Quincy (CA 71) - Naval Cruise Book

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,, ,... -...AL --.. -... Encouraging were the headlines which Americans were reading in the spring of 1944. But the big job had not really begun-Fortress Europe had not been breached, So on May 4, 1944, the new Quincy slipped her moorings in Boston Harbor and crept secretly out to sea to join an assembly of American ships which would launch the great invasion of Europe. Already Captain Senn had drilled, drilled, and redrilled his uninitiated crew in the business of destruction and death. Yet the time to apply these lessons was still a few weeks off, so into Bangor, Ireland, steamed the Quincy. It was in Bangor Lough, surrounded by the rolling hills of a typical Irish setting, that General Eisenhower honored the Quincy by a visit. As the General was escorted through the ship, he expressed a deep interest in the art of making war at sea. Later several crew members bragged that they had spoken personally to the g'General.', Climax of the visit was a speech made to the crew by General Eisenhower over the public address system. He said only a few words, but those few words guaranteed for the Army full support from the Quincy. As the days rolled by more and more ships steamed into Bangor Lough to prepare for their parts in the coming worldfshaking operation. Gne of the Quincy's drills called her to Greenock, Scotland, for exercises with the British. The British and American techniques were found to be U51 General Eisenhower inspects the ship in Belfast Lough. l 5 i 1 I i l I ,gi

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in perfect alignment, so back to Bangor steamed the Then one sunny afternoon word was passed along the deck that the ship was sealed. DfDay was approaching. Immediately came a few days of intense preparations. Secret orders and charts, were unlocked. A last minute checkup of the guns and equipment was ordered. Finally, the .Quincy was readyg the new .Quincy was ready for her first vengeful crack at the Axis. NORMANDY The ship was on hair trigger alert as she picked her way through the Irish Sea in company with other heavyweights of the Allied Armada, As each English port was passed more and more ships HMS Nelson steams up the Clyde to Greenock. sailed out to take their places in the gigantic jig saw puz' zle which was moving secretly, silently toward Normandy. At the Southern tip of the British Isles the fleet turned toward Europe. DfDay, which the world had been await' ing, was only a few hours off. Unexpectedly the order to countermarch jumped from the shipftofship radio receiver. As the great ships heeled to reverse course apprehension swept through the crew and gathered weight on every tongue. What did it mean? Had the Nazis been warned? Was the vanguard being atf tacked? Radio broadcasts added their bit of misinformaf tion. Falsely announced news told the world the story of the invasion. Tenser and tenser grew the men. So that was it-some numbskull at headquarters had spilled the beans and the invasion was offf' Scuttlebutt had a field 17 U. S. S. Nevada and U. S. S. Texas are ships of two wars. day. The best scuttlebutt, though, as always, was furthest from the truth. Cfficial sources soon disf closed that the reason for the countermarch was disagreeable weather, the invasion was to begin tomorrow morning. The false report had not endangered the operation. The crew relaxed, even began to joke. The big show was still a day off. Twelve hours later, orders countermarched the fleet again. Darkness fell and the hours ticked away as the huge fleet felt its way through channel. At 2230 the bugler sounded the notes which sent the men to their stations to prepare for the battle that was awaiting them over the horizon. This time there was no confusion, no misunderstood motives. no turning back-the fight was at hand. But once more the same tenseness stole over the ship. Fighting would be bad, waiting to Hght was worse. Four o'clock found the ships in Baie de la Seine, slip' ping into their firing stations like actors setting the scene on a darkened stage. Ahead the Allied bombers were pounding the beach with everything they had, The trace of rockets, the flare of bombs, the vibrating roar of explof sives all lent an unforgettable feeling of awe of mankind's tremendous power. The stage was set. The first grey haze of the day, June 6, 1944, inched back the curtain of darkness. Suddenly a spout of water danced before the ship, then another, another, and another. The .Quincy was being fired at, the battle for the possession of Europe was on. The Migl1ty SZ, opened fire at 0557. Immediately all decks were en'