Haleakala (AE 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS HALEAKALA was built by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, at Sparrows Point, IVlaryland. Her keel was laid on 3 February 19585 she was com- missioned a United States Ship on 3 November 1959. The ship is 512 feet long, has a beam of 73 feet, a maximum draft of 29 feet, and a full load displacement of 16,000 tons. Her geared steam tur- bines develop 16,000 horsepower, to drive the single screw which propels her through the water at 20 knots. On the morning of 8 October 1970 HALE- AKALA departed Naval Weapons Station, Concord, thus beginning her fifth-Western Pacific Deployment in the past six years. With the exception of sus- pected problems in the Engineroom and the result- ant anxious moments in Hawaii, the ship enjoyed Smooth sailing to the Philippines arriving in Subic Bay on 2 November 19-70. Following a ten day load out period-and the reestablishment of HALE- AKALA's presence in the 'Pl , the ship departed Subic on the first seven line swings. As a member of Task Group 73.5 HALEAKALA serviced units of the United States Seventh Fleet during a total of seventy-one days in thehostile fire zone. HALE- AKALA received sixty-nine ships alongside, trans- ferred 12,837 tons of ammunition, 397,000 gallons of fuel oil, many tons of Fleet Freight and mail, and 104 passengers. The deployment was 223 days in length. Of those days 140 were spent at sea. lVlany days were busy, challenging, and crowded with unrepsp others were routine andless exacting. At all times there was work to accomplish, and on numerous occasions Divisions measured their abilities well into the dawning hours. The crew's professional and untiring efforts resulted in successful completion of all UNREP evolutions. The Deck Force proved to be very proficient cargo handlers, and on one occasion transferred 210 tons per hour to the USS KITTY ' ,..--. - .K ' .z:2.L1.i.,.-E.:,,g,2i.g,-2:31-l ZZ':5',,,',Z,Q1..:'L,4,5,QQ.i - QQ A I HAWK, a transfer rate considerably higher than that of past deployments. - Maintaining readiness at sea and the ship's routine proved unrelenting. Each Deck Seaman stood about thirty seven midwatches, the Nl and B Division engineers stood 280 underway watches in the engineroom, OR and OC personnel spent 1680 hours on watch in Radio and Combat, each Quarter- master plotted approximately 1,500 fixes, and the Sounding Security watch reported his results to the Officer of the Deck approximately 3,130 times. The seas and weather were generally fair with the exception of stormy weather during the first two line swings. Off the coast of Vietnam the contrast in the weather conditions we encountered was pro- found - from the occasion when we ran north to evade typhoon lVlary only to be enveloped by a gale in the Gulf of Tonkinp to the glassy deep blue seas down south near the Delta, where on one memo- rable afternoon the ship held swim call . Total distance traveled on the cruise was approximately 42,000 miles - a lot of steaming! Ports of call included Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong, Sasebo, and of course ,Subic Bay., Hawaii fell short of expectations, although, to many it was a new port with its own unique experiences. The excite- ment of Hong Kong and fascination of Japan pro- vided warm and memorable experiences for aIl,,and as usual HALEAKALA was once again well repre- sented on the Subic-Olongapo circuit. Those of us who visited Olongapo will not soon forget this highly unique corner of the world. HALEAKALA's 1970-71 cruise was indeed a success in all respects. ln testimony to the efforts of a complement some fifty hands smaller than that of the 1969-70 deployment, all committments were met, and HALEAKALA became a highly regarded replenishment ship of the U.S.,Seventh Fleet.

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Underway.. Long days at sea. A time to wonder. On 8 October HALEAKALA departs Concord, California cfs ' . '- V-Z ' ,J --, ,rj-- 1 ,,,, Al L' ,g, --.-.. .. ,- . A, , Y .-v-- . , . , -A...,, ',apv--. Y :-,,,,k ,.1,..-....,..,..-:e-:v.af...,-.Q's::41f, , ,,g,,,3 351.1 x.-.,i-,g,-, .- ..' ,f A Y . - 1 - 'A - , ' Y - e fn i ' ' 10- we-. W... ,.....,...: :v.4v.-....:-.m..,., .L W xgvzir. -3 X - V,