Riding Out A Typhoon With Mines Nearby
Beckham sailed for Okinawa with task unit TU 78.12.5 on 13 September and dropped anchor off Hagushi on the 15th. The following morning, she put to sea to ride out a typhoon. Beckham fought her way out of the western anchorage through storm conditions, with torrential rains drastically limiting her visibility. She and her colleagues also encountered difficulties worse than the typhoon—stray mines not yet swept. The ship next to her struck a mine and had to be towed to port on the 18th after the storm had abated. Beckham again dropped anchor off Hagushi that day.
The attack transport got underway for the Philippines on 22 September and reached Guiuan Roadstead, off Samar, on the 25th. Underway again on 5 October, Beckham skirted another typhoon on the 7th. During her voyage she sighted six floating mines which USS Tinsman (DE-589) destroyed. At night, Beckham used her searchlights to spot drifting ordnance. The similarities between mines and the many large, rust-colored jellyfish which floated just below the surface of the water taxed her lookouts.
Read more about this topic: USS Beckham (APA-133)
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