Evening star., 1942-04-13
Heroic Crew, BottIing Turret Fire So Hot
Shell Grease SizzIed, Saved Houston Once
BY GEORGE WELLER,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.

- ~ ~ -
BY GEORGE WELLER,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
PERTH, April ia 22-year- -ole
aviation machinist's mate, with 6
handful of other flying personne
headed by two pilot officers, saved
the United States cruiser Houston
from blowing up when, with heI
stern 8-inch turrets af1ame and re-
pair crews already killed, a Japan
ese bombing squadron rained ex-
plosives around her. Almost all the
men concerned are now listed as
missing because the Houston later
was lost after the Java Sea battle
somewhere in Sunda Straits, at
tempting to go to the rescue of the
disabled Dutch destroyer Evertsen.
But a corner of the veil Of naval
secrecy now has been lifted. making
it possible to tell in part the story
Of the February attack on two
United States warships, so miles
north of Madura Island, near
Bawean off the north coast Of Java
The Houston's companion war
ship, although suffering damage
escaped and the Houston herself
missed becoming the victim of jap
anese air superiority only through
the heroism of the flying personnel
in mastering the turret fire.
Fighting fire inside and with the
armored hood of the turret strewn
with bodies and piled with shells SO
hot the grease on them sizzled, the
aviators managed, by 20 minutes OF
hard work, to get the fire suff1-
ciently stifled so that the shells
failed to explode. The official re-
port commencing them perisheo
with the Houston. What they dio
only now has become known and
confirmed by eyewitnesses' state
mentS.
Pole Saved Houston.
The man who saved the Houston
was John William Ranger Of Giles
pie, Ill. He was the husky son OF
an immigrant Polish miner and hao
hardened his fists in many a labor
scrap. Two years in Junior college
was his education and he had al
tered his original difficult Polish
name to Ranger before enlisting.
Ranger was working under the
command of 1t. Jack Lamade- OF
Williafnsport, Pa, a 1882 Annapolis
graduate, when the alarm enemy
aircraft in vicinity sounded.
First aloft was 1t. Thomas b
Paine, who stepped into a catapult
monoplane, begoggled and helmeted
1t Paine, an Annapolis man, with a
wife and child in Coronado, Calf.
had been one of the fleets aviators
He was known among his friends
as the man who, while driving q
motor car at top speed, climbed sud-
denly into the backseat with the
passengers, leaving the front empty
and who once dialed his mothers
telephone number on the Houston's
switchboard, while 200 miles at sea
and complained about geeting nc
service.
Once 1t. Paine had shot away
1t. Lamade, second in command
Jumped into the cockpit OF a second
plane and his prop began to spin
But before he could clear, 46 twin
engined Jap bombers, hummine
through the clear blue 'sky, released
their first load.
1t. Lamade sat stiffened In his
plane as the gathering squeal OF
falling death came down on the
Houston. Columns Of green water
jumped skyward and Pickering frag'
ments few changing all over the
decks. They were big armor-pierc-
ing bombs intended first to penetrate
and then explode. The nearest Tel
S feet away from the Houstons
speeding gray flank.
Most of the bombs power, which
was intended to blow out the ships
vitals, was expended in the water
but fragments, flying upward
stripped all the fabrics from Lt
Lamade's plane, leaving him with
a tattered skeleton. Tearing of his
flying togs, 1t. Lamade ordered the
two remaining planes below decks
housed in deck hangers. Whlle tne
men. led by 1t. Walter G. WlnsloV
of New York City, worked the jar
bombers wheeled leisurely and begar
a second run.
The Houston sent up pun after
Duff of anti-aircraft fire, pocklne
the sky with cottony balls. But
because the anti-aircraft directors
had been hit the Houston's f1re
was. perforce, by guess and by God
and little calculated to discourage
the Jap wings. The Japs were
flying in an open U about 600 fee,
across dropping sticks, when the
leader plane came over the target
BY this method they consistently
achieved close, neat brackets over
the zigzagging warships.
Three more runs were made. or
the third run hits were scored on the
Houston's companion warship. The
ack-ack was getting hotter. A jap
bomber was hit and zoomed down
in q succession of sideslips, trying
to fall on the deck Of the other
warship, but missed and then
splashed into the sea. The f1rst
two runs had been made with me.
dunn heavy bombers, but on the
fourth and fifth the Jap planes
released bombs of the heaviest pos
sible caliber, 840-pounders. For the
fifth time the Houston was rela-
lively Vnscathed.
Fire Breaks Out In Turret.
Then came a whistle and an
enormous conclusion. A projectile
landed on the main deck between
the stern turret, whose guns were
then pointing to port, and the main
mast. Almost Immediately there
broke out the most terrible cry that
can be heard aboard a warship
Fire in turret No. g." A bomb
had made virtually a direct hit and
had been detonated by hitting the
e.