MISC_02_03 |
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USS DEWEY (YFD-1) |
After
the fall of the Philippines the Japanese raised the dry-dock, but
she was soon sunk again off Mariveles by American forces and remains there today. |
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Beginning about
April 4, 1942 the
Japanese gave up
their night bombing
raids and
concentrated on
all-out daylight
raids. One evening
at about 6:00 P.M.,
several dive bombers
attacked the
"Dewey", Navy
floating dry-dock in
Mariveles harbor.
All machine guns and
AA guns in that area
opened fire,
including our #3
light, which had a
.50 caliber
air-cooled machine
gun. One dive bomber
came out over
Mariveles harbor and
banked sharply
around Cochinas
Point to return to
the attack. The
pilot was entirely
exposed at close
range to effective
.50 caliber fire
from #3�s gun, and
the plane went into
a stall and crashed
into Manila Bay off
Cochinas Point, the
pilot bailing out
before the plane
crashed. Men at #3
light followed the
pilot in the
binoculars and saw
him land and swim to
a lone rock which
protruded above the
surface. The other
Jap planes circled
the area and
machine-gunned the
pilot several times,
after which our
observers saw him
lose his hold on the
rock and slide into
the sea and was not
seen again.
( Extract of the
Battery "E" 60th
Coast Artillery
Corps history).
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� 2009
Corregidor Historic Society - all rights reserved. Ruhlen Collection
access courtesy Col. Shawn
Welch, US Army. |