Bataan (CVL 29) - Naval Cruise Book

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12 April 145- Our provisions were running low and we replenish at seaf' Now the following number of men and one ofiicer from each division report to the.Comm1ssary Ofiicer abreast the island for a provision working party. 14 hands from the lst Division, 10 hands from the 2nd Division. . . and the bosun mates voice drones on and on until 20? of the crew is slated for the job of receiving food from the AI: on which the BATAAN is making its approach. Since word concerning the provisioning schedule was received from the fiag, the Supply Department has established figures on current needs and only the task of actually getting the beans and stowing them below remains. This day like so many other replenishment days at sea is a result of expert plan- ning and timing. The tremendous task of bringing every conceivable type of material thousands of miles and delivering it to fighting ships in the .1ap's back- yard is no small time operation. Hundreds of supply ships are necessary to make it a complete success and they have done their job so well Admiral Nimitz calls them our secret weapon. We are now 'alongside the provision ship and the first cargo net swings to the flight deck. Eager men step forward to unload the net and start the move- ment of the boxes to the storerooms. This is not an indication of love toward the work but the old hand on working parties is well aware of the fact that the last men are left with the largest and heaviest boxes. On the bridge the supply officers of both ships are using the intership sound-powered phones. The ancient and honorable practice of borrowing a cup of sugar from the next door neighbor is being trans- acted. The familiar cup of sugar is represented by any number of items. a baseball cap for a certain brand of cigars for the Capt-ain, , .It boils down to a Uwhatta ya got that I need attitude and each comes out of the deal with his ship's secondary needs and agiassuredness that he has outsmarted the other supply o cer. Fresh provisions are now coming aboard and this includes cr-ated fruit. Unwritten law states that con- tents of broken cases may be consumed on the Spot. Seemingly rugged sailors take off with 30 boxes of oranges, and these boxes for some reason grow heavy. One is splashed at frame 80. another badly damaged by No. 4 stack while a third goes into a fatal dive between two fighters spotted aft. With luck, 25 boxes of the oranges may reach the refrigerated store- rooms. The bulk of the foodstuffs at sea is usually comprised of dry provisions, which includes canned goods and dehydrated vegetables. Ship's SIOIQ items are handled by the supply ship too and are being sent over last. This includes cigarettes, toilet articles and candy, better known as Pogey bait. Provisions, important as they are, comprise but a fraction of the volume of supplies and thousands Page One Hundred Eight of items necessary to keep a large ship running efii- ciently and happily. You rarely think of the Supply Department, the S-1 and S-2 divisions, except when you want some- thing. A haircut from the barber shop, foul weather gear from GSK, a Hdead horse from the disbursing office, plexiglas from aviation stores, a pot of Joe from the galley during the mid-watch, a torn shirt mended at the tailor shop, chewing gum from Ship's Service, shoes from Clothing and Small Stores, clothes washed in the laundry. There is no more touching sight than an old salt with three inches of beard and a Gedunk in his hand. Each day the soda fountain serves a thous- and cups of ice cream and gallons of cokes. Sweating out the line is the only strain. The canteen likewise does land oHice business. An average month brings the sale of 600 tooth brushes, 150 pinochle decks and 137 playing card decks, almost 80,000 packs of cigarettes and 23,000 cigars. The galley, in pro- viding three meals each day in addition to a mid- night meal served to 'aviation check crews, can also Hash a staggering list of figures. Each month 15,000 pounds of fresh potatoes, 4,000 pounds of coffee, 12,000 pounds of flour and 1,200 pounds of table salt are consumed. Aviation supply has everything and anything that has to do with aircraft. Its field is one that under- goes constant change due to improvements and revisions made on all Navy planes. A part which is now considered a new innovation may be obsolete next week. Its successor must be procured andthe outmoded part leaves the ship. Stores for mainte- nance and operation of the BATAAN are issued by GSK. The main issue room has cognizance of over 5,400 items, ranging from hand tools to fireplace bellows. Since commissioning day the ship has elb0W greased through 1,300 swabs and used 15,000 flash- light batteries. Next to mail and chow, the most important per- sonal interest to the men of BATAAN is pay dal'- This is computed by the disbursing section of supply- Approximately 823,000 is the average pay day at sea, 845,000 is drawn prior to entering a port and when the ship goes back to the states over 3200.000 is taken off the books. The S-2 division works in Officers' Country, pre- paring and serving the food in the wardroom and cleaning the staterooms. 1 The Supply Department slogan is Service to the linef and the S divisions have done a tremend0US Job in rendering that service. , The working party is secured and a well-stocked task group is again on its way for a heavy date tomorrow. But the work of the storekeepers, the cooks and bakers, the laundrymen and barbers, the t-ailors and butchers goes on. 1 - - .J

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