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Account of the USS Canopus written by Capt. E. L. Sackett

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  • wcu_ww2-1019.jp2
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  • which had been circling the field all morning in jontielpation of just such on attack, had be©n called in at th© ©am© ti e for !fu@l and lunch-just in time to suffer the same fate as their-big sisters linid up on th© field*, the crowning irony of that disastrous day was th© "fact thsjt the fold's radio station' was hit by the. first salvo -of bonbs, prevent nj$ them -froa summoning help from the fighters eireling o^er liehols Field, barely thirty miles away* St was A pervect example of the' advantage of) aggressor gains by h s 'treachery-- he know what he is icing to do, and hew to do it- whereas-a paralysis seems to grip his viotom with th© first simfcing blows. He must improvise his plans to meet the surprise onslaught, and l©st'vijtai time and material before his plans will fit th© situation, which is ©©Idem' jquit© what he had visualised* At midnight ©f th© first day another air attack'/on Uichols Field brouhgfe ' " the war to a spot where w© on th© Canopus had a grand stand seat for the, spectacle* which looked for all th© world likfc a good old Fourth of July dis* play/ Prom our 'anchorage' off Cavite, just for ancugh wway to muffl© th© noise, the showers of red and yellow trac©r bullets, $h® sparklers of anti-aircraft bursts followed by the bonfire glar© of burning hangers and- planes had am «»*» reel quality which made it hard to 'realise* that-»;th:s was war, and our -awn I countrymen mere fighting and dying amidst th© conflagration*. W© learned later that fifth columnists had l©d th© b<,-;b©rs unerringly to th© target by bracket^ ing the field with flares, and with the help Of a brilliant moon,, the raiders oould hardly miss* However unreal it seemed^ we had no desire to beets© a pretty bonfire ourselves, so we got underway and steamed around the harbor all n glut, so as not to. be ©aught sapping in the event of an attack. It is w wonderful solace to the nerves to be doi»g something, no matter how ineffectual, rather •'shea to be a sitting .duek waiting' for" the hunter t. let fly* unfortunately, -even th© poor comfort of mobility was to b© "denied us. from that time on* At dawn the Campus ??&s ordered alongside the docks in the Port Area of ltaila# This was chosen for th® bos© of operations because when and if the ©xpeotod sinking occurred, th© depth under our keel would b© shallow enough so that th© ship would rest mostly a',ove ' water, and valuable stores, torpedoes, and equipment could be salvaged* Headquarters for th© submarine "Commodore* (Captain John Wilkes, U,S,I), and his staff were set up n arby in the newly built lavy Enlisted Men's Club, Several Coaapus . of f io®rs were iaoorpromted into this staff to build it up to wartime proportions. After all, if the ship 'Was net expected to l@av© port, why wast© their services? Torpedoes and spar© parts were hurriedly unloaded, and lightered cut to ' Corregidor, where less vulnerable shops were put into operation, t)th©r stores and provisions were divided up, and one part stowed in a small intsr-siland ship In the hop© t all would not be lost in n® attack* Th© supersturct r© of the Canopus was planted to match th© color of the docks alongside, and camouflage nets spread over .-©ad in an effort to deceive the Japs as lorg as possible as to our identity. The mre exposed fuel tanks were emptied and filled with water to 'reduce the danger of a disastrous fir© whieh might make it Impossible to sav® the ship If th© oil wer© t uched off by a bomb. With th© ship as ready as th© men could make her, th© grim question
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