General R M Blatchford (AP 153) - Naval Cruise Book

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i N' 'F T J T' ,,.,,., .f.,.......'l 4. Qfslll ASSEMBLING THE CREW That part of San Francisco Bay s Treasure ls land known as The Pre Commissioning Training Center was the working nucleus of Blatchford activity prior to the ship s commissioning The Training Center besides being an agency for the physical assembly of the ship s company at tempted to indoctrinate the detail with the es sentials of shipboard life Schooling in Fire fighting Chemical Warfare Sound powered Telephone Operation and various other requisite skills in war time ship operation occupied the greater part of the time during the period But specific planning for the Blatchford s future functioning also held an important place The detail began to form in July l94-4. Cap- tain Leander Jeffries USNR was designated as PCO and set up his office at l lO Market St. in San Francisco. The PXO Commander Holger Sorensen USNR took active charge of person- nel from his office in Barracks F. And grad- ually the men who had been ordered from re- ceiving ships shore stations and afloat activities were moulded into a ship s force. ln the meantime the prospective supply de- partment began the assembly of ship s material in Oakland where' the ship s outfitting was to take place and from Captain Jeffries Office liaison was effected with the Kaiser Co. and the Navy Department. Later, ship's representa- tives were sent to Richmond, where the actual ship building was in progress. ' When the intense activity in the Pacific called for the acceleration of the APA construction program, other ship building had to be delayed. The Blatchford originally scheduled for com missioning in late September was moved to November then December and finally late Jan uary This delay necessitated the release of the now trained personnel Over half the officers and most of the crew were ordered to other ac tivities and practically a whole new comple ment had to be assembled and trained Early in December Captain Jeffries was or dered to an APA in San Pedro and Commander Allen H Guthrie USN lRetl reported as the new Prospective Commanding Officer ln Janu ary Commander Sorenson was hospitalized and Lt. John F. Musser Jr. who had been the pros pective Navigator and Training and Barracks Officer took his place. The January commis sioning date remained firm and preparations speeded up. The ship s complement was frozen and finally after a last moment of indecision as to the exact day the U. S. S. Gen. R. lvl. Blatch- ford be ame a part of the U. S. Fleet on 26 Janu- ary l9-45. The period on Treasure Island was a long and tedious one elongated by the uncertainty and delay but the memories of this period are not entirely bad. The monotony was broken by training cruises on' the Patrick and the Sher- bourne, and the hospitality of San Francisco was near at hand. And while mil.e long lines for every conceivable purpose made life miserable, the recreational facilities of theisland were good and there was the satisfaction ofadequately preparing for life aboard ship.

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-vc -A few, BUILDING THE SHIP, 5. Q Plym . U. S. S. GENERAL R. M. BLATCHFORD lAP-I53l Keel Laid. ...... , ....... ---7 April l944 Launched .......................ee...... 27 August I944 Commissioned. ....................... 26 January I945 BuildingYard KaiserYiard No. 3, Richmond, Cal. Outtitting Yard --- c. .... . ....... ...Mare Island, Cal. Length Overall .... I .... -, ,.................... 522' l0V2 Length Between Perpendiculars. ................. 496' Beam s.o. . ..... -- ....... ----- ...............,............. 'll ' 8 Speed llvlaximuml .......................... I 8.6 Knots Speed lStandardl ....,.. ........ l 7.l Knots Displacement Tonnage ........ ...,..... l 5,9l 5 Gross Tonnage ....,.,. . ..... ......... l 2,347 Net Tonnage oop, - 9,064 Draft llight - 2l ' 6 Draft Loaded , ,,.cco .....,....... . ....... 2 5' Horsepower ,,..,. .... - ........... ----9,000 Fuel Capacity .c.c.., ,..... D A.---.557,650 Gallons Fresh Water Capacity ......,..... 455,460 Gallons Weight of Anchors ...... I 2,973 Pounds Each Weight ot Propeller ...........,c..s... 45,000 Pounds