US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

556 Amphibians Came To Conqtier
Commander LCI Group 15 gleefully recorded for his War Diary subsequent
to the heavy attack, the spirited antiaircraft fire, and the efforts of
our fighters, which left
pyres of burning Mitsubishi visible on the surface of harbor.’r
Between building a temporary caisson needed to make possible replace-
ment of a lost propeller on the LCI-223 and firing their guns in anger for
the first time, the LCI amphibians of the 4th Echelon had a busy and
glorious Fouth of July.
Unloading parties of 150 men on each LST, 50 men on each LCT and
25 men for each LCI absorbed a lot of men but numbers worked marvels
in getting cargo out of the ships onto the beaches and then inland to the
supply dumps, and speeded the amphibians away to calmer areas.
‘The story of the Western Force would not be complete without detailing
the major happenings of the return to base of the large transports and
cargo ships.
RETURN TO BASE
As has been mentioned before, the amphibian ships at Rendova had only
two welcome hours to land their troops and equipment before radar contacts
with an unidentified aircraft about 0900 on 30 June sent the crews hurrying to
their anti-aircraft batteries, and the ships scurrying to their positions in a
protective anti-aircraft cruising disposition. An actual attack did not develop,
nor did actual bombing of the transports develop from a further radar alert
about 1100, but in each case there was a period of about an hour of cruising
about near the transport area when no unloading could be accomplished.
After these two interruptions, and having smartly completed the lion’s
share of their unloading and established new records of tons per hour
winched out of their holds, the transports and cargo ships were underway
in an anti-aircraft defensive formation about 1510 to withdraw to base.
There were eight destroyers in the circular screen, the six large amphibians
being in division columns abreast.
Shortly after 1545, there commenced a large scale “do or die” Japanese
torpedo bombing attack on the formation, which washed out a fair share
of the oflice files of the Commander Amphibious Force Third Fleet on the
McCawley and about 20 of the 23 attacking planes.
a LCI Group 15 War Diary, 4 Jul. 1943.