Northampton (CLC 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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I I COMMANDING OFFICER During the Mediterranean cruise, and two months pre- ceding, Northampton has been under the command of Cap- tain Charles E. Weakley, USN. Born in St. Joseph, Mis- souri, Captain Weakley has brought Northampton more than 25 years experience as an officer in the Naval Ser- vice, having been commissioned an Ensign upon gradua- tion from the Naval Academy in 1929. That same year witnessed another entry into the Naval Service and at his first duty station Captain Weakley be- came a plank owner of the newly commissioned cruiser, USS Omaha. He was assigned to the USS Lea in 1933 and assisted in putting that ship in the ready reserve. Later that same year he was transferred to the USS Talbot where he served as Engineer Officer until 1936. A tour of post- graduate schooling in Engineering Design at the Naval Academy followed by a special course in Engineering at the University of Cambridge in England brought more en- gineering know-how. After his postgraduate work, Captain Weakley went to the battleship USS New Mexico where he served from 1939 until 1940 when he was transferred to the USS Samp- son. He was Engineering Officer and subsequently Exec- utive 'Officer of the Sampson. In 1942 he took command of the USS Goff. ln 1944 Captain Weakley became Execu- tive Officer, to become Commanding Officer later that year, of the Atlantic Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Unit.- This type duty continued with his assignment to the Chief of Naval Operations as Naval Advisor, National Security Council Staff. Captain Wegakley came to Northampton from, the USS Cambria where he had served as Commanding Officer since 1953. EXECUTIVE OFFICER A Kansan by birth, Commander Richard A. Waugh was grad- uated from the Naval Academy with the Class of 1937. As on Ensign, Commander Waugh served aboard the Tuscaloosa un- til 1939, when he went to Submarine School in New London. From 1940 until 1942, Commander Waugh served in the S-36 in the Asiatic Fleet. ln 1942- 1943, he served aboard the USS Spearfish, and in August 1943 he became Executive Officer of the USS Piranha. ln 1944 through 1945, Commander Waugh was the Commanding Officer of the USS Saury. ln 1946, he was the Commanding Officer of the USS Dentu- da, and he served, additionally, as Commander Submarine Squadron 11 at Operation Cross Roads. ln January 1947, Com- mander Waugh reported to PacResFlt at Mare Island, where he remained for three years. Commander Waugh was a student at the Armed Forces Staff College in 1950, and that same year he became Chief Staff Officer on the Staff of Commander Transport Division 22. He remained in that billet until 1952, when he reported to the Staff, Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic, where he was the Administrative Officer. Commander Waugh reported aboard as Northampton's Ex- ecutive Officer in August 1954.

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The Northampton, in October l954, ended her period of basic equipment evaluation and put to sea with the rest of the Fleet. Her first duty was to carry the Flag of ComPhib- Lant, which she did until I9 November l954. Then, on 29 November, l954, she sailed for the Mediterranean to hoist the Flag of Commander Sixth Fleet, Vice Admiral Thomas S. Combs, USN. This book is concerned with our time in the Med, lt's purpose is to span that period, from November l954 to March l955, in such fashion as to keep alive the strange sights and sounds which we experienced, to remind us of the good friends made abroad, to let us bring back to our families and our loved ones something of the flavor of this memorable experience and, not least in importance, to keep alive in our minds the professional competence learned to make an effective fighting unit in a mobile fleet. As we recall the pleasant aspects of this trip let us also keep in mind the need and value to our friends, our Allies and our- fselvespyoyfx an effective naval fighting force in the blue wa- ters of ,rthekhlediterranean sea lanes. WithfQthis,5thought in view, l dedicate this book to the fine Ship's'Cornpany of the USS Northampton. Q ..,1... I

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ln many ways the history of Northampton typifies the life and times of ofcontemporary America. Construction commenced as a heavy cruiser of the. Baltimore Class in T944 when the United States was still expanding her armed might -to subdue the Axis. When the conflict abated, America turned to thoughts of peace and so work on Northampton was terminated in August of l945. Not many years elapsed, however, before it became pain- fully clear that the world still needed a strong and militarily prepared A- merica. Northampton responded to that need as construction was recom- menced in l948. The four interim years had witnessed advances in both technology and doctrine of naval warfare. Incorporation of these advances proceeded forthwith in Northampton as she was redesigned as aTaskForce lnow Tacticali Command Ship with the new designation of CLC-l. Her in- troduction to the seas took place with the launching on 27 January l95'l, and on 7 March i953 she was officially commissioned. Under the command of Captain William D. lrvin, USN, Northampton completed her shakedown training and post-shakedown.availability. The first large-scale assignment for Northampton involved the conducting of technical tests of various installed experimental equipment under the op- erational control of Commander Operational Development Force. On the completion of these tests Northampton stood ready to join the Fleet -as an operating unit. On ll October l954, Vice Admiral Frank G. Fahrion, USN, Commander Amphibious Force, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, and his staff embarked aboard Northampton to participate in Atlantic Fleet Exercise 'l-55 and to conduct initial staff operational evaluation of Northampton as an Amphib- ious Command Ship. During the exercise Northampton carried a total of 18, stars, including Admiral .lerauld Wright, Commander-'ln-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. ' A short time later Northampton entered another first in her history - overseas employment as flagship for Commander Sixth Fleet. Four 'months of this duty, from December 1954 to March l955, took Northampton to Gi- braltar, Villefranche, Malaga,Algiers, Barcelona and Athens. The time spent at Lsea with -other units of the Sixth Fleet further developed North- ampton's ability to operate with the Navy's most modern team - the fast carrier task force. . With the end of this cruise, Northampton returns to Norfolk, Virginia to prepare herself and those who man her for 'future missions as an arm of, Democracy. ' ' '