| USS Philadelphia (CL-41) and a motor minesweeper (YMS) are making a smoke screen to cover the landing area from German air attack. USS Philadelphia arrived off Salerno at 2400 Hours on September 9, 1943. Maneuverability was limited due to a narrow channel through the Nazi German minefield; transiting in the fire support area could not occur until after daylight. Marine sharpshooters were stationed on the bow to shoot mines from 0054 Hours. At 0313 Hours, the ship was shaken by exploding mines as minesweepers detonated them. From 0030 to 0136, spotters on USS Philadelphia noted numerous explosions on shore from eighteen miles (thirty kilometers) away, and it was believed the Italians and Nazi Germans were exchanging artillery fire. At 0415 to 05450 Hours and again at 0701 to 0750 Hours, Nazi German air raids occurred over Task Force Avalanche. Allied fighters forced Messerschmitt Me-110s to drop their bombs before attacking the British and American convoys. USS Philadelphia opened fire at 0943 Hours on Salerno landing beach. At 1035 Hours, at the request of the fire control party ashore, Philadelphia engaged Nazi German panzers. Philadelphia destroyed a Nazi German bunker at 1202 Hours. The landings on Blue Beach commenced at 1220 Hours under heavy Nazi German fire. Philadelphia fired on Nazi German batteries until 1309 Hours. Another group of panzers was discovered at 155 Hours and engaged by Philadelphia, which launched a SOC Seagull amphibious aircraft to spot the fall of shells. Firing ceased at 1645 Hours. United States Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade William R. “Billy” Austin (August 3, 1914 – March 30, 1994), Air Liaison Officer with the United States Army Air Forces ashore, estimated that 20% of the panzers were destroyed. This view is probably from the air attack at 1734 Hours; Messerschmitt Me-110s attacked the invasion convoy, and USS Philadelphia’s anti-aircraft gunners opened fire. At 1848 Hours, a SOC Seagull was launched to spot fire on a garage suspected of hiding panzers. Firing ceased at 1910 Hours. The SOC Seagulls did not encounter Nazi German anti-aircraft artillery fire and were not attacked by hostile airplanes. Nazi German aircraft appeared from 2021-2044 Hours but did not attack the convoy. At 2133 Hours, Nazi German aircraft dropped many flares, and heavy bombing of Task Force Avalanche began at 2137. No hits were recorded. USS Philadelphia was shaken at 2153 Hours by what was assumed to be a bomb explosion, but the aircraft and the fall of the missile could not be determined. USS Philadelphia engaged Nazi German infantry formations ashore at 2211 Hours. Salvo fire began at 2240 and continued every fifteen minutes until 0130. Philadelphia narrowly evaded a Fritz-X glide bomb launched by Kampfgeschwader 100 on September 11, 1943, although several of her crew were injured when the bomb exploded. While bombarding targets off Aropoli on September 15, the cruiser downed one of twelve attacking planes and assisted in driving off a second air attack the same day in the vicinity of Altavilla. She downed two more hostile aircraft on September 17 and cleared the gunfire support area that night, bound for Bizerte, Tunisia. After upkeep at Gibraltar, Philadelphia departed Oran, Algeria, on November 6, as part of the escort for a convoy which arrived at Hampton Roads on November 21. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1955.jpg |
| Image Size | 74.86 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 700 x 500 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 9, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Salerno |
| State or Province | Campania |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | USA C-288 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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