One of these documents is a first-hand account of the COLBERT’s struggle to survive Typhoon Louise, a terrible storm that swept across Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on October 9 and 10, 1945. in April of 1945 in Bainbridge Maryland, Company 3195 and, was This was very largely due to the active and well directed efforts of all hands in assisting one another, particularly in evacuation of grounded and sinking ships. ComServDiv 104 under Commodore T.J. Keliher, was assigned to the salvage work. These were enroute on 9 October, and in less than a week after the storm, supplies were fairly well built up; emergency mess halls and sleeping quarters had been erected for all hands, and 7500 men had been processed for return to the United States. other Our forces from Nagasaki to Wakayama experienced winds of 40 to nearly 60 knots on the 11th and 12th. Although expected to pass into the East China Sea north of Formosa on 8 October, the storm unexpectedly veered north toward Okinawa. Your email address will not be published. and found your site. That letter is presented below. Casualties were low, considering the great numbers of people concerned and the extreme violence of the storm. A few were lost. Almost all the food, medical supplies and other stores were destroyed, over 80% of all housing and buildings knocked down, and all the military installations on the island were temporarily out of action. TYPHOON Approximately 80% of all housing and buildings were destroyed or made unusable. During this period, the wind shifted to the north, and then to the northwest, and began to blow ships back off the west and north reefs of the Bay and across to the south, sometimes dragging anchor the entire way. [1] Instead, storms in this season are identified and named by the United States Armed Services, and these names are taken from the list that USAS publicly adopted before this season had started earlier this year. It became a typhoon and a category 1 equivalent storm on the SSHWS scale. Runways are being cleared of debris, but every single aircraft is grounded until each is inspected for damage. Shortly after, Louise began to weaken, and hit Japan as a strong tropical storm. It briefly was over waters before it hit Mainland China as a tropical storm. So, we are researching this subject and hope to have definitive answers soon. The bay was now in almost total darkness, and was a scene of utter confusion as ships suddenly loomed in the darkness, collided, or barely escaped colliding by skillful use of engines, and were as quickly separated by the heavy seas. Extract on the Typhoon from Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas report on the Surrender and Occupation of Japan. NESTOR (ARB) was forced to start maneuvering as early as 1020, in order to avoid INCA (IX), which had started to drag at 0950. She was carrying a shipload of recently liberated American POWs and headed stateside. ARL-15 (Repair Ship Landing Craft),  He was a Carpenters I've wondered about this for a little while now, because of information like this map and this map which show that for the invasion of Kyushu (Operation … Ships at sea were enabled to maneuver clear of the worst of the storm, and sustained only minor damage, despite heavy seas. We are dedicating this site to David Borgs grandfather, George A. Required fields are marked *. Communication and meteorological services were blown out at most bases by 1900. Typhoon "Louise" The 9 October 1945 Storm at Okinawa. On 9 October, when the storm passed over the island, winds of 80 knots (92 miles per hour) and 30-35 foot waves battered the ships and craft in the bay and tore into tents, Quonset huts and buildings ashore. At the Naval Air Bases some 60 planes of all types were damaged, some of which had been tossed about unmercifully, but most of which were reparable. Food stocks were left for only 10 days. On July 27, 2000, The webmaster for the LSM These wild voyages by damaged ships caused a nightmare series of collisions and near escapes with other drifting ships and shattered hulks. The sudden shift of the storm caught many ships and small craft in the constricted waters of Buckner Bay (Nakagusuku Wan) and they were unable to escape to sea. According to his discharge papers, Polson was a Coxswain Sv6 USNR, so I’m guessing he was in COLBERT’S boat group division. Nevertheless, the subsidence at 2000 was a relative one, from "super-typhoon" to typhoon conditions, with steady winds of 80 and 60 knots throughout the night, and some gusts of higher velocity. TYPHOON LOUISE October 9 - 10, 1945 aftermath in Buckner Bay, Okinawa. Tropical Storm Doris existed from June 18 to June 21 and did not make landfall. Medical facilities were so destroyed that an immediate request had to be made for a hospital ship to support the shore activities on the island. At 1420 a sudden shift of wind drove NESTOR off the beach, flipped her around end for end, and drove her back on the beach alongside OCELOT (IX 110). Personnel casualties were 36 killed, 47 missing, and 100 seriously injured. scanned if you would like to post these pictures I would gladly I stopped to find someone to tell about a body that graves registration hadn’t found yet. That evening the storm slowed down and, just as it approached Okinawa, began to greatly increase in intensity. Also, in Spring 2016 I had located and talked with Dwight Huddle, a crewman from LEON who actually saw COLBERT strike the mine. A total of 12 ships were sunk, 222 grounded, and 32 damaged beyond the ability of ships' companies to repair. Some of these Quonsets were lifted bodily and moved hundreds of feet; others were torn apart, galvanized iron sheets ripped off, wallboarding shredded, and curved supports torn apart. I can’t say how many planes we have here, but ‘hundreds’ does not cover it. I have photos from Typhoon Louise and I quit counting at forty-something, with a long way to go. The sudden shift of the storm 12 hours before its expected maximum , from a predicted path 150 miles west of Okinawa to an actual path that brought the center of the storm less than 15 miles east of Okinawa's southeast coast, caught many craft in the supposedly safe shelter of Buckner Bay without time to put to sea far enough to clear the storm. Typhoon "Louise" The 9 October 1945 Storm at Okinawa. damage. Tropical Storm Betty formed on May 13, 1945, and began to move in a northeastern direction. Paul Polson was a Coxswain, a member of the Boat Group aboard the USS COLBERT APA 145 during WWII. Almost all the food, medical supplies and other stores were destroyed, over 80% of all housing and buildings knocked down, and all the military installations on the island were temporarily out of action. Javascript Delay Function, Baylor Dining Halls, Round Marble Dining Table, Raglan Primary School Monmouthshire, What Is Makaton, Citi Rewards+ Card Login, Municipal Services Meaning In Urdu, Municipal Services Meaning In Urdu, Javascript Delay Function, Where To Report Bad Property Managers,