Newport News (CA 148) - Naval Cruise Book

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SYRACUSE HEARALD-AMERICAN JAN 1968 SOUTH CHINA ShA SENTINEL ,„. alr-corditloned ship boastf its own daily news- paper , a c loaed circuit radio and television sta- tion, a nrlnt shop, libra- ry, dental clinic, hospi- tal, meat plant—and even a soda fountain. The NEW ' PORT NEW3 uaea acme of its steam power to produce enou0i electricity to Ught a city of U0,000 people. The magnificent physic- al plant of the NEWPORT NEWS is a prime examole of modern technology serving the cause of freedcn and world Deace, The cruiser ' a contribution to the Amer- icsm victorv in the battle for Hue is but one more chapter in its record of service to the free world Newport ! etts commanding officer Capl. Lindsay McCarty supervises transfer of officers from cruiser Si. Pout in choppy At left, Neuport eu ' s lookout Larry Knowtes is at his post as ship prepares for first darlighl gun fire mission. Brass casings are slacked after heavy night of firing. ' : !ip||| i ' lffciill TONKIN ll ' .l men Gene E. Boos (le(t) ond M.choel L. Ed»o,ds d eight. inch p,o|ec..les, along wilh powder cos. s, into o ho. St Ihol loods the cruiser ' s guns oulo. iColly, liset.Destroyerman based all gun heavy cruiser f ewpor! News was fuing her guns in anger. ' All stations manned and ready. Captain, . as the report from the talker. The shio ' s skipper, Cap- tain Lindsay C. McCarty, ac- knowledged the report from the tactical plotting room--and order- ed flank speed. The cruiser surged forward as her boilers received an extra ration of fuel oil. Deep in the roaring firerooms and enginerooms snipes slaved to get every last knot out of their plant, all the while knowing that one mistake could mean instant death. Newport News was on a high speed run on the North Vietnamese coastline. Everything was ready. The men had practiced and practiced. ..and drilled until tired muscles dulled their grip. Now, together they faced combat.. .and it didn ' t seem like a game anymore. The range closed. The order went out, Commence firing. 21 Preparing to Fire IT ' S AH ' ALL HAMDS EVOLUTION ' aa crewmer atioard the KEWPORT NEWS readv ammunltlcn for uae durijif the battls for Hue. ' he huge cruiser nro-lded gurflre support for Ajnerican forces durinf the bloodv clash. -f— tUf TEWPORT NKVJS HAS THUS FAB EVADED BEING HIT BT EHQCT SYRACUSE HERALD -AMERICAN JAN 1968 nT ' 5 » ' o ' } ' P op P O o,e inslallatwns ,n onh Hetnam. Pholo ,,as takrn hr JO I » Uliard It Uau Jr. li . uho sludltd in iperial pholo-jounutlim pru ram at Syyarusei AruAousr Commuairations Caller be orr bring assigned to J ielnam . NAVY ' S BIG GUNS IN VIET story and Photos by J0 1 WILLARD B. BASS JR., USN YOU conM see it in every face . . . il was everywhere. The tense, dry, butterf1y-in- tbe-stomach feeling a man gets before he p»es to war. Everyrthing was ready. They had practiced and drilled . . . and drilled ind drilled some more. Now the drilling was over ... it didn ' t seem so much like a game anymore. They waited as the great lady cut through the Tonkin Culf. The night air was still and so qaiel a man could hear the sound of his own heartbeat. There was a kindred feeling between this crew and their ship. This would be her first day at war, too. In her 19 years the heavy cruiser New- Tbe clang of general quarters broke the still- Dcsa and the voice of the boatswain male rang in everir crewman ' s ears. Now hear this. All hands man your battle stations. ' The decks of the cruiser came alive with the sound of running feet . . . suddenly all was quiet again All stations manned and ready, capl ' m, the talker said. Newport News ' commanding Officer, Capt. Lindsay C. McCarty, conning the ship from his tactical plotting room, acknowledged the report and ordered flank speed. The ship surged forward and b an her hi — — • ■ « . N r »••

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tra MTGRTT CWS OF THE USS KEWPORT KEWS OPEN UP OFF THE COAST OF VIBTNAM ' S DMZ During Battle For Hue The Cruiaer Duraoed Over 1000 Rounda Daily On Enemy Forcea MEET THE FLEET Gray Ghost from the East Coast Norfolk Cruiser Scores Hits Fran any angle, the NEWPORT KEWS (CA-Ui6) la big. The 21,000-ton crui- ser ia the only coomiisslon- •d heavv cruiser in the United States Naw with all-autcmatlc rapid-firing guns, and is the largest heavy cruiser in the world. The big cruleer has tackled a big Job dxiring the last few months. Du- rlTf its recent deDloyment in waters off the DMZ, the HEWPORT KEWS has rendered the most Intensive naval gurfire by any single ship since the bepinning of the Vietnam war. While engaged in the battle for Hue, the huge cruiser dumped over 1,000 rounds of ammunition daily on hostile forces nested In the ravaged city, A weathered gunner ' s mate said, There were quite a few dava when we were firinp well over a thousand rounds, and it was sometimes sort of hard to get to sleep rE ' rfPORT KEVJS boasts a fomvidable armament design- ed to meet the demands of h( ated battles such as Tiic. T e main battery consists of three turrets, each housinf three rapid- fire, elpht-inch 55 cali- ber guna. Secondary and anti-aircraft batteries are made ip of twelve dual- purpose, five-inch 38 cali- ber puna and elgjit three- inch 50 caliber, rapid- fire guns. This arrav of guns packs a mighty whal- lOD, as the Viet Cong now well know. Durinf its deDloyment In waters off the DMZ, the NEWPCRT NEVB has been the object of enemy fire on several occasions. We managed to escane being hit on all these occasions. We ' ve been so lucky that some of the gxiys on other shios have dubbed the KEWS the Cray Ghost frcn the East Coast, a seaman said. The KEWPORT KEWS has been deoloved from its home port of Norfolk for nearlv seven months. The cruiser is an amaz- ingly self -sufficient unit when at sea, perhaps by necessity. A virtual city in itself, the completely Big Boom THE HEAVY cruiser New- port News fires her eight- inch guns to- ward North Vietnam on Operation Sea Dragon. Sev- enth Fleet gunships and planes patrol the enemy coastline around the clock, firing on military targets ashore and on Red supply craft carrying arms to enemy troops in the south. (Photo by PH2 Harry i 10 5+ ' THE OREGONIAN. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1867 Cruiser Begins Support Shelling At DMZ SAir.ON (AP) - The cipht- inch guns of the Norfolk-based cruiser Newport News set off secondary explosions and fires Sunday along a stretch of high- way 1 about 12 miles northwest of Vinh ' in North Vietnam, the Navy reported. We had a report that the North Vietnamese might be moving supplies down this high- way, said Capt. Lindsay C. McCarty of Anniston, Ala., and it looks as if it paid off. The cruiser ' s secondary bat- tery director officer, Lt. (J.G.) Bruce Watts nf Alexandria, Va,, reported he had excellent view of the target from his station high in the ship ' s superstruc- ture. The main battery ' s last sal- vo was on its way to the target and we had started to pull nut when I saw t c first bright flash behind a ridge, followed by a steady yellow glow. Watts said the fire grew in- creasingly bright. Multiple secondary explo- sions occurred, he said, each increasing the area illuminated by three to four times. ' The fires were clearly visi- ble from over 25 miles out, Capt. McCarty reported. The Newport Nevvs is current- ly the flagship for Rear Adm. Sheldon H. Kinney, commanr ' er of the 7;h fleet ' s cruiser-destroy- er group. coovriqM m7, NY Times Nfws service|Vietnamese waters SAIGON — The heavy cruis-L j gg j g support spokesman disclosed. fromTltlantirVleTtolthe ' ard Marine Division along] The cruiser, dubbed he fast- Octo-the demilitarized zone, a Navy est gun in the Tonkin Gulfj is the only cruiser in the Viefl oam war that uses an auto V U.S. Navy Photo SALVO— Big eight-inch guns from the Norfolk-based heavy cruiser Newport News spout fire and shells a» an enemy target is worked over in Vietnam. The former 2nd flagship has been on station in the South China Sea for nearly three weeks after departing Norfolk Sept. 5. The 717-foot, 20,950-ton ship has at times kept her nine guns in action around the clock. OBSLRVINC OPERATIONS-Adm,ral John ]. Hyland (rieht) Con, ZZV rl ' - c ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ■ ' ■ ' ■ observe. operZ.; otltjZ Am,H. f ' r :r ' ' ' - ewpor, News cl 148 ADM Hylaml wa, aboard the heavy cruiser during tour of Mm off Virt nomcoasi. With ADM Hyland arc Vice Ad,niral WiHL T 112 Comrr,anderCrwer.Destroyer Flotilla Eleven. Rear Admiral Kin.u al commands the eUhip cruiser-destroyer .roup of the sZnthZ ROUND-THE-CLOCK— Eight-inch guos of heavy cruiser New- port News fire away both night and day at targets along North Vietnamese coastline during Operation Sea Dragon. Seventh Fleet gunships and aircraft also concentrate interdiction effort against waterbome logistics craft carrying supplies to enemy troops in South. Cruiser Striking Enemy With Fury In her 19 years, the navy ' s matic rapid-fire capability. Car- heavy cruiser Newport News Iridge cases have replaced the had never fired her big guns in wrapped charges of convention- anger But that all changed al cruisers. dramatically when she cut Firing at maximum range, through the Tonkin Gulf recent- on full automatic rapid-fire, ly and began a high-speed run Capt. McCarty said, the New- on the North Vietnam coastline, port News can have 90 eight- Within a few miles of the inch rounds in the air before coast, she turned, slowed speed, the first one hits its target. and opened hre on a commu- nist target miles inland — a sup- ply storage area. The six big eight-inch guns fired round af- ter deafening ' round, muzzle flashes ualhiiig Ihe ship in an eery flickering light. When enemy shore fire re- plied, Capt. Lindsay C. McCar- ty. the Newport News ' com- manding officer, bit into his ever-present cigar. The main battery had completed its mis- sion, and he ordered the eight- inch guns to take the shore bat- teries under fire. Speeds Into Gulf Reported in Octohtr The Newport News, with a crew of 60 oflficerE and 1,240 men. reported on station in ear- ly October from the Atlantic Kleet. For most of her career, she had served as the Second Fleet flagship- Now she flies the flag of the mission commander, Rear- Adm. Walter V. Combs, who di- rects his 60-ship cruiser-de- stroyer group against shore and water-borne targets north of the demilitarized zone and in the Tonkin Gulf. Before Operation Sea Dragon. Moments later, the Newport as the mission is called, began News made for the open gulf, in October, 1966, the direct sup- firing from an after turret un- ply route available to the North til she sped out of range. Vietnamese by the Tonkin Gulf It was over almost as soon was vastly superior to the in- as it began. Within a few min- land rivers. But now the barg- utes, the Newport News had es and junks that plied the put almost 300 rounds on her coastline with war materials primary target and the enemy for the south have been all but guns. More than 200 of these stopped by the navy ' s cruisers were eight-inch shells, and the and destroyers, rest were from her secondary And so it goes on. The days five-inch battery. turn into nights, then into days The Newport News is the on- again. The big guns thunder ly cruiser operating on gunfire their message of destruction support missions with an auto- again and again. matic rapid fire system enab-i linR her big eight-inch puns toi pump 90 rounds into the air| before the first hits the ' ■ground. j ] The U.S. Navy spokesman! said the cruiser was shifted tol ithe job of shelling North Vietnamese artillery and stag- ing sites along the demilitariz- ed zone four days ago. During her first month of duty in the Pacific, the Newport News was used along the North I Vietnamese coast, firing atj coastal batteries and targets; inland, the spokesman said. | 300 Rounds Fired Daily I Although the furious fighting along the demilitarized zone has fallen off sharply since I the contest for Con Thien end-j ed at the end of September, fighting has broken out pe- riodically near the buffer zone. The Navy spokesman said the Newport News was moved to the demilitarized zone to provide continuous long range hitting power from her eight- inch and five-inch batteries. Since taking on the new job, the spokesman said, the cruis- er has fired an average of 300 rniinds a day at enemy posi- tions. The spokesman explained that on the Newport News, cartridge cases have replaced the conventional wrapped charges used on cruisers. ' The cartridges are loaded auto- matically, speeding up the rate of fire. In the air war over North Vietnam, U.S. Air Force F105 Thunderchiefs attacked the Yenbai airfield, 78 miles northwest of Hanoi, Saturday, while Navy and Marine pilots struck at a truck park, a high- way bridge and roads and rails in ' the • panha.ndle. A spokesman said poor weather prevented assessments -of damage. Q-ruiseT Shells Viet Coastline NORFOLK -The Norfolk- based heavy cruiser Newport News has been pounding Com- munist troop concentrations along the southern coastline of the DMZ in South Vietnam, re- ports reaching Norfolk today re- veal. The former 2nd Fleet flagship hai been utiliiing her big 8-inch guns and 5-inchers amimd the clock, silencing one artillery »ite, triggering a secondary explo- sion and igniting two fires. Marine spotters ashore report- ed excellent coverage on two mortar positions and four artil- lery sitC3. Three recoilless rifles were silcntMid when the .20,95»-t o n cruiser directed fire «t one posi- tion. Our Marine on the bcich really need our support, stid Capt. Lindsay C. McCarty, com- manding officer, as he addressed crew members during his cus- tomary evening talk over the ship ' s loud SDeakej-i

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WE BEGAN IN NORFOLK. loaded stores and aramunition 30