California (BB 44) - Naval Cruise Book

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we U U54 I l 5 I ,ff JL ' USS California KBB-442 radio gang at the Moose Lodge on Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA. lCourtesy of Wayne Lindalzll Califomia fthe last in October, 19413, carried out a schedule of training, basing on Pearl Harbor. steaming with various task forces and groups in the Hawaiian operating area. Com- manded by Captain Joel W. Bunkley and fly- ing the flag of Commander, Battle Force, Vice Admiral William S. Pye, the dreadnought led a number of two-week evolutions at sea, each followed by a week in port for upkeep. These exercises were executed under combat condi- tions. Battle stations were maintained watch- on-watch as evasive actions were practiced for simulated enemy attack. Gunnery, damage control, and fire drills were constant. The last of Admiral Pye's cruises occurred during the first week of December, 1941, at its conclu- sion, the overdue battlewagons put into Pearl Harbor. maneuvering up around Ford Island and down to the southeast side to a series of masonry mooring quays often known as battleship row. Japanese secret agent Takeo Yoshikawa reported the units of the Battle Force late on December 6, 1941. Torpedo nets, he noted, were not spread and aerial surveillance had been non-existent. The Calnornia lay moored at Quay F-3, the row's southernmost, with some 40-60 feet of water under her keel. Like her sisters astern, she lay in Readiness Condi- tion Three lor X j- two machine guns manned and two five-inch guns prepared with ready ammunition and crews. Fuel and food were onboard and the engine room was on twelve-hour notice. It being a weekend. many of her officers and men, including Captain Bunkley. Admiral Pye, and the executive of- ficer. Commander Earl E. Stone, were on lib- erty ashore. Those left onboard played cards, napped. or read under the watchful eye of the capable Lieutenant Commander M. N. Little, the ships first lieutenant and acting commander. 'flt is a well-known fact. although never admitted. that battleships carrying admirals' flagsf' wrote Samuel Eliot Morison in the first volume of his semi-official history, although taut and smart in appearance, were commonly inferior to others in readiness and material con- dition. Such was the case aboard the Calnfor- nia: her material condition as to watertight integrity was bad. According to a variety of experts, the f'Prune Bargel' would be lost, as Bureau of Ships War Damage Report Number 21 of November 28, 1942 has it recorded, be- cause 'fmanholes Con the double bottomj left open and loose manhole covers on the port side of the third deck and because most of the watertight fittings on the third deck and below were open .... Why watertight integrity was so poor remains a controversial issue. In his January 26, 1942 after-action report, Captain Bunkley stated that a material inspec- tion of the Calnfornia was imminent and that normal preparations required a thorough vent- ing of tanks and voids. This view, reported and repeated by Monson and others as recently as Doctor Gordon W. Prange in his massive At Dawn We Slept, may not be accurate. The 1946 Joint Congressional Committee on the Inves- tigation ofthe Pearl Harbor Attack examined the manholelinspection question closely. A schedule of major inspections noted on page 1677 of its Hearings does not list the 'fPrune Barge. A statement on page 5351 ends, the logs of the U.S.S. California, Maryland, Nevada, and Tennessee have been examined for any record of inspections, and for any ref- erences conceming watertight integrity prece- dent to or in preparation for any inspections on 5, 6, and 7 December 1941, with negative results. The Bureau of Ships never learned for certain how many manhole covers were off or loose at the time of the Japanese raid and evidence provided by the captain varies sub- stantially from that found during salvage op- erations. Whatever the exact number and the reason for them, this weakening of the ship's defenses. even if regarded as a minor oversight, would turn out to be a serious matter- one so serious that it meant the difference between the Calnfornia s survival and her loss. It was a typical Sunday morning, on De- cember 7, 1941. The battleships were moored in their as- signed berths in Pearl Harbor and along the southeast side of the Ford Island, NAS. The USS Calnfornia was moored southemmost and alone. Next came the USS Oklahoma and the USS Maryland with the USSMaryland in- board. Astem of them to the north was the USS Tennessee, and the USS West Wrginia with the USS Tennessee moored inboard. Next astern was the USS Arizona with the USS Ves- tal a repair ship, moored alongside outboard. The USS Pennsylvania was across the harbor in dry-dock Number One in the Navy Yard with the USS Cassin and the USS Downes ahead of her in the same dry-dock. The Cruisers, the USS San Francisco and the USS New Orleans were in the Repair Ba- sin and the USS Phoenix was moored north- east of Ford Island, NAS. The USSSI. Louis , the USS Honolulu and the USS Helena were in docks at the Navy Yard. The USS Raleigh and the USS Detroit were moored on the north- west side of Ford Island, NAS, and the USS Utah directly behind to the south. Twenty-nine destroyers were to the north and east of Ford Island. The USS Shaw was in a floating dry-dock with the USS Sotoyomo, a tug boat. The USS Bagley was moored at the Navy Yard for restricted availability. Else- where in the harbor were five submarines, a gun boat, ll minesweepers, 23 auxiliary ships, nine minelayers, the Coast Guard ships and many smaller craft, making a total of 96 ships in the harbor. The total of all types of Naval units present at Pearl Harbor or within three miles of the Island of Oahu was 157. Very little was stirring aboard the ships. On the USS Tennessee a few crew members sipped coffee and relaxed. A Boatswain's Mate on the USS Arizona was standing by the rail checking the condition of the shipls sides. On various other ships, including the USS Cali- fornia, men were readying the details for mom- ing colors. A small boat shoved off from the Merry Point landing. On Pearl Harbor the moming sun rose gleaming on the harbor wa- ters as it broke over the Koolau Mountains and Diamond Head. The 0800 hours to 1200 hours watch was eating breakfast on the USS Oklahoma and, on other ships, gun crews were wiping the moming dew from the anti-aircraft batteries. It was quiet and the church bells from ashore called the 8:00 olclock Mass. It was 0755 hours. Just before 0800 hours on December 7, 1941, warplanes from the six carriers of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's First Air Fleet commenced their well-planned attack. Shortly thereafter, radios were calling in plain English: f'Air Raid Pearl Harbor- This is No Drill! The Japanese dive bombers swarmed across Ford Island, NAS loosing their bombs on aircraft and hangars. The aircraft tiashed apart and started to burn.

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it makes it impossible for anyone to make the sight-seeing trip across the Isthmus, but the permission of the Commander-in-Chief U.S. Fleet has been granted- later a Fleet Order will be published and in the possession of all ships, stating that trips for the full day may be ar- ranged for- allowing ships to send these par- ties, with the understanding that the number leaving in the party cannot number more than the regular allowance for the day and is NOT in excess of the daily allowance, that is, if the ship's allowed liberty is 300, and 300 desire to make the Colon trip, then there will be no fur- ther liberty granted from the ship that day. A special train can be arranged for, from Balboa station for 5100.00 The regular fare of men in uniform, from Balboa to Colon is 51.40 each way, 52.80 round trip, thus if in a ship's party there are 100 men, the cost would be for each man: 53.80, if 200 men went the price would 'be for each man: 33.30. The special train is about the only way the trip can be made by the men in the fleet, for the reason that it would be impossible to get the men in from the outer anchorage in time for the regular train leaving at 7:05 a.m., and the extra cost for the special train, divided among so many amounts to so little. It takes about one and one-half hours to make the trip across. By special train, a stop can be made at Gatun Dam for two hours, giv- ing you all a chance to see the wonderful locks and the great spillway. Leaving Balboa by 8:15 a.m., and stopping Gatun, would bring you into Colon by 11:45 a.m., just in time for lunch. Starting out on your si ght-seeing journey there about 1:00 p.m., this would give you three hours in Colon, your train leaving at 4:00 p.m., getting back to Balboa at 5:30 p.m. Pay day will be here in a few days, so get your party up, say of a hundred or more, and get your money in the hands of the Chaplain, or whoever the Commander may select, and make the trip. You will never regret it. Another One!!! In the Chaplain's office you will find a circular for distribution which will give you a lot of information in regard to what to see. Maps will be found there also. GO GET 'EMI ll Another One!!! The big Y.M.C.A. is not more than ten minutes walk from where we are tied up, where a great welcome awaits you. Across the street from the f'Y,' is the Knights of Columbus Building, where a similar welcome awaits. Just this side of these is the fine Balboa Restau- rant, and O' Boy!!! I sure did get a good feed there last night, and this side of that is the Ca- nal Zone Club House. Look up the jitney fares in the information list to be found in the Chaplain's office. There are a lot of other things but space won't allow. What about Panama City? See the folder in the Chaplain's officef' During this period she underwent several Navy Yard overhauls. From July through Sep- tember, 1925, the Battle Fleet with one divi- sion of light cruisers from the Scouting Fleet, made a very successful cruise to Australia and New Zealand, via Samoa. This visit did much to cement the friendly relations existing be- tween the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Subsequent to commissioning, official tri- als, and shakedown training, the California CBB-443 was made the Battleship Force, Pa- cific Fleet. In 1922 the Pacific Fleet was re- designated the Battle Fleet C renamed the Battle Force in 19315, United States Fleet. For the next two decades, the battleship divisions of the Battle F1eet!Battle Force were to include the preponderance of the Navy's strength and for most of those years, the Calgfornia contin- ued her flagship duty and a magnificent flag- ship she was, the pride of the fleet with her spit, polish, and fearsome armament. Peacetime service involved an annual cycle of maintenance, training, and readiness exercises. Each year, the great gray vessels took part in competitions in engineering per- formance and gunnery as well as an annual fleet problem which was a war gamef, Begin- ning with Fleet Problem I in 1923 and con- tinuing through Fleet Problem XXI in April, 1940, the flagship, naturally, held a prominent position in these battle exercises. Meanwhile, her individual proficiency was immediately shown. The prized Battle Efficiency Pennant, the 'fMeatball, hoisted aboard in 1921 through 1922 in recognition of the ship's having the highest combined total score in gunnery and engineering competition. During the competi- tive year 1925 through 1926, the Calyfornia had the highest aggregate score in the list of record practices fired by her guns of various caliber and won the Gunnery NE, for excel- lence. From July to September 1925, she led the Battle Fleet and a squadron of light cruis- ers on a successful good will tour to fm -.train and New Zealand. ln 1927, 1930 and 1,115- 1 the Golden State namesake partif..pate'.i rr: Presidential fleet revievvs. Throughout the 1930-,, in the Pacific and occasionally the Atlantic, the California LUVJ' tinued her training and flagship rhissioh Fx- ercises were met and dignitaries were reeei ed on board, including adrnirals changing their commands. Cities along the American coast celebrating centennials or other festi H2112 often found the great dreadnought holding open house in their ports. Somewhere along the line in those years, fleet bluejackets came to nick- name her the HPrune Bargefl because, ff. rote Admiral Wallin years later, Hthat state produced a large quantity of prunes for export' Com- plimentary or not, suitable or not, the sobri- quet would stick throughout the remainder of the Caliornia lr career. Fleet Problem XXI was conducted in Ha- waiian waters during the spring of 1940. At the end of the exercise, the Battle Force did not, as was its practice, return to San Pedro. In hopes that a strong signal might deter Japa- nese Far Eastern expansion. President Roosevelt, over the objections of CINCLS Admiral James O. Richardson tshortly there- after relieved by Admiral Husband E. Kimmel i. ordered his battleships to remain based at Pearl Harbor that summer. The following spring. the Calyfornia was overhauled at Puget Sound and after a week of liberty for the crew in San Fran- cisco, departed the West Coast once again on April 15, 1941. From late 1940 to December 7. 1941. the f'Prune Barge, with time out for two trips to 3.1. fl s 'Rf - .. . ...as -5 .- XS' ,ws in . s ..........-'i-'-' 1939-19-10 USS Chliforriiti iiwxrlirzxc mini. lflU1l!'It'.YY Qfl Uzfmi Hiii'r.'r'ti.w, i

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On the USS West Virginia, what was thought to be an internal explosion in the USS Calqfarnia, with an almost simultaneous ex- plosion near the USS Oglala and the USS Hel- ena, caused the Fire and Rescue Party to be called away. This brought hundreds of men and officers topside, undoubtedly saving many of their lives. At this point it seemed that the attack had started everywhere at the same time. Moored alone made the Calyfornia vulner- able from all directions to the attacking planes. At 0800 hours, the General Alarm was sounded when it was determined that the ship was be- ing attacked by the Japanese. Personnel in the Flag Communication Station watched as the first torpedo hit. 4 At 0805 hours, fwo explosions rocked the Calgfornia setting off an ammunition magazine killing 50. seamen. Oscar Svensen, a young Gunners Mate, with the responsibility to take the magazine temperature, a daily routine, was up early and had drawn the keys to the magazines. The early rounds in the magazines were finished well before the attack began. Had this not been so, he would have been in the area of the bomb hit in that magazine. Immediately after the attack alarm sounded aboard the Calnfornia, but before the maximum degree of watertight integrity could be set, even so far as the ship's bad material condition would permit, the Japanese were on her. About 0805 hours as the ready machine guns opened fire on planes attacking up the line, a low-flying Nakajima B5N Kate,' ap- proached from the direction of Merry Point, banked steeply, and launched a torpedo. With a clearly-visible bubble track, the fish sped into the port beam below the armor belt at frame l0l tTur'ret IIIJ, lifting a heavy column of water alongside with the force of the explo- sion. The Seaplane tender Acocet CAVP-45 moored at the NAS Dock, Ford Island, took the plane under fire with her two three-inchersg the Kate', burst into flames and crashed adja- cent to the Naval Hospital. Simultaneously, a second torpedo hit the port side, again below the armor belt, at frame 52 Cbetween Turret II and the Bridgeb. Due to the unbuttoned condition of the f'Prune Barge, the two torpedo hits 'fproved to be far-reaching and disastrous. Although neither hit punched completely through the ship's well-designed torpedo bulkheads, their wallop began a port list which, but for prompt counterflooding by Reserve Ensign Edgar M. Fain, might have capsized her. The forward torpedo, which ripped open a 24 by ten foot hole, allowed salt water to contaminate the fuel linesg before they could be cleared, all power and light was lost. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Little was everywhere, encouraging the men and issuing emergency orders. The anti-air- craft guns were firing with ammunition brought up by hand. Toward 0825 hours, Commander Stone appeared on the bridge, the first of the Calyfornias top officers to get back. Admiral Pye, though not tactically in control of the ship, was speeding toward the dock with the man- ager ofa local hotel while Captain Bunkley, st i -li ' -.tv ll W' Y ll -ti When the USS Caldarnia was hir, it set ojjfan ammunition magazine killing 50 men. She listed 8 degrees and began I0 settle. Ajier repairs the Calnfornia rejoined Ihejleet in 1944. lC0urresy afH.A. Lang! caught by the raid in his swimming trunks near the pool of the Halekulani, was also enroute. Just as Commander Stone and Lieutenant Little were conferring on the torpedo hits, Japa- nese Val', dive bombers and several Zero fighters turned their attention to the flagship. After a stick of bombs dropped alongside, a huge 250 kilogram missile hit the starboard upper deck level at frame 60 and passed through to explode on the armored second deck, setting off an anti-aircraft ammunition magazine, killing 53 men. A second bomb rup- tured the bow plates while near-misses caused fragmentation damage to the funnels and star- board anti-aircraft batteries. Strafing from the attacking enemy aircraft wounded a number of crewmen. Smoke from the bomb which blew the ammunition locker infiltrated the second and third decks. Acrid fumes found their way into the forward engine room, via the ventilation system, delaying efforts there to clear the fuel lines of water from the torpedo hit. Neverthe- less, tremendous efforts by damage control parties restored light and power which helped control several fires by the time Captain Bunkley returned aboard. However, before he could issue orders to unmoor and get under way on the four available boilers, another crisis erupted. Around 1000 hours, burning oil from other ships drifting down the harbor engulfed the Calyforniais stern. Captain Bunkley ordered Abandon Ship, but within 15 minutes, the wind blew the burning oil pool clear. The skip- per ordered all hands to return on board. but not all would and those who did. did so very slowly. After witnessing an officer on shore begging a group of men, Yeoman Durrel Conner, still aboard, had an idea which helped. Noting that the national ensign had yet to be raised this day, he and another seaman hoisted the colors on the fantail. A cheer went up from the men on shore and soon many were hurry- ing back. Unfortunately, by this time the situ- ation was beyond repair. Although gas powered pumps were bor- rowed from other ships and the minesweepers Bobolink CAM-209 and Wrea KAM-521 came alongside to apply their pumps. the Caldarnia was slowly sinking. Even though the fires were put out, there was now no watertight integrity below the second deck. Flooding caused by a combination of battle damage, non-closure of watertight fittings, and rupture of ventila- tion ducts,', could not be halted. Thus. the ef- fort to stop the sea water entering her great gashes amounted to 'fsimply pumping Pearl Harbor through the ship. Calnfornia rolled to an eight degree list and started to settle. A scheduled inspection had reduced the watertight integrity by having many lower deck hatches open. This accounted for the immediate flooding that required quick action with counter-flooding measure to cause the ship to settle evenly and to prevent it from capsizing. Bomb hits started fires and burning oil on the water erupted into a blazing wall of fire surrounding the ship. Although the crew was ordered, at this point. to abandon ship. when the fire fighting equipment from the Ford ls- land. NAS was employed. the fires were re- duced and the abandon ship order was canceled and the crew returned. Despite valiant efforts. Caliyivrnia settled into the mud. .The holes in the hull were too big to permit control of the flooding and at- tempts to keep the ship afloat were met with defeat. Despite three days ofattempts to save her. the California. though partially afloat. contin- ued to settle. Adequate pumping. wrote her salvage supervisor in 1968. if it could have been supplied at the time. would have kept the vessel afloat. Neither the giant pumps re- quired nor sufficient divers were available for the task and late on Wednesday night. Decem- ber l0th. the battleship came to rest in about lo feet of soft mud. With a list to port of some five and one-half degrees and a draft of about -13 feet forward and 57 feet aft. only her masts .ii I ,J 5 -A Qi-Q lj , .QW .Q- KM 22