CRIPPLE DIVISION 1

October 12-17, 1944

By the 12th, the fleet had reached Formosa and begun a heavy air strike. At sunset, Japanese planes came. Their air attack lasted throughout the night. Mobile's anti-aircraft battery shot down one. More Allied strikes were launched the following morning, with more enemy air attacks beginning again at sunset.

During these attacks, the heavy cruiser Canberra was struck below her armor by an aerial torpedo which ripped a huge hole in her engineering spaces, letting in 4500 tons of water and killing 23 men. Miraculously, the ship didn't sink, but she was dead in the water. (The USS Canberra was a new American cruiser, but instead of being named for a U.S. city, she was named to commemorate an Australian cruiser sunk at the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942.)

The USS Wichita was directed to take the Canberra in tow and Mobile's cruiser division (ominously, number 13) was ordered to escort the cripple, along with six destroyers. This was designated Task Group 30.3, commanded by Rear Admiral L. T. DuBose. On the morning of October 14th, they began their withdrawal southwest toward Ulithi at a slow 3 knots (3 nautical miles per hour, which for a landlubber, would be about 3.5 miles per hour. Imagine a normal walking speed).

They were barely underway when the light cruiser Houston (part of Cruiser Division 13) was also hit by an aerial torpedo. She was in better shape than the Canberra but also needed to be towed. Tethered to the USS Boston, the Houston joined Task Group 30.3 on the 15th. At that point, the small fleet was nicknamed "Cripple Division 1." Besides the Boston, the light carriers Cabot and Cowpens, two fleet tugs, and more destroyers joined the group at various times during its trip. The fleet tug Pawnee took over the towing of the Houston.

Enemy aircraft harassed them constantly. The task group began to circle clockwise around the cripples to better protect themselves by maintaining a higher speed of 15 knots. During an especially fierce attack on the afternoon of the 16th, the Houston's stern was hit by a second torpedo, increasing flooding and nearly sinking her, and making it necessary to remove 300 of her crew. Houston survivors were brought aboard the Mobile on a bosuns chairs hanging from lines strung between the ships (photo). This slow rescue was accomplished while the rest of the force continued to circle and fight off attacking planes. Mobile's Captain Miller was awarded the Silver Star for performance of duty during this operation.

With this turn of events, Admiral Halsey began calling the group "Bait Division 1," actually hoping they'd lure the Japanese fleet out into the open. It almost worked. The Japanese at first thought 30.3 was all of Task Force 38, retreating from Formosa. They sent a surface force within 250 miles before they realized the trap and quickly withdrew.

After dark on the 17th, Cruiser Division 13 (that is, what was left of it, including the Mobile) was released from the task group and sent back to Task Force 38.

Bosun's chair = a harness within a round life preserver, used to do maintenance on the outside of the ship's hull.
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From the Data Section of Joe's Journal:

20. Formosa _____________ Oct 12, 13, 14, 1944
Air strike
221 Jap planes shot down
175 _" __"__ destroyed on ground

__ sank _____________ damaged
2 large _ A.K.* _____ 2 large A.K.
4 medium " _______ 9 medium AK
9-small _" ________ 10 small AK.
12 coastal " _______ 1 oil tanker
________________1 large troop transport

37 small craft sunk or damaged
(We lost 45 planes.)

*A.K.s are cargo ships.