Samuel B Roberts (DD 823) - Naval Cruise Book

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We arrived in Piraeus, Greece, on 4 May and Med-moored next to the sea wall for refueling. We weighed anchor and departed on 7 May. This time we did not head toward fleet exercises, but set our course for Port Said, Egypt, U.A.R. in order to transit the Suez Canal. The trip from Piraeus to Port Said was accomplished in three days with the ROBERTS arriving at Port Said on 9 May. While at Port Said, the Li.A.R. boycott of certain U.S. shipping was at its height and liberty was not granted for the crew. That evening, 9 May, after sunset, we joined the southbound canal convoy as the lead ship and began our transit ofthe Suez Canal and our tour of duty under the opcratiotial control ol' Clomntander, U.S. Naval Forces, Mid- dle East. The next morning, 'l'hc. l:Ohl3lt'l'S was anchored in Great Bitter Lake awaiting word to cotninence thc retna indor ol' the southerly transit through the Suez Canal. Be- fore noon we were undtuway, and hy 1.800 were moored starboard side to the USS llAYNliSWOlQ'l'li ui Port Sttez. After relievintg the llAYNliSWOR'l'll, the ROBERTS :assumed duties as part of 'ici 1,053.1 and sailed for Massawa, lit-itrea, in order to refuel upon arrival, We ntiivtzd in Massawa on 14 May and remained there until 16 May, when we satlt-d for patrol duties and a recreational visit to Aden, Aden, B.C.C. lintry into tht- harhor at Aden was rrrade on lil May. This was a refueling stop for the ttOl3l,iR'l'5i :ind a sltopprng tour lor us. The visit to Aden ended on 21. May as the ROBERTI-s sailed once again lor patrol :ind subsequent exercises with the USS WLLLARD KEITH. We demonstrated hedgehog firing and also fired a torpedo at the KEITH for the indoctrination of hthiopian Midshipmen who were en'tharltc.d aboard her. After completing patrol duties, wc headed lor Massawn to rofuel, arriving there On 24 May. The next day we-, fgotrtrrtettcetl our voyage to thc Persian Liulf, steaming into the harbor of Bahrain Island utr 150 May to rcfuel and to allow thc crew some recrea- tion. Departing Bahrain on fl June, we again patrolled tht: shipping lanes prior to our next recreational visit which was to the island ol mt' Ahtt Nu Air. The island li BOTITBHY uninhabited and proved ext ellen: for heach parties. tin ti june we again took up patrol off the Straits of llorrntiz and then :sailed attain lor Iiahtatn Island to refuci. We wlvad on 9 June, refueled, and :tnfhottrd rn tht- hathor. Un the morning of in june, the ROBERTS weighed anchor and etatltftl for lflatatglti, lwalttstati. We arrived in Klflfhi M 13 June and rerriained theatre. alter rrwhtr-ltrtg until i'1 Junt-, lfoliowlng an enjoyable visit. we departed for VON Fruffz. Wt' were rteltvvrfrl nl Middle lfast l4ort:e: dull!! md the first half of lfihtr hy trzarmttitttg tht- ati:-zt ami qum,w rf, mmm me 511111 Fug in the Meiditcrtantzan. After exiting tht' fstiw., wtf lite-mlvtl sttrrtigitr lot Athens, tirtwerfc, lrfhuc we d in Phaleron Bay for ri tix day visit to the sm tem titty and present Gupta! o!GNll!l. From Athens, wc want to Natiplion, meet tr, lot A three clay visit. Wa lrfh'OlUMl I time to plfliflpiltr' in Ulf' lztrltixuttrs Drama ldffjtlvll 334313 ,ugguguy by mg Nauplion. During the festival, wtf watt- :netted to attend me ctarrllt pultliifl'

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Heavy Weather More Heavy Weather 49

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mous Greek plays at the lipidauius Theatre. The plays, presented by the National Theatre of Greece, were performed in an Illltflttlll theatre about seventeen miles from Nauplion. This Ulutltre was constructed around 1300 ILC. and is semi-circular in design witlt erfect acoustics. The ula s we saw were written b the ancient Greek la wri hts, Y P Y S Euripides and Aristophanes. After leaving Naupliou, we proceeded to Naples where we enjoyed one day's liberty before going to sea again on operations. On completion of the operation, we joined the USS lfORRliS'l' SHERMAN, USS ROYAL, and the USS KENNEDY and proceeded to Marseilles, France, where we tied up alongside the USS TIDEWATER QAD-3lj for another tender period. We arrived in Marseilles on 21 July and remained there until 4 August. This was a most pleasant visit and although we worked hard dur- ing the render period, there was ample time to enjoy liberty in Marseilles. On the morning of 4 August we departed Marseilles and after two days of exercises at sea, entered port in Barcelona, Spain, for a six day visit. We departed Barcelona on 12 August and set sail for St. Raphael, France, arriving there on 13 August. The purpose of the visit to St. Raphael was to participate in a ceremony celebrating the liberation of Southern France in 1944. We were represented in the ceremony by our Honor Guard Platoon which performed excellently. Leaving St. Raphael of 16 August, we rejoined other units of DESRON TEN and sailed to an exercise area where we participated in a gunnery shoot. Leaving that area, we joined other units of Task Group 60 and headed for Golfo di Palmas, Sardinia, where we participated in an ASW exercise prior to anchoring. We left port the same evening in order to take part in another Naval operation. Upon conclusion of the exer- cise, we entered Gibraltar to refuel and then headed for more exercises with Task Group 60. These exercises terminated on 30 August and we anchored at Fuimicino, Italy, on 31 August where we attended two days of the events in the 1960 Olympic Games. We sailed from Fuimicino early on l September to participate in a Naval re- view at Nice, France on 2 September and then anchored at Menton, France, for a ten day visit. After an enjoyable stay in Menton, the ROBERTS sailed for operations on 12 Sep- tember as a part of Task Group 60.1. The operations included a NATO exercise which was conducted between 20 and 28 September. On completion of the NATO exercise, the ROBERTS reverted to her national organization and entered Phaleron Bay, Athens, Greece, on 29 September for a four day visit. Underway again on 3 October, we sailed with DESRON TEN to Golfo di Palmas, Sardinia, arriving there the morning of 5 October. Here we were relieved of our SLXTH Fleet duties by USS MOALE. Later the same day we set our course for Rota, Spain, to refuel. After fueling on 7 October we set sail for our trip to Newport and HOME. We arrived in Newport on the 15th of Oc- tober after 7 months of deployment with the U.S. SIXTH Fleet in the Mediterranean. I9