USS West Virginia (BB-48)

USS West Virginia (BB-48), a Colorado-class battleship, was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 35th state.

October 1944:  Battle of Leyte

Underway on 12 October to participate in the invasion of the Philippine Islands, West Virginia sailed as part of Task Group (TG) 77.2, under the overall command of Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf. On 18 October, the battle line passed into Leyte Gulf, West Virginia steaming astern of

Related Topics:
12 October - Invasion of the Philippine Islands - Jesse B. Oldendorf - 18 October - Leyte Gulf

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California (BB-44).

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At 16:45, California cut loose a naval mine with her paravanes; West Virginia successfully dodged the horned menace, it being destroyed a few moments later by gunfire from one of the destroyers in the screen. On 19 October, West Virginia steamed into her assigned station in San Pedro Bay at 07:00 to stand by off shore and provide shore bombardment against targets in the Tacloban area of Leyte. Retiring to sea that evening, the battleship and her consorts returned the next morning to lay down

Related Topics:
Naval mine - Paravane - 19 October - San Pedro Bay - Tacloban - Leyte

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heavy gunfire on Japanese installations in the vicinity of the town of Tacloban.

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On the 19th, West Virginia's gunners sent 278 16 inch (406 mm) and 1,586 five inch (127 mm) shells against Japanese installations, silencing enemy artillery and supporting the UDT (underwater demolition teams) preparing the beaches for the assault that came on 20 October. On the latter day, enemy planes made many appearances over the landing area. West Virginia took those within range under fire but did not down any.

Related Topics:
Underwater demolition team - 20 October

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On 21 October, as she was proceeding to her fire support area to render further gunfire support for the troops still pouring ashore, West Virginia touched bottom, slightly damaging three of her four screws. The vibrations caused by the damaged blades limited sustained speeds to 16 knots—18 in emergencies.

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For the next two days, West Virginia, with her augmented antiaircraft batteries, remained off the beachhead during the daylight hours, retiring to seaward at night, providing antiaircraft covering fire for the unfolding invasion operations. Meanwhile, the Japanese, seeing that American operations against Leyte were on a large scale, decided to strike back. Accordingly, the enemy, willing to accept the heavy risks involved, set out in four widely separated forces to destroy the American invasion fleet.

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