Detroit (AOE 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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ni pL£s ' aucu ' Sta bay y . I souii f?rty ecr LiRVA Kvrr Augusta Bay, Sicily - September 2 to 15 La IVIaddalena, Sardinia - September 17 San Remo, Italy - September 18 to 21 Augusta Bay, Sicily - September 25, 26 Souda Bay, Crete - October 4 Augusta Bay, Sicily - October ' 22, 23 Rota, Spain - October 26 to 29

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RAPALLO TouuohJ ,RCTA . tit0 ta, Spain - July 5, 6 Aagusta Bay, Sicily - July 15, 16 Naples, Itah l y 18 to 21 Toulon, FrancPiyuly 29 to lust 11 Augusta Bay, Sicily - August 16, 17 Augusta Bay, Sicily - August 20, 21 Gaeta, Italy - August 25 Rapallo, Italy - August 27 to September 2

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Chronology The following chronology is intended to show some of the highlights, and a lot of the routine, of DETROIT ' S 81 Med cruise. The information contained herein has been culled from old Plans of the Day. Due to the flexible nature of Fast Combat Support, the Plan of the Day sometimes wasn ' t followed, so where memory has failed inaccuracies may have occurred. Additionally, not all events are recorded, in fact, many things, medical lectures for example, may have happened a dozen times, but are only mentioned once or twice. JUNE 24: A message was received from Captain J. F. Watson, COM- SERVRON TWO - USS DE- TROIT is the finest ship in the Atlantic Fleet. We make DETROIT work by pulling together and taking good care of her people and machinery. DETROIT can meet any challenge any time any place. You know that and so do I. I have absolute full faith and confidence in you. You ' re the best. Thursday, you depart Norfolk on a scheduled four month deploy- ment to the Mediterranean. Every time you close up Romeo, remember that without ships like DETROIT, our Navy would be a coastal defense force. Be proud and professional and bring DETROIT home just as she is today. For the engineers, tomorrow you light the eternal flame. God speed, fair winds and following seas. SK3 Pullig and GMG3 Wolf watch a bombing run from the flight deck. JUNE 25: Underway, Captain F. J. Metz commanding. DETROIT begins Atlantic transit with USS JOSEPHUS DANIELS (CO 27), USS DEYO (DD 989), AND USS MACDONOUGH (DDG 39). JUNE 27: First replenishment of the transient group. JUNE 28: Drone Launch for missile exercise. Well done to LT Dan Hanson and the crew of HC-6 ' s HW 22 helicopter for a fine job in avoiding a potential loss of the air craft when flight controls jammed during a drone recovery. Petty Officer Second Class Phillip Jones found and corrected the problem, enabling the aircraft to return to DETROIT safely. EMCS Dangell and MM1 Maniscaico work on 3M. JUNE 29: First Quick Draw Gun- nery Exercise — How quickly can 44 men in two gunnery crews man their stations at battle readiness and fire six rounds in rapid succession? They averaged between three and four minutes. Weapons personnel manned the key stations, with Deck Department personnel filling in the crews. First Night Flight Quarters. Advance all clocks one hour at 0100. The MARS station is opera- tional. CW03 Peebles confers with LCDR Peters. JULY 1: BM2 Shannon and BM2 Billingslea respond to a fire drill in less than 45 seconds, having the situation under control before the Fire Party arrives, even though their response time was under four minutes. Shots continue in Sick Bay to immunize the crew in preparation for going ashore in Europe. Advance all clocks one hour at 0100. JULY 2:Basic Engineering Casualty Control Exercises (BECCEs). Quick Firing Exercise. Advance all clocks one hour at 0100. Meeting to organize Ship ' s Band held in the Library. JULY 3: Critique 3M Inspection. DC Team Training Meeting. General Quarters. Advance all clocks one hour at 0100. JULY 4: Independence Day! Flight Deck Frolics. JUL Y 5: Moor Naval Station, Rota, Spain. Fleet freight transfer, helo inspection. Advance all clocks one hour at 0100. JULY 6: Underway. Ammunition VERTREP with Naval Station. Replenish JOSEPHUS DANIELS and CONNOLE. Transit the Straits of Gibraltar.