LCI (542) - Naval Cruise Book

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rf I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I , 5 of the afternoon shore patro-l shift were unable to perform, due to morning liberty. The officers enjoyed the wardroom bar of HMS Blackfiy alongside, while Howard enjoyed some Wine, Late that night the captain of the 539 hunted spies in cupboards with flashlight and .45, and the 4l2 had a fantail party of a different sort. Mean- while we found time to do a little painting, repair .the broken Seam Over No. 2, and bail out the compartment g we also took on supplies of fresh bread, bananas and oranges. The bumboats made many sales, as the result of which Clenney tried the local brandy and later tried to break down No. 2 hatch with his fists. J I Bright and early on 20 fMarch the LCIs set sail for England, escorted by the DE, HMS Dakins . The sea was rough and the sky more cloudy than ever. All went well until 0730 on the 22d, when our engines and generators stopped, due to water in the day tanks, and left us alone on the ocean. We had no way to signal the convoy, but luckily the Dakins missed us and came back to see what was wrong. After an hour of hard workhby the black gang we were able to proceed. The voyage proceeded without further inci- dent until around noon of March 25, when we reached Falmouth, Cornwall, England and anchored in the harbor. The next day we went on to Plymouth, entering the harbor at 1450. For the next hour we filed up and up the Tamar River, under the Albert railroad bridge, and at last moored to buoy T-21, Saltash, with the 412' alongside. Our ocean voyage was over, successful, except that none of the ships knew enough to render honors to U. S-. S. ANCON just before reaching Saltash. For a while we were left to ourselves, since the Base at Plymouth had not expected LCIS so soon. just before midnight on the 27th, we experienced our first air raid, but were late getting to general quarters because Clenney, anchor watch, was too busy watching .a plane fall in fiames to ring the alarm and let the rest of us see it. The following day the ship tussled with the tide, the Saltash ferry and the rickety pier at St. Budeaux in order to get fresh water-ship- handling in British harbors promised tonbe no picnic. When we went on liberty, we found Plymouth smashed, transportation to and from the city difficult, nothing to do but go to the movies or drink warm, watery beer at the pubs, nothing to eat, the blackout hopeless 'to deal with. Those were the days when the galley came i11'fO i'fS OWU HS an after-liberty club, snack bar and center for Mr. Hand's discus- sion group 3 its only rival in the late evenings was the Saltash CIQHCC- April 4 the first 72-hour liberty was granted Calso the last until. after the invasionj. The Captain, Neff, Bruce, Beloin, ClenneY: Damelsonf Hoblit, Roberts and Lazarus all went to London. I

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4 especially after narrow brushes first with an unknown ship and then with a column of destroyers. The next morning we proceeded to Nor- folk, docking alongside the 409 at Pier S, Lambert's Point. All the other ships there were Boston-built and all painted Pacific green 5 were we headed for the Pacific? Welders, some of them small boys, swarmed aboard to alter the ramps and make other repairs, while the rest of the ships loaded overseas stores. and later were repainted Atlantic gray. For a while they still said we were to be a training ship, then they said maybe not-we'd better stock up. So we did, and as many of the ship's company as possible went ho-me for a couple of days.. At last they told us we were to go- to Europe with the other ships 5 we were now in Flotilla 12 and Lt. Com. L. R. Henry, in the 408, our temporary commander. On 3 March we moved to Little Creek anchorage, where a convoy conference was held ashore-ten of us were to- trail a UGS fGibraltarj convoy as escorts . There were the LCIS 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 401, 403, 539, 541, and ourselves. At 1034 on 4 March 1944 the anchor was raised and housed for the Atlantic crossing, a trip that only ,three of ship's company had made before, the Captain, McCabe and Roberts. After passing out through the Capes the ship took up her co-nvoy position as last ship in the 12th of 13 columns, astern of the liberty ship'r Wm. E. Borah g before long almost everyone was seasick. For days a head wind and mod- erately rough Northeast sea bounced the 542 about a good deal, but sometimes the rolling Borah seemed to be having a worse time of it. The sky was rarely clear, so that navigation became mostly a matter of following in the wake of the sturdy Borah , a most courteous ship, which passed on all convoy signals and always let us know her prospective movements. S-o we continued for twelve days, most o-f us overcoming seasickness with the aid of dry crack- ers and grapefruit. LaPorte always wore his foul weather stock- ings and white sneakers and carried his bucket whenever he had to get up to take the helm. Finally on the morning of 16 March the LCIs left the convoy and proceeded due North alone. Despite a great deal of signal confusion during the night, especially on the part of the 539, we arrived safely the next morning off the island of Fayal in the Azores, escorted by porpoises-the rich green grass looked wonderful. At 1015 a gnarled Portuguese pilot clambered aboard, and we manned the rails and entered the harbor of Horta, tying up alongside the 412 at the sea wall. Horta p-roved a fine liberty port, although liberty was restricted for a day and a half until Sunday. That was the day that Bruce, Neff and Matthews had a champagne party, topped off by Bruce's lecture in French to the rabble from the top of a woodpile. Several

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6 For the most part the days passed uneventfully. There was a five-minute air alert in the early morning of the 10th, while on the 12th Howard, returning fro-m liberty, thought the boathook on the liberty boat was a handrail and fell into the Tamar for Che saidj a refreshing swim. The next day Commander Camero-n, ComFlot 12, arrived in the 414, with 413, 415, 416, 417, 418, 537 and 538, unfortunately Commander Henry and most of the skippers were not there to greet him, being off at Torquay. Thus it was that the fol- lowing morning 'Mr. Littlejohn had to take the ship to Cattedown for deperming, a hair-raising experience, what with the tide, moored Stir- ling bomber planes, the annoyance of the captain in command of Queen Anne's Battery, who happened to be watching, and the lack of co-operation on the part o-f the liberty ship to which we had to moor. The Skipper, returning from Torquay, finally found the ship there after searching for several hours. One day shortly afterward Clenney followed Ho-wardls example and jumped into the Tamar instead of the liberty boat. Another day we entertained a WREN boat crew at lunch-big occasion for johnson. April 21 we steamed out of the harbor fo-r anti-aircraft drill but fo-und it too cloudy, thor- oughly indoctrinated by now, however, we rendered honors four dif- ferent times, coming and going, to ANcoN, U. S. S. AUGUSTA, Cominch Plymouth, and a commodore in a transport. When we returned to Saltash, we found the 488 there, after which old home week ensued. The next day the ship was swung in a novel method, tied to a buoy in Iennycliff Bay. I l On 26 April Lt. Com. Brown arrived in the 420, with 419, 421 and 556 5 ComGroup 35, as SOPA, became the Lord of Saltash Water. A few days after this the 542 proceeded to Baltic Wharf and the marine railway at QAB for a much-needed overhaul. By 1300 she was out of the water, and all hands set to work on the bottom, securing at nightfall. At 0312 the following morning, April 30, the Germans began a blister- ing air raid which lasted an hour: bombs meant for the cruiser anchor- age dropped in the water near by and blew up a neighboring garage, there was heavy gunfire and a hail of shrapnel on the deck. We felt helpless, mustered in a messhall, with the ship high and dry in the middle of it all, although Bruce and a couple of others had to be physi- cally restrained from venturing out on the gundeck to watch. At last it was over, and there was a chance to get a little sleep. Later that morn- ing the painting of the bottom was finished and the ship waterborne once more shortly after noo-n. May 2, after recompensating com- passes in .Iennycliff Bay in a high wind, we stood by Turnchapel Wharf awaiting a chance to unload excess fuel onto a barge. Arriv- ing at the barge proved difficult, for wind and incoming tide swept