Halsey's Ships are Identified (full article)

Halsey's Ships are Identified (full article)

United States. Navy--Japan; World War, 1939-1945--Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)

The headline at the top reads, "Halsey's Ships are Identified," with the byline below reading, "Fleet Made Up of 105 U. S. and 28 British Vessels." The column reads: "Guam. Aug. 16 (AP)--American and british fighting ships which played a major role in the final weeks of war in battering Japan into surrender were identified today by Admiral Nimitz. Packing a wallop of more than 1,000,000 tons of fighting steel, this great naval armada under Admiral Halsey ranged up and down the Japanese coastline, bombarding enemy cities and lashing inland targets with sawarms of carrier aircraft. America's newest and most powerful men o'war--105 of them--and 28 British combat vessels made up the fighting line flung against the reeling enemy. Hit 1500 Jap Planes. More than 1500 Japanese planes were destroyed or damaged in the weeks this great 3d Fleet--also known as Task Force 28--harried the enemy's seaboard. It also took a toll of nearly 1000 Nipponese ships and small craft--sunk, bleached, burned or damaged. Immense damage was done to war plants industrial areas, airfields and other ground targets. A light American surface unit was the only vessel damaged in the 37 days of operations, broken at times by raging typhoons. In all, there were eight American and one British battleships in Halsey's armada, 16 Americans and four British aircraft carriers, 19 American and six British cruisers and 62 Americans 17 British destroyers. In the fleet's train were scores of tankers, ammunition ships, escort carriers, destroyer escorts and miscellaneous supply vessels. In addition, submarines of the Pacific Fleet gave support with their offensive operations, search patrols and rescue actions. Praises Service Forces. In a statement accompanying the honor roll, the Admiral of the Fleet paid tribute to the tireless service forces which moved supplies across the Pacific and delievered them at sea to the fighting craft. This "great accomplishment," said Nimitz, made it possible for the bombardment forces "to continue their successive punishing blows against the Japanese homeland." Topping the roll of fighting craft so proudly announced were such mighty battlewagons as the Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin--biggest and most powerful of the American Navy. With the New Jersey, which was not with Hasley at this time, they form the 45,000-ton Iowa class. Their 16-inch rifles helped to lay waste military targets near the Japanese coast. Other American batteships were the Massachusetts, Indiana, South Dakota, North Caolina and Alabama. The British battleship in this bombardment force was HMS King George Fifth. American carriers from whose decks man-made typhoons swept against the enemy homeland included 10 of the 27,000-on Essex class and six of the independence class. Illustrious names of battle fame, in this and other wards, are in the list--the Lexington, Essex, Bennington, Hancock, Randolph, Ticonderoga, Yorktown, Shangri-La, Bon Homme Richard, Wasp, San Jacinto, Independence, Belleau Wood, Monterey, Bataan and Cowpens. British carriers were the Formidable, Implacable, Victorious and Indefatigable. U.S. Cruisers in Fleet. The American cruiser column included the heavy-type Quincy, Chicago, Boston and St. Paul -- hard-hitting vessels of 13,000 tons, 33-knot speed and nine eight-inch rifles each. Eleven others were of the 10,000-ton class and four of 6000 tons each but capable of speeds greater than 38 knots. The British cruisers were of 8000 tonnage, carrying 12 six-inch guns each, and lighter units. Most of the screening force of American destoryers were of the war-time Fletcher class, around 2100 tons. With their speeds of around 40 knots, they are probably the fastest combat vessels afloat. Even this mighty array of power--history's greatest--which Halsey flung against the enemy did not represent the maximum naval effort that could have been hurled into action. For instance, besides the super-battleship New Jersey, older battleships like the California, New Mexico and New York were not operating with the 3d Fleet at the time. Out of action also were the carriers Hornet, Bunker Hill, Franklin and Enterprise."

A newspaper article describing the U.S. and British ships that participated in the attacks in Japan. Edmund participated in this military action. The article includes derogatory language to refer to Japanese people.

16-Aug-45

26

2 x 13.5" (extended)

Newspaper clipping

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