Quincy (CA 71) - Naval Cruise Book

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F 1 i 5: '! l l 'E li 1 ll li 'N i E E 1:8 IEE :RE Elif i:i 4:1 QE.. wif -u i 1 i 3 1 -1 il E+? E16 ,yu '4 V, J! 513 Ex 5 1 zl iii l 5 21 al fi 1? WJ? E 1 ij! ws , il il l l l F, ' ls pi L 4 ,Q ill The padre reads all of the news that is Ht to quote. Plocki, CBM, is at rest. 54 Divine services are held topsicle on the fantail.

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with her ki11 . Incidently she was congratulated by Ad' miral Wiltse, OOMORUDIVIO, for fine shooting. The rest of the morning was hectic with intermittent general quarters. After enemy planes vqere chased fr-m the area the men secured from their battle stations and ref sumed sleep only to have the Kamakazies return within the hour. Finally, sleep became impossible, Daylight prcved to observers how exciting the situation actually was, for they could see beaten Jap planes crashing around the task force. At 0704 a Jap plane was seen exploding in midf ai: near a sister ship, the Baltimore. At 0708 another Jap plane was shot down near the Vicksburg. At least Hve Jap planes were splashed around the force, while reports of others in the vicinity kept coming in. It was learned that the neighboring task force some fifty miles away had been attacked even more heavily. As evening came the Quincyfs task group withdrew from the scene and proceeded to a rendezvous with the fueling group. Everyone aboard sighed with relief. kept the ship watertight, and not a man was lost. The Quincy rolled heavily, creaks and sounds of strain came with every pitch. One roll was reported to have been nearly forty degrees to one side. Nervously, some won' dered if the Q's bow, too, might part. Carriers suffered damage when the tremendous weight of the breaking seas bent down forty feet of their flight decks. Outside visif bility was reduced to nil by the spray which the racing winds drove before it. By midfmorning the sun broke through-the first indication that the storm was passing on. After 35 days of being continuously underway while operating off Okinawa the task group was ordered back to a rest base. This time Leyte was the playground. The ship arrived on June 15. Here the weather seemed to give absolutely no relief from the exhausting heat, but the beer The interludes spent in refueling at sea became the only source of pleasure. The tankers invarif ably brought coveted mail, packages, and books from home. Fueling days brought a feeling of safety, a reprieve from possible air attacks, that assuaged nerves, and renewed both confidence and endurance. About this time headlines at home announced that the Third Fleet had relieved the Fifth Fleet in operations against the enemy, One night the Quincy was in task group 5 8.1 of the Fifth Fleet and at midnight she became a member of group 38.1 of the Third Fleet. On Monday, May 28, at 0000 Admiral Halsey relieved Admiral Spruance. As Admiral Halsey uttered the equivalent of, I relieve you, sir , the Quincy became part of the Third Fleet. Typhoon Batters the Fleet A mighty conflict of weather forces was now beginning to appear on the aerographer's crystal ball. By June 4 threatening reports came in indif eating that a dreaded typhoon was headed toward the fleet. At that time the task group was fueling again. Ref plenishing operations were immediately discontinued, and the ships headed on a course to clear the disturbance. Soon it was determined that a second typhoon was in the area. This made navigation rather ticklish. Seas began to mount in intensity as the fulminations of the gigantic Oriental storm overtook the task force, By early morning of June 5 the waves had become mounf tainous and winds of 120 knots were pummeling the man' made toys with implacable vengeance. The dread scourge of mariners was indeed upon the ship. At 0600 that mornf ing a grim report came in that one of the Quincyis sister ships, the Pittsburgh, had lost her bow to the awful fury of the storm. Quick and determined action by her crew The Quincy's'y Atlantic duty is represented graphically on the barbette 53 in the wardroom. was cold and tliere were no dawn alerts. In essence, relaxaf tion was found. Here in Leyte Bay the Quincy marked an important day, June 14, when Captain E. M. Senn was officially relieved by Oaptain J. A. Waters. The new Captain had swung aboard from a rolling destroyer .many days before when the Quincy was operating off Okinawa. The ceremony prof ceeded properly through the vital I relieve you, Sir when a tropical cloudburst drowned out further rhetoric in tor' rents of rain. The speeches had been shortened, but the ceremony was official. The ship then had a new Captain. Liberty in Samar, which was right across the bay from Leyte, offered the world's longest bar, baseball, basketball, a scorching sun, and frequent drenchings from tropical

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downpours. Leyte also offered curious sights of native life. The large town of Tacloban was picturesque in a filthy sort of way, but the odors were nearly unbearable. The natives, though small in size, carried themselves with a graceful air not observed in the poverty stricken peoples of the Mediterranean. Liberties were often made more interesting by meeting old friends from other ships. These chance meetings were surprisingly refreshing. At night the ship always had movies topside in the cool evening air. Rain, however, sometimes interf rupted even this amusement. Occasionally interfship boxing matches were arranged. These included refreshments, musical entertainment, good fights, and a movie. In retrospect the ship's stay in the San Pedro Bay seemed quite bearable, yet at the time, the days seemed to drag by in restless anticipation of the next operation. U. S. Fleet Bombards Japan Near the end of June the ship was put into a new task group- 38.4, and preparations were begun for the sortie. On june 28 Ad' The chief's initiate Calhoon, Shad, Reinholtz, and De Remer. miral Wiltse shifted his flag to the Quincy. Finally on july 1 all preparations had been completed and the ships proceeded from the bay. The heading was toward Japan. It would have been a jolt to all hands had they known that the ship would not anchor again for more than 58 days. Un july 10 strikes again flew off the decks of the carriers, and this time they flew against Tokyo itself. But larger things were in the ofling. The ships of the U. S. Navy were plan' ning to bombard the homeland of fortress Japan. Cn Saturday, July 14, the .Quincy was underway as before, steaming with task force 38. After the routine dawn alert, Bombardf ment Unit 34.8.1 formed up under the com' mand of Rear Admiral Shafroth. The mission was the complete neutralization of Kamaishi, a great steel center of Japan, located 240 miles north of Tokyo. After days of monotonous steaming far at sea, the bombardment loomed ahead as an awe' some, sobering thought. The shores of Japan had never been shelled during this war. just what revenge the bombarding ships would stir up in the way of Kamakazies was a question everyone asked. But come what might, at 1052 on July 14 Admiral Shafroth hoisted the battle cry Never Forget Pearl Harbor. The mission was at hand as Japan appeared ahead under the grey sky. This operation made the .Quincy the first ship to fire on both Fortress Europe and Fort' The cartographer brings the track up to date. 1551 I Noon Sightseers 'Y'