Wikipedia

USSSt. Lo

For other ships with the same name, seeUSS Midway.

USSSt. Lo(AVG/ACV/CVE–63)was aCasablanca-classescort carrierof theUnited States NavyduringWorld War II.On 25 October 1944,St. Lobecame the first major warship to sink as the result of akamikazeattack. The attack occurred during theBattle off Samar,part of the largerBattle of Leyte Gulf.

USSSt. Lo(CVE-63)
History
United States
Name
  • Chapin Bay(1942–1943)
  • Midway(1943–1944)
  • St. Lo(1944)
Namesake
Orderedas aType S4-S2-BB3hull,MCEhull 1100[1]
Awarded18 June 1942
BuilderKaiser Shipbuilding Company,Vancouver, Washington
Cost$6,033,429.05[2]
Yard number309[1]
Way number3[2]
Laid down23 January 1943
Launched17 August 1943
Sponsored byMrs. Howard Nixon Coulter
Commissioned23 October 1943
Renamed
  • Midway,3 April 1943
  • St. Lo,10 October 1944
Stricken27 November 1944
Identification
FateSunk bykamikazeaircraft, 25 October 1944
General characteristics[3]
Class and typeCasablanca-classescort carrier
Displacement
Length
  • 512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) (oa)
  • 490 ft (150 m) (wl)
  • 474 ft (144 m) (fd)
Beam
Draft20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) (max)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed19knots(35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range10,240 nmi (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement
  • Total:910–916 officers and men
    • Embarked Squadron:50–56
    • Ship's Crew:860
Armament
Aircraft carried27 aircraft
Service record
Part of: United States Pacific Fleet
Operations: Battle of Saipan,Battle of Tinian,Battle of Morotai,Battle off Samar,Battle of Leyte Gulf
Awards: Presidential Unit Citation,4Battle stars

Construction

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St. Lowas laid down asChapin Bayon 23 January 1943,[4]under aMaritime Commission(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1100;[2]renamedMidwayon 3 April 1943; launched on 17 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs Howard Nixon Coulter, commissioned on 23 October 1943.[4]

Service history

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MidwayleftAstoria, Oregonon 13 November 1943. She went dry docking on 10 April 1944. Aftershakedownon the west coast and two voyages toPearl Harborand one to Australia, carrying replacement aircraft,Midway,with Composite Squadron 65 (VC-65) embarked, joinedRear AdmiralGerald F. Bogan'sCarrier Support Group 1 in June, for theMariana Islands.She provided air cover for the transports and participated inairstrikesonSaipan[4]VC-65'sFM-2 Wildcatsclaimed to have shot down four and damaged one other Japanese aircraft during combat air patrol operations there.

On 13 July, she sailed forEniwetok,for replenishment before joining theattack on Tinian,on 23 July. Furnishing air support for ground forces on the island and maintaining an anti-submarine patrol,Midwayoperated off Tinian, until she again headed out for supplies on 28 July.[4]

Midwayremained at anchor in Eniwetok Atoll, until she got under way on 9 August, forSeeadler Harbor,atManus,Admiralty Islands,arriving on 13 August.[4]

On 13 September, she sortied with Task Force 77 (TF 77) for theinvasion of Morotai.Launching her first aircraft to support the landings on 15 September. She continued to assist allied troops ashore and provide cover for the transports through 22 September.[4]

After a refueling period,Midwayresumed air operations in thePalausuntil returning to Seeadler Harbor on 3 October. There, word arrived that the escort carrier had been renamedSt. Lo,10 October, to free the nameMidwayfor a newattack carrierand to commemorate theBattle of Saint-Lô,on 18 July 1944.[4]

Battle off Samar

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Main article:Battle off Samar

St. Lodeparted Seeadler Harbor on 12 October, to participate in theliberation of Leyte.Ordered to provide air coverage and close air support during the bombardment and amphibious landings, she arrived off Leyte on 18 October. She launched airstrikes in support of invasion operations atTacloban,on the northeast coast of Leyte. Operating with Rear AdmiralClifton Sprague'sescort carrier unit, "Taffy 3" (TU 77.4.3), which consisted of six escort carriers and a screen of three destroyers and fourdestroyer escorts,St. Losteamed off the east coasts of Leyte and Samar and her aircraft sortied from 18 to 24 October, attacking enemy installations and airfields on Leyte and Samar islands.[4]

Steaming about 60mi(52nmi;97km) east ofSamar,before dawn of 25 October,St. Lolaunched a four-aircraft anti-submarine patrol while the remaining carriers of Taffy 3 prepared for the day's initial airstrikes against the landing beaches. TheBattle off Samarbegan at 06:47, whenEnsignBill Brooks – piloting one of theTBF AvengersfromSt. Lo– reported sighting a large Japanese force comprising four battleships, eight cruisers and twelve destroyers approaching from the west-northwest, only 17 mi (15 nmi; 27 km) away. At the same time, lookouts onSt. Lospotted the characteristic pagoda-like superstructures of Japanese battleships on the horizon. Rear Admiral Sprague ordered Taffy 3 to turn south atflank speed.Vice AdmiralTakeo Kurita'sforce closed and by about 06:58 opened fire on the slow, outnumbered and outgunned ships of Taffy 3.[4]

St. Loand the other five escort carriers dodged in and out of rain squalls and managed to launch all available fighter and torpedo aircraft with whatever armament they had available. Pilots were ordered, "to attack the Japanese task force and proceed to Tacloban airstrip, Leyte, to rearm and refuel" as the carriers managed to dodge salvos from enemy cruisers and battleships.[4]

By 08:00, the enemy cruisers, approaching fromSt. Lo's port quarter, had closed to within 14,000 yd (13,000 m).St. Loresponded with fire from her single 5 in (127 mm) gun,[4]claiming three hits on aTone-class cruiser.[citation needed]

For the next 90 minutes, Admiral Kurita's ships closed in on Taffy 3, with his nearest destroyers and cruisers firing from as close as 10,000 yd (9,100 m) on the port and starboard quarters ofSt. Lo.Many salvos straddled the ship, landed close aboard, or passed directly overhead.[4]Throughout the battle, the carriers and their escorts usedsmoke screensthat Admiral Sprague credited with degrading Japanese gun accuracy. More effective were the attacks by the destroyers and destroyer escorts against the Japanese ships. All the while, Kurita's force was under attack by Taffy 3 aircraft and aircraft from the two other U.S. carrier units to the south.

Under attack from the air and fire from American destroyers and destroyer escorts, the enemy cruisers broke off the action and turned north at 09:20. At 09:15, the enemy destroyers which had been kept at bay by the exploits ofUSSJohnston,USSHoelandUSSSamuel B. Robertsas well as the other units of Taffy 3 – launched a premature torpedo attack from 10,500 yd (9,600 m).[4]The torpedoes had nearly run out of fuel when they finally approached the escort carriers, broaching the surface. ASt. LoAvenger, piloted byLieutenant, junior gradeTex Waldrop, strafed two torpedoes in the wake ofUSSKalinin Bay.[citation needed]

Kamikaze

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AkamikazestrikesSt. Lo

At 10:50, the task unit came under a concentrated air attack by the Shikishima Special Attack Unit.[citation needed]During the forty-minute engagement with enemykamikazes,all the escort carriers exceptUSSFanshaw Baywere damaged.[4]OneMitsubishi A6M2 Zero– perhaps flown by LieutenantYukio Seki– crashed into the flight deck ofSt. Loat 10:51. Seki was originally aiming to strike the carrierWhite Plainsbut damage from anti-aircraft fire made him change course to theSt. Lo.Its bomb penetrated the flight deck and exploded on the port side of the hangar deck, where aircraft were in the process of being refueled and rearmed. A gasoline fire erupted, followed by secondary explosions, including detonations of the ship's torpedo and bomb magazine.St. Lowas engulfed in flame and sank 30 minutes later.[5]

Of the 889 men aboard, 113 were killed or missing and approximately 30 others died of their wounds. The survivors were rescued from the water byUSSHeermann,USSJohn C. Butler,USSRaymondandUSSDennis(which picked up 434 survivors).[5]

The wreck is located near11°01′N126°02′E/ 11.02°N 126.04°E/11.02; 126.04.[6]

Awards

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Wreck

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The wreck ofSt. Lowas found by RVPetrelon 14 May 2019 and surveyed on 25 May 2019. The main wreck sits upright in 4,736 meters (15,538 feet) of water, on the edge of thePhilippine Trench.[7]

See also

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References

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This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

  1. ^abKaiser Vancouver 2010.
  2. ^abcMARCOM.
  3. ^Navsource 2019.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnDANFS 2020.
  5. ^abSmith 2014,pp. 14–15.
  6. ^Wreck.
  7. ^US aircraft carrier St. Lo images from RV Petrel at YouTube

Bibliography

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  • Cressman, Robert J. (19 February 2020)."Midway II (CVE-63)".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Naval History and Heritage Command.Retrieved11 November2020.
  • "Kaiser Vancouver, Vancouver WA".ShipbuildingHistory.27 November 2010.Retrieved21 October2018.
  • "USS Midway (CVE-63), later USS St. Lo (CVE-63)".NavSource Naval History.10 December 2019.Retrieved11 November2020.
  • Gerhardt, Frank A."Midway".U.S. Maritime Commission Database.Retrieved11 November2020.
  • "USS St. Lo (CVE-63) (+1944)".Wreck Site.Retrieved11 November2020.
  • Smith, Peter C (2014).Kamikaze: To Die for the Emperor.Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books.ISBN9781781593134.
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