Baltimore (CA 68) - Naval Cruise Book

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Cruiser Baltimore At Sea Two Years l HUMEWARD-BOUND Another of the stories now revealed with the lifting of the security curtain is that of the war exploits of the cruiser Balti- more, which fought inlmany parts of the Pacific and partici- pated in the first carrier raid against Tokyo. Successor to a line of the cruisers of the same name, the new Baltimore was commissioned April 15, 1943. A recital of the engagements in which the ship took part has been re- ceived by Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin from Capt. C. K. Fink, in comm-and of the vessel. In ,Pacific Two Years Dated in August before the end of the war with Iapan his letter was released by the security authorities several weeks ago. Captain Fink wrote, in part: I would like to take this opportunity to let the good people of Baltimore know what their namesake has been doing out here in the Pacific. Needless to mention, the U.S.S. Baltimore is strictly an instrument of war. The vast Pacific has been her home for over two years. Her participation in actual combat has been wide and varied. Bags 12 lap Planes Twelve lap planes were brought down by the cruiser's guns and several island installations were bombarded, Cap- tain Fink wrote. The vessel's active operations began with the attack on the Gilbert Islands. Then came attacks on Kwajalein and Maloelap in the Marshalls as part of the es- cort of fast carriers. In February, 1944, the Baltimore, operating with fast car- riers, participated in the attacks an Truk and Saipan. Next the ship was part of the fleet that blasted a path for the land- ings at Hollandia, New Guinea. Captain Fink continued: , The Central Pacific had now. become our habitat. We ' ' -f'-l: a'sai' helped cover the 'invasions ofthe Marianas Iwo lima. Under Admiral Halsey' strikes 1 were Formosa and Luzon. Early in ,19451foundthe In Iwo Irma Invasion Strikes were made against Camrahn Bay in do-China and Hong Kong In February the pated in the first carrier I raid against Tokyo finally led to the invasion of Iwo lima. on 'Easte , 1945, the Baltimore operating with fast carriers, way for the invasion of Okinawa. ' I ' 2 '1 This ship is only one of hundreds doingyher defeat of Iapan. Wars are not -won by taking. a stand, but by striking the enemy whenever and may be found. It isrthe new ships, the productsof. ing into the South China, Sea. ' A . Q r skill, labor, money and experience, learned the, hard that form the overwhelmin bulk of the hu e task 9 . . 9 j ,. will finally bring the enemy toshispkneesff 4' ,.'W A ' 'F - ' Ship Like Community- f , - Captain Fink described life on shipboard as a large and well-integrated cofhmunity with ya shop, shoe repair shop, clothing store,-1 ice-cream: movies and other facilities available. . A daily paper issued on the, ship is From the crew a dance band, softball, teams have been formed.,lAmong they are: . ' Lieut. Cjgj Iohn C. Ryan, 111 Barclay ham, seaman lfc, 2702 Presbury street: lfc, Govanstowe George Kruger, 2114 trician's mater, lfc 80 Webb street, and' il. man lfc, 2802 Berwick avenue.

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J ..., . ,, ' ' ' , rf' , W 41 ' f 4- f I , ' wwf ., 4 ll will .UI 'Ri - a 'I1Il 'rf' .ffe-iifj V? -.mil ,, ' I I ,gl f I 4s tr I X - 1 1- ,V i xx . A 'Z.3,'li'in,'?,u X , f f N w X ' -4,-533234164 Aft X Q Lat. soo 45' 30 N ' I I I , - I N 5 'Q' Long- 1675 se' oo w 1,4 A ZMQ44zuefQf-fvrfvfvf :wk IL' ISSUE XXIV L U.s.s. BALTIMORE qczxeap 24 February, 1946 AU REVOIR ORlOLE To the editorial staff, contributors, and printers of the Oriole , Well Done. - During the active service of the ship you have done an excellent job of building and maintaining a ship's paper that has been invaluable in maintaining high morale throughout the dark days of the war. Many of the folks back home also know a lot about the Mighty B because of your work. We deeply regret the necessity of closing up of the ship's paper-only demoblization and reduction to reserve status could do it. We look forward to the day when the ship may be active again, and the song of the Oriole will be heard once more. So it's not Goodbye Oriole , but Au Revoir. ' C. E. OLSEN, Captain, U. S. Navy, Commanding. BALTIMORE COMPLETES OCCUPATIONAL DUTY To certain Old Hands the cruise of the BALTIMORE now coming to an end presents a sort of anti-climax, but to new hands, a trip to foreign shores holds new and different sights, strange adventures and the culmination to vivid imag- inations. Fresh memories and important facts concerning our voyage and material to endless sea stories include the ship's arrival to the Island of Honshu, Iapan, anchoring at the Koko- suka Naval Base. Such visions as the fishing boats, island formations and the peculiar rays of the sun that morning formed our first striking impressions. We anchored at peace with such famous and interesting enemy vessels as the NAGATO. The first liberty party came back from Tokyo im- pressed and repulsed by the poverty, dirt, and smells . . . a good look at the Iapanese here-to-for witnessed in movies . . . in some cases in battle. Mount Fuji glowed White and pink in the sun over a fog on the morning of Nov. 26th. The BALTI- MORE anchored at Kure Naval Base the next day where we