Barton (DD 722) - Naval Cruise Book

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two weeks. From ComSeventhFleet came 'GTHE BAR- TON 'IS COMMENDED FOR THE EXP-EDITIOUS REPAIRS EFFECTED BY SHIPS FORCE FOLLOW- ING SHELL HIT BY THE ENEMY X WELL DONE X VADM CLARK. After completing duty in Wonsan and a short rest in Yokosuka, the BARTON rejoined the other ships of DesDiv 21 and DesDiv 262 for an anti-submarine training exercise off the east coast of Japan. At the end of the exercise we paid a Visit to Hakodate, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. From Hakodate DesDiv 21 proceeded to rejoin Task Force 77. It proved to be a short tour for the BARTON, however, when on the evening of 1 6 Sept., a k dai' after ioining the task force, the BARTON struc a floating mine. The 6XP105ion tore a 15, by 25' hole in our starboard side, completell' flooding the for- ward iii-groom and killing the five men who were on Korean action for the watch there. This ended the BARTON, and we proceeded to the Sasebo shipytfd for a month's stay to eifect repai1'S- The period in the shipyard was a battle in itself for the BARTON personnel. For to be able to con- tinue our ,round-the-world cruise the ship had to be ready to -sail by 19 Oct. It was at first thought it would be impossible to meet this deadline, but with ship's force, repair teams from the USS BRYCE CAN- YON QAD-36j and Japanese workmen laboring over- time the deadline was met. Operating on two boilers the BARTON, in com- pany with the SOLEY, left Sasebo on 19 Oct. and proceeded to a rendezvous at Aden with the rest of DesDiv 21 and DesDiv 262. This leg of our journey saw us stopping for visits at Singapore and Colombo, Ceylon. On 'the trip from Singapore to Ceylon we slipped across the Equator and all Pollywogs were ceremoniously welcomed into King Neptune's Royal Order of the Deep. From Aden we transited the Suez Canal and then across che Mediterranean for a four-day visit in

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QUR HISTORY t's a Long Long Time From May to December d well have been the theme song of the crew of . SS BARTON for the year, 1952. For the period ay to 12 Dec. found the BARTON and her more '300 men and officers on an adventurous 47,000 -'round-the-world cruise. e story of this globe-circling adventure is best by the pages of pictures which make up. this , but for a brief word preview of the 7 months' 161298 start with a mid-May day in Norfolk, inia: ' 1 011 15 May the BARTON, along with three other Ships of DesDiv 21, the Uss PIERCE CDD 7539, the USS STRONG fDD 758D and the Uss soLEY QDD 707 J and DesDiv 262, left the Norfolk Navy Base bound for duty with the United Nations Forces op- erating against the Communists in Korea. Although battle-preparation iwas the theme of the journey to Japan and Korea, we all found time to enjoy ourselves during brief stops at Panama, San Diego, Pearl Harbor and Midway. On 19 June the ship dropped anchor at Yokosuka, Japan, to begin her actionjpacked four-months' tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet. With the BARTON as flagship and carrying the screen commander, the four ships of D'esDiv 21 spent the period of 21 June to 9 July with Task Force 77, the fast carrier group operating off the east coast of Korea. Highlight of the many attacks delivered against the enemy by Task Force 77 planes during this period was the much-publicized bombing of the hydroelectric plants on the Yalu River. Following a brief upkeep and recreation period in Sasebo, Japan, the BARTON on 20 July moved into Wonsan Harbor where she served as flagship for ComDesRon Two, who was commander of the East , w 1 Coast Blockade Element and later commander Wonsan Bombardment Element. During 33 consecutive days in Wonsan Harbor flocated deep in Communist-held North Koreaj the BARTON distinguished herself by her' accurate bombardment and harassment of Com- munist activities. No member of the BARTON's crew will forget the names of the friendly islands of Yodo, Taedo, Hwangtodo, of Typhoon Karen and her aftermath of floating mines, or of enemy-fortified Hodo-Pando. Nor will we forget the night of 10 Aug. and the bitter ninety-minute gun duel which cost the life of ship- mate Dale P. Gray, Boatswain's mate third class, and left the BARTON with a gaping hole in her forward stack. The enemy batteries were silenced, however, and the BARTON remained on station for another g- -Z . ru h

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A CCHRONOLOCGY OIF OUR WORLD CRUISE Departed Norfolk ......... Transited Panama Canal ..--- Panama City ...... San Diego ...... ---- May 15 ------- May 20 ----- May 20-21 April 29-30 Pearl Harbor ...... -.--,,-- I une 6.7 Crossed Dateline ....... ,,,,,,, j une 12 Yokosuka, Japan .....-..,....,...,,...,,......, ,, ,---- june 18-19 Task Force 77 off Korean East Coast . ..... ..... I une 21-july 9 Sasebo, Japan .................. . ........e............... . ....... . ........... ,. Iuly 10-20 Task Force 95 in Wonsan Harbor, North Korea . july 21-Aug. 23 Hit by Shore Battery in Wonsan Yokosuka ........................ Hunter-Killer Exercises ....... Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan .,.... Task Force 77 ..................... Hit by Mine .... Sasebo ...... --- Singapore ...... L ..... .. ......- Crossed Equator ...... Colombo, Ceylon ...... Aden ................--------------- Transited Suez Canal ....... Naples, Italy ...... Genoa .......... -- Villefranche ..... Gibraltar ............-.- Arrived Norfolk ...... ................................ Aug. 1 0 ----------- Aug. 2 5-3 1 Aug. 31-Sept. 10 sept. 10-12 sept. 15-16 ,-------. Sept. 16 Sept. 20-Oct. 19 ------ Oct. 26-28 Oct. 28 Nov. 1-3 ----- Nov. 9-11 ----- Nou. 14 ------ N011. 17-22 Nov. 23-26 Nov. 26-29 ------- Dec. 1-2 Dec. 12