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APRIL 1945 — APRIL 1946
The following are the excerpts from the wartime diary of P/JX 380709 A/LS A.B. John Dolphin
All dates are first arrival.

April 1st 1945 “OKINAWA CAMPAING RYUKYU ISLANDS” South of Japan
Cloudy and Sunny
April Fools day 1945: Code Name “ICEBERG ONE”
The ‘BIG SHOW’ of the Pacific and it was all American for this last landing on the doorstep of “JAPAN”. INVASION of “OKINAWA” it took three months to capture it, they had 50,000 Jap troops on the Island.

We the B.P.F. at the same time, were off “SAKISHIMA ISLANDS” and “FORMOSA” to draw the fire away from the ‘BIG LANDING’ in the North.

We were to Air Strike, Bombard, and draw anything out at us, sure enough after a few hours they came, that was the B.P.Fs. roll.,We were known as ‘Task Force 57’.

OFF “FORMOSA” South China Seas. Cloudy and Sunny.
The ‘HEAVIES were right in there Bombarding Jap Airfields on “FORMOSA” while 8 Destroyers (we were one of the 8) escorted 4 Fleet Carriers over the horizon out of sight of land. All the carriers had their aircraft (Avengers and Corsairs) off on Air Strikes and Bombing missions on “FORMOSA” and “SAKISHIMA ISLANDS”.

We got the signal from the C-in-C Carrier — ‘BOGIES’ at 180 deg’. (BOGIES on RADAR — unidentified aircraft. The ‘BOGIES’ turned out to be Jap Suicide planes coming in for us on our stern. The 4 Carriers were sitting ducks in the escorts centre (“VICTORIOUS, ILLUSTRIOUS, INDOMITABLE and INDIFATIGABLE”).

The Guns on every ship opened up at them as they came through the clouds at the Carriers. First, one ball of fire on a steel deck then one going right into the sea, others exploding in their dive down from the short range weapons. The Carriers have been struck by them. “ILLUSTRIOUS” and “INDOMITABLE” their decks are dented only on the point of impact. That’s all (this time).

Jap planes mostly ‘ZEKES (Bettys and Sallys) what was left of them on the flight deck are dragged and pushed over the side and the pilots swept and scraped up off the deck.

The Destroyer “ULSTER” was the only Destroyer to be hit with a ‘KAMI’. She got hit on her iron deck above her boiler room, but did not sink.

These ‘KAMAKAZES can only be stopped from hitting any ship by exploding its petrol tanks on its dive down. It is thrown off course by the blast form the fire in its tanks.

The decks of the Carriers are now cleared for the return of their strike planes and all ships guns have cleared away empty shell cases and stored up their ‘AMMO’ in lockers and around the gun racks for the next attack.

For the past 31 days it has been strike rest, strike rest routine.

April 12th 1945
US “PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT” DIED, ALL THE fleet have their flags at half mast while at sea. He died with victory in sight.

April 28th 1945 “LEYTE” SAMR ISLANDS, PHILIPPINES Perfect.
‘FLEET TRAIN’. All the B.P. F. have performed off “FORMOSA” abd have gone to rendezvous with the other ‘BRITISH TASK FORCE” that was out of sight of the Fleet at all times. ALWAYS there when we wanted it. It was a Fleet Oil Tankers and provision ships with their Destroyers and on Carrier Escort.

All ships topped up we set sail for “LEYTE” harbour for a rest period of 6 days granted by the Admiralty. For the very first time in the ‘ROYAL NAVY’ history 1 bottle of beer per man must be drank on the upper deck 1800 Hrs each evening.

I had bought a leather belt, sheath and 8” blade in “SYDNEY” bearing in mind sinking — for sharks. While anchored in this harbour the US Navy had a gash barge that came alongside each ship. I threw a cardboard box over our side this evening when I heard “Dolphin get over the side and sink that box” I did and lost my knife in this ‘NO SWIMMING ALLOWED’ HARBOUR (SHARKS).

It was in this harbour we heard for the first time songs “Don’t Fence Me In’ and “Clang Clang Clang went the trolley” on “VOKE OF LEYTE”.
American supply ships are in here with us, we are exchanging British for American, I handed over my “ROYAL NAVY” knife with lanyard to a Yankee crew member
For new US Navy PX blue shirt and four pocket jeans. He may still have it with my name stamped on it in steel.

“QUEENBOROUGH” lucky again we are alongside a big supply ship and every evening we’re over there watching their movies and more than one bottle a day for us.

May 4th “BATAN and SAKISHIMA ISLANDS Cloudy.
‘ICEBERG TWO’ Fleet now at sea again in the same formation (see below), outside screen of 26 Destroyers, 7 Cruisers inside leading Battleships, right in the centre 4 Fleet Carriers, but this time we have a replacement. The “FORMIDABLE” has replaced the “ILLUSTRIOUS” returned to the “UK” via “SYDNEY” and “CAPE TOWN”

While on our way to “FORMOSA” and “SAKISHAMA” again, we are in between the above mentioned Islands when again the ‘BOGIES’ alert.

They are ‘KAMIKAZES’ again coming in from the Fleets Stern Quarters. They are using the clouds for cover to get over the Fleet, the clouds are just enough apart from each other for the Jap pilots to pick out his ship he will try and commit suicide on. All eyes looking up at them as they (about 6 or 8) hop over from cloud to cloud. The Ships at the rear end of the Fleet opened up with their Guns first, Now most of the Fleet.

The Kates, Sallys, and Betttys (these are the English nicknames for the Jap planes) but mostly ‘ZEROs’ , ‘ZEKES’ and ‘NAKAJIMA” (NAKAS) they have started their death dive towards the Ship they have picked out to die on.

The sky is peppered with the Ships’ flak and the sea with white splashes, the four Carriers have been hit. The Battleship ahead of the Carriers “HMS KING GEORGE V” had one coming for its bridge when all at once it exploded in mid air crashing over its bows. KGV Guns had only one plane to shoot at only.

“HMS FORMIDABLE” came off the worse, the one that got her did not bounce off her deck in a ball of fire like the other three. This Jap came down at her and changed his mind at the last minute, pulled out of his dive, turned ahead of the ship then with a wide berth of the Ship he turned and dived for the bridge.

All this time the Guns were blazing away at him still, on the Gunners second chance they still could not blow him up. He came in at the bridge at such an angle that it was impossible for him to bounce over the side. Like his Jap comrades he not only hit and set fire to the bridge but released a bomb just before crashing. This bomb (500lb) penetrated the deck under the “BRIDGE ISLAND” (see below) on its way down .

It buckled a hanger fire curtain sliced a large steam pipe, filling the centre boiler room with high pressure steam. This then made the ship drop her speed down from 30 knots to 18 knots, also making her funnel give out volumes of black smoke and a thin white streamer of escaping steam.

All this time the deck around the Island was one big hot fire, the Japs hade seen to that on hitting up against the Islands plates, also taking the Carriers own planes that were near the bridge Island, their tanks too were set alight.

After a few hours the “FORMIDABLE” was patched up with rapid hardening cement and ready to take on her own returning strike Aircraft at speed.

The ‘AMERICAN COs” of their carrier fleets could not understand why our carriers after being hit could be back in action so quickly.

SIGNAL — You don’t know how to build Fords, but you sure know how to build Carriers.
REPLY - Thank you Admiral, Yes we knew how to build Carriers when you thought up the Ford assembly line, and that sure goes way back.

May 20th 1945 CREW DUE FOR LEAVE OFF FORMOSA Perfect.

Our Time Is Up — (UK to OKINAWA 2 YEARS)
We (“The QUEENBOROUGH”) have been ordered to leave the Fleet off “FORMOSA” to take back to “SYDNEY”, the repair carrier “UNICORN”.
She was with the supply Fleet we are taking the hit Carriers dead back on her. We have refuelled alongside “UNICORN” and now it is non-stop until we reach “SYDNEY HEADS” we pass the “PHILIPPINES”, “MARIANAS”, “CAROLINES”, “NEW GUINEA”, “SOLOMONS” and into the “CORAL SEA”, to pass through the “GREAT BARRIER REEF” at a charted channel then follow the Coast down to “SYDNEY” from “COOKTOWN COCKATOO” Jetty.

Thanks again to God we were out of a danger zone unmarked.

June 16th 1945 11 ‘O’ Clock FOR ME THIS IS THE DAY THE WAR ENDED.
“HMS QUEENBOROUGH” IS PAID OFF in harbour (GOODBYE QUEENY) and is now to join the Australian Navy. The crew is to await UK Draft. I spend my 21st birthday on a racecourse “HMS GOLDEN HIND” (Transit Camp Warrwick Farm).

We are all having our last fling in the land of plenty knowing that we sail for home at any time, via the “PACIFIC” and “ATLANTIC” (buzz) thus completing “Around The World” West to East.

1945 PACIFIC UK 1946
SYDNEY TO PORTSMOUTH

June 30th By electric car from “SYDNEY”
July 1st Troopship waiting in “MELBOURNE”
(SS “DOMINION MONARCH” 27,155 tons)
July 19th Eight hours leave in “PANAMA CITY”
July 22nd More to pick up in “TRINIDAD”
August 2nd Arrived Prince’s Pier “LIVERPOOOL”
August 3rd Arrived RNB “PORTSMOUTH”
July 16th First ‘A’ Bomb test
From there 36 days leave long foreign service leave, while on this leave at home the two ‘A’ Bombs were dropped and VJ Day came from them LADS WE LEFT OUT THERE.
April 19th 1946 DEMOBBED

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