USS St. Lo (CVE-63)

{{Other ships|USS St. Lo|USS Midway}} {| {{service record |is_ship=yes |label= |partof=[[United States Pacific Fleet]] |codes= |commanders= |operations=[[Battle of Saipan]], [[Battle of Tinian]], [[Battle of Morotai]], [[Battle off Samar]], [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]] |victories= |awards=[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]], 4 [[Battle star]]s }} |} '''USS ''St. Lo'' (CVE–63)''' was a {{sclass|Casablanca|escort carrier}} of the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. On 25 October 1944, ''St. Lo'' became the first major warship to sink as the result of a ''[[kamikaze]]'' attack. The attack occurred during the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]. ''St. Lo'' was laid down as '''''Chapin Bay''''' on 23 January 1943; renamed '''''Midway''''' on 3 April 1943; launched on 17 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Howard Nixon Coulter; and commissioned on 23 October 1943, [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] Francis J. McKenna in command. She was renamed '''''St. Lo''''' on 10 October 1944 after the town of [[Saint-Lô]] in Normandy, France, which was the location of fierce fighting during the allied [[Operation Overlord|Normandy landings]]. ==Service history== After shakedown on the west coast and two voyages to [[Pearl Harbor]] and one to Australia carrying replacement aircraft, ''Midway'', with Composite Squadron 65 (VC-65) embarked, joined [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Gerald F. Bogan]]'s Carrier Support Group 1 in June for the conquest of the [[Mariana Islands]]. She furnished air coverage for transports and participated in strikes on [[Saipan]] on 15 June. She fought off several air attacks but suffered no damage during her support of the Saipan campaign. VC-65′s [[Grumman F4F Wildcat#Variants|FM-2 Wildcat]]s shot down four and damaged one other Japanese plane during combat air patrol operations there. On 13 July, she sailed for [[Eniwetok]] for replenishment before joining the attack on [[Tinian]] on 23 July. Furnishing air support for ground forces on the island and maintaining an anti-submarine patrol, ''Midway'' operated off Tinian until she again headed out for supplies on 28 July. ''Midway'' remained at anchor in Eniwetok Atoll until she got under way on 9 August for [[Seeadler Harbor]] at [[Manus Island|Manus]], [[Admiralty Islands]], arriving on 13 August. On 10 September, she sortied with Task Force 77 (TF 77) for the invasion of [[Morotai]]. Catapulting her first plane to support the landings on 15 September, she continued to assist American troops ashore and to provide cover for the transports through the 22nd. After stopping for fuel and ammunition at [[Mios Woendi]], ''Midway'' resumed air operations off Morotai. On 3 October, {{Ship|Japanese submarine|RO-41||2}} launched two torpedoes at ''Midway''. Capt. McKenna eluded them, but one struck the stern of {{USS|Shelton|DE-407|2}}. ''Shelton'' was later taken under tow but foundered. ''Midway'' returned to Seeadler Harbor on 7 October. There, word arrived that the escort carrier had been renamed '''''St. Lo''''' on 10 October to free the name ''Midway'' for a [[USS Midway (CV-41)|new fleet carrier]] and to commemorate an important victory of American troops in France who had captured the strongly defended town of [[Saint-Lô]] on 18 July 1944. ===Battle of Leyte Gulf=== ''St. Lo'' departed Seeadler Harbor on 12 October to participate in the liberation of Leyte. Ordered to provide air coverage and close air support during the bombardment and amphibious landings, she arrived off Leyte on 18 October. She launched air strikes in support of invasion operations at Tacloban on the northeast coast of Leyte. Operating with Rear Admiral [[Clifton Sprague]]'s escort carrier unit, "Taffy 3" (TU 77.4.3), which consisted of six escort carriers and a screen of three destroyers and four destroyer escorts, ''St. Lo'' steamed off the east coasts of Leyte and Samar as her planes sortied from 18–24 October, destroying enemy installations and airfields on Leyte and Samar islands. Steaming about {{convert|60|mi|nmi km|lk=on|abbr=on}} east of [[Samar]] before dawn of 25 October, ''St. Lo'' launched a four-plane anti-submarine patrol while the remaining carriers of Taffy 3 prepared for the day's initial air strikes against the landing beaches. The [[Battle off Samar]] began at 06:47, when [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] Bill Brooks—piloting one of the [[Grumman TBF Avenger#Variants|TBM Avenger]]s from ''St. Lo''—reported sighting a large Japanese force comprising four battleships, six heavy and light cruisers, and 10-12 destroyers approaching from the west-northwest, only {{convert|17|mi|nmi km|abbr=on}} away. At the same time, lookouts on ''St. Lo'' spotted the characteristic pagoda-like superstructures of Japanese battleships on the horizon. Rear Admiral Sprague ordered Taffy 3 to turn south at flank speed. [[Vice Admiral]] [[Takeo Kurita]]'s force steadily closed and by about 06:58 opened fire on the slow, outnumbered, and outgunned ships of Taffy 3. ''St. Lo'' and the other five CVEs dodged in and out of rain squalls and managed to launch all available fighter and torpedo planes with whatever armament they had handy (general purpose bombs and even depth charges.) The carriers chased salvos from enemy cruisers and battleships and ordered the pilots "to attack the Japanese task force and proceed to Tacloban airstrip, Leyte, to rearm and refuel". As salvos fell "with disconcerting rapidity" increasingly nearer ''St. Lo'', her planes, striking the enemy force with bombs, rockets, and gunfire, continued to harass the closing ships. By 07:38, the enemy cruisers, approaching from ''St. Lo''′s port quarter, had closed to within {{convert|14000|yd|m|abbr=on}}. ''St. Lo'' responded to their salvos with rapid fire from her single 5-inch gun, claiming three hits on a [[Tone class cruiser|''Tone''-class cruiser]]. For the next 90 minutes, Admiral Kurita's ships closed in on Taffy 3, with his nearest destroyers and cruisers firing from as close as {{convert|10000|yd|m|abbr=on}} on the port and starboard quarters of ''St. Lo''. Many salvos straddled the ship, landed close aboard, or passed directly overhead. Throughout the running gun battle, the carriers and their escorts were laying a particularly effective smoke screen that Admiral Sprague credited with greatly degrading Japanese gunfire accuracy. Even more effective were the courageous attacks by the destroyers and destroyer escorts at point-blank range against the Japanese destroyers and cruisers. All the while, Kurita's force was under incessant attack by Taffy 3 aircraft and planes from the two other U.S. carrier units to the south. Under heavy attack from the air and harassed by incessant fire from American destroyers and destroyer escorts, the enemy cruisers broke off action and turned north at 09:20. At 09:15, the enemy destroyers—which had been kept at bay by the daring and almost singlehanded exploits of {{USS|Johnston|DD-557|2}}—launched a premature torpedo attack from {{convert|10500|yd|m|abbr=on}}. The torpedoes had nearly run out of fuel when they finally approached the escort carriers, broaching the surface. A ''St. Lo'' Avenger, piloted by [[Lieutenant, junior grade]] Tex Waldrop, strafed and exploded two torpedoes in the wake of {{USS|Kalinin Bay|CVE-68|2}}. During the surface engagement, Taffy 3 lost {{USS|Gambier Bay|CVE-73|2}}, {{USS|Johnston|DD-557|2}}, {{USS|Hoel|DD-533|2}}, and {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|DE-413|2}} to enemy gunfire. ===Kamikaze=== [[Image:SL Exp 5.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A ''kamikaze'' strikes ''St. Lo'', causing an enormous fireball]] At 10:47, the task unit came under a concentrated air attack by the Shikishima Special Attack Unit. During the 40–minute engagement with enemy ''[[kamikaze]]s'', all the escort carriers except {{USS|Fanshaw Bay|CVE-70|2}} were damaged. One [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero|Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero]]—perhaps flown by [[Lieutenant]] [[Yukio Seki]]—crashed into the flight deck of ''St. Lo'' at 10:51. Its bomb penetrated the flight deck and exploded on the port side of the hangar deck, where aircraft were in the process of being refueled and rearmed. A gasoline fire erupted, followed by six secondary explosions, including detonations of the ship's torpedo and bomb magazine. ''St. Lo'' was engulfed in flame and sank 30 minutes later. Of the 889 men aboard, 113 were killed or missing and approximately 30 others died of their wounds. The survivors were rescued from the water by {{USS|Heermann|DD-532|2}}, {{USS|John C. Butler|DE-339|2}}, {{USS|Raymond|DE-341|2}}, and {{USS|Dennis|DE-405|2}} (which picked up 434 survivors). ==Awards== ''St. Lo'' received the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] for the heroism of her crew in the Battle off Samar and four [[Service star|battle star]]s for her World War II service. ==External links== {{Commons category|USS St. Lo (CVE-63)}} *[http://www.bosamar.com/ The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf] by Robert Jon Cox *[http://www.dondennisfamily.com/USS_St_Lo/index.html USS Saint Lo CVE-63 history site] {{Casablanca class escort carrier}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}} {{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}} {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Lo (Cve-63)}}