Captain Lee ordered, “Open fire, target stern guns.”
The Three forward-firing four-inch guns, the bow, port, and starboard guns fired almost simultaneously. The thirty-three-pound projectiles screamed across the void between the ships in three and a half seconds. The first went wide, landing in the water about amidships a short distance wide of the target point. The second explosion ripped into the rear of the bridge, penetrating the conning tower, turning the lower level into useless junk. The third nosed into the base of the after turret’s barrel, rendering the weapon useless. The second salvo landed about the after deckhouse, exploding within the structure. Several fires were ignited among class A and B flammables.
The fires marked the cruiser in the dead of a black night, presenting a tempting target for the two other destroyers. The cost was high. The three forward guns unleashed five-point-five inch shells upon the Huffman, hitting her twice, with one miss. The first shell hit her in the forward fireroom, putting it out of commission and killing the engineers. The second round struck the Fire Control unit atop the bridge, putting it out of commission as well.
Captain Okuda had to yell over the gunfire to be heard, “Torpedo that destroyer on the port side and turn all available guns on the one to starboard.”
The after port dual torpedo launcher swung out. When the calculations were completed, the Torpedo Officer called out, “Fire.” The Eight Year Type twenty-four-inch torpedo leaped from the tube and began its short race to the target at thirty-eight knots.
In the excitement of the battle, nobody saw the big torpedo rushing at them. The big beast struck the destroyer in the after fireroom; its thousand-eighty-one-pounds of hybrid explosive material tore the destroyer nearly in two, only a few ribs left intact held the stern half to the rest of the ship. Six minutes later, the two parts, still connected, slipped beneath the black waters.
The shock of the devastation brought upon the HUFFMAN shocked the men on the DAVIS, who saw the ship lifted out of the water. Captain Lee grabbed the TBS, “AGAR, DAVIS, HUFFMAN sunk, possible torpedo or hit in her magazine. Request to target screw, when slowed or disabled, I will approach on the starboard side for a torpedo attack.”
“Granted, notify me, and we will drop back.”
“DAVIS copies.” OOD, inform Gunnery to targets screws.”
“Gunnery, aye.”
The three forward-firing guns began firing, and splashes jumped about the stern of the ship in front of them. A second volley brought results, as sparks and heavy smoke exploded from the ship’s stacks. Then the cruiser slowed and took additional shell hits from AGAR.
Captain Lee called out, “OOD prepare for torpedo attack to port, target the cruiser, she’s well-lit now. Helm ten degrees to port.” A minute later, the Captain called, “Ten degrees to starboard,” putting them parallel to the cruiser. “All ahead full, stand by for surface action to starboard, torpedo attack, five torpedoes.”
The Captain conned the destroyer into the classic attack position, then yelled, “Ripple fire five torpedoes.”
Five muffled coughs came from aft the first stack as five of their twenty-one foot long Mark eight torpedoes leaped into the water and rapidly accelerated to the thirty-six knots. The run-time was four minutes.
“All guns, surface target zero-eight-five-degrees off the bow, standby to engage.” Captain Lee ordered.
At the same time, the AGAR was half-mile ahead and moving into the range of the cruiser as well. “OOD, surface action, starboard side, target the cruiser, continuous fire.” In less than a minute, the five mounts began lobbing fifty-four-pound armor-piercing rounds at the cruiser. Lee’s smaller destroyer opened up with three of its four-inch guns again, just as the first torpedo struck the bow of the enemy ship. Almost immediately after the first torpedo struck the bow, three more torpedoes exploded along the length of the older, once proud cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Both destroyers ceased fire and watched as the five-hundred-thirty-five-foot ship, fires flaring from bow to stern, began to list to port rapidly. The listing did not slow, and the ship rolled over and began her terminal dive into the depths of the Solomon Sea. Both ships waited to ensure no near-surface explosions would cause damage to their ships before slowly moving into the debris field in a search for survivors. Several bodies and parts of bodies were seen. Three groups of enemy sailors were spotted a short distance northwest of the sinking site, but they waved off any attempts to rescue them. The Japanese destroyer, which was ordered away from the doomed cruiser by its commander, swung back to search of survivors. The American patrol had already steamed southeast to meet with the two destroyers there.
To Captain Gilford, the sailors in the water were seaman, like himself and his men. They refused rescue; he knew their reasoning and respected it. He understood he might have to fight them another day, but for the time being, he was satisfied with his actions.
Gilford called the DAVIS on the TBS, “Lead the way to the area where HUFFMAN sank; we need to look for survivors.” The two ships headed back to the debris field of the sunken destroyer. They were able to locate and rescue over a hundred men from the clutches of the sea.
****
At the same time, the HALLIS and RICHARDSON were trading shots with two Tokyo Express runners. The two enemy ships sustained some damage, as well as the American attackers. The loaded destroyers turned away into the Solomon Sea, rather than lose their cargo.
HALLIS signaled their teammate to return to the area where the AGAR was tangling with an enemy cruiser and a destroyer. Their mission had been a success, no supplies of additional troops were allowed to land on Guadalcanal.
Captain Gilford called for an assessment of each ship for his after-action report to Cactus. DAVIS reported in first, “No damage, no casualties, fifteen percent of main battery ammunition expended, five torpedoes expended, fuel at fifty-nine percent.” Captain Lee said in his deep southern drawl.
RICHARDSON was next, “No damage, no casualties, ten percent main battery expended, fuel at eighty-seven-percent.”
Next was HALLIS, No damage, no casualties, eleven percent main battery expended, and eighty-three-percent fuel on board.”
“HALLIS, put the patrol in a staggered formation, return to our north track while I prepare, and send my report in.”
“HALLIS copies.”
Half an hour later, Gilford received a message:
XCCE
Cactus1
Return patrol to X-Ray for post-action inspection.
Cactus 1 sends.
“OOD, signal to HALLIS; RTB X-Ray, twenty knots.”
“Aye, sir.”
HALLIS sent the following track message to the three ships;
KJOB
XCCE
NESS
APQE
Course one-zero-two, distance two-five mi.
Course two-six-five, distance twenty-seven mi.
Course three-zero-two, twenty-four mi to X-Ray.
Set speed twenty-knots.
CL sends
The Officers of the deck on each ship called out the orders, maintaining the staggered formation with a built-in zigzag.
A couple of hours later, the four destroyers pulled into Assembly Area X-Ray. While the four captains headed for the converted passenger liner, now serving as the area command ship, the rescued men went to the medical facility on Tulagi. There they would be checked over and prepared for their trip to the states. Each man was granted thirty days survivors leave, and those who were retained would go on to other assignments.
Aboard the area command ship, the captains were in conference with the area commander, and the various levels of command for the destroyers. A step-by-step history of the mission was recreated with the memories and after-action reports.
By fifteen-hundred hours, the work was completed. The DAVIS and RICHARDSON received new orders to escort duties, while the Captains Gilford and Lanner were held for a follow-up meeting for their next assignment.
C
aptain Donavan said, “We have a special escort mission for the two of you. Here are your orders. They’re sealed and can only be opened after you sail. I can tell you this much; you will be escorting a pair of motor torpedo boats with a mission. Your job is to ensure they get back in one piece; I know your both competent and dedicated officers with top-notched crews. The boats are mission-critical, they must return, even if we have to send out a rescue for you.”
The two friends looked at one another, then said in unison, “We’re ready, sir.”
“I never thought otherwise,” Donavan replied. “Top off supplies, fuel, rearm. You have until the day after tomorrow to get ready. Your departure time is twenty-three-hundred, you will rendezvous with your charges five miles west of Olevuga Island at twenty-four-hundred, and the rest is in your orders.”
“Aye, sir,” the two responded, signaling the end of the meeting. Neither man said anything as they left the ship. At the wharf, Gilford asked, “Can we meet at the dock on Tulagi at about eighteen hundred to go over some coordination? The ships will be busy, and privacy is at a premium.”
“I’ll be there.”
The two destroyers weigh anchors and made a quick trip to a buoy off Tulagi, where the replenishment would take place. The captains met, armed with charts and codebooks. With the secrecy mandated, the decision with all communications between ships and boats would be by subdued signal lights. The four vessels would operate in radio silence.
The two cans slowed as they approached the rendezvous point a lookout reported, “Starboard wing lookout, two motor torpedo boats approaching from the east, a hundred yards distance, course two-six-three, speed ten knots.”
“Bridge, aye,” the talker replied. Then he relayed it to the OOD. Captain Lanner sat in his chair on the starboard side, watching the MTB’s moving closer.
The signal lamps began clacking with recognition codes and coordination as laid out in the orders the four vessels had. As the OOD reduced the speed of the HALLIS, the two boats slid in between the two destroyers, and the single-file formation sailed into the vast New Georgia Sound.
Captain Lanner called the Operations Officer, Lieutenant JG Robert Brown, “Bob, have you had time to get the radar tweaked to optimum performance?”
“Our obligations haven’t allowed time for a proper tweaking, but the Chief and First Class did a great job on it. Right now, we’re reading forty miles out, and have excellent returns.”
“Very well, Mr. Brown, give your men a ‘well done,’ for me. If you have any problems, call me at any time, that unit could most likely be saving lives on this mission.”
“Aye, sir, and thank you for your support.”
The evening skies were clear until zero-zero-fifteen when latent clouds slipped into the area with a cool front. Captain Lanner checked the messages for the latest weather report. The Cactus meteorologist forecast the incoming cool front and clouds, but the message said no stormy weather was in the offering. The clouds were a blessing, considering the apparent outstanding eyesight and optics in the Japanese Navy.
The small flotilla sailed on; their course kept them in about the middle of the Sound, giving the radar the clearest picture possible. Captains Gilford and Lanner planned the course to make the best use of radar in spotting enemy ships.
Eighty miles from they're rendezvous with the MBT’s, they took a sharp turn to two-four-two degree where the group accelerated to thirty knots in an attempt to disappear. This leg ran for another sixty miles. With the sea calm and quiet, they took the time to refuel the MTBs. Then turned to two-nine-five degrees for the southern coast of Rendova.
Twenty hours from beginning the mission, the MTBs headed alone toward the near coast. The boats would hide in a pre-selected cove, where natural foliage camouflage covered the boats. The destroyers would linger out of sight of land until the boats signaled they were returning to base.
Captain Lanner still sat in his chair, where he dozed on and off during the quiet night. Both radar and sound remained quiet but diligently searched for any sign of enemy presence. Some of the newer men were anxious, but the experienced men provided a sense of security that kept the younger men feeling less fearful in their situation.
The Captain woke and checked with Operations, “How are the scopes?”
“Sir, we were getting ready to call, there is activity over Munda, but nothing headed our way at this time.”
“Navigator,” the Captain called, and inside a minute, the Navigation Officer of the watch appeared, with area charts.
“What’s our distance to Munda Airfield?”
The junior grade lieutenant checked the chart with a divider, and said, “We’re a little over thirty-two miles from there.”
“And from the pickup point?”
“Sixteen miles, sir.”
“Keep a sharp eye on that Munda crowd, if they even think about coming out here, we need every bit of time we can muster.”
“Aye, sir,” the watchmen responded.
“Do you think they’re onto us, sir?” The OOD asked.
“Only their movements will tell us that.”
“Sir,” the talker interrupted, “Radar says the planes over Munda have formed up and are on a course of two-zero-five and climbing, speed one-eight-five.”
“Very well, tell radar to continue monitoring their movements. Talker call radio, and have a messenger report to the bridge for an outgoing message.”
“Aye, sir. He read back the message, to which The Captain
nodded his approval.
The taker jumped at an incoming transmission, the color drained from his face, “S…Sir, radar reports a flight of planes have broken off from the group from Munda and is heading our way from zero-six-six-degrees true, at five-thousand feet, speed, one-six-five.”
The OOD looked at the Bo’ sun, and he lit off the 1MC, the young man blew attention on his whistle, then repeated the information throughout the ship.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Captain Lanner grabbed the TBS, which was switched to a special frequency the two used for inter-ship communications. “AGAR, HALLIS.”
“Go.” Came the response.
“Have you been notified about the incoming enemy aircraft?”
“Yes, we’re getting ready.”
“Any chances we could pull off the flag ruse again?”
“Don’t know, but we could try.”
“Will do, switching now. HALLIS out.”
“OOD all hands topside get under cover immediately. Signal, lower the ensign and raise the Rising Sun, and get one to the fantail staff, on the double. Messenger, find Ensign Tomaka and seaman Ho, tell them to get into their costumes, and on deck to greet the incoming enemy planes.”
The bridge crew jumped into action, following the Captain’s orders. On the AGAR, the same thing was happening. The Stars and Stripes came down, and the Japanese Naval ensign was raised to the top of the mainmast, and a smaller ensign went on the stern staff.
All they could do is hope and pray the enemy aircraft would take the bait and fly on.
“All hands, this is the Captain. There is an unknown number of enemy aircraft headed our way, as you may have heard. Some of you remember a while back we flew the Japanese battle flags in a ruse to avoid being an attack, and it worked. We are trying to repeat the ruse now, everyone except for decoy crewmen must remain undercover. Stay by the access to your weapons in case we have to go to battle, Captain out.”
Two men were to stay topside. One, Ensign Ito Tomaka, a Nisei that is a second-generation of American-Japanese, who joined the Navy, and Seaman Second Class Hai Kwok, from San Francisco, California, who’s Asian features are to be seen by the enemy pilots.
It only took a few minutes for the enemy flight to make the ship's position. Six aircraft peeled off and headed for the unknown ships. Once they arrived, two Japanese Army Ki-43 “Oscars” dived to inspect the destroyers, which were turning up to high speed.
“Ito, they fly our flag, what do we do now?�
�
“I heard a report about two strange destroyers flying our flag, but intelligence said, they must be Americans in disguise. I have never seen any of our ships with that configuration, we attack. Signal for another six attack aircraft."
“Hai.”
“HALLIS, AGAR, I don’t think they bought it, they’re coming back in a combat spread.”
“Roger that.”
“OOD,” Captain Lanner called, “All stations, any aircraft are viable targets, engage them and get us some maneuvering room.”
“Aye, sir,” the OOD said, “Talker, to Fire Control, fire on any aircraft within range of this ship. Helm, standby for severe maneuvers.
The Captain again grabbed the TBS, “Tom, request permission to open our separation to at least two miles.”
“Granted.” Captain Lanner nodded to the OOD.
“Helm, fifteen-degrees to starboard, Talker, call Signal, have that PT boat fall back to our starboard quarter and follow us.”
The call went out none too soon, with the crew ready the ship stood by to fill the skies with explosive shells.
The Oscars split their formation, with each plane taking a speeding, wild maneuvering destroyer skipping over the calm waters at thirty-seven knots. To the planes, forty-two and a half miles an hour seemed slow. The over-eager pilots pressed their attack and bore in as they did against the inexperienced Chinese targets when they were in the China campaign.
The five-inch guns were the first to open fire. Their fifty-four AA Common shells began putting a long-distance curtain of shrapnel. As the fighters bore through the black popcorn bursts, they became the targets of the forty-millimeter cannons, then the rapid-firing twenty-millimeter guns.
The Oscars are highly maneuverable, but not as fast as the premier Zeke or Zero. The IJA Air force Zeke is the same as the Navy version, the Zero. Also, the Oscars only had two of the twelve-point-seven machine guns in the cowl. The Zero sported two seven-point-seven or thirty caliber machine guns in the cowl but mounted two twenty-millimeter cannons in the wings. The larger cannons gave them serious firepower in comparison.
Attack of the Greyhounds Page 19
