Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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ii Args-ntin A couple of xstielts latt-r txt' rt-turnt'tl lti tLnt- ter Sound, in Scapa lflou. l'lt-rt' tht- trttininp recommenced with t-onihint'tl fort-vs. int-lutlinp Beaufighters and Spitfires. Un july oth tht- Matt- was steaming as anti-snh st'rt't'n for tht- pritlt- of the British lleet-eetlitf lI.M.S. llnltt- ol lorlt and H.M.S. Anson in cotnpztny with llritish twins Deamedi and Grenville. We showt-tl till hy shoot- ing down the sleeve during AA prttt'tit't'. Manny enemy mines were sighted antl tltistroyvtl in this area. A scare developed later when nnitlt-ntifititl planes were reported. The Matfonxh nntl othtir destroyers proceeded to encircle task group with a smoke screen. Then the plantvs wtirt- itlvnti- fied as friendly. On July 9 we wtfrt' hut-lt in Scapa Flow. The same pattern COI1llllUCCl lol tht rt in nntlt t of July plylng the sea lar es httwttn St ip Flow and Iceland Another foray off tht toa t l Norway was made 1n late July with tht htavy unlts of the Brltlsh home fle Then 011 July 30 came the happy woitl tht ship would depart 1n two days as part of tht tstott for the Alabama and South Dakota to tht lt 3 and thence to Boston for a Navy Yartl ovt ,haul et it sults nt htllIVl Havlng returned from tht sttmlng,ly tntt 'mm able t f our o duty with the lirttlsh II nnt ll l 0 intn ol tht lVll ht Mit ln August of l9113 th l rt, ready and wtlhn lor 1 lt no 'Nm' Siateslde duty hut hardly prtpaittl for tht l it perlod of tender tlu ly whith ltistttl with nlx --'-4 tllt' tal Alttll. ont- lttt-tilt tttntl that tlt-lightlult, until the mid 'lilnis tht- Wlnt-otnlt t'1ttIlIltt'Ilt't'tl its New Eng lttntl toot til thttt in tht' South lloston annex till tht- lloston Nui lztrtl in Autinst. lor a warm lulvitsittll. lt':txt'lt'ss llll tlztti. Ilillt' lltzijttl' HCCOIH ltllPlllllt'lll Mats lltt' l't'p:til' ol lltt' SlLlt'lioElfd side til' tht- hull. sotntixxltztt mtinglt-tl tluring an au tl:tt'iot1s tztnplt' with tht- South llzlliotai lIl6I1li0ned prt-x iousli. Alum plztnlt-tmnvrs ltift the ship for ntwt tlutx. ttotl tht- lztrpt-st tlrztlt ol hoots SirlCC votnntissiottitigg 1ll'llXt'tl. lvriultt-t'yt'tl. on board At tht- t-ntl ol' August. tht' Matt- stttlly left friend ly llostoo. Svollzti StIll5tl't'. :mtl lui' 0115+ be Ititttl. lfilst stop was lluzzztrtlis lilly for 3 tram ' Fl t - ' ' ' 'intl thtin down t -. itn it was in into -ut tl -Ulllllll , ,,,,t,,,,, tt.. lllltllllltlullce yt is UNI lNttl' do t lllttl llnlxed 1 tltistut l'or C tt 4 U bt I at I t tttlt nt flllll in t Ill! lt lfllll t tt Nl t nt 1 l0l 0 tx INIII llitsttptultt Ba lltlllllllg U' I mt tt lt t llt itll wil N lllhtl ltislttl 'Ill en 0

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-v r Q .ws -asv'-lvnlillnpustxv --1--i which made an ordinarily diflicult task even more hazardous, in coming alongside, the lVIa- comb was caught in the undertow of the big ship's port screw and slipped into the battleship, damaging our foc'sle. Repairs were promptly made by the shipis force-a plate was welded on the side while underway. This work received com- mendation weeks later at a British repair base. The officials said 6'We couldnit do a better job, and won't attempt to replace your fine work? On lVIay 20 the task group reached the Brit- ish Isles and put into Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, and reported for duty with the British Home Fleet. It seemed as if the lVIacomb's train- ing period would never end. This time there were variations to the usual theme as provided by Wellington bombers and French submarines. On June 3rd the Mac put into another cold port-Hvalfjordur, Iceland. Often we were un- derway as a unit of sub screens for combined forces operating near Iceland. On the Ilth the U.S.S. Emmons, our sister ship, reported a sub contact. A few moments later she evaluated the contact as firm. Almost in the same breath she reported a torpedo wake bearing down on her . . . it missed and the Emmons finally lost con- tact with the elusive German and we rejoined I . Depth charge explosion the formation. Another attack developed the next day when the U.S.S. Ellyson reported a sound contact. She attacked immediately with depth charges while the Emmons and the Mac stood bv in readiness. The Ellysonis attack brought large patches of oil to the surface. We then gained a contact on another sub. We dropped charges twice and then a third sub- marine was contacted. We dropped another pat- tern of charges. Then the three destroyers were ordered to rejoin the screen to insure the safety of the capital ships. Taking them over 55. 15

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lowed the usual Casco lflay training period with abbreviated, hurried liberties in soiled Portland. From there the Macomb paid her lirst visit to Quonset Point, Rhode Island and a new vista in Providence was opened to the lVlac's rollick- ing libertv hounds. The rest of October followed the September pattern closely: Norfolk-Boston- Casco Bav-and a trip with the New Jersey, who was readying herself for her Pacific battles-to- be. Then the Macomb went to Norfolk to take departure on her ,most blissful, peaceful trans- oceanic trip. On November 3, the Mighty Mac plus the 2100-ton destroyers Hall and Halligan set course for verdant Bermuda, mission and destination but vaguely known, despite much authentic scuttlebutt emanating from the forward fire room. After six Warm days in that vacationland, the three cans were off again. The news was out-the three destroyers were one-third of the rotating escort for the USS. Iowa, who was making a 25-knot run from Norfolk to the Medi- terranean, carrying President Roosevelt to the Teheran conference. After we were relieved as escort we veered northward to the widespread Azores to Horta Harbor for fuel replenishment. From the Azores, the little group meandered southward, over sun-splashed becalmed waters with little incident, to tropic Freetown in the British West African Crown colony of Sierra Leone. There another week was spent at anchor visiting small, reeking Freetown, enjoying At- lantic swimming in November, peering at native women who dressed as native women are sup- posed to dress, laughing and cussing at the Fueling front U.S.S. Alabama local bumboatsg and beating the Hall and Hal- ligan in softball . . . yes, every time. After seven torridlv blissful days at rest, the Mac made a dramatic departure in a pre-dawn downpour, barely missing the gate vessel and other obsta- cles, to join the hunt for a lurking U-boat. For three days the search continued and because of diminishing fuel, the ships returned to port. The next port of call was Dakar, a surprisingly quiet French colonial port. It was here that tie Macomb, in preference to the Hall and Hal- ligan, had its own USO show by Humphrey Bogart and troupe. Two days were all that the Franco-American relations could have survived, so, with cofferdams filled and the most economi- cal engineroom set-up in operation, the three destroyers set out to sea. Halfway across, the presidential wagon Iowa came booming up over the horizon, and the Mac, Hall and Halligan Hvalfjordur A ,fa