Admiral W S Benson (AP 120) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE SAGA OF THE BENSON By E. M. NICKERSON, BMIc Since all good biographies begin wifh vifal sfafisfics, so musf fhis Saga of a sound and frusfy ship, our home for fhe Iasf fourfeen monfhs, conform wifh sfandard procedure. The Admiral W. S. Benson, IAPI20l was conceived in 'Ihe Befhlehem shipyard, Alameda Branch on I0 December, I942, and designed for ulfimafe use as a luxury liner of 22,380 fons, wifh an overall Iengfh of 608.I I feef. Builf on femporary lines as a navy fransporf wifh a pas- senger capacify of 4800 enlisfed and 263 officers and spaces for ship's company of 533, she was fhe firsf of a fIee+ of fen ships of her class wifh a cruising range Iwifhouf refuelingl of 34 days, and capable of a speed of 2I.3 knofs. She was fhe Iargesf ship consfrucfed on fhe Wesf Coasf since fhe Baffleship California was launched on 20 November, I943, and was furned over fo fhe Navy on 23 Augusf, I944, on which dafe she became our home. Commissioning day will be a long remembered evenf in our lives. The almosf unbelievable confusion, mislaid equipmenl' and all 'rhe affendanf misforfunes which all ships undergo while in fhe fhroes of labor-pains, were wifh us on fhaf day and 'Ihen some. Surely, we fhoughf, we can never gef fhis ship squared away, plus fhe facf fhaf sevenfy-five percenf of 'rhe crew had never been fo sea before, which didn'f help maffers any. Buf commission her we did, and in grand sfyle foo: and when fhe Bos'un piped for his mafes and sef fhe firsf sea wafch, liffle did we know fhaf in fhe nexf fourfeen monfhs, she' would fake us all over fhe world and cover almosf I50,000 miles, mosf of if in overseas wafers fo be considered one of fhe mosf efficienf fransporfs in fhe service. Affer spending abouf five days af fhe Naval Supply Docks faking on provisions, we sailed for San Pedro fo undergo our shakedown cruise. Now a shakedown cruise is difficulf 'l'o explain fo a landlubber, for if is an experience so sfarfling, soul-shaking, and disillusioning as fo beggar descripfion. For fhree weeks you are subiecfed fo drills, more drills, rigging every conceivable piece of equipmenf, and fhen unrigging if, and learning fo do riqhf fhe hard way, refueling af sea, crash sfops, zig-zag, firing pracfice, fire drills, collision drills, abandon ship, gas affack, drills, drills. Pracfice musf make perfecf. By fhe end of fhe firsf week, you greef your buddies wifh a malignanf sfare: you hafe fhe navy and wonder how in fhe devil fhey ever won a baffle, and you muffer dire imprecafions againsf your officers. This finally came fo an end for us-only fo sfarf all over again! For several more weeks we became a fraining ship and proceeded fo frain pre-commissioning crews in fhe same manner, unfil finally fhe ship and crew, on fhe verge of collapse, refired fo Todd Shipyard in San Pedro for 30 days resf and badly needed repairs. Would we ever go fo sea, we wondered? We began fo refer fo our Big B as fhe U. S. S. Never-SaiI. TRIP NO. I The greaf day finallv came, 28 November, I944. We sef sail from San Pedro wifh a capa- cify load of Doggies bound for Bombay, India. Before we were ouf of sighf of fhe Breakwafer, mosf of our passengers and crew were sea-sick. Whaf a mess! The firsf big evenf af sea came on 6 December, on day norfh of fhe equafor. For several days previous, conspiring shellbacks had gafhered in dark corners fo plof unspeakable indig- nifies upon fhe lowly pollywogs, which, unforfunafely for fhem Ifhe shellbacksl oufnumbered fhem abouf eighf 'ro one. So fhis day, pandemonium reigned supreme. The pollywogs had done a Iiffle conspiring on fheir own, and Ioosed all available firehoses on fhe boaf deck upon fheir salfy brofhers in fhe fradifional wafer fighf. The shellbacks had fhelr revenge fhe nexf day wifh inferesf, however, for as we crossed fhe Ilne., Kmg.Nepf.un-e and his diabolical Courf came aboard and subiecfed fhe neiphyfes 'ro a rigorous miflaflon Ia gross undersfafe- menfl, fhe likes of which, fo quofe fhe Capfain, he had never seen In all his naval career. Several days lafer, we crossed anofher rubicon-fhe I80fh Meridian, and fhus also became members of fhe Realm of fhe Golden Dragon. Now were saI+y indeed, albeif somewhaf black and blue, buf fhen if was worfh if, and we knew we'd have our furn nexl' fime--if our wounds healed by fhen. 111111111149 ' lf' 1. lf' NT OF x I S of ls? I vylulwf 434.2 E S Q IIS? 12' ggiiffl S if :SSM Q 'I9 Q ju, Z Q 3 G ' lmxf- 's I B 'P 3 I 0? If l 'P X . ...,... : f' is I 140475 Si :Ill T13 IPALW-5'l,1rl' f1fff1llf',

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20 S. gc srsgui Melbourne, Ausfralia, our firsf porf of call. Whaf a cify! Beaufiful parks and buildings, fhe quainf Brifish frains wifh fheir firsf and second class carriages, fhe wlndlng Yarro rlver snaklng ifs way fhrough fhe cify under frescoed fairy-book bridges, fhe fall cafhedrallsplres, congenial buxom bar-maids serving fhe finesf beer in f e world, and fhe naflonal dish of sfyke and lges g -oh yes, and men-hungry hoards of gorgeous girls swooping down upon whole llberfy parfles and picking fhem off fhe sfreefs like June-bugs off a bush! December was mid-summer here, and fhe cify was a riof of vivid color from millions of flowers and summer dresses. Balmy mghfs on moon-drenched beaches. Cerfainly fhere never was a sailor's heaven like fhls. Af leasf, we've never found anofher fo compare wifh if. All foo soon we sailed fo plunge info sform-fossed wafers for fhe second leg of our journey. Around fhe Bighf info fhe placid lndian Ocean, where we had our firsf Chrisfmas af sea. An ingenious Chrisfmas free builf of scrap lumber wifh fwisfs of wire for evergreen spikes: a fur- key dinner wifh all fhe fixings-buf all fhis did nof compensafe for home and family. We were a lonely and fhoughfful bunch fhaf day as we opened our Red Cross boxes. Across fhe Equafor again, where we were picked up by fwo Brifish desfroyers fo escorf us fhrough fhe Arabian Sea, and finally on fhe brighf morning of December 3l, fhe mysfic domes and spires of Bombay came info view. Affer being warped info Ballard Pier by panfing coal- burning fugs, and discharging our load info 'rhe maw of an odorous warehouse, we sef ouf fo see and smell fhe wonders of fhe Far Easf. Our firsf impression of fhe sfronghold of Allah, Brahma, Buddha, and forfy-eighf ofher and lesser Deifies was a series of sfrange and almosf overwhelming sfenches, each one compefing for fhe uffer dismay of our olfacfory senses. The ci'l'y ifself proved 'lo be a chaos of archifecfure, as fhough fhe incredibly old and fhe very new had been dumped info a bowl, fhoroughly mixed wifh an eqg-beafer and spewed forfh all over fhe landscape. Modern office buildings crowded ancienf mosques, while creaky ox-carfs vied wifh fhe lafesf in mofor cars and double-decked busses. All fhese wonders we viewed 'midsf ear-shaffering cries from fhousands of almosf naked children wifh fhe nafional greefing of Haba Haba , followed by a declarafion of fhe nafion's foreign policy- Baksheesh, oh Bis- mallah Sahib, Baksheesh for fhe love of Allah! , fhen an amazing round of obscene curses when fheir plainfive cries failed fo move us fo fhe poinf of scaffering coins largess among fhem. The Tai Mahal, Green, and Argenvfine hofels became Benson hangoufs wifh bad liquor af fhree rupees a fhrow. For five excifing days we shopped and fook in fhe sighfs. Haggling unfil ex- hausfed wifh well fed merchanfs who called loudly upon Allah fo wifness our infenfion fo ruin fhem wifh our niggardly offerings for fheir exquisife wares, and finally emerging from fhe shops loaded wifh goods which cosf us only fhree fimes fheir worfh. - Wandering mendicanfs everywhere wifh baskefs of cobras and mongooses on leash - A beer parfy af a nearby beach -Lepers displaying fheir mufilafions - beggars - peddlers - smells everywhere: basking in fhe cool of fhe evening on fhe roof garden of fhe Green Hofel wafchinq red sails in fhe sunsef and fhe grofesque skyline of fhe cify fade gracefully info fhe shadows. Such is India -an aura of mysficism fainfly sensed fhrough a babel of confusion and smells. Finally, we shoved off, Homeward bound, loaded fo capacify wifh war-weary froops, mis- sionaries from China, evacuees, and Chinese army and navy cadefs. Wonderful Melbourne again, fhenaf long lasf San Pedro. Bands on 'rhe pier and crowds fo greef us. Three weeks avallablllfy in fhe shipyard again, wifh shorf leaves and Sfafeside comforfs. TRIP NO. 2 26 February, I945. A cold misfy morning. Loaded wifh froops army nurses and Red Cr s o . , I 0 S Laxlleasgavyre slipped our moorings af San Pedro and sfeamed down fhe channel, bound for Bom- +w?r:rccenr11grZ agzrvgssgglheweguafor and fhe Domain of Nepfunus Rex. Now did fhe inifiafes of u g . elr vengeance upon a handful fh l ll - fh '. dlan-fhe unbelievable Soufh Pacific sunsefs-affernoon ciianigzzseiasnpigloilmboggfch idr82ilewM:fibl Egfiexgexrggp peace-fume Navy was never like fhisl-'rhe coasf of Ausfralia, and Melbourne, 'I' 3' -0-O gs m SE. -I4 'DPL U5 Cf 'Um 'gm 9. 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