LCI (542) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 30 text:

26 if soaking, course culminating in a trip into a Haming tank with the nozzle of the hose to tame the flame.. . - May came and with it the first outside training cruise. We set forth in a group on the 4th, tiring at a towed sleeve that afternoo-n. Beaching on San Nicolas Island began bright and early the next morn- ing, followed by power runs that afternoon. After anchoring off the island for the night, we beached again and practiced to-wing other ships off-the long strands of kelp together with the surf made this difficult, and our score was not too good. The next night was devoted to inde- pendent night steaming on set courses, after which came more anti- aircraft target practice, until we anchored in Wilson's Cove off San Clemente Island. May 8, while making speed runs over the measured mile at San Clemente, the radio brought the news that Nazi Germany had surrendered. The efforts of the 542 had contributed to that victory, -and she saluted it with blasts on the whistle, even though the other ships did not join in. The following morning we returned to- San Diego. . Next on the schedule was another week of classroom training, so on the morning o-f the 15th we were lying quietly at the pier, with half ship's company at classes and several more on liberty in Lo-s Angeles, when the 552 came alongside and disgorged 11 officers and 135 men on our decks fo-r transportation to Morro Bay, half way up the coast to San Francisco. Th-ere was little water and less food, and some of the compartments were being painted, the ship had no radar for a trip that was sure to be foggy, and she was sho-rthanded. Nevertheless, we had to get under way as soon as possible, after some bread was obtained and the nearest students rounded up, we sailed. At first the voyage was uneventful, with clear weather up past San Pedro- and Los Angeles, but entering Santa Barbara Passage a head wind and sea developed, bringing fog. The passengers got seasick and so did not need the food we did not have. The paint buckets in the forecastle overturned in the heaving waves and decorated the passengers' gear stowed there. By morning the fog had closed in completely, which meant that the navigation department was in for a tough time 3 what with the inaccu- rate Compasses and strong current and seas, dead reckoning proved dif- Hcult. The ship went no-rth until it was judged that Morro Bay was abeam and then turned east for the coast. The coast came sooner than expected, for breakers were heard dead ahead when the ship was going about 8 knots and co-uld be seen by the time she was stopped and anchored. When dawn came without fo-g, Morro Rock was only a mile or so away. Presently a pilot came- out to guide us through the narrow entrance to the harbor , which had never seen anything larger' than an

Page 29 text:

25 Locks. 'The journey through them lasted only 25 minutes, followed by a short trip to Mirallores Locks lasting 17 minutes. Then we were in the Pacific Ocean having spent exactly four and one-half hours transitting the Canal, and set o-ur course west and north for San Diego, California. . Ten lazy days of good weather and calm seas followed, seas of rich blue set off by the barren brown hills of Latin America, with occa- sional tall mountains, sometimes volcano-es, in the distance. We were escorted at times by flying fish and once or twice by large schools of dolphins--as many as thirty or forty would cluster under and around the bow, maintaining position without seeming to move, although the ship was making better than twelve knots. Occasionally a giant turtle would float by, asleep in the sun, sometimes with a bird perched on its back. These aroused the sporting instincts of Bruce and some of the other more ardent shots, so the small arms were broken o-ut for hunt- ing. One turtle was wounded, and we came close aboard in hopes of ho-isting him onto the fantail. All went well until someone emptied a tommy gun into the animal, sinking him without a trace-no turtle soup. Another time we saw a giant manta ray leaping out of the water close on the port bow, but did not go fishing. Very early one morning the port engine co-mmenced a high-pitched whine, which grew louder and worseg investigation showed that all the oil had leaked out of the gear box due to the carelessness of the Coco Solo pitch control boys. Luckily the trouble was located before the gears were stripped, though the engine was noisy from then on. The morning of April Z, the day after Easter and the invasion of Okinawa, we arrived at San Diego. After threading our way up the harbor for an hour, we reached Berth 9, South Quay Wall, Naval Repair Base, and moored to the 581 in the midst of ab-out 100 LCIS. Shortly after tying up, we had an arrival inspection and learned that we were to remain at San Diego for a period of overhaul, followed by several weeks of training. No one could have any leave, however, and liberty was restricted to 48 hours. For almost three weeks the ship sat at the pier while minor repairs were made, the Base would not replace the noisy gear box. During this period Beloin left for treatment in the hospital, and Roberts succeeded to the Bosun's position. Finally the training exercises commenced the week of April 20. In company with a group of other ships we beached in the Bay, maneuvered out- side the harbor, practiced mooring to an AKA and to Mole Pier, and beached and maneuvered some more, The following week was taken up with classes ashore, including the fire-fighting sch0O1, 3 valuable,

Page 31 text:

27 LCM before. It was- a tight fit, but the ship was finally moored and the passengers d-ebarked. Johnson and Mr. Hillman went off to get some more food, fortunately, because two hours later 11 mo-re officers and 100 men came aboard for transp-ortation back to San Diego. After getting under way and turning around with the help of an LCM, we set off in clear weather and a sea still rough but following. Reaching San Diego by 0830 the following morning, we threaded another narrow channel to the Amphibious Training Base at Coronado and moo-red to a pier to unload. ' There followed four days of rest, which' were especially welcomed by those of ship's company who-se, wives had come out to live in the quonset hut settlement next to the base. Early on May 22' W-e sailed to participate in a landing exercise, designed to- train an amphibious staff. After rehearsing off Coronado in the morning, the ships pro- ceeded to Oceanside for the exercise, which was to fo-llow a night of independent steaming. While steaming, at 0435, our starboard pitch control froze, making it necessary to operate on the port engine alone. After engaging in the Hnal' rehearsal off Oceanside that morning, the anchor was dropped while repairs to the pitch were attempted by the black gang. Bruce tried out the new shallow water diving outfit, enjoyed himself, but accomplished nothing. The only thing to do was to return to San Diego for parts. Mooring at South Quay Wall proved interesting with only o-ne engine 5 the ship finally had to be backed in. An engine overhaul was then begun, during which time we stayed at the base for about three weeks-time enough for most of the crew to see Los Angeles and movieland, to say nothing of frequent trips to Tijuana, Mexico. June 4 Doc Simpson left to get his discharge, and Doc Stewart replaced him. On 18 June orders were received to proceed once more to Morro Bay, this time in company with the 528, which had radar and could navigate through the fog somewhat better. An hour after being noti- fied of the trip we were loading 6 officers and 112 men at the Coronado Base. We sailed, and this time nature was kinder g visibility was good all through the night, and the fog did not settle' in until the next morn- ing, two hours short of Morro Bay. After anchoring off the port and unloading into small boats, we sailed for San Diego that afternoon, arriving at the Repair Base the following day. . The 542 had now been at San Diego for almost three months, much longer than anyone had hoped. The war in the Pacific continued, mostly at Okinawa, but LCIS seemed to be available in surplus quantities. Pearl Harbor was said to be full of them 5 San 'Diego certainly was- another group had arrived after us, veterans of the Mediterranean.