USS Harwood DD-861
a US Navy destroyer

In this web site honoring the ship, her people and Commander Bruce L. Harwood, you will find many pictures of the ship and her crew, sea stories about life and cruises on a destroyer, a profile of Commander Harwood and interesting bits and pieces that never find their way into history books.

Commander Bruce Lawrence Harwood
- Profile-

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Photo (c) 1998 G. Harwood

Ensign - USS Harwood DD-861 - Approx. 10" diameter.
This plaque was mounted in the Ward Room (officer's mess) of the USS Harwood
when the ship was at sea, and in the Quarterdeck passage while in port.
- It has not been determined whether this photo is of an original plaque or a replica.

Photo (c) 1951 ? -- [collection of Mort Hyman]

USS Harwood (DD/DDHK/DDE-861)
Photo taken circa 1951? after Hedgehog anti-sub device replaced the Number two 5" gun mount.

The USS Harwood was named after Commander Bruce Lawrence Harwood who gave his life while leading a fire fighting crew and saving the lives of shipmates aboard the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL 23) when she was mortally wounded by a 500 pound bomb during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea on 24 October 1944.

Commander Bruce Lawrence Harwood

(1910-1944)

Born 10 February 1910, Claremont, California
Enlisted US Navy 6 June 1935 and trained as Aviation Cadet in Pensacola, Florida
Commissioned Ensign 7 July 1939 and began torpedo squadron flying
Leader - Torpedo Squadron 8, based on USS Hornet: Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, Rekata Bay, etc. 1942-1944
Decorations: Navy Cross 24 August 1942, Gold Star in lieu of 2nd Navy Cross 5 October 1942, 2nd Gold Star in lieu of 3rd Navy Cross in 1944
Promoted to Commander 1 July 1944
Air Officer on USS Princeton CVL-23 1944
Killed in explosions aboard the USS Princeton on 24 October 1944

[Sources: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (3)1968, p.267;
former USS Harwood personnel organization and family members]

Early in World War II, Bruce Harwood served with Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8), which was based aboard the USS Hornet (CV-8). Part of the story of VT-8 is told by Gareth Pawlowski in his coverage of the Hornet in Flat-tops and Fledglings: A History of American Aircraft Carriers (1971, pp 70-75). Like the USS Princeton, the Hornet was mortally wounded in battle and was then sunk by US ships in order to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. Torpedo Squadron 8 became well known during WWII for its many citations and the fact that it was completely shot out of the sky by enemy fire on more than one occasion. The story of VT-8 is told in a book by Ira Wolfert Torpedo 8

A Naval Aviator's Flight Log

Cdr. Bruce Lawrence Harwood - Excerpts (April 1941-June 1943)

[Archives of Joan Louise Gentry Frasco (niece of Bruce L. Harwood)]

On first examination, the log entries seem very sketchy. However, the missions, the destination and "passenger" names, the hours flown and the frequency of the entries are themselves a story of the Pacific war's intensity. Also not shown in the pilot's log, but not to be forgotten, are the thousands of men who kept the carrier escort fleets on course and the aircraft in the sky.

A brief quotation from page 142 of Eric Hammel's book Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles - The Pivotal Aircraft Carrier Battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz illustrates the intense drama behind these log entries (note that gunners Ervin Wendt and G. J. Sullivan are named in both the log and the book). A torpedo attack on the carrier Ryujo by Torpedo Squadron 8 is being described (it is not certain that the described flight corresponds to one of the illustrated log entries):

"..........AOM: Ervin Wendt, Lt. Bruce Harwood's TBF tunnel gunner, could not use his single ventral .30- caliber machine gun until after Harwood had dropped his torpedo, made a left turn, and swung away from the Ryujo. At that point, Wendt was free to strafe the burning ship's flight deck.

As Harwood was retiring, one Zero followed him. Harwood managed to turn his large but highly maneuverable torpedo bomber under the nimble Zero. Then ACRM G. J. Sullivan drew a bead with his single turret-mounted power-operated .50-caliber machine gun and let fly. The Zero pulled out before coming close enough to hurt Harwood's airplane, although Harwood saw bullets hitting the water ahead of his wing. When the Zero returned for another pass........"

The entries in this log book include: Fighting Squadron 8's (later known as Torpedo Squadron 8) 12 December 1941 transfer to the USS Hornet in Norfolk; weeks of carrier landing training; first "action" in the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942 and many subsequent battle engagements. The log also includes a series of transit flights across the Pacific, through Pearl Harbor, and on to the mainland when Bruce Harwood was temporarily transferred to the United States in December 1942. The last entries in this log book are at Whidby Island, Washington in June of 1943. When he returned to the Pacific battle area, a different log book was used, which was presumably lost when the Princeton sank.

Cdr. Harwood was serving as an Air Officer on the USS Princeton when he was killed in explosions following the bombing of the ship on 24 October 1944.

THE USS PRINCETON (cv-23) - Data

USS Princeton (CV-23), Independence Class aircraft carrier
New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, NJ
Keel Laid: 2 June, 1941
Reclassified CV: February 16, 1942
Launched: 18 October 1942
Commissioned: 25 February 1943
Reclassified CVL: 15 July 1943
CO: Captain G. R. Henderson
Sunk by American ships after extensive bomb damage
during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 24 October 1944

[Source: Flat-tops and Fledglings:
A History of American Aircraft Carriers;
Gareth L. Pawlowski; 1971 Castle Books, NY - p524]

Copy of copy of newspaper photo:
Cdr. Harwood on the bridge of the Princeton during a quiet moment on 10 October 1944.

THE USS PRINCETON (cv-23) - Her last day.

In his book Flat-tops and Fledglings: A History of American Aircraft Carriers (1971, pp 191-97), Gareth Pawlowski describes the history and final hours of the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CV-23), during which Cdr. Bruce Harwood lost his life:

In the morning of 24 October 1944, the Princeton's aircraft had joined with fighters from the USS Lexington (CV-16) in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. "While the Princeton was recovering her aircraft...a lone enemy aircraft...released its deadly 500 pound bomb...[which] exploded just forward of the number two elevator...the ship's AA batteries downed the Japanese plane as it passed over the ship, but the damage had been done...the bomb knocked out the fire fighting system while passing through the flight deck and exploded the gas tanks of a torpedo plane...the first major explosion occurred when the torpedoes in aircraft in the hangar deck exploded...a second explosion destroyed the forward elevator and buckled the flight deck..." Pawlowski chronicles subsequent loss of life and ship structures and valiant efforts to save lives and the carrier by its crew and other ships. However, these endeavors were frustrated by periodic enemy plane attacks, loss of fire fighting systems and additional devastating ammunition explosions which blew away the Princeton's after section and also caused heavy casualties aboard the light cruiser USS Birmingham (CL-61), which was attempting to take the Princeton in tow. Finally: "...At 3:38 PM, Captain Buracker sadly left his ship--the last man to leave. The [USS] Reno [CL-96] received a message to destroy the Princeton..." and launched two torpedoes into her. As the Princeton's survivors watched from other ships, "...The after section of the carrier appeared momentarily, with the screws protruding, then sank deep into the waters of the Philippine Sea."

Air Navigation in WW-II

In WW-II, pilots were sometimes furnished with maps printed on silk scarves. This is a portion of a map of the Phillipine Island of Luzon. The map was prepared for the Royal Australian Air Force and is about 30 inches in length (north/south). [Collection of Martin Lesny]

Links to USS Harwood Memorial Web Site pages.

DD-861 Homepage	The Ship	Shipmates
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Photos & Stories	A different USS Harwood web site by Scott Bushnell

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