Benham (DD 796) - Naval Cruise Book

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: 1 1 I 1 I ■H ' ' ' 1-51 IN I I ! I I i Iv :% KIEL, GERMANY Wc moored at the South Pier, Tirpitz-Hafen, in Kiel, Germany, on Thurs- day, 12th day of June after crossing the Baltic Sea from Sweden. Kiel which is in the British Zone, was formerly the main German Naval Base on the Baltii. Demolished submarine pens dotted the Kiel Canal and the shore at the base of the Kiel Bay. These berths for the German U boats were made of steel rcinfortcd concrete slabs about H feet thick. Despite the many air raids on them, they had to be blown up by demolition crews after the war. A new language and the German Deutschemark currency system had to be learned but this was no problem for sailors who wanted to see the wide-open German town. Beer gardens with German folk music are numerous throughout the many streets. In the old town stands the Palace built in the 13th centurj ' , enlarged in the 19th and restored after a fire in 1838. Other buildings are the church of St. Nickolos dating from 1240; the University, founded in 1665 by Christian Albert; the Library and School of I ' orestry; the University and the Schleswig- Holstein Museum. LIGHT SHIP OUTSIDE KIEL HARBOR GERMAN SLBMARINE MEMORIAL GERMAN BOV AND GIRL SCOL ' TS I

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i KARLSKRONA, SWEDEN The four days, from June 7-11, spent in this small city on the southeastern coast of Sweden were among the most enjoyable of any spent on this cruise. The people of The Land of the Midnight Sun were very hospitable and saw to it that there was something going on every minute to occupy the crew ' s time. Our hosts outdid themselves for it wasn ' t long after we were there that we found our- selves being detailed to parties, dances, banquets and tours. Detailing was necessary so as to make sure that no invitations would be slighted. The streets were immaculate and the buildings showed an interesting contrast of Medieval and 20th century architecture. KARLSKRONA TIME PIECE ' ' r T r r SWEDISH TULIPS OLD SV; ' EDISH CASTLE

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HAMBURG, REEPERBAHN PASSING KIEL CANAL HAMBURG, GERMANY BISMARCK MEMORIAL On Tuesday, June 17, we moored in the ' Free and Hanseatic City ' of Hamburg which is located on the Elbe River at a point approximately 75 miles from where the Elbe flows into the North Sea. It is in the British Zone of Germany but only 25 miles west of the Iron Curtain. With a population of 1,662,148 it is the largest city of the Federal German Republic and is second only to Berlin in all of what was pre- war Germany. Hamburg ' s port, on the banks of the Elbe, is the largest in Germany and Northern Europe. The Post-War recovery of the city of Hamburg has been phe- nomenal, stimulated by the re-establishment of its port. It is estimated that 35% of the city and 74% of the harbor facilities were completely destroyed, during air attacks which took place in July and August of 1943. The toll of these raids reached the staggering figures of 55,000 dead, 50,000 injured and some 300,000 homeless. By the end of the war the city population had fallen to less than one million. Already approximately a third of the bomb rubble has been cleared away and the center of the city is entirely free of rubble. It is estimated that 35% of the damage to the city and 70% of the damage to the port facilities have been rebuilt. Sight seeing tours of breweries and local points of interest were provided for all who were interested. Some of the well known Hamburg interest points were the Bismarck Memorial, Art and Trade Museum, Art Hall, Music Hall, Botanical Garden, Hamburg Univer- sity, and the Outer-Alster Lake which offered swimming, boating and sailing. Hamburg is what might be called an ' open city ' with its many varieties of entertainment from classical operas and theaters to bars and nightclubs of all classes. These feature stageshows, dances, or just German music in the atmosphere of fine wines and tasty strong German beers. Despite the difficulty of language barriers, German ' Frauleins found that American sailors are — American sailors.