Evening star., 1943-01-04
Toll Of 81 Planes, 3 Cruisers
Stirs New Esteem for BottIeship
Continued From First Page.)

Aircraft guns, including all 20 OF the
enemy dive bombers which made
the initial attack on it.
The second battle was the night
action off Guadalcanal Island
November IA, in which this battle
ship, in company with others, de-
Mberately entered japanese naval
trap. Due primarily to the fire
power of the battleships-the only
other American vessels were de-
stroyers-a Jap battleship or heavy
cruiser, three cruisers and one de-
ktroyer were sunk and another bat
tleship, a cruiser and destroyer
were damaged.
Capt. Gatch's battleship alone
accounted for three cruisers, its
16-inch guns blowing them to the
bottom long before they could get
their own guns within range.
y The distance of the action was
not stated in the Navy's formal
report, but it had previously been
reported to be more tlaan 8 miles.
In the October 26 fight Capt
Gatch's battleship was part of an
aircraft carrier task force which
was attacked by planes from a
Japanese carrier force. When the
Jap pilots spotted the capital ship
they concentrated on it.
Torpedo Hit Averted.
From HIP to 11:20 am. the
battleship engaged 20 enemy dive
bombers and all were shot down.
Half an hour later 40 torpedo planes
and dive bombers attacked. The
battleship's roaring anti-aircraft
batteries threw up cloud of steel
and only one torpedo plane got
through, the others either being
shot down or turning back.
n, The plane which did get through
was shot down after the ships anti
aircraft fire had spoiled the pilots
aim and averted a torpedo hit.
At Fifty-nine minutes after the first
attack the third one came. 1t was
made by "a dive bombers and tor
pedo planes. In this attack the ship
suffered one hit, on a turret, and a
bomb fragment wounded Capt.
Catch, severing an artery in his
neck, knocking him unconscious and
tearing the muscles of his shoulder.
Three weeks later Capt. Catch
reported again for active duty. His
commanding admiral, who was not
identified, noted that his left arm
was useless, but said, Il don't expect
you to strangle the Japs."
In the Santa Cruz battle the Jap
anese lost 100 airplanes definitely
and so others probably to American
carrier fighter planes and the bat
tleship's anti-aircraft fire. The Jap
carrier forces lost heavily in ships
to the torpedo and dive bomber
planes from the American carriers
and the American force lost one
aircraft, which has never been iden-
titled and one destroyer, the Porter.
Text of Navy Report.
The text of the Nays report fol-
lows:
On the night of last November
IA three japanese cruisers in close
column wheeled around the point of
Savo Island, off Guadalcanal-and
steamed right into 16-inch jaws of
death.
Several miles away United
States battleship prowled in search
Of just such prey. The battleships
big guns swung on the target and
the first salvo struck and set ablaze
one of the oncoming cruisers. Be-
fore the enemy warships could get
within range to retaliate-or, for
that matter, even discover what had
hit them-the United States battle
ship had sunk them all with its
far-reaching heavy weight blows.
The battleship was one of several
operating with the United States
naval forces in the Southwest Pa
cif1c. Already it had slugged through
the heaviest air attack yet made
on a battleship and on it's coming
tower was recorded a victory score
of 80 enemy planes shot down in
that engagement.
The following account of the
above two actions has been COM
piled y from reports reaching the
Navy @Department. Both engage
ments were previously reported in
Navy communiques Nos. 169-171-
177-194-195-198.
When the battleship joined the
naval forces in the Southwest Pa
ciflc many of the enlisted men in
the crew were entering a battle
area for the first time and some
of the junior officers were recently
commissioned Naval Reservists.
Japs Turn on Battleship.
ASK the ships company if they
are ready for action" Capt. Thomas
Leigh Catch, U. S. Navy, of 80
Gloucester street, Annapolis, Md,
the commanding officer, directed
not in the manner of "grandstand
play" but as a leaders way of let
ting his men know it soon would
be up to them.
The communications officer sig
nailed for attention on the ships
public address system. He read the
message. From end to end of the
ship, from coming tower to engine
room, nearly 1000 voices chorused
reply: Aye! Aye!"
American carriers, each with it's
own protecting force, moved out
to meet three japanese carriers
coming from the north of the Sol
onions. The United States battle
ship escorted one of our carriers.
The enemy went after this carrier
and made determined attempts to
reach it, but when the Japanese
flyers spotted the battleship, they
had visions of second Repulse and
Prince of Wales, and dove in con-
fidently, expecting to blast it apart.
But
The first attack lasted from 1l:12
to 11:20 on October 28," Capt. Catch
wrote in his report. There were
20 enemy dive bombers. All were
shot down"
The battleship had automatic
anti-aircraft guns that fairly bris-
tied along its length. 1t had
a secondary battery of larger guns
that placed a barrage of flying
steel thousands of yards away
through which planes must pass to