Blair (DE 147) - Naval Cruise Book

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. . , .. .. .. . , -- . .. i, V NV s1w1f.s::w'wsm fIf' . rn-.Y .r.m Mf v'1 - A-- J M ' .i ,., ,I , ... J Q, ,. ,,.,fL.,,a,x . e..,., . .tu , U . ,W , .. -:::az.1.Z':f5i'f.kq-.4i'fL5f25 fffffifm . , . FSIJ.-3 -' -f-f 'U fi - Q' S .nurse s- --in '2 ksffeiiiiiefiifkl-F549 ,ez-2 f2iii:' 'Edes ved! Q9 if i., W -l J 4 . . . And tell me zuasn l the best time, that time when we were young at sea, young and luul nothing on the sea that gives nothing, except lumi knocks-aiu! it .wnnetinzes Il chance Io feel your strength? -joseph Conrad ip Despite all of the most modern advances, life at sea is not an easy one, particularly in a small ship. WVe do not believe this eternal challenge of the elements will ever be other than a constant demand for the best in ship and crew. BLAIR is a L h taut ship because it is the only 'kind of a ship in which we feel H safe to put to sea. Although she is a taut ship, paradoxically enough there is tw Q perhaps more real democracy in BLAIR than in our home 'ig 5, towns. It is an altruistic democracy of devotion to the common 1. ti welfare, the good ol the ship. asv 'il Despite all regulations ever issued, no crew will perforxn V nl as BLAIR'S has without inspiration, loyalty, and respect. These must be well earned. There is more than a mutual pride in our ship and in our crew. There is a feeling of strong friendship ' and loyalty up and clown from the Captain on the bridge to the watch in Steering Alt. It is a spirit born of patriotic de- votion to the Navy and welded by long service together far from home: by midnight landings in 40 knot squalls, freak storms off Hatteras and blizzards such as that of 16 March, 1952. This is the BLAIR Spirit! !! .4 1 0 I l ' mb li t fs 5 .5 KW- - uw- 1 1 -.s 1 ': ', . th . , lt! ll ft! 2 ' s , , I Q X' - f ' f I' - ' ,flillk '- 4 ,Lv lx' '. -'-. -,f'e 2 ,r -1 'Q li .J - 5 -2 x X 5 ' ' fl- . ' K Q! V ' N '. -1 xx .Zz 'II'-I ..-2v .I i!li'y ,,' ,' ,.,,:.'f 1. ',: Q 7' si' ' 'Nil-i' -i 2 ' 9 V ' N - UM , 5 A -' J . ,J -- ,4 Ska, 4 I E I I , .-HLS' -an , I I .

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I s ,. , 6 I . Q27 f-A 4 f I X 'Zz 1 f al 0 2 'aa o ' Z Z N f' f f' 1 1 I j - , f , 9 x 1 - Q ,. 1 f - ' 0 I 1 ff f I, Q . 2 COMMANDING OFFICERS Lieutenant Alden Laborde, USNR ..... - ......,,.....,,,,,,, 1 ---,,---,.,.-,,,--- ,-,,--- S ept 1943 to Jan 1945 Lt. Commander Walter Gadsby, Jr., USNR ........ Lt. Commander John L. Holmes, USN---Q--.-- Lt. Commander Charles L. Nagle, USN .......... Lt. Commander The diesel powered Destroyer Escort BLAIR was built by the Consolidated Steel Company of Orange, Texas, where her keel was laid on 19 January 1943. Launched on 6 April 1943, this ship was sponsored by Mrs. Vestie Forster, who had three sons in the Navy. The ship was named in honor of Chief Machinist's Mate Eugene Blair, USN, a Naval hero of World War II. BLAIR was commissioned in Orange, Texas, on 13 September 1943. After the cus- tomary trial runs, shakedown period, and final yard overhaul, BLAIR was found ready for sea. Upon reporting to Commander De- stroyers, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, in November 19433 BLAIR was assigned to Escort Division Three. BLAIR's main function was to serve as es- cort for fast troop convoys plying between New York and the United Kingdom. The two exceptions to this were on the first two operations, one a convoy to Gilbraltar, and the other while employed as part of a Hunter Killer group. In twenty months in the At- lantic, BLAIR completed twelve trans-Atlan- tic crossings. During these operations there were no ships lost in any convoy escorted by Escort Division Three. On 10 August 1945, BLAIR entered Pearl Harbor, T.H., and reported to the United States Pacific Fleet and Destroyers Pacific Fleet for duty. This duty was short lived for with the end of World VVar II, BLAIR sailed for Charleston, S.C. on 4 September 1945. In Charleston the ship was prepared for decom- missioning and assigned to anchorage in the St. Johns River at Green Cove Springs, Florida. .... .jan 1945 to Sept 1945 -------.Oct 1951 to Feb 1953 ---..---.Feb 1953 to Apr 1955 Harvey O. Webster, USN ....... .... . .........,.......... .,,,,-., ,Apr 1955 Incident to the Korean conflict, BLAIR was recommissioned on 5 October 1951 and since has primarily alternated between her home port of Newport, R. I. and the Fleet Sonar School at Key VVest, Florida, with time out for Mainbrace exercise in 1952. In addition to her basic assignment during the time since completion of her last Navy Yard overhaul in April 1955, BLAIR com- pleted a refresher training period at Guan- tanamo, Cuba before rejoining Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet as an operational ship. Since then as a unit of Escort Squadron TEN, her duty has consisted of tours with the Fleet Sonar School at Key West, Florida, as a school ship and operation with the Commander Operational Development Force, Atlantic Fleet. Following the present tour at Key West, BLAIR will participate in the annual Mid- shipman Cruise in the summer of 1956. A small ship must be a versatile one and BLAIR has often had occasion to perform other than normally assigned tasks. One of these was the nationally publicized rescue of a family floating down Narragansett Bay on a house-top during the height of hurricane Carol . This ship, as are all units in the fleet, is available for duty in search and rescue mis- sions, either military or civilian. STATISTICS Length ........ ........................... .......... 3 0 6 ft. Beami .............. ........................ 3 6 ft. Draft. ................. ....................... . ..--l4 ft. Displacementm--- ....... faboutj 1800 tons Speed .............. - ........................ .20 kts. -wwf A 2143, yd KI' XX6 lax ik it 0'0 'N' Y , - :ww 41 ' , X' . f a 1-4 mg S ' Q- Q , , . ,A K A S f X E '4 X 5 E 5 A .I I, Q 15 N 11' X S K Q , sf .- . I ai' 4 4 I -- 'I ae' I 2 IE' E 5 e E . - Q ' Q Q 2, 72 5 2 N 3 ' 'QL P - , wmm WI 'ffllnlfi' 14515.21 3 5,1 Ilamlmnmwl IL 1.

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RR1.C,.A?xI2 CAROL 'N XRR.AC,,ANfa.kfI Tr BA'5r Claire, Mrs. Wm., and Robert Boudreau-immediately prior to rescue by BLAIR, still cling to roof of their summer cottage which was swept into bay. Dear Lt. Cmdr. Nagle, Last Tuesday's experience now seems to have been but a terrible nightmare. Bruises and a few sleepless nights served to remind us, however, of Hurricane Carol and of what we owe to the brave men on the U.S.S. BLAIR. We shall never forget the skipper and crew who saved our lives. You will always be included in our prayers, that is the least we can do to repay you. Our very special heartfelt thank you to the five courageous men who jumped into the water after us: Torpedoman Second Class Charles Guertin, Seaman George Nash, Seaman Luigi Petrosino, Seaman Henry Halvorson, Jr., and Seaman Ernest Edelman. They risked their lives to save ours . . . The immediate medical attention my brother and I received from the Corps- man, Mr. Prescott, helped us to recover more quickly from the experience. Thanks to him, we suffered no ill effects from the exposure of more than two hours . . . Your fine hospitality, sir, while we were on board your ship, gave us quite an insight into why we ought to be proud of our Navy. Also, we'd like to thank Ensigns Copp and Palmer who patiently waited through the delays on the road and finally got us home safe and sound. It is pretty hard to express in a letter all the gratitude we feel toward the skipper and crew of the BLAIR . . . we'll never forget the ship and its men. We'll thank God for the rest of our lives that the BLAIR was in Narragansett Bay on August 31, l954. Sincerely, Claire Boudreau