Little Rock (CLG 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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The ship symbolizes the role of the modern Navij, which stands in peacetime, as a firm symbol of the greatness of our country and its strength and power, but whose outlook is friendship and understanding. The LITTLE ROCK man has two big jobs to do. The first mission, of course, is to maintain a high state of combat readiness, alert and ready to meet any national or NATO requirement. The second mission is the nation ' s People-to- People program. In plain language, this is simply making friends ashore for the United States. At Istanbul, LITTLE ROCK sailors volunteered to paint a Turkish schoolhouse, 10,000 copies of a book of Turkish folk tales were printed for school children, and donors gave blood for the local hospital. In Greece, an exchange of visits took 150 officers and men to the ancient village of Peania, and brought the Greek citizens to the LITTLE ROCK for a first hand look at a U. S. Navy warship. The events were climaxed with the presentation of physics and chem- istry teaching equipment to the village school. And on and on in every port — the men repaired and painted orphanages, the ComCruDiv Four Band played concerts, LITTLE ROCK Marines staged their wonderful drill exhibitions, and hundreds of local orphans were treated cake, ice cream, and movies aboard ship. Thus, in the months of the LITTLE ROCK ' s de- ployment with the Sixth Fleet, an envious record of good will and high operational performance has done much to bolster American-European relations. But the task goes on. In each new port of call, the LITTLE ROCK makes many friends and displays the modern advances being developed in America ' s modern fleets. The LITTLE ROCK is a traveling symbol of the friendliness and deterrent force which is the role of our fleets in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean.

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The crest portrays the figure of Talos, ivho, in Greek mythology, was ' ' the last man of the ancient bronze race, a creature made of bronze . . . terrible to behold . . . who threatened to crush ships with ... a pointed crag if they drew nearer. ' ' Terrible to behold . . . Indeed no hollow slogan, for the principal armament of the LITTLE ROCK, the Talos missile, is the Navy ' s newest and deadliest surface-to-air weapon. Talos is the end product of years of research con- ducted by the Navy and the Applied Physics Lab of John Hopkins University. Fired from the launcher on the fantail of LITTLE ROCK, the Talos missiles are directed to their tar- gets by means of a two-stage guidance system. The 3,000 pound missile is steered to the target vicinity by means of a beam-riding system operated from the ship. When the missile nears its target, control is automatically transferred to a homing device which guides the high explosive warhead pointblank into the attacking aircraft. The 30-foot Talos is powered by a 40,000 horse- power ram- jet engine, propelling it to speeds greater than 800 miles-per-hour. LITTLE ROCK has been awarded the Efficiency E for her missile firing performance ; proof of her ability to accomplish her mission. -LUik