The next day we left the area and started steaming northeast. We refueled form tankers late the next afternoon and started steaming due north to strike Honshu.
We arrived on the 13th which was also Friday. The weather was very bad with visibility only 150 feet so we did not launch planes. As there was no hope for a change in the weather we steamed south so the enemy would not detect our force. Late in the afternoon we refueled once more in very heavy seas from the battle boats and although we made it ok one of the cans lost three men over the side. Two were later rescued.
We headed north again and on the morning of the 14th Lady Luck favored us. The battleships went in and bombarded the beach. There were 6 wagons, 6 cruisers, and 37 destroyers in the bombardment group. The group also had 200 planes overhead as fighter protection.
We were placed on the 60 mile picket with three other cans and the only planes that came over during the entire day was a couple of Japanese Bettys. Neither of these were looking for us because the C.A.P. shot one of them down before the Japanese knew what hit him. The other escaped due to one of our fighters running out of ammo and the others guns jamming. We remained on the picket station all day and were at battle stations from 0330 to 2000 that night.
During the day we received reports that a crew of one of our TBF’s (Torpedo Bomber) had been shot down and the crew was in the water in the channel. The channel was too shallow for a destroyer to get in so we sent a sub in on the surface to pick up the three men. The enemy’s fire was so intense until the sub was forces out of the channel. The crew was picked up that night by a destroyer after the crew drifted out in deeper water.
The next day was clear & cold and everything was the same as the first day. The bombardment group merely shifted targets and our planes hammered away at everything in sight. We remained on picket station for the second day in a row and once more we were at battle stations all during the day. Nothing developed however and every thing was quiet. The latest reports were good and a large steel center received the full attention of our battle wagons. The pilots reported AA fire much heavier but no air opposition whatsoever.
Late that night we retired and headed south once more to refuel again from tankers and take on supplies ammunition and fuel. We had hopes of also receiving mail but wasn’t sure. We met the tankers on the morning of July 16. We refueled and as usual had the mail passing detail throughout the day. We did not receive any U.S. mail however and that didn’t help morale any. We left the fueling area and headed once more for the capitol of the Rising Sun, Tokyo. We steamed all night and arrived in the Tokyo area early next morning.
We launched air strikes form the carriers all day and as usual there was no opposition whatsoever. We screened the carriers through the day. Late that afternoon at 16:30 the battle boats started steaming in for shore bombardment. They started at 2300 and the bombardment lasted until noon the next day . We retired to the south a 150 miles during the night. We had a British task force in the area comprised of two battleships, 2 cruisers, 3 carriers and 15 cans. Their battleships went with our battle force for the bombardment.
All the next day we sent air strikes as well as air strikes from the British carriers. As usual there was no opposition and very few targets. We spent a quiet day and late that afternoon steamed south to refuel from tankers.
We arrived at the fueling area on the morning of July 19. We refueled and brought ammunition. The British force came south with us and refueled at the same time. There was also on hospital of ours sight during the day.