Quincy (CA 71) - Naval Cruise Book

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-------- V'-l P-A CD 1-I ' L..1f11,1.Z.,i.,11', l' The Quincy passes part of the slow-moving armada on the way to France.

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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'

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BY'DU IH'VHREFROhl Q.As Of Same ' 121 SIMBOLS Tnmi..mwm .IRL un u- rZ. i. '..'Z1.IJ E95 ern-d I-.huaaa In in ehnmd by 1 mumble - qvvfnfpv nnammmnsl Y Q li- -!-tx, 'L :u:::5:L1 W .':333:r:5gg:.g:.. ..g,2..'M .........i. H- nun unsqhmruh mann-n u-gm-.IEIIAZLSIS-rANTSTi1i.D 'rfnkxu ,.uIZi2fEA.'inaiuqunumAiinhnEzupamuua.uI DC78 NBIBI 1811180 DPR PAID NX NEWYORK NY JUNE I7 1944 1254? .nu uononev, PERSONAL ,, DALLAS NEWS DALLAS TEX WE HAVE ECEIVED FOLLOWING UESSAGE FROM PINKLEY IN LONDON: 'CRUISER QUINCY HAS BEEN MENTIONED THREE TIMES IN OFFICIAL NAVAL STATEMENTS SINCE THE INVASION AS GIVING ACCURATE BLISTERING SUPPORT ASHORE FOR ADVANCING ALLIED TROOPS ON THE NORMANDY BRIDGEHEAD. THE QUINCY HAS NOT RECEIVED A SINGLE HIT FRON ANY GUNS OR BONES AND THE CLOSEST SHELLS FROM SHORE BATTERIES DIDN'T EVEN SPLASH WATER AGAINST THE SIDES. ARNY SPOTTERS ASHORE SIGNALED CONGRATULATIONS TO THE QUINCY ON JUNE EIGHTH AND TENTH FOR WHAT WAS DESCRIBED AS 'HIGHLY ACCURATE PINPOINT FIRING AGAINST ENEMY MOBILE BATTERIES AND EVEN AGAINST SNALL.CONCENTRATIONS OF TANKS, TRUCKS AND TROOPS lILAND.' IN SOUE CASES THE QUINCY TURNED ITS GUNS ON BATTERIES UP TO ELEVEN MILES INLAND INCLUDING ONE IMPORTANT BRIDGE. FREQUENTLY DURING THE PAST TWELVE DAYS THE QUINCY SHELLED BATTERIES OVER TWENTY THOUSAND YARDS. ONE NAVAL OFFICER WHO RETURNED TO LONDON AFTER HAVING VISITED THE QUINCY SEVERAL DAYS AGO TOLD THE UNITED PRESS , THAT SHARP SHOOTING QUINCY GUN CREWS KNOCKED OUT ONE COASTAL BATTERY WITH ITS FIRST BROADSIDE WHILE ANOTHER CONCENTRATION OF COASTAL GUNS WAS SILENCED ON THE THIRD SALVO. JACK BISCO UNITED PRESS U. P. correspondent tells of exploits of Quincy in invasion of Fortress Europe. Quincy again returned her fire to the beach. A stubborn sea wall was breached and the fight of the Allied Armies for French soil began. Shore fire control spotters established com' munication with the ship. Spitfires overhead indicated targets not visible from the ground. For 36 hours the Quincys big guns roared out, working on first one target and then another. But at the end of that time she had fired every' thing in her magazines and was ordered to ref tire from the fire support area. Hot chow was ordered in the messing compartments, and then dog tired men made their way to inviting sacks below. But the ship still had work to do. She made something of a cross channel record as she took off at high speed, outran a destroyer, loaded at Portland, England, and returned to her place in the firing line thirty hours later. By then the beaches had been well secured. Pouring ashore were supplies and mechanized units. Yet the .Q's', job had not been com' pleted, for still within range of her big guns German shells were killing American men. She resumed her fire against important installations and dangerous shore batteries. An important veloped in flashes, smoke, and concussion. The enemy battery which opened the engagement was silenced. Soon a second battery was heard from no more. Smoke and twisted steel marked the location of a third German gun. Bit by bit the exact prefarranged schedule of the invasion was carried out. Prior to the landing of the first wave the .Quincy drenched the beach itself with shells. But dead ahead enemy batteries had found the range of a destroyer and were battering her to death. The .Quincgfs guns helped return fire. White smoke shells poured from her muzzles to wrap the wounded ship in smoke. Still the German shells smashed into the thin skin of the can. Finally hope for the doomed ship faded and her two whale boats pushed out into the churning bay. Another destroyer came in under the murderous range of the shore batteries to rescue survivors. The ships A pounded away until the killers were silenced. Then the E191 The Quincy stands guard over the coast of Normandy.