On December 7, 1944, exactly three years after
the Pearl Harbor attack that pushed the United
States into World War 2, the 77th Infantry
Division led by Major General Andrew Bruce
made an amphibious landing 3.5 miles south
of Ormoc City, Leyte, in the Philippines.
The area was Leyte's largest and most
crucial Japanese stronghold and supply
base, and while the 77th's three Infantry
Regiments came ashore virtually unopposed,
the same could not be said of the
Navy’s ships in the surrounding area.
As the American destroyer USS Mahan patrolled
off Ponson Island, nine Japanese bombers and
four escort fighters suddenly appeared on
the horizon and attacked her with all their
might. The ship then suffered the wrath of
one kamikaze bomber, but just as the crew
thought they were done, one bomber after
another kept diving straight into them…
Leading Destroyer
USS Mahan was the lead ship of the US
Navy's eponymous class of destroyer vessels,
named after a 19th-century naval historian.
Her design boasted many significant advances over
more traditional ships of the type,
including protective gun shelters,
emergency diesel generators, and a
third set of quadruple torpedo tubes.
The ship was commissioned on September 18, 1936,
and measured 1,725 long tons at the deep load,
had an overall length of 341 feet 3 inches, and
was powered by a duo of General Electric's geared
steam turbines that generated a maximum speed of
37 knots. In addition, her main battery consisted
of five 5-inch 38 caliber guns, equipped with a
fire-control system configured for surface and
aerial targets. And during wartime, her complement
expanded to 250 officers and enlisted men.
In 1937, Mahan and her crew left the
Atlantic and steamed toward her new
station at Pearl Harbor as part of Task Force
12. At the time, tensions between Japan and
the United States were at an all-time high as
the Second Sino-Japanese War had broken out,
and it only got worse after the
invasion of French Indochina in 1940.
Then, as the United States and other European
powers set up embargoes on iron and oil imports,
the enraged Japanese decided to bring the
United States to the forefront of World War 2,
beginning with the surprise attack
on the Pearl Harbor naval base.
That fateful day on December 7,
1941, Mahan was at sea along with
the aircraft carrier Lexington, three
cruisers, and four other destroyers.
Lexington's mission was to ferry Marine
aircraft to reinforce Midway Island that day.
However, after news of the attack on the base,
the task force commander received instructions
to search for the Japanese strike force instead.
The group was unable to locate the
enemies during the following days,
and the task force returned to Pearl Harbor on December 12.
Even so, Mahan would have many encounters with
Imperial Japanese forces throughout her career…
Stellar Efforts
Early in World War 2, USS Mahan
and her crew took part in raids
all over the Pacific Theater, mainly
in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands.
For her participation in the Battle of the Santa
Cruz Islands in October of 1942, renowned Admirals
Chester Nimitz and William Halsey commended
Mahan's destroyer group for its stellar effort
in screening aircraft carriers USS Hornet and
USS Enterprise against highly difficult odds.
The destroyer also participated in the amphibious
landings at Salamaua, Lae, and Finschhafen during
the New Guinea campaign the following year to
take the northeast coast from Imperial Japan.
She also took part in the landings
at Arawe and Borgen Bay, New Britain,
providing support for the troops at Los
Negros Island in the Admiralty Islands.
In early 1944, after extended wartime service
in the Pacific Theater, the veteran destroyer
was ordered to head to California for an
overhaul at Naval Shipyard at Mare Island.
Wartime refits brought the vessel’s
weaponry down to four 5-inch guns, and
additional armament included twin 40-millimeter
cannons and four to six 20-millimeter guns.
Because she was primarily intended for
surface and anti-submarine warfare,
she was not heavily armed with anti-aircraft weapons.
After exercising for months, Mahan
returned to New Guinea on October 20,
escorting convoys between Hollandia and
Leyte. Then, as the year neared its end,
she performed anti-submarine patrols
off the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.
One More Mission
In November, lousy weather and hostile terrain
bogged down the land campaign
to seize Leyte from Imperial Japan.
The most significant impediment was the Japanese's
ability to reinforce and resupply
their headquarters at Ormoc City,
on the island's western side, and the American
forces' inability to counter this advantage.
Consequently, the unavoidable decision was made
to attack Ormoc City with an amphibious operation.
On the morning of December 7, 1944, several troops
from the 77th Infantry Division landed just south
of the city. At the time, Mahan was under orders
to stand out for the anti-submarine patrol line.
After arriving at her station in Ormoc Bay at
the crack of dawn, the vessel changed course
and headed toward a fighter director
station five miles from Pore Island.
Then, at 9:43am, nine twin-engine Japanese
bombers detected an escort of four
more fighters approaching them.
The crew was given the order to open fire,
and lookouts aboard Mahan quickly noticed
three American P-38 Lightnings attempting
to overtake the Japanese fighters
and bombers, bringing three down.
As two damaged bombers began smoking,
the nearest one to the vessel changed
course and went into a steep banking
dive directly toward the destroyer.
Leveling off only 50 feet above the
water off the ship's starboard beam,
the Japanese bomber closed to within 2,000
yards of the vessel and headed for the bridge.
Mahan's gunners fired incessantly at the incoming
aircraft and the gunner scored several hits,
successfully blowing the aircraft
apart only 50 yards away from the ship.
Incessant Attacks
The second bomber was not far behind and
was quite disoriented from the explosions.
It then passed over Mahan before turning
about and successfully crashing into her.
This time, the attacker struck
between the waterline and the
forecastle deck level near one of the 5-inch guns.
It also tore off the destroyer's mast,
entirely disabling her radar and radio.
What followed were some of the most disturbing
suicide bomber attacks ever recorded.
In his nonfiction investigative book
Kamikaze, author Raymond Lamont-Brown wrote:
[QUOTE] "Observers were to record of this,
one of the most unusual and devastating of
kamikaze assaults of 1944, that the Japanese
aircraft used torpedo-launching tactics,
but when they had been hit ... they switched
to kamikaze attacks, diving on Mahan".
The third and fourth bomber aircraft
flying toward Mahan then crashed into
the sea as they were taken down
by the ship's accurate gunfire.
A fifth plane then hit the now-struggling
destroyer on her starboard side, knocking down the
forward stack and foremast, while a sixth struck
also the starboard side, next to gun number two.
Amidst the chaos, Mahan's men valiantly fought off
more Japanese bombers threatening
to strike the vessel repeatedly.
A seventh kamikaze pilot streaked in on a strafing
run. Damaged by gunfire from the vessel's gunners,
the burning Japanese aircraft struck the water
only a couple hundred yards ahead of the ship.
Another kamikaze bomber that was already
struggling after being hit by brave Lightning
pilots then attempted to crash into the destroyer,
but missed and also exploded into the sea.
Finally, after the ninth Japanese aircraft
passed overhead, the shocked crew aboard
Mahan made emergency flank speed to try and
reach other vessels of her attack group.
Crucial Decisions
As they were being attacked by the
relentless Japanese kamikaze bombers,
damage control crews on board Mahan valiantly
struggled to extinguish the fires spreading
through the wardrooms, gun shelters,
mess compartments, and forward magazines.
Commanding Captain E. G. Campbell, a survivor
of the sinking of the USS Perkins destroyer
in November of 1943, found himself in
charge of a similarly chaotic situation.
Campbell kept receiving troubling reports of
raging fires throughout the ship, particularly
in the spaces below deck. The fires also caused
explosions of ordnance stored in the vicinity.
After a few minutes, it was evident that
Mahan's high speed only fanned the fires,
and the disarray below deck prompted the captain
to give a final order to abandon the ship.
At 10:25am, less than an hour after the first
kamikaze attack, the ship was entirely evacuated.
Soon, destroyers Walke and Lamson arrived on the scene
of the attack to begin picking up the survivors.
Campbell
Minutes after the last survivor left the
ship, Captain Campbell scuttled Mahan with
a combination of torpedoes and gunfire.
The ship was gone in a matter of minutes.
Despite the devastating hits from three
kamikaze pilots and the ensuing fires,
the casualties from that fateful day were not as
high as they could have been. The losses that day
included six men and 31 wounded crewmembers,
with only 13 requiring hospitalization.
Lieutenant Commander Campbell received
a Silver Star for his brave actions
during the kamikaze attack and the
subsequent sinking of the vessel,
as well as Mahan's successful bombardment
of Cape Gloucester on December 26, 1943.
According to the captain, there could have been
much more losses if it weren’t for the brave work
of his crew, which did an almost miraculous
task in fending off so many kamikaze attacks.
Despite being mostly inexperienced teenagers,
their performance was exemplary,
disciplined, and courageous.
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