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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Today in History: the Engagement Off Samar, 1944 |
| 2009-10-25 |
| The US Navy's Crowning Moment of Awesome. For an example of what I mean by that, consider the actions of USS Samuel B. Roberts, a 1,350-ton destroyer escort: When LCDR Copeland saw that the other DE's failed to act, he turned the ROBERTS around and followed the last destroyer at about 3,000 yards astern. Lieutenant Commander Copeland surveyed the situation... "...My Executive Officer was down in CIC and I just took a look at the general situation and where the cruiser column was and estimated the course to put me sixty degrees on the bow of the cruiser column....by seaman's eye I estimated my course change to the left to bring me to what I estimated the course would be and at the same time I reached over and grabbed the handle on the squawk box....I said "Well, Sis on you, pister. Let's go!" and added, "...give me a course to put me sixty degrees on the bow of the leading ship in that cruiser column...." In less than thirty seconds I was given a course that was bout six degrees to the left of the one I had picked....I came to it and we were on our way and committed to go in on a torpedo attack...." In they went..."We started on the torpedo attack. I reached over and picked up the JV telephone and called No. 1 engine room where the chief engineer's battle station was. That was Lieutenant Trowbridge. In formal conversation while on a strictly duty status I always called the officers Mister....in the privacy of the Wardroom, however, we called him "Lucky"....He answered my call and I said, "Lucky, this is the Captain....we are going on a torpedo attack and I have rung up full speed; we are going in at 20 knots. As soon as we fire our fish, I will ring up flank speed and I want you to hook on everything you've got. Don't worry about your reduction gears or your boilers or anything, because there's all hell being thrown at us up here, and we are just fortunate we haven't been hit yet, so don't worry about it." That was the last time I ever talked to Mr. Trowbridge because he was lost with the ship." ROBERTS charged the heavy cruiser HIJMS CHOKAI at 24 knots, approached to within 4,000 yards and emptied her three torpedo tubes. A short while later CHOKAI was hit by at least one torpedo....from the only destroyer escort of Taffy 3 to score hits with her main armament.... After releasing her torpedoes, ROBERTS turned about and headed back towards the fleeing escort carriers. Propulsion limits in the engineering plant were ignored and steam pressure was allowed to rise to 670 pounds in a plant designed for a maximum of 440. Shaft RPM reached 477 on shafts designed for 420. This added push enabled SAMUEL B. ROBERTS to obtain a speed of over 28 knots.... From about 0800 onward, ROBERTS fought the Japanese warships with her only remaining weapons....two five-inch guns. It was during this time that the GAMBIER BAY began disabled and floundered.... Shortly after 0841 ROBERTS slugged it out with HIJMS CHIKUMA and knocked out her #3 8-inch turret. Impressed by the performance of his gun crews, LCDR Copeland later wrote..."...these two guns, No. 1 and No. 2, beat a regular tattoo on the Jap cruiser's upper works. The boys took the ammunition just the way it came up the hoist, nobody cared what it was. They just took it as it came. Five-inch blind loaded and plugged, 5-inch AA, 5-inch common, 5-inch AP, 5-inch starshells, 5-inch proximity fuse: just whatever came up the ammunition hoist. It was fodder for the guns. They threw it in as fast as they could get it. It was very odd to see those starshells banging off over there in the daylight.... The boys set up a terrifically rapid rate of fire. We carried 325 rounds per gun and it's almost unbelievable that from the time those guns received word to commence firing till the time they ceased firing...it was a period of only thirty-five minutes...gun No. 2 had put out 324 rounds of 5-inch ammunition." The man responsible for the impressive performance of Gun No. 2 was it's Gun Captain - Gunner's Mate Third Class Paul Henry Carr, USNR. Carr was killed in action that morning after his gun exploded. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal. ROBERTS valiant performance off Samar was soon to come to an end for "The Destroyer Escort that fought like a Battleship." Back to LCDR Copeland..."...one of my lookouts yelled up at me, "Captain, there's 14-inch splashes coming up on our stern." I turned and looked just in time to see 14-inch splashes...great big ones...off our fantail...for the moment, those shells seemed to be a greater hazard than the 8-inch shells from the cruiser. So I yelled, "All engines back full....this was an emergency...I didn't even give them a stop bell. That was one time the old ship really shuddered and shivered and quaked. She just kind of lay down and pretty nearly backed her stern under water. About the time we were starting to back down, directly over us and right ahead about 100 yards, "Whoosh", were three or four 14-inch shell splashes. The instant those things hit I yelled, "All engines ahead flank." We had just barely started moving when we were no longer dodging and chasing salvos...we had walked right into an 8-inch salvo...." Fittingly enough, the battle occurred on the feast day of St. Crispin: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #7 more than enough glory to go around. What constantly amazes and humbles me is that we always seem to have men and women that rise to the occasion. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-10-25 14:31 |
| #6 There's always been more than enough glory to go around. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-10-25 13:43 |
| #5 Hell Midway was nice... but the most important naval engagement in US history remains... The Battle of the Capes. Hail France! Hail DeGrasse! Eat it Graves! w00t! |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-10-25 13:01 |
| #4 I've heard that the Arizona bubbled like mad that day. /AnonyMouse |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-10-25 12:58 |
| #3 Nice, but not Midway. Old farts revanche. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-10-25 12:57 |
| #2 To this day the battle of Layte gulf is hotly debated in the halls of the Navy. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-10-25 12:49 |
| #1 The story - Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-25 11:46 |