From: APL Technical Digest (Sept-Oct 1962) (PDF):
The Fuze Goes into Action
Since the Combined Chiefs of Staff felt
strongly that the fuze should not be used where a dud might be
recovered on the ground, the South Pacific, where Japanese land-based
aircraft were a constant and serious menace, seemed the area of first
importance. First deliveries of the new fuzes, then, were to be made
to ships in that area having the 5-in. guns for which the earliest
production fuzes were designed. During October 1942, 500 fuzes for
shipboard use were produced each day and shipped immediately to the
Naval Ammunition Depot, Mare Island, where they were inserted in the
fuze cavities of 5-in. shells. Of each day's consignment, 10% were
withdrawn and flown back to the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Va.,
for test. When 5000 proximity-fuzed projectiles had accumulated,
Commander W. S. Parsons, Special Assistant to the Director, OSRD, went
to Mare Island to supervise loading of the shells for air
transportation to Pearl Harbor. He then flew to Hawaii, leaving the
ammunition in the care of three scientists from APL specifically
commissioned for this duty: Lieutenants N. E. Dilley, R. P. Petersen,
and J. A. Van Allen.
First Strike-Pacific Theater
At Pearl Harbor the
shells were loaded into the aircraft tender USS Wright for
transshipment to Noumea, New Caledonia, where Commander Parsons
reported to Admiral Halsey. Three ships of the Third Fleet received
portions of this first shipmentUSS Enterprise, USS Saratoga, and USS
Helena- and indoctrination of their personnel commenced immediately.
There was a period of relative inactivity in the Third Fleet area at
the time, extending into the early months of 1943, an excellent time
for indoctrination but giving little opportunity for battle test of
the new fuze. On Jan. 5, 1943, however, a Japanese plane was destroyed
by a proximity fuze, the first of a long record of encouraging
successes that made such an important contribution
to total Allied victory.
From: Dilley, N. E. "Development of Proximity Fuzes (VT) for Projectiles - VT
Fuzes MKS 32 to 60, Inclusive (General Description)." chapter 1 of The World
War II Proximity Fuze: A Compilation of Naval Ordnance Reports by the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. (Silver Spring MD: The
Laboratory, 1950): 1-12. [Declassified 16 Jun. 1976].
(I can't find an original copy of this, it is quoted here)
This test firing of proximity fuzed 5"/38 projectiles against drones
was carried out in August 1942 aboard the cruiser [USS] Cleveland
[CL-55]. Results of this test were entirely satisfactory and
accordingly, full-scale production of proximity fuzes was initiated at
the Crosley Corporation in September 1942. Early production was
plagued with numerous difficulties but satisfactory material was
finally produced. This fuze, which was designated the Mk 32, was
delivered to the Fleet during November and December 1942, and the
first Japanese plane was shot down with proximity fuzed projectiles by
the cruiser [USS] Helena [CL-50] in January 1943.