Brumby (DE 1044) - Naval Cruise Book

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LENINGRAD. After a long wait, the Russians flashed a Thank you . Happy New Year to you, too. That was our first communication with the Russians. BRUMBY continued to follow the Russians. Most of the time was spent near Egypt, but we also followed them westward to Sardinia and eastward to Crete. We thought BRUMBY would rejoin the 6th Fleet when relieved by another destroyer. But old reliable was not relieved. Orders were given to dash to Augusta Bay, Sicily for fuel while U.S. Navy PC-3's took over tracking the LENIN- GRAD from the air. With a full load of fuel and some mail from home, BRUMBY was back on station in a few hours. We were going to learn a few more tricks about flexible scheduling in the future. . On 13 January, we pulled into the Grand Harbor of Valetta, Malta. We had steamed constantly for 19 days and some well-deserved liberty was ahead. We moored alongside the tender USS GRAND CANYON and other destroyers. Soon we were going ashore to explore this little island at the cross- roads of the Mediterranean. Malta consists of the islands of Malta, Gozo, Comino and a few islets. It is a former British protectorate and lies 60 miles south of Sicily and has long been an important strategic island because of its position in the center of the Mediterranean Mlswsgsgygyzsf NW' f , fsw X WX WSW if f f X f f sw f f is Wt X X Z sw X WNW' X 4 Q: sf Q, ,, A is Zsfysf 4-,wks 15 KAW w? C

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Food processing, oil refining, ship building, and printing are also thriving industries here. Tourism contributes a substantial amount to the nations' economy. We were enjoying our visit to Athens and look- ing forward to more liberty after Christmas, but a message was received selecting BRUMBY for special operations to begin on 26 December! BRUMBY was chosen because of her excellent material readiness. Preparations were made to get underway. On 26 December the ship left Piraeus for special operation. We only knew that we would be following the Russian fleet, present in the Med., especially the helicopter ship LENINGRAD 18445, Other Russian ships in the area included cruisers, DLG's, destroyers, and oceanographic vessels. The length of the mission was unknown. BRUMBY relieved the USS WILLIAM R. RUSH as the LENINGRAD's escort. We were excited about being so close to the Russians but the initial novelty soon gave way to monotony. Those long dHYS of 'failing the LENINGRAD proved plenty Of time for giving BRUMBY a good cleaning. The in- board passageways were painted, first division la- bored on the outside of the ship, and other routine maintenance was completed. On New Year's Eve, BRUMBY signalmell flashed a Happy New Year to the crew of the

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at the Straits of Tunisia. The harbors are natur- ally deep and beautiful. During the last War, the presence of British and allied sea and air forces there made Malta a prime target for Axis bomb- ers. Malta has been occupied in turn by the Phoeni- cians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. The Arabs seized it in 870. Later the Emperor Charles V bestowed it upon the Knights Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem. The Order of St. John began as an aid to weary and ill crusaders upon their arrival in Jeru- salem. The Order built the fortifications that are today the world's best example of medieval battle- ments. In 1565, Grand Master Jean de La Valette, 9,000 troops defended Malta against 29,000 Turks over a period of four months Napoleon seized Malta 1n 1798 His forces were blockaded there by the British Malta requested to become a British protectorate Some self rule was granted in 1939 and in 1947 Malta was then autonomous except 1n foreign affairs and defense Failure of talks on the island s status in 1958 led to riots, the revo cation of the 1947 constitution and government by an appointed governor and council After climbing the w1nd1ng stairs or takin the precarious elevator to the top of the walls by the harbor, Valetta appears to be an endless 11ne of taxis or horse drawn carriages The business , 7 ,, I, ,,,, Tw f A W W x ,fff 6 QC , ,ff f ' ,,,, L, ,,,,, ,,,, 5 ...M rrvl ZZWZVX I I' ,W ,ff WW' vw ZWWW 7 V 'Z I X Y 'Z f , ' ff Q, f ',1' Wa 'f , W ,fl 7. ,f ' Qf , ' ,I H ,m'ij,,WW XXMXMM f ,' ,WM WW7, 1 , ftif ff X V f M , 44 g 5 QV 4.43