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History
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On the morning of 18 April, when the American warships were still some 150 miles from the planned launch point, an unexpected hitch developed. Japanese trawlers sighted and reported the task force. Vice Admiral Halsey decided to fly off the bombers immediately. Accordingly, all 16 of the heavily loaded B-25's, laden with bombs and extra fuel, rose from Hornet's spray-slicked flight deck and climbed unsteadily |
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into the leaden gray skies. Although the daring raid inflicted only minimal materiel damage upon the Japanese homeland, it nevertheless packed a powerful moralebuilding "punch." When queried as to the base from whence the bombers had come, President Roosevelt said "from Shangri-La." The combined Enterprise and Hornet task force retired eastward and made Pearl Harbor on 25 April. Departing again five days later, the ships, still screened by Vincennes, bent on speed toward the Coral Sea. However, they were too late to take part in the pivotal action which took place early in May in that beautiful body of water as planes from Yorktown (CV-5) and Lexington (CV-2) blunted the Japanese thrust toward strategic Port Moresby. Vincennes' task force returned to Pearl Harbor on 26 May but got underway again on the 29th, bound for waters off Midway Island, which, according to American intelligence reports, a Japanese invasion force was approaching. By 4 June, the heavy cruiser and her sister ship Astoria (CA-34), were steaming north of Midway streamer of smoke before splashing into the sea. At 1640, after American air attacks had crippled three of the four Japanese carriers, a group of torpedo planes ("Kates") from Japanese carrier Hirgu approached from the north. TF-17's radar soon picked them up when 15 miles out, and Yorktown launched planes to intercept as her screen deployed to bring an optimum concentration of antiaircraft fire to bear upon the approaching enemy. Three minutes after the first plane was spotted, combat air patrol F4F Wildcats from the carrier splashed one "Kate." The Japanese torpedo plane spiraled from the sky trailing a long streamer of smoke before crashing into the sea. Vincennes opened fire at 1644 with her 5-inch, 20millimeter, and 1.1-inch antiaircraft batteries on the Kates approaching from the port side. Increasing her speed to 25 knots and slowly turning to starboard,Vincennes kept her port guns trained on the enemy. While combing torpedo tracks, Vincennes bagged a Kate and sent it splashing into the sea 150 yards off her port bow. The sharp, bitter action ended as quickly as it had begun. |
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