air Group 51 (AG51), including the TBM-1C Avengers of VT-51 and F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-51. Arriving onboard starting in January 1944, they would sail with San Jacinto until November 1944.

Party to celebrate first landing on USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). Cake cutting by LCDR T.B. Bradbury. 26 February 1944. 80-G-227307

Wrapping up her shakedown cruise and landing quals with her new squadrons, San Jacinto transited the Panama Canal in April 1944 and headed to the Pacific.

War!

 

USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), LCDR Albert B. Cahn gives the take-off signal to a TBM-1C Avenger of Torpedo Squadron 51, during exercises on 16 May 1944. 80-G-238772

San Jacinto Wed, 31 May 1944. Note the big Avengers on her deck. 80-G-265714

Attached to VADM Marc A. Mitscher’s Task Force 58/38 fast carrier striking force, San Jacinto tagged along for raids on the Marcus Islands (8-15 May) and Wake (23 May), from there got thrown in the deep end with the push into the Marianas Islands and the resulting “Marianas Turkey Shoot” on 19 June. It was the start of a run that saw our little carrier heavily involved in the war.

USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), right foreground, steaming in formation with USS Lexington (CV-16) and a DD-348 class destroyer, during pre-invasion operations in the Marianas area, 13 June 1944. Both carriers belonged to Task Group 58.3. 80-G-238786

Attempted Japanese air attack on Task Force 58 intercepted by carrier-based planes west of Guam Island in the Mariana Islands. Shown is an attack on USS San Jacinto (CVL 30). Photographed from USS Healy (DD 672), June 19, 1944. 80-G-239292

Battle of The Philippine Sea, June 1944. Japanese plane shot down by USS San Jacinto gunners while attacking USS Enterprise (CV-6) on 19 June 1944. Originally caption calls this plane a “Judy” (Yokosuka D4Y). 80-G-238951

TBM-1C Avenger, of Torpedo Squadron 51 (VT-51) Takes off from USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) for a raid on Guam, 28 June 1944. The catapult operator is on the right. 80-G-238783

Chichi Jima, Bonin Island. Seaplane base and town under attack by U.S. carrier aircraft, 2 September 1944. Photographed by a USS San Jacinto plane. 80-G-248844

USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) rolling heavily and pitching in rough seas, while in route to raid Okinawa with Task Force 58, 6 October 1944. TBM Avenger torpedo planes of Torpedo Squadron 51 are parked at right, with landing gear well-lashed to the deck. Note palisade windbreak in an elevated position across the flight deck, forward of the planes. 80-G-284859

A VT-51 TBM “Avenger”, from USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) flying near Okinawa during the raids, 10 October 1944. A small ship is afire below. 80-G-284857

Battle off Cape Engaño, 25 October 1944. Arming a Torpedo Squadron 51 (VT-51) TBM torpedo bomber on USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). Probably taken before the squadron’s planes attacked the Japanese carrier force. The Torpedo is a Mark XIII, fitted with a wooden stabilizer around its tail and drag ring around its nose. 80-G-284708

Japanese Ise class battleship and destroyer in action during the battle off Cape Engano, 25 October 1944. Photographed by a TBM from USS San Jacinto, note damaged wingtip on plane. 80-G-284705

Operation Ten-Go. Japanese suicide splashing after being hit by anti-aircraft fire from Task Force 58 off the bow of USS San Jacinto (CVL-30). Note the part of the airplane in flight over the bow. 80-G-331605

Following Cape Engaño, our trusty Air Group 51 would move ashore at Guam, having lost 50 percent of its aircrew, and later be disestablished, with San Jac being their only carrier deployment.

They would be replaced on 24 January 1945 by Air Group 45 (F6F-3 and F6F-5P Hellcats of VF-45, and TBM-3s of VT-45) and would remain aboard until Air Group 49 (F6F-5 and F6F-5P Hellcats of VF-49, and TBM-3s of VT-49) replaced them in May 1945.

These two final groups would land some serious blows as San Jacinto moved into Japanese Home Waters along with other carrier strike groups and were able to catch the last remnants of the Combined Fleet sheltering there.

Incomplete 17,000-ton Japanese Unryū-class aircraft carrier Ikoma afire during attacks by U.S. Navy carrier planes, at Kobe, 19 March 1945. Ikoma’s stern is clearly visible, while her bow is obscured by smoke. Note the large “standard” type freighter off Ikoma’s starboard bow. Photographed from a USS San Jacinto plane. NH 95779

Same target and date as the above, NH 95780

Attack on a Japanese escort carrier in Kobe Harbor, 19 March 1945. She is probably the 11,000-ton Shimane Maru, which was then nearly complete at Kobe. Note the large cargo ship at the top of the photo. Taken from a USS San Jacinto plane. NH 95782

Bombs fall near an enemy escort carrier and several small cargo ships, in Kobe Harbor, 19 March 1945. The CVE is probably the Shimane Maru. Taken from a USS San Jacinto plane. NH 95783

Japanese aircraft carriers under attack at Kure on 24 July 1945. The ship on the left, receiving mostly bombs, is Amagi. A heavily camouflaged ship in the right center is Katsuragi. Photo by USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) plane. 80-G-490162

When news of the end of hostilities with Japan came on 15 August, San Jacinto began conducting mercy flights over identified Allied prisoner-of-war camps, dropping food and medicine until the haggard survivors could be rescued. Then, on 20 August, she was relieved and ordered back to San Francisco, arriving there on 14 September.

click to big up

San Jacinto participated in seven major campaigns, earned five battle stars (her Air Groups earned the full seven), and was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for her WWII service.

From the opening of her War History, a great (if somewhat verbose) summation:

She was to write a record in the heart blood of Japan across 16 flaming months and seven major campaigns. She was to destroy 712 Japanese aircraft [12 by ship’s guns, 148 shot down by Air Group, 256 destroyed on the ground, plus 296 “damaged”), sink or damage six aircraft carriers, two battleships, four cruisers, ten destroyers, and 200,000 tons of auxiliaries, merchant ships, small craft, expend with telling effects 930 tons of bombs, 5,436 rockets, 42 torpedoes, 1,478,750 .50 caliber machine gun bullets [and another 22,530 .30 caliber rounds from aerial gunners], fly 11,120 sorties [on 309 offensive missions], steam 153,883 combat miles, and spend 471 days in combat.

A breakdown of air group targets: 

Meanwhile, her onboard AAA gunners fired 14,740 40mm Bofors shells and another 19,160 20mm. Their engagements:

She conducted many replenishments underway across 357 days at sea including 86 meetings with oilers, received 218 destroyers alongside for mail, passengers, and freight; and received munitions from AEs 19 times.

She lost 40 officers and men during the conflict, most from her embarked Air Groups.

Further, as noted by the War History:

She was to earn and wear in honor the respectful sobriquet of “The Little Queen,” first bestowed by one of her famous big sisters, accepted with prideful love by her crew. Late in her combat career, the daring and accomplishments of her Air Group earned her the name of “The Little Giant.”

Still, her type was unneeded with so many brand-new Essex-class fleet carriers around, San Jacinto was decommissioned on 1 March 1947 and mothballed at San Diego. Reclassified as an auxiliary aircraft transport (AVT-5) on 15 May 1959 while still laid up, she was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1970.

She had been the last of her class in U.S. Navy possession, sold to the breakers in December 1971 after sitting on red lead row for 24 long and unkind years.

Epilogue

Her war diary and plans are in the National Archives.

San Jac is perhaps best known for a young aviator of Torpedo Fifty-One (VT-51), Lt.(j.g.) George H. W. Bush, USNR. While leading a four-plane division in a strike against a radio station on Chichi Jima on 2 September 1944, antiaircraft fire downed “Barabara,” Bush’s Avenger, and he was recovered by the submarine USS Finback (SS-230), lifeguarding for the strike. Bush returned to San Jacinto in November 1944 participated in operations in the Philippines, and rotated out when AG 51 left the carrier, having flown 58 combat missions.

Portrait montage of squadron officers of VT-51 and senior officers of its parent carrier, USS San Jacinto, circa mid-1944. The ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain Harold M. Martin, is seen in the upper left. Officer second from right, second row from bottom, is George H.W. Bush.

The rescued Avenger pilot went on to become the 41st President of the United States. He finished the war with VT-153 which was stateside working up to deploy when the Japanese admitted defeat. He was credited with 126 carrier landings and 1,228 flight hours. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and shared in San Jac’s Presidential Unit Citation.

In 1986, a new Ticonderoga class cruiser, CG-56, would become the third USS San Jacinto. The Ingall’s built ship was commissioned on 23 January 1988, by then vice-president George H. W. Bush in Houston having passed the San Jacinto battlefield on her way there and back out to sea.

She was decommissioned last September, capping a 35-year career.

Manhattan, N.Y. (May 24, 2017) The missile-guided cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) renders honors as it approaches the Statue of Liberty during the 29th annual Fleet Week New York’s (FWNY) Parade of Ships. (U.S. Navy photo 70524-N-UN744-064 by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Travis Simmons/Released)

Ships are more than steel
and wood
And heart of burning coal,
For those who sail upon
them know
That some ships have a
soul.

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S1c Ward finally comes home

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20-year-old Navy Seaman 1st Class James Richard Ward was aboard his first ship out of basic, the mighty battlewagon USS Oklahoma, on that fateful morning of 7 December 1941.

As noted by the Navy at the time, the order was given to abandon ship, but Ward “remained in a turret holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.”

Navy Seaman 1st Class James Richard Ward/USS Maryland floats alongside the capsized USS Oklahoma after the Pearl Harbor attacks on Dec. 7, 1941. USS West Virginia is burning in the background.

His actions that day left him counted among the missing from the one-sided battle, entombed in his ship, and the Navy later presented his family with the Medal of Honor and invited them to christen a destroyer escort (DE-243) named to recognize him in 1943.

Last month, S1c Ward, identified in 2019 from recovered remains, was finally brought home, and buried at Arlington at the request of his family.

Jan 1944: Two millionth SA M1 Garand is Born

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With World War II far from over, the 2 millionth M1 Garand Rifle manufactured at the U.S. Army’s Springfield Armory was crafted some eight decades ago this month. 

The below image, from January 1944, shows U.S. Army Col. George A. Woody observing Mr. Norbert R. Bonneville, who is inspecting U.S. Rifle M1 .30 caliber, Springfield Armory SN# 2000000. On the table is a framed portrait of Jean Cantius Garand, better known as John C. Garand, the designer of the rifle whose action he patented in 1932 after a decade of development. 

(Springfield Armory National Historic Site Photo 4326-SA.A.1)

At this point in the war, Eisenhower of course was busy planning the liberation of German-occupied France by landing Allied troops along the Normandy Coast when the weather broke in June, while in the Pacific the liberation of the Japanese-occupied Philippines was being planned by MacArthur along a similar timeline. 

For a deeper dive into the above photo, Col. Woody was the superintendent of Springfield Armory from Aug. 1943 to Aug. 1944, and his sought-after “G.A.W.” inspector stamp appears on correct M1 Garands made at the armory during that period. Sadly, the photo is one of the last of the colonel. Woody, a career Army Ordnance officer, and Aggie (Class of ’17), became ill in the summer of 1944 and was relieved at the armory by Brig. Gen. Norman F. Ramsey in October. Woody, suffering from a rare liver disease, spent his remaining days in Walter Reed Hospital where he passed away in November. He is buried at Arlington.

As for the younger man in the photo, Norbert Bonneville, who at the time lived in South Hadley, Massachusetts, was working the overnight “MacArthur” shift at the armory when the 2 millionth Springfield M1 receiver came down the line and the operator of an automatic numbering machine had the honor of stamping the serial at 2 a.m. “to the cheers of assembled workers who gathered to witness a historic event,” as chronicled by the New England Minute Man. 

As further described by the Minute Man: 

Final assembly into a completed weapon came later. In the stocking shop selection was made of a piece of walnut with a particularly fine grain. In finishing the stock, master craftsman at the armory lavished upon it all their skill. When the rifle was assembled, they put on a polish with the luster of an opal. A walnut mount was made for the gun and it was placed in the office of the commanding officer, later to be removed to the Springfield Armory museum to take its honored place with other historic arms that have been manufactured through the years.

Presented to Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Hayes after the war in 1946, it eventually made its way back to the Springfield Armory Museum where it remains today as catalog # SPAR 913. The Armory’s collection also contains several other key serial numbered guns, including SN# 1 manufactured in 1937, and SN# 100000, completed in December 1940 at a cost of $67.09.

But what about Springfield SN# 1000000? That one, completed in November 1942, was put back in storage until Mr. Garand retired in 1953 and was presented to him as a gift. It made it back to the museum on loan in 1994 and was later sold by its owner at auction in 2018 for $287,000.  

Mr. Garand, seen with an M1 on the Springfield assembly line in 1940, and sometime later with what looks to be the millionth rifle.

In all, Springfield Armory manufactured over 3 million Garands through 1945 when WWII ended, and, as noted by firearms historian Scott Duff, its production peaked in January 1944 – the period the 2 millionth gun was made – “with 122,001 M1s produced that month. This translated to 3,936 rifles per day or 164 rifles per hour.”

Springfield was the last government armory in the Garand-making business, and their final M1 .30-caliber rifles came off the line in May 1957, at which point it had been replaced in front-line service by the M14 rifle. By then, the serial number range was in the region of 6,099,905.

A graying and smiling Mr. Garand, then several years in retirement, was on hand for that moment as well. 

Official caption: “Group of men surround the last M1 .30-caliber rifles off the production line. Col. Hurlbut stands on the left. Lt. Col. Septfonds stands second from left. John C. Garand stands second from right and he holds the last rifle.” (Springfield Armory National Historic Site Photo 12808-SA.1)

That’s a lot of barrels…

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80 years ago today: an amazing overhead photograph of USS Houston (CL-81) underway off Norfolk, Virginia, 12 January 1944, showing off the 610-foot Cleveland-class light cruiser’s armament to include a dozen 6″/47s in four triple turrets, another dozen 5″/38 DP guns in six twin turrets, at least 28 Bofors 40mm, and 10 20mm Orleikons as well as twin stern catapults for as many as four armed floatplanes.

 Note the sun casting the cruiser’s silhouette across the water. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-214194

Built at Newport News, CL-81 was originally to be named Vicksburg but was renamed while on the ways to commemorate Admiral Hart’s doomed final flagship.

Commissioned on 20 December 1943, she is shown above during her shakedown cruise period, which saw her roam from Boston to the Caribbean.

Sailing for the Pacific in April 1944, Houston saw her first combat screening Mitscher’s carriers as their planes pounded the Marianas on 12-13 June and the Bonins on 15-16 June.

Her war was cut short due to a crippling air attack in October that left her with two separate aerial torpedo hits– including an otherwise impossible strike on the bottom of the hull as she was hit the second time while already severely listing. 

Torpedo damage diagram on the USS Houston (CL-81) from torpedo hits off Formosa on 14 and 16 October 1944.

Houston received but three battle stars for World War II service as she required extensive reconstruction.

In the late 1940s, she saw much overseas cruising in European waters and was decommissioned on 15 December 1947, having served just four years with the fleet– and almost a year of that in repair. She was disposed of in 1959 after a dozen years in mothballs.

CMP Has Enfields!

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Watch on the Rhine: sentry of the 310th Signal Bn, Moselle, Germany, armed with an M1917 “American Enfield ” with others stacked nearby for the rest of the guard force. (Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-45142 via the National Archives)

The M1917 Enfield was often regarded as an “also ran” when it came to American martial rifles.

Pressed into service when the official infantry arm– the M1903 Springfield– couldn’t be made in enough quantity to arm a 3-million-man American Expeditionary Force headed “Over There” in 1917-18, once the Great War wrapped up the Army spent the next 20 years trying very hard to get rid of them.

They gave thousands away to the Philippines Constabulary and other allies before, during, and immediately after WWII– the Danish Navy still uses a handful of them in Greenland.

Boom. Danish Slædepatruljen Sirius with Enfield M1917, circa 2022

Thousands more were sold off as milsurp or scrapped, with the Enfield widely available at rock bottom prices in the 1950s and 60s.

Others were relegated to drill status, including use by ROTC units, military academies, and Veterans organizations such as the VFW and American Legion.

This latter silo is where the CMP has been getting their Enfields from over the past decade or so, being guns typically returned by closed VFW halls that used them for firing parties for decades. As such, don’t expect really bright, crisp bores, but DO expect lots of coats of linseed oil on the furniture. Those guys liked to keep them shiny.

Price is $1,000-$1,100 depending on the grade, which is about right for an intact (still in military configuration and not “sporterized”) M1917 Enfield.

For comparison, check out these recently sold Enfields on Gunbroker, with final prices:

Anywho, the CMP presser on the Enfields:

Beginning January 9, 2024, CMP will have a very limited quantity of 1917 Service and Field Grade rifles available for mail orders. CMP Stores will also have a limited quantity this week as well. These are sold AS-IS with no returns or exchanges. Once these are sold out, we will not backorder these. Please keep in mind the yearly limit of one (1) 1917 per year, per person. If you have already purchased one this year, you are not eligible until January 2025. For more information on the 1917 rifles, please visit this link https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/m1917-enfield-rifle-information/. Ordering information may be viewed at https://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/ordering-information/.

They also have some Expert Grade M1 Garand Rifles up for grabs:

CMP currently has a selection of Expert Grade M1 Garand Rifles available for mail orders, including .308 rifles. Once they’re sold out, we will not accept any more orders. View details on the Expert Grand M1 Garand Rifles at https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/m1-garand/. Ordering information may be viewed at https://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/ordering-information/.

Rig for sail!

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80 years ago today, the Bangor-class minesweeper HMCS Lockeport (J100), the fans for her cranky high-speed steam reciprocating engines having quit the game during a gale while on the way to Baltimore for a much-needed refit, saw her crew piece together a mixture of hammocks and sheets, then, lashing them to the 180-foot sweeper’s masts as a primitive foresail and a mizzen made from the lifeboat’s emergency sail, poked around at speeds as fast as three knots for some 60 miles (some sources say as much as 190 miles, although this is likely unchecked exaggeration) until she was taken under tow and brought into harbor.

Newspaper clippings from the Vancouver Sun 03 May 1944 on Lockeport’s use of a sail at sea (via For Posterity’s Sake)

One of a half-dozen Bangors built by North Van Ship Repairs Ltd in Vancouver for the Royal Navy and then transferred to the Canadians on completion, Lockeport was commissioned on 27 May 1942, She served with the Esquimalt Force on the West Coast and then transferred to the Atlantic the next year, serving in turn with the Western Local Escort Force, Halifax Force, and Newfoundland Force until her engines forced her to Baltimore.

Returning to Halifax in April 1944, Lockeport spent the rest of the year with the Sydney Force and was frequently an escort to the Port-aux-Basques/Sydney ferry, capping her service with a trip to England in May-June 1945 to help clear mines.

She was paid off in July 1945 and sold for scrap three years later, earning a single battle honor (Gulf of St. Lawrence 1944).

A crew page remembers her war.

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