Name/Title
USS Houston (CL 81) [Cover]Description
December 30, 1944 air mail cover from "L. Prawnys GM 2/c / US.S. Houston F Div / e/z P.O. / San Francisco, Calif" to Groton, Connecticut with "PASSED BY NAVAL CENSOR" stamp.Context
The third Houston (CL-81) was launched by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia on June 19, 1943. Assigned to the newly-designated Task Group 38.2 under Rear Admiral Bogen, Houston sailed 30 August for air attacks on the Palaus 6 September, after which the cruiser and a group of destroyers bombarded Peleliu and other islands preparatory to amphibious landings. The carrier group then turned to the Philippines for strikes against airfields and shipping, and returned to Peleliu to support the forces ashore 17-19 September.
Returning to Ulithi 1 October 1944, Houston and her task group sailed 5 days later for an important operation into the western Pacific. Warming up with strikes against Okinawa 10 October, the carrier force moved toward its real objective 12 October, Formosa. In a devastating 3 days of attacks, naval air forces did much to destroy Formosa as a supporting base for the Japanese in the island battles still to come. Japanese forces retaliated with heavy and repeated land-based aircraft attacks. Houston splashed four aircraft in one attack on 12 October, and helped repel another attack next day, in which Canberra suffered damage. Taking Canberra's, old station 14 October, Houston and other ships met another heavy raid. Her gunners shot down three of the attackers but a fourth's torpedo hit her engine room, causing loss of power.
Houston arrived at Ulithi on October 27, 1944 for temporary repairs, then proceeded to San Francisco on December 20, and eventually steamed to New York Navy Yard, arriving March 24, 1945. This cover was written by one of the gunners while in San Francisco.