Samuel Gompers (AD 37) - Naval Cruise Book

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The first Commanding Officer of USS SAMUEL OOM PERS, Captain Risch began his Naval career in 1942 as a Naval Avia- tion Cadet. After flight training, he re- ceived his wings and was commissioned an Ensign at Pensacola. Florida in 1942. Between 1944 and 1948, Captain Risch underwent further flight training and served with various Pacific Fleet Patrol Squad- rons, including units based at Whidbey Island. San Diego. and Okinawa. He was as- signed duty as a flight instructor in 1948 and spent two years in this capacity at Cor- pus Christi. Texas. After undergoing heli- copter training in 1950. Captain Risch served as officer-in-charge of various helicopter detachments in the Atlantic Fleet. January of 1954 saw Captain Risch assigned to USS WORCESTER CCL-1441 as Fire Control Officer. From WOR- CESTER, after a short time with Destroy- er Squadron 6 based at Norfolk, Virginia, he was ordered in 1956 to USS ROBERT A. OWENS QDD-8271 as Executive Officer. Captain Harry Risch, Jr. Commanding Officer 1 Jul 67-3 Jan 69 After a two year tour aboard OWENS, Cap- tain Risch went to Dam Neck, Virginia as a CIC instructor, and then on to the Norfolk-based destroyer tender, USS SHENANDOAH CAD-261 as Executive Of- ficer. After graduating in 1963 from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Captain Risch reported aboard USS BAU- SELL CDD-8459 as Commanding Officer. From 1965 to 1966 he served on the staff of Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force, United States Pacific Fleet as Readiness and Training Officer. In June, 1966 Captain Risch assumed command of USS PRAIRIE CAD-151 where he served prior to reporting for duty as Prospective Commanding Offi- cer, SAMUEL GOMPERS. Captain Risch formally took command at commissioning on 1 July 1967. He re- ported to the staff of COMCRUDESPAC for duty involving completing his college courses at San Diego State to attain his Bachelor's Degree. 'aria

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. A ., g tg., 6 t 4' 1 ' -0 if' 'vfl I. .. , gay- ' .adm T f-'M' 'QW' ,iv 'fav ..Av4s4 if , wb 4191 nga! 'wily -iff' If Commissioned on l July, I967, USS SAMUEL GOMPERS QAD-373 is the first ship in the fleet to bear this name, and the first of a new class of destroyer tender. GOMPERS' mission is to repair and support destroyer-type ships, in- cluding destroyer escorts and nuclear- powered guided missile frigates. SAMUEL GOMPERS, at 643 feet in length, 85 feet in width and displacing 20,260 tons at full load, is nearly l00 feet longer, 20 feet wider, and over 5,000 tons heavier than the largest de- stroyer tenders now in service. Her size is second only to the battleship NEW JERSEY in the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet. Her mean naviga- tional draft is 22 feet, six inches. and her single screw power plant produces a top speed in excess of 20 knots. She is de- signed to be manned by 3l officers and l025 enlisted men and has extensive ac- commodations for a flag officer and his staff. The two higher pressure boilers comprising the engineering plant are capable of generating enough steam to heat a city of l0,000. The same two boil- ers furnish 20,000 shaft horsepower for propulsion. One boiler is able to furnish the necessary in-port steam require- ments to a normal nest of guided missile destroyer-type ships alongside. GOM- PERS' four ship-service generators are capable of generating 10,000 kilowatts of electrical power, or enough electricity to light a city of 50,000. GOMPERS' two l00,000 gallons per day evaporators can fill the waterneeds of a city of 8,000 GOMPERS' Repair Department is , , , ,tra - ,q6n tM comprised of six Repair Divisions, one of which is charged with the repair of nu- clear-powered propulsion plants. Included within this division is an extensive radioactive chemistry laboratory equip- ped with the latest analytical apparatus. The Electronics Repair shop can repair and calibrate virtually every type of nu- clear reactor instrument, as well as ships' communications. radar, and navi- gation equipment. When one of the destroyers along- side requires major repairs such as the removal of heavy machinery or propel- lors. two 30 ton capacity cranes are located amidships to assist in the job. Two 3' .ttf 1 ton capacity telescopic-boomed traveling cranes are located outboard on each side of the ship which are used for handling stores, small boats, and other material. To support the repair effort and the requirements of other ship's depart- ments, the Supply Department carries an inventory of nearly 70,000 repair parts and material with a value in excess of 2 million dollars. These are stored in 65 storerooms whose total storage capacity could house 70 full-sized automobiles. Virtually every storeroom is serviced by a vertical conveyor, a freight elevator, or a dumbwaiter. The second deck is de- signed to allow the use of fork lift trucks to move material to or from elevators and conveyors. A modern shipboard computer instal- lation is included in the inventory of GOMPERS' facilities. The computer is not only used to keep track of the thou- sands of different items of repair parts, xc.. provisions, materials, and equipage, but is programmed to account for the many categories of funds necessary to operate a ship of this size, to assist the Repair Officer in maintaining workload and ma- terial controls, and to lighten the clerical burden in the areas of personnel adminis- tration and disbursement of pay and al- lowances. After acceptance trials, SAMUEL GOMPERS arrived in her home port of San Diego, California on 6 October l967. She then departed San Diego on l0 No- vember l967 for a shakedown cruise consisting of a six month deployment to the Western Pacific. During repair avail- ability periods in the Japanese ports of Yokosuka and Sasebo, and the Taiwan port of Kaohsiung, SAMUEL GOMPERS ren- dered fleet repair support to one hundred fifty-two ships and related activities of which forty-four were ships assigned alongside availability. The Repair De- partment processed 6,2l5 work requests amounting to vessel repair expenditures of over Sl67,000. Short visits to Hong Kong and Subic Bay, P.l. were included in the deployment. The ship returned to the continental United States on 8 May I968 and later completed a post-shake- down availability in Bremerton, Washing- ton during the summer. GOMPERS then returned to San Diego on 3l July 1968 to serve as flagship for Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet until this, her second deployment to the Western Pacific. CJ

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Captain Claiborne S. Bradley Commanding Officer 3 Jan 69- Claiborne Sheldon Bradley was born in Hartford, Connecticut on 26 April 1926. He was graduated from the US, Naval Academy in 1948 and was first assigned to the Navy Yacht VAMARIE which partici- pated in the Newport to Bermuda ocean race. He then served for three years in USS CABOT QCVL-281 and subsequently was assigned to a one-year electronics maintenance course in 1951 at Great Lakes, Illinois. Captain Bradley, upon assuming coni- mand of USS SAMUEL GOM PERS began serving his eighth assignment in the de- stroyer forces. His first was as Electron- ics Material Officer on the Staff of COM- CRUDESFLOT TWO in 1952. On depar- ture from FLOT TWO's Staff in 195-l. Captain Bradley served as Operations Of- ficer of USS GLENNON CDD-8403 and in 1958 was assigned as Executive Officer of USS M. C. FOX LDDR-8291. He has commanded USS CHAMBERS CDER-3911 in 1960, USS KEITH CDD-7751 in 1963, and USS DEWEY LDLG-1-lj in 1965. His shore duty assignments have been Instructor of Atomic Physics and Electrical Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy. West Point, New York, from 1956 until 19581 Operations Assistant on the Joint Staff Support Operations Task Force. Europe, Paris France from 1960 to 19631 student at the Senior Warfare Course. Naval War College. Class of 19663 and prior to reporting to USS SAMUEL GOMPERS. Personnel Officer of Com- mander Cruiser-Destroyer Force. U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Captain Bradley's home address is Lake Forest, Illinois and he is married to the former Nancy Lee Newman of High- land Park. Illinois.