Cacapon (AO 52) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 37 text:

The businessman who runs out of gas on his way to an appointment is inconvenienced, sometimes embarrassed. A Navy ship that runs out of fuel at sea dies. It becomes a derelict, hazard to friend and enemy. Even what the Navy calls a low fuel state can remove a ship from a fight as quickly as a round from an enemy gun. Low fuel forces a ship to slow down and reduce its activity. In combat a ship running low on fuel must withdraw. A To the crews of Seventh Fleet Service Force oilers off the coast of Vietnam falls the task of assuring that this never happens. They do this by underway replenishment, UNREP for short. Like all night gas sta- tions, these oilers are always open for business. Their customers are the Navy carriers, destroyers, cruisers, minesweepers, and transports plying the Vietnamese waters from the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam southward to the Mekong Delta. There are few regular hours aboard these oilers. Their customers have their jobs to do, be it patrol, search and rescue, or gunfire support, and refueling is something they do when they can find time. So the oilers wait. Customers arrive at all hours and none are turned away. It's called unreps of opportunity. In the Gulf of Tonkin however, where ships manning the vital Yankee Station are more likely to remain in a given area, fuel replenishments are on a more regular schedule. Work begins shortly after an oiler announces its availability for business. Ships in the area let the oiler know their particular require- ments for fuel by message if there is time, or by flashing light as they approach the oiler. As soon as the oiler has its customer alongside, the unrep procedure starts. A line is shot from a special gun to the receiving ship. That line is attached to a larger one which is in turn connected to a cable on which refueling hoses will ride like trolleys. Once the cables are secured from the oiler to the other ship, the tentacle-like hoses suspended high above the oiler's decks on booms are drawn across and connected to the other ship's fuel tanks. On a signal, the oiler starts pumping until the customer has had its fill. The oiler usually has two ships along side at once, one to each side. While refueling operations are in progress, other activities between the two ships are taking place also. Freight and supplies are transferred and if necessary, another type of rig is set up to transfer personnel. All the while, the two ships are steaming side by side through calm or stormy seas. And sleep? It is much sought after, but seldom gotten by the crew at times like these. They grab it when and where they can, some might even make it to their racks, but not for long you can be certain. ' A V

Page 36 text:

,..-,, , XXX. X 1 . XXX Xxxs. X X X X KX XTX X55 in X X X 4 X N XXXQX X X XXXXXX A.X XX 51X FXS X X- XX X XX-. XX X XXX XXV' ' X .. XXXKXSX X XQXXX XX ,X XOX gXfX

Page 38 text:

The CACAPON refueling the CORAL SEA, CVA 43, and one of her escorts, the MANSFIELD, DD 728. To save time this is the usual Way it is done, The CACAPON'S first UNREP in Westpac, the HALFMOON CC-CW 378 The CAC'S 100th UNREP was a tiny mine- sweeper, the WIDGEON, MSC 208, 'What a carrier looks like while making an approach.