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THE U.S.S. DELTA - WW2
1941 - The Delta was built in 1941 as a cargo ship for The Matson Navigation Lines. She was taken over by the Navy, and in late 1942 and early 1943, she received extensive alterations to become an Amphibious Repair Ship. She was put in service Feb. 14, 1943 when repairs and alterations were completed at the Camp shipyard in Philadelphia, PA.
March 4, 1943 - On Friday evening March 4th the U.S.S. Delta left Philadelphia, arriving in New York harbor Saturday morning March 5th. Here she joined a convoy of 30 to 40 ships for the voyage to North Africa to begin her long and important part in World War II.
 April 1943 - The Delta arrived in Oran, North Africa in early April 1943. About 10 days later she was moved from Oran to the French Port of Mers-EI-Kebir, a distance of about 5 miles from Oran. April, May, and June were spent in Mers-EI-Kebir harbor handling repairs to the more then 1000 Navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea. It was here that the Delta had her first engagement with the German Lutwaffe.
June 1943 - In late June 1943 the Delta moved from M.E.K. to Bizerte, North Africa. She set up shop in Lake Bizerte where the amphibious force was being assembled for the invasion of Sicily. The invasion was launched in southern Sicily on July 10, 1943 and total control of the island was complete by August 17,1943.
The Delta stayed in Bizerte for 8-1/2 months to handle the repairs to the amphibious ships used in the Sicily and Italy invasions. Noted repairs accomplished by the Delta while in Lake Bizerta were as follows:
(1)
An LST came along side literly tied togeather. It got caught on the top of a wave, and with the weight of its load the ship almost broke in half. The only thing holding it together was the bottom keel. It limped into us and tied up alongside. We were able to weld it back together with some added supports, and it made their invasion landing in Sicily.
(2)
Another LST tied up alongside that had a bomb hit on the upper deck, midship, and it went straight down into the bottom of the ship without exploding. They needed the bomb removed. We moved them out to an isolated place in the lake to work on it, because we didn't want it tied up along side with a live bomb in her keel. Our repair crew welded a square steel box, out away from the bomb, onto the bilge and bottom deck of the ship. Then our divers went underneath the ship and cut out a hole in the bilge big enought for the bomb to drop out. They had rigged a square perferated baSket under the cut out area big enough for the bomb to fall into. It worked to perfection and our small boat towed the bomb out into the ocean and disposed of it. The welders patched the hole they had cut out of the bilge, and the ship returned to duty.
(3)
This job consisted of replacing a propeller on an LST. They had damaged it going into shore with a load of tanks and trucks for our troops. The blade was bent and the prop needed to be replaced. We had heavy lifts and extensions to handle this job. Our divers were still in the water, and just about to finish, when the engines were started and the
propeller was engaged. It caught the air hose of our diver and pulled him into the blades. They crushed his helmet and cut off his air hose. We couldn't get him out in time to save his life. The officer up on the LST bridge thought his orders were to test the engine and engage the propeller. There was an investigation but I never heard the results.
 Sept. 1943 - During August and September 1943 the Germans made an all out effort to destroy the Delta with repeated air raids. The largest raid was made on Monday night September 6, 1943. They sent in scores of bombers and made a desperate effort to sink the Delta. A string of bombs landed in the water just about 10 to 15 feet off the starboard side of our ship from stem to bow. The Germans were driven off, and we were credited with shooting down one German plane and a possible second. One of the planes that were shot down landed in the water a short distance from our ship. The next day we sent down our divers to locate the plane. They did find the wreckage and brought up a few items such as the piolet's wallet, cap, and scarf. We never salvaged anything else from the plane.
Allied forces landed in southern Italy on September 3, 1943 and on September 8th Italy surrendered. The Germans, however, occupied all of Italy and continued to fight. On September 9, 1943 the allied forces landed near Salerno, Italy, and on October 1, 1943 American troops entered Naples, Italy.
March 1944 - The Delta was moved from Bizerte to Palermo, Sicily to be nearer to the operations in Italy. She spent about 5 months in the Palermo Harbor.
May 11, 1944 - The allied armies begin an offensive drive against the Germans that will allow a breakout from the Anizo beachhead and the capture of Rome
July 1944 - With the capture of Rome and the port of Naples in American hands, the Delta was moved from Palermo, Sicily to Naples, Italy. This put the Delta in a better position to handle the amphibious ships being readied for the invasion of southern France, which will take place on August 15, 1944. This would end the need for a large fleet of amphibious ships in the Mediterranean area and the repair work being done by the Delta
 September 1944 - With the invasion of southern France a total success, and allied troops moving through Europe, the Delta's job was coming to an end. On September 30, 1944 she was moved out of Naples, Italy to Palermo, Sicily for a stay of only a few days. From Palermo she moved back to Bizerte to help the many amphibibus ships waiting for necessary repairs for the return to the USA.
November 1944 - With repair work in Bizerte being completed, the Delta moved back to Oran. She stayed there several months working as a destroyer repair ship.
April 1945 - The war in the Mediterranean was in the last stages, and it was time for the Delta to return home. She sailed from Oran to Norfolk, VA, arriving at the Norfolk Navy
ShipYard late April 1945, 785 days since she left New York Harbor in 1943.
June 15, 1945 - At the Norfolk ship yard the Delta received armament modification and repairs. The crew had received their leaves, and now it was time to move out. The Delta pulled up anchor and headed south to the Panama Canal and then west to the Pacific Ocean.,
July 1945 - The first stop in the Pacific was Honolulu, Hawaii. There was little need for the Delta with all the repair facilities available in Honolulu.
August 5, 1945 - The Delta pulled up anchor on August 5th and headed west toward Japan. She stopped at Eniwetok Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, halfway between Hawaii and the Philippine, Islands.
August 15, 1945 - While in Eniwetok the Japanees accepted the United State's unconditional surrender. The fighting ceased this Wednesday the 15th of August 1945. The very next day, August 16th, the Delta left Eniwetok and headed west toward Japan. On Wednesday August 22nd the Delta arrived at, and joined the convoy consisting of the great 3rd and 7th Navy battle fleets, all cruising in Japanies waters. The Delta took her place in the convoy. The American contingent, of the Allied Naval Forces of Occupation, was on its way to Japan.
August 28, 1945 - Tuesday the 28th, the Navy's advanced units began entering Sagami Bay. This is the huge outer gulf before entering Tokyo Bay proper. By night fall all of the ships, including major elements of the British Pacific fleet, were inside Tokyo Bay.
August 30, 1945 - After our minesweepers had cleared the channel through Tokyo Bay the fleets moved up and anchored off of the Yokosuka Naval Base. The Delta was anchored just off the stern of the U.S. Battleship Missouri.
Sept. 2, 1945 - Sunday September 2nd, at 10:40 AM, the peace was signed with Japan on the stern of the U.S.S. Missouri. The Delta was close enough for us to see the Japanese dignitaries going aboard and taking their places at the table with the American military. |
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MY 30-DAY LEAVE AND UNCLE LARRY
 While on my 30 day leave in May 1945 I met up with my Uncle Larry who was a Catholic Missionary priest in the Philippines most of his life. He was stationed in the Manila area, taught, and lived at a Catholic University.
At the start of the war, all the priest and nuns were captured and interned in various Japanese prison camps. My Uncle Larry's last prison camp was at Los Banos which was across the Manila Bay from the City of Manila in the Philippine Islands. There is book written about this Las Banos Camp and it gives accurate and complete details of the treatment to the prisoners. The name of the book is "Deliverance at Los Banos", by Anthony Arthur.
During the battles to liberate the Philippine Islands, there was a heroic rescue by our American Marines, to free the prisoners being held in Los Banos. They crossed Manila Bay in small boats to Los Banos and liberated all the prisoners, returning them to Manila. It was a total success with no casualties. My Uncle was among the prisoners rescued. He was taken out of the Philippines to Hawaii, and then back to the United States to recover. He weighed 180 Ibs. when captured and only 78 Ibs when liberated.
It was nice that both of us were home at the same time. We got together a few times and it gave us the opportunity to have some private talks. He told me some horrifying stories about how they were treated by the advanced Japanese troops. When the occupation force took over it was some better. The food was always short and only enough to barely keep you alive. |
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MY TIME IN THE NAVY = 3 YEARS 2 MONTHS AND 10 DAYS
• I JOINED THE NAVY -AUGUST 15, 1942 -AGE 17
• I SPENT MY I8th BIRTHDAY AT GREAT LAKES NAVAL TRAINING STATION
• I SPENT MY 19th BIRTHDAY IN LAKE BIZERTA, N. AFRICA.
• I SPENT MY 20th BIRTHDAY IN NAPELS, ITALY
• I SPENT MY 21st BIRTHDAY IN TOKYO BAY, JAPAN
• I WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE NAVY AT GREAT LAKES NAVAL TRAINING STATION ON OCTOBER 24th, 1945. |
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