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This history is an excerpt of
Alan Kline's Biography.
Gunnery Practice
The USS Enright sailed for gunnery practice in the North Atlantic off the
coast of Maine and New Hampshire.
Convoy CU-38 to Cherbourg, France and Portsmouth, England
On September 5th 1944 we joined up with nine other Destroyer
Escorts to provide protection to 43 merchant and troop ships headed for
Cherbourg, France in convoy
CU-38. The ten escorts were positioned in the form of a V, with
five escorts on each side of the convoy. The main purpose of the Escorts was
to protect the front and sides of the convoy from submarine attack and keep
the subs from getting inside the screen. Once the convoy passed the
submerged submarine, the
submarine could not catch up and attack from the rear, unless it
came to the surface where it was subject to being fired on or rammed by the
ships in the screen. The
submarines of that era were driven by diesel engines while traveling on the
surface but, when under water they used battery power which limited the
underwater speed to 9 knots (10 miles per hour), The escorts could go 20
knots but, we traveled in a zigzag evasive pattern to ward off a torpedo
attack which lowered the convoy speed to less than 15 knots.
The escort ships had sonar (a sound detection system), similar
to a radar system that would send sound waves down to the bottom of the
ocean which would bounce off any hard surface and return a signal to the
detection system on the ship, the time interval between sending the signal
and receiving its return would indicate the depth or range of the object and
if it was a sub, a large fish or wreckage would be indicated by the strength
and characteristic of the return signal. From this information a good
operator could usually determine what the object was. The USS Enright had
several contacts during the trip and although we did not see or have any
indication of destroying a submarine, our attack was very spectacular. The
ship that made contact would pull out of the screen and head toward the
contact while hoisting a large black flag with white crossed bones on the
main mast and blasting a very loud Klaxon horn (the other ships would move up to
fill in the gap in the screen). The Destroyer Escort had depth charges (55
gallon drum filled with explosives and containing a pressure sensitive fuse)
stacked on racks at the stern and mounted on K-guns on both sides
of the ship. As the attacking ship approached the target it would start to
discharge the depth charges into water from the racks and K-guns as it
traveled over the targets location, the resulting explosions would erupt the
ocean around the ship as it continued dropping charges until the convoy had
past. The ship would then abort the attack and return to its position in the
convoy. We continued this until we safely arrived at Cherbourg, the destination port
on the coast of France.
We did not stay in Cherbourg but, instead went across
the Channel to Portsmouth England. As we entered the port we hit a buoy and
damaged one of the ship’s propellers, requiring us to go into dry dock for
repairs. The repairs took several days and then we sail for the States. We
had a safe return trip with no surprises and when I arrived on October 3rd
1944.
Gunnery Practice and Convoy UGS-59 to Oran, Algeria
After I returned to my ship we sailed north for gunnery practice off the
coast of Portland Maine. We then sailed south to Norfolk, VA to meet our next convoy
UGS-59 and on November 1 1944 headed for the Mediterranean Sea port of Bizerte, Tunisia
in North Africa. The trip took 21 days and was about the same as
the previous convoy; we did not have liberty in Bizerte but, did manage a
couple of hours in the seaport town of
Oran, Algeria. On our return to the
States we refueled at
Ponta Delgada in the Azores Islands off the coast of
Portugal. As we first enter the port the buildings on the beach resemble one
large fort but, as we approached you could see that they were individual
buildings painted to resemble a fort. We left the Azores and headed for the
States arriving at New London, Connecticut on December 1st.
Submarine Evasive Tactics (New London, CT) and Conversion to Auxiliary
High Speed Transport (Boston, MA)
In New London, we practiced
evasive tactics with submarines until late January, then to Boston Harbor
where we entered the shipyard for conversion to an
Auxiliary High Speed
Transport (aka APD), a Destroyer Escort
modified to carry 150 troops in addition to the crew members. Rumors had it
that after completion of the modifications we were headed for the Pacific
Ocean. The crew moved off the ship to shore barracks during the
conversion.
Sailing for through Panama Canal, headed for Pacific Duty
We left Boston on March 28th 1945 and proceeded
South to Norfolk, VA and on to Miami, FL conducting training engagements with
American submarines and aircraft along the way and arrived at the Panama
Canal on April 17th. We went through the locks to Balboa Panama
then up the west coast to San Diego, CA and west to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Underwater Demolition Teams (predecessors to Navy SEALS) Board the USS
Enright in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
On
May 7th 1945 Germany surrendered, the war was over in Europe and
the USS Enright was boarding an Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) for practice beach clearing
operations on several islands in Hawaii. The UDTs were used, during an
invasion to clear the beaches of mines and other anti invasion structures
before the invading forces arrived. The training as well as the actual beach
clearing was done at night. The APDs were constructed for use as the” Mother
Ship” to support the teams during an invasion.
We were too late for use
during the invasion of Okinawa but, probably would be used for the invasion
of Japan. It was our job to take the team close to shore where they would
launch inflatable boats to get to the area to be cleared. We would remain in
the area until they returned and were secure on board our ship. We did this
training for about two weeks and after having our last liberty in Hawaii, boarded 150
UDT passengers and joined a Destroyer Escort to escort a group of Navy Transports, APAs, west
to Eniwetok (map) in the
Marshall Islands.
Eniwetok and Ulithi
Eniwetok is seven miles long and less than one mile
wide. It is the largest of 15 islands that form an atoll or narrow ridge of
land that encircles a large body, or in this case 600 square miles of ocean.
There are many atolls in the Marshall Islands and thousands more throughout
the Pacific. The islands making up the atolls are the tops of very steep
mountains extending from the Pacific Ocean floor.
Our location on the globe is now eleven degrees north
of the Equator and eighteen degrees west of the International Date Line as we leave Eniwetok and head northwest to
Ulithi
(map)
another atoll in the
Caroline Islands. We went ashore on a small
island in the
atoll. The island had a fence separating the troops from the natives of the
atoll who had come to the island to sell their wares to the troops. I bought
a few things and mailed some money home at the post office on the island.
Battle for Okinawa
We left Ulithi and headed north to the East China Sea
and on June 11th, 1945 arrived at Okinawa, an island in the Ryukyu Chain
which is located between Taiwan (Formosa) and Japan. Okinawa is 66 miles
long and 3 to 10 miles wide, the Allies invaded the island on April 1945, first
with 180,000 combat troops, 368,000 support troops and 1320 Navy Ships, it
was the largest amphibious operation in the Pacific during the war. We
joined up with other escorts on Picket Duty in the East China Sea protecting
the ships in Naha Harbor from submarine attack and stayed in the area for
the rest of June. Enemy planes were in the sky day and night, they were
either out of our firing range or being engaged by our aircraft. The dog
fights at night were very spectacular, we were usually at battle stations
and from my position on the gun deck I could see the explosion when a plane
was hit and the sky light up as it fell into the East China Sea, it appeared
that the pilots went down with their planes. While we were refueling in Naha
Harbor we witnessed a Kamikaze plane fly into an Landing Ship Tank (LST) that was docked just
across from us, the plane hit the massive ramp doors on the Landing Ship and
fell into the water. Our closest encounter came when an enemy plane flying
behind an American aircraft , to avoid detection, dived on us, flew over our
mast and dropped two bombs which straddled our ship and exploded in the
water, one behind our stern, the other forward of our bow. From my “front
row seat” at my battle station I could see flames coming out of what was
probably the plane’s exhaust, thinking it was hit I shouted out, “we got
him” several times as the plane flew over. The USS Enright’s guns had not been
fired.
We were all very excited about our close encounter and
how lucky we were, no one mentioned my shouting and I certainly didn’t, but
lucky we were. During the 3 month Okinawa campaign the Navy lost 36 ships
and 368 were damaged, most from enemy air craft and submarines. The subs
were in the area, our sonar detected them, one enemy torpedo exploded in
our ship’s wake, and we dropped plenty of depth charges, killed a lot of
fish but, as far as I know no submarines were killed, so I guess we were even. Organized and most mop up fighting was completed by the
end of June 1945 but Okinawa was still being attacked by enemy aircraft until
Japan’s surrender in mid August.
Philippine Islands
We left the Picket line on July 1st
to escort a communication ship to Leyte in the Philippine Islands and
arrived there 3 days later, just in time to celebrate the 4th of
July with the ship anchored in the harbor, having turkey and fresh churned
ice cream for dinner. Food wise the Navy had it good. The next day, July 5th
1945 the organized fighting was over and the Philippine Islands were
declared secured. Mop up operations were still going on in the southern
islands near Borneo until mid August
We stayed in the Leyte area for two weeks enjoying
going ashore on the small islands in Leyte Gulf for swimming and beach
parties. On one Sunday they held boxing matches aboard the ship. I entered
and lost by a decision, we used big boxing gloves, nobody got hurt and it
was fun.
Convoy from Leyte Gulf, Philippines to Okinawa. Typhoon
We left Leyte and joined up with a destroyer and seven LSTs and headed north back to Okinawa. While still in the Philippine Sea we
picked up a submarine contact and started dropping depth charges around the
contact area. We continued patrolling for the sub until the next day when
two destroyers took over the task and we headed north to join up with the
convoy. When we arrived at Okinawa it was under a severe typhoon, Naha Harbor
was closed and we joined other ships to ride the storm out at sea. During
that evening one of the ships got hit broadside by a very large wave which
caused it to roll seventy degrees and take sea water down the stack. When
this cold sea water came in contact with the superheated steam drum it
caused an explosion. I don’t know how much damage the explosion did but, it
could have killed members of the fire room crew.
Convoy from Okinawa to Leyte Gulf, Philippines
After the storm we returned to Naha Harbor to refuel
and pick up another convoy for escort back to Leyte. Things were warming up
now and the fleet was getting ready for the invasion of the Japanese
Islands. We left Okinawa heading south and when we were one day out picked
up another submarine contact in the Philippine Sea. The sub was probably not
a threat to our convoy and we were the only escort so, we stayed with the
convoy and arrived at Leyte Gulf on July 24th. It turns out that
six days later, July 30th an enemy sub torpedoed and sunk the
heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis in the Philippine Sea.
Transporting Passengers and Mail
By that time we had already been given another
assignment and were heading south to the Southern Islands and Borneo to
deliver mail and passengers. We stopped at Lloilo on the Isle of Panay;
Puerto Princesa on the Isle of Palawan; Cebu on the Isle of Cebu; Zamboanga
on Mindanao and finally Brunei Bay In Borneo. We did not go ashore at any of
these places but, island people came out in boats selling their wares and
diving for coins. One evening we were approached by a covered boat and the
man on board flashed a light inside the covered area revealing a beautifully
decorated woman dressed in a red and gold long gown and invited us to slide
down the anchor chain for a good time.
We made one more mail run to the same islands and while
on that trip the US Air Force dropped the “A” bomb on Hiroshima, August 6th
and on Nagasaki, August 9th. On August 15th the
Japanese agreed to an unconditional surrender. The Japanese surrender took a
while to spread to other countries still engaged like China and Russia,
also, there were still submarines that did not get the word so, we still
traveled in convoys and maintained war alert.
On August 21st we joined a 5-inch DE (destroyer escort with a
5 inch caliber gun) to
convoy two Auxiliary Ships to a position 300 miles south of Tokyo where the
Fleet was assembled waiting for orders. When we arrived we circled the area
for two days and then joined the DE for the return trip to Leyte. On the
first night out we hit another storm and had to cut our speed to seven
knots. Storms occurring between Leyte and Japan happen often and are very
bad. If you head into the storm too fast the bow will rise out of the water
and then slam down causing a heavy shudder through out the ship. This is
very damaging to the ships structure so you slow down and the ship rolls
side to side. We had been traveling back and forth in the area for almost
three months so most of us got used to it, but a few including some of the
mess cooks never did. You see some awful sights while waiting in the mess
line for your meals during a storm.
The official signing of the Japanese surrender was held
on board the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay at 8 am Sunday morning
on September 2nd 1945. We were in Leyte getting ready to leave
for Manila, where we would join a convoy and head north to Japan. The last
time we had liberty in any city was the middle of May when we left Pearl
Harbor, so we were hoping that this four month streak would end soon.
Japan
Well
it didn’t in Manila when we picked up the 27 LSMs (Landing Ship Medium) and headed north to
Japan, arriving in Tokyo Bay on September 17th. A storm had hit
the area so we continued north to Sendai on Honshu Island. We went ashore
several times for beach parties on small islands in the area, on one of our
shore trips, after we played ball and finished our two cans of beer four of
us took a stroll away from the beach. As we walked back into the island you
could see that people lived there because many of the hills had been
terraced to provide flat plots for gardens, as we continued we came across a
small village. A group of women standing around talking noticed us as we
approached and immediately went into their houses or what looked like grass
huts. Pretty soon about twelve or more men came out of the huts and came
toward us. Naturally we were not armed and it didn’t appear they were, we
stopped walking and waited for them to come to us. It turned out that one of
the men had been a radio operator on a ship that had traveled between Japan and
San Francisco and could speak English. We were invited to his home which was
a well constructed woven grass exterior building, served tea, talked a while
and then returned to our ship. We were pleasantly surprised that they had
been so friendly because we had no idea what was going to happen when they
started to approach us. Approaching this village had been a dumb thing
because although I don’t think any of us would have done harm, they didn’t
know that and just two months before we had been bitter enemies. We
continued to see this friendliness by the Japanese as we made our way around
the island of Honshu and back to Tokyo Bay and our first liberty in a town
or city since we left Hawaii.
Tokyo had been cleaned up since the bombing. Whole city
blocks were void of buildings but, the rubble had been neatly piled up at
the end of the block ready to be taken away. We passed General Douglas MacArthur’s
headquarters and as we were crossing the street he came out of his quarters
and drove off with his driver.
Manila, Philippines
We had been in Japanese waters for five weeks and it
was time to move, so we joined two other APD’s, APD-65 and APD-72 for our trip back
to Manila. We had good weather all the way and the three ships played follow
the leader doing all types of turns and maneuvers, this was tough on the
fire room crews but we enjoyed the challenge and tried to keep up. I was too
far down in the hole to have any association with the ship’s Captain or any
of the officers but they seemed to know what they were doing. We had a well
run ship, there was no bullying from the people in command, they just
expected you to do what they asked and we did. We were kept busy but, still
had time off for beach parties, movies or shore liberty when possible. The
crew responded positively, worked hard and effectively, the ship was ready.
When we were requested to go somewhere we went and the best part we came
back. The Chief Water Tender was my main point of contact and I kiddingly
asked him when he was going to give me a second class rate. His answer was
that I would not make a pimple on the rear end of a water tender, but to my
surprise shortly after that I was offered the rate. I turned the offer down
after I found out that the rate was frozen and that I would probably be
transferred to another ship and remain in the area when the USS Enright returned
to the States.
We arrived at Manila Bay on October 31st and
stayed two weeks working on the boilers in the fire room and on liberty in
Manila. The city, the largest on the island of Luzon suffered a lot of war
damage. It had been occupied by the Japanese from December 1942 until
February 1945. They were starting to get back but there was still a lot of
clean up to be done. We could count the masts of 20 sunken ships within a
one mile radius of our anchorage. I think it was while on liberty in Manila
that several of us decided that we would play “real navy” and have a couple
of beers and go find a cat house. I don’t remember how we found it but it
was on the water front and in a not too friendly area. We paid to enter the
building, walked down a hallway and each of us entered a separate room.
As I entered my room I saw what appeared to be an old, very hard looking,
naked woman sitting on a bed. She didn’t speak English but, motioned for me
to come over, I won’t give you any more details, it will probably bore you
to death, I know it did me. When I left the room I put a big grin on my
face, went outside and told my friends how great it was.
Shanghai, China
We completed our work on the boilers and boarded 150 passengers for a
trip to Shanghai China. We headed to the East China Sea where on two
occasions our radar picked up floating mines, which we destroyed and arrived
at the Navy base on the Whangpoo River in Shanghai the day before
Thanksgiving.
We stayed four days, had one liberty which I enjoyed riding in rickshaws
all over the down town area.
Manila, Philippines
For our return to Manila we boarded a group of interned Philippine
musicians (from Shanghai, China) named Loupes Band. On our way to
Manila we made an overnight stop at Okinawa where the band entertained us
with a concert .
Loupes music was high brow compared to what we were
used to from the ship’s PA system. One song still sticks in my mind, "One
Meat Ball" by Hoagie Carmichael, I think the lyrics were “you get no bread
with one meat ball.” It really got my moves going. After leaving Okinawa, we
had to go 180 miles off our course to pick up two sick Navy men off a ship
in the Philippine Sea. As we returned to course and approached Luzon Island
a sea plane came out, landed on the water and boarded the sick men for
delivery to the hospital.
Sailing back to the USA
After our return to Manila we discharged our band
passengers and took on 200 high point men that were returning to the States
for discharge. Yes, we were going home. We were scheduled to make fueling
stops in Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, HI and arrive in San Diego, CA just before Christmas.
As we came out of the San Bernadino Straights into the Philippine Sea we hit
another storm which slowed us down for three days until we refueled in
Eniwetok. As we were heading east to Pearl and while working on my cleaning
station I discovered that a section of the ship’s haul had rusted out and
sea water was seeping into the boiler room. The hole was above the water
line and not an immediate problem, I notified the duty officer and he
relayed the information to the captain. The decision was that the ship’s
welders would make the repairs rather than go in to dry dock and delay our
return to the States. The ship’s welders made the repairs when we got to
Pearl and we arrived in San Diego on Christmas Day three days less than
eight months after we left.
We left three days later, went south to Balboa Panama
and east through the Panama Canal and up the east coast of Florida and in to
the St. Johns river to Green Cove Springs, just south of Jacksonville where
we tied up to a group of DEs and APDs already being decommissioned and
preserved for future wars. I worked on the USS Enright for four months and then
a group of us now high point men departed by train to Lido Beach, Long
Island New York where I was discharged on May 20th 1946 to end my
two years two months and seven days service to my country.
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