California (BB 44) - Naval Cruise Book

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xx og. which in turn were delivered directly to thc pollywog concerned. At the conclusioii of this. Daxy Jones took leave ofthe Captain and. in company xx ith the Royal Mail Orderly. left the ship by going down through a hawseipipe. 'Secure' was sounded and all divisions fell in at their regular quarters. after which 'Retreat' xx as sounded and all pollywogs fell out to read their subpoenas- and wonder! With his Royal Household and Court and loy al and faithful followers, they paraded back to the forecastle. with the music of the band, to sit upon the throne and to inflict with good grace the pains and penalties of the awful tortures. The staff officers. being first in order of initiation. wee summoned before King Nep- tune and His Royal Court to answer to their charges. Then followed the wardroom offic- ers. warrant officers and enlisted men. The first of the many trials was to run through the gauntlet of torturers. Upon appear- ing before the Royal Court, the Royal Doctor requested to see the tonsilsg in most cases he found them enlarged or infected and prescribed a preparation of 'salts' and other distasteful ingredients to soothe them. Some pollywogs had bodily defects which were corrected on the operating table rigged with live wires. The Royal Barbers pleased His Majesty by neatly trimming the hair and massaging the face and body. Lamp-black and linseed oil were used to make a neat appearance. Following the shock. the chair was tripped, to deliver the pollywog to the pool, where the bears and tor- turers persisted that staying under the surface of the water and choking through mouthfuls of salty brine to say 'shellback' amused His Highness and the Royal Court. The 'love taps' upon making the exist from the tank completed the progress of converting the land-lubbing pollywog into a trusty, 'salty' shellback. His Majesty commented that all polly- wogs were to be commended for their good sportsmanship and all are fully worthy of their certificates. 5 The f,'.S'.S' California Ts bell on display al ine stare napilol in Sarrafnenro, CA, ICYIMVYH'-SJ' 'lf fume-S' Yfllh j The costumes of King Neptune, His Royal Court. and his followers, fitted the char- acters in every respect and deserve commen- dationf' NUMBER INITIATED As SHELLBA CKS Officers, U.S. Navy Cgl U.S. Marine Corps 57 Officers, United States Army 4 Enlisted Men 1,163 Total 1,224 Just before reveille on August 23, 1944, however, the USS Calgfornia Lv crew received a rude awakening. Wildly out of control due to a steering malfunction, the USS Tennessee smashed her stem into the USS Calnfornias port bow, tearing a large gash forward of the 14-inch turret I. Though the collision pierced several compartments, opening them to the sea, injuries were few. With all trapped sailors res- cued, and all damage sealed, the Prune Barge returned to convoy, her men looking forward to shore leave more than ever. In a record 17- day period, August 25 through September 10, 1944, the USS Calnfornia s collision repairs were effected in Espiritu Santols floating dry-dock. Departing the New Hebrides on September 17, 1944, Captain Burnett's vessel slipped up the New Guinea coast to Seeadler Harbor, Manus, in the Admiralties, arriving four days later. Here she was assigned to that half of the Bombard- ment and fire Support Group destined to sup- port a Southern Attack Force, U.S. 7th Fleet. The time had come to redeem General MacArthur's famous pledge to the people of the Philippines: I shall retumfl On October 17, 1944, after a five-day voy- age, the USS Calnfornia and the USS Tennes- see arrived off Leyte Gulf. Following prelimi- nary minesweeping, the sister ships, stream- ing parvanes to cut cables of missed mines, and followed by the USS West Wrginia CBB- 48j, themselves followed the flagship USS Pennsylvania CBB-383 inside the gulfthrough a marked channel. Around sundown, the star- board paravane of the Prune Barge cut loose a mine which bobbed to the surface and bore down on the WeeVee, which successfully dodged it at the last minute. The ships took up their positions off Dulag before sunrise on October 19, 1944, and at 0645 hours began to bombard the designated land- ing area south of the town, a shoot which con- tinued throughout the day. After additional post-dawn softening, American soldiers re- turned to the Philippines at 1000 hours on Oc- tober 20, 1944. The landings went well and soon the USS Calyfornia was shifting her fire inland and to the flanks to assist the troops as they began carving out a beachhead. As the Leyte invasion unfolded, the Japa- nese decided to strike back and sent four widely-separated forces to destroy the Ameri- can operation. ln an effort tojoin a larger fleet in a pincer movement against the 7th Fleet am- phibious ships and transports, Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura led the 30-year old 14-inch battleship Faso and Yamishiro, the cruiser Magami, and four destroyers toward Surigao Strait. Alerted by Navy reconnaissance, Ad- miral Oldendorf sought to deal with the situa- tion by placing his six old battleships, eight cruisers, and 28 destroyers across the northem end of that passage late on October 24, 1944. After securing from anti-aircraft defense that evening, off-duty USS Calyfornia crew- men went below to get as much sleep as pos- sible, although several preferred to stretch out and nap on the cooler upper decks. Others watched as the ship took on oilg armorers checked the magazine and flrehoses were faked out and unnecessary gear was secured- or tossed overboard. Fire control instruments re- ceived a thorough check as radar and radio technicians made certain that secondary sta- tions could be rigged quickly if the need arose. Other sailors lugged water, blankets, and C- rations to their stations while a crew, after watching the Kingfishers fly off to the beach, lowered the catapult crane. Below, medical personnel saw to the sick bay's readiness. All anxiously awaited the ship's first surface ac- tion. Moving out in line, the battlewagons pa- trolled the moonless night, moving back and forth across the smooth sea, which neverthe- less featured a strong current, difficult for helmsmen. General Quarters was sounded aboard the USS Calyfornia CBB-441 at 0130 hours. All battle stations wee fully manned and alert, ammunition was redied for instant loading, and the ship's watertight integrity made as secure as possible. Lookouts peering into the dark could make out the other mem- bers of the Pearl Harbor survivors associa- tion, but those below and inside the turrets could see nothing. Beginning his thrust up the straight, Ad- miral Nishimura was soon found out. At 2236 hours that October 25, 1944, United States Patrol Boats CPTSJ deployed in the passage. The PT boats made radar contact and, followed by destroyers, they attacked, causing the en- emy ships much damage and confusion. The USS Calqfornia CBB-445 observers could see the distant flashes of gunfire, searchlight, and star shells which marked the engagement. Just after 0300 hours, the battlewagon's radar picked up the Japanese approach at nearly 44,000 yards and began tracking the lead ship Yarnashiro. Yamishiro, the cruiser, and one destroyer were all that had made it past the lighter American forces and the three wee now acting like the cavalry in the Charge of the Light Brigade. As Nishimura pushed further into this valley of death, his success prob- ability was reduced to zero. Steadily the distance shrank and 0355 hours, after the USS West Wrginia had received the honor of opening fire, Captain Burnett was granted permission to commence firing: the range was point-blank, 20,500 yards. In the brief battle which followed, the USS Calnfor- nia, the USS Tennessee, and the USS West Vir- ginia, owing to their new gunfire radar and instruments, got off most of the telling shots. Firing in six-gun salvoes to consume a precious and limited supply of anti-personnel shells, the USS Caljornia CBB-445 poured 63 rounds of 14-inch shells at the enemy. Only 16 minutes

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yards to ply her five-inch and 40 mm projec- tiles, Japanese defenders began a murderous small arms and mortar attack on the frogmen. Tinian is separated by a three-mile chan- nel from Saipan. On July 23, 1944, the USS CalU'0rnia CBB-441 and the USS Tennessee, directed by Rear Admiral Howard F. Kingman, bombarded coastal defenses near Tinian Town as a diversion for the main landing further north. After the leathernecks hit the beach, the two ships alternated call fire duty through the remainder of the month as U.S. Marines and warships pushed the Japanese toward an- nihilation on the high ground of the islandis southern tip. On July 31, 1944, the USS Calqfornias guns fell silent as a command message came aboard: Your mission com- pleted. .Proceed anchorage. Sorry we could not find more targets for you.', The USS Caliornia and the USS Tennes- see were almost immediately switched back into the Guam fight, where they provided fire from August 2-8, 1944, before anchoring at Eniwetok on'August 9, 1944. Three days later, the sister dreadnoughts joined a small task force steaming for Espiritu Santo, New Hibrides. With the men on the ships anticipating a well-earned bit of rest and relaxation, pollywogs by the hundreds were initiated into the deep in the salty presence of King Neptune and his royal partyi' in the tra- ditional equator-crossing ceremonies, held on August 21, 1944. USS CALIFORNIA CRossEs EQUATOR, AUGUST 21, 1944. A CEREMONY OF THE AGESH KFROM THE CUBI The exact time and source of the begin- ning ofthe ceremony in 'Crossing the Line' is unknown. It is known, however, that ceremo- nies took place long ago when the ships crossed the thirtieth parallel, and also when going through the Straits of Gibraltar. These early ceremonies where of the roughest sort and were, to a great extent, supposed to try the crew to detemiine whether or not the novices on their first cnlise could endure the hardships of life at sea. The Vikings were reported at an early date to carry out these ceremonies on crossing certain parallels. It is highly probable that the present day ceremony was passed on to the Angles, Saxons, and Normans from the Vi- kings. At an earliest date, ceremonies of propi- tiation were can'ied on. Neptune, the mytho- logical god of the seas, was appeased by the seamen, and marks of respect were paid those of his underwater domain. It is plausible that a part of the ceremony grew out of traditions of other days, even though sailors had come to doubt the existence of Neptune. Nevertheless, Neptunus Rex is today the Royal Majesty who rules in the Seas, who officiated at the cer- emony when we crossed the Line on August 21, 1944, and to whom we all as his faithful subjects and true Shellbacks pay allegiance. KING NEPTUNE REIGNS At 0800 hours on the morning ofAugust 21, 1944 all divisions were mustered to wit- ness the arrival of His Royal Highness, Nep- tune Rex andthe members of his Royal House- hold and Court. They were received on board with due respect and honors and as the ship crossed the line at latitude 00 degrees 00 min- utes, longitude 81 degrees 12 minutes and 12 seconds, the saluting battery was fired to Neptunus Rex. After parading to the quarter- deck, King Neptune addressed the Captain, Captain Burnett. 'Captain Burnett, greetings to you and your worthy ambassadors and welcome to My Royal Domain. I have received a very serious report of last night's inspectionf Turning toward Davy Jones, he asked, 'Davy Jones, where are the findings of that inspection?' Davy J ones gave him a document. His Royal Highness again addressed the Captain, 'Captain Burnett, you are charged with suffering your ship to enter My Royal Domain with a full cargo of common polly- wogs. This is a very serious breech of seafar- ing tradition, yes an unpardonable offense, and in view of the fact that you yourself are an ac- credited shellback makes your offense doubly serious. Therefore, I, Neptunus Rex, ruler of the Raging Main, do hereby relieve you of your command until such a time that every last land- lubber, hack driver and pollywog has been trans- formed into a worthy shellback. I have spokenf 'Admiral Tobogaj he ordered his Royal Admiral, 'you will immediately assume com- mand ofthe USS Calyfornia, you will have the Royal Ensign broken at the main truck, you will set a course and a speed in keeping with safe navigation until ordered otherwise. Bear a hand now., 'Davy J onesf His Majesty commanded, 'you will summon the Royal Police Force and gather in all the culprits and suffer them to appear before the Royal Justice Court for such punishment as they may prescribef 'Captain Bumett, you and your worthy ambassadors are cordially invited to witness the aforementioned transformationj he invited. 'Let us proceed forward now., From: Secretary to His Royal Highness, Neptunus Rex. To: Commanding Officer, United States Ship Calyfornia Subject: Instructions for entering the Domain of King Neptune. l, Greetings, Sir, to you and to all other shellbacks under your command. 2. The Commander-in-Chief of the United States Fleet having recently been in consultation with his Most Royal and Exalted Highness and having laid before His Majesty facts concerning the 'state of the United States Navy' under his command, the King, Neptune Rex himself, has directed me, his personal Sec- retary, to appear before you this date. as you are to enter His Realm, to advise and to in- struct you as to his wishes. lt appears that a very serious situation has arisen in the Navy of the United States. Under your direct and personal command, Sir, there are an alarming number of tadpoles, pollywogs, landlubbers. sea-lawyers, would-be sailors who doubt the existence ofthe Equator- a real line- and, more serious still, who doubt the existence of the Kingdom of his Exalted Majesty, Neptunus Rex. The presence on board such a splendid ship of men so ignorant, so conceited, so lack- ing in experience, is a never ceasing source of concem and grave danger, both to the ship and to all loyal subjects of His Majesty. 3. This situation must be corrected at once. These would-be sailors must be con- vinced- must be converted into seamen wor- thy to be admitted as all sailors should desire to be admitted, as subjects of His Royal High- ness. Due preparations have been made for the transformation of these poor misguided souls into honorable subjects of His Exalted Majesty. Following the traditions of the ages, a solemn and a high initiation has been ar- ranged in order that the mysteries of the An- cient and Royal Order of the Deep may be made known to these malingerers and delin- quents- that they too may be made worthy to take their places with me and be able to hold communion with the Noble Order of Shellbacks. 4. Heed, therefore, the following Order and Command: - On the morrow, 21 August, 194-4, on or about 0800 hours, as you enter the Kingdom of His Royal Majesty, you will heave-to and take on board His Royal and Exalted Highness. Neptunus Rex, the members of His Imperial and Royal Household and Court, and his reti- nue of faithful and loyal subjects who accom- pany him. Immediately after his arrival His Royal Majestyis Court will convene on the USS Calnfornia. You are directed to have ap- pear before that Court any and all those under your command, or who may be passengers or serving on board the ship which you command. or who may be passengers or serving on board the ship which you command, who are unable to produce due evidence to the effect that they are members of the Ancient and Royal Order of Shellbacks. 5. Advance information has reached me concerning certain individuals on board your ship who as pseudo or amateur sailors are not worthy to enter His Majesty's Realm. To each of them I bear a summon. in the name of Neptunus Rex, to appear before His Court. Failure to comply with His Command will arouse the wrath of the King and mean dire consequences for all those who disregard his Orders. Thus saith and so commandeth his royal highness, his exalted majesty - Neptune Rex. 6. His Majesty asked that l convey through you to Rear Admiral Richard Connolly his cordial greetings and a hearty welcome upon his return to His Majesty's Kingdom. ls! Davy Jones, Secretary to His Royal Highness. After the summons had been given. the Royal Mail Orderly distributed to representa- tives of divisions, subpoenas for each polly- ,115 is . ,. 3 T! F l S l -sf fa , 'UQ 'sw

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after the first salvo, Captain Burnett ceased fir- ing. Surigao Straight did much to avenge his ship's loss at Pearl Harbor, of all Nishimurais ships committed to the charge, only the de- stroyer Shigure escaped. Following several weeks off Leyte, the USS Calgfornia CBB-441 was released to the New Hebrides. There, in late November, 1944, Captain Samuel B. Brewer succeeded Captain Bumett as the skipper of the USS Caljornia CBB-441. Captain Burnett, having commanded the proud vessel, the 'fPrune Bargej' through challenging and dangerous times, successfully completed his duties and relinquished the com- mand to Captain Brewer who took up the charge. 1 On December 19, 1944, Captain Brewer took his new command into Kossol Passage, the Palaus, there to celebrate Christmas and prepare for yet another campaign. The Hreturnn to the Philippines continued apace into the new year of 1945. On New Yearis Day and with Admiral Oldendorf em- barked the USS Calyfornia CBB-44jquit the Palaus and, as flagship of TG 77.2, led an ar- mada of vessels through Leyte Gulf and the Sulu Sea to the northwest coast of Luzon. Resistance was stiff from enemy warplanes along the route, especially from a new band of suicide flyers known as Kamikazes. On Janu- ary 5, 1945 , Admiral O1dendorf's ships reached Lingayen Gulf and early the next morning, preliminary minesweeping was completed. As gunners watched the skies, the Prime Barge, keeping fresh, pounded targets on Santiago Island on the western side of Lingayen's en- trance. After lunch, the flagship led a great gray column of fire support vessels into Lingayen Gulf to attack targets in and around the designated invasion area. Admiral O1dendorf's fleet met determined opposition from J apanis air arm and soon most of his ships' gunners were in action. As the flagship was gliding toward her assigned bom- bardment position, she, too, became the target of a Kamikaze. Coming in low over the bow of a nearby destroyer, a Japanese Zero fighter sped toward the USS Calhfornia CBB-44J's bridge. Smoke from anti-aircraft guns blan- keted the battleship's starboard side as gunners and loaders swung with the plane. The bliz- zard of fire was, however, to no avail, the pi- lot flipped his plane into a vertical bank and ripped into the after fire control tower. Vio- lent yellow flames billowed as the ship rocked with the explosion. Meteoric shell fragments tore chunks out of the deck 35 feet below, de- molished gun stations, smashed splinter shields, and even bit into the ship's bell. Dam- age control parties worked quickly and me- thodically and within 12 minutes, all fires were extinguished. Of the 203 casualties incurred in the disaster, six officers and 26 men were killed outright with 13 later succumbing to in- juriesg 155 officers and hands were wounded while three crewmen were reported missing. Temporarily repaired while under way, the USS Calwrnia CBB-441 hammered Luzon positions on January 7, 1945, through January 9, 1945, as troops went ashore on January 9th. She re- mained on station providing call fire support until January 22, 1945, when she departed for Bremerton, via Ulithi and Pearl Harbor. Workmen at the Puget Sound Navy Yard repaired the USS California CBB-44j's dam- age and after training exercises for the many new men, the OBB returned to the fray, an- choring at Hagushi Bay, Okinawa, on June 15, 1945. By now, the worst was over in the great final land-sea-air battle. Ashore, U.S. Army troops made a finishing drive to clear the is- landg gunfire from the USS Caljornia CBB- 44J helped snuff out a few remaining pockets of resistance. With the other old dreadnoughts, she remained ready in support until the cam- paign was declared over on June 21, 1945. On July 22, 1945, the USS Caljornia CBB-441 joined Task Force Number 95 3 with Admiral Oldendorf's group, the old lady, the Prune Barge covered minesweeping opera- tions in the East China Sea and patrolled the waters off Shanghai for Japanese shipping as escort carriers sent strikes against the China coast. Aside from an August visit to the Phil- ippine Islands, this was the ship's duty until V- J Day which brought the end to the war in the Pacific Theatre. The batt1ewagon's final assignment of World War II was to cover the landing of the 6th Army occupation troops at Wakanoura Wan, on the island of Honshu. With the USS Tennessee, she arrived in Japan on September 23, 1945 3 then, on October 3, 1945, the tow sisters moved to Yokosuka, where the USS Calyfornia CBB-441 berthed near the wreckage of the once-proud dreadnought Negato. Crew- men had the chance to look over the erst-while Imperial Navyis big base and do some sightseeing before their group got under way for Singapore a dozen days later. During the Japanese lull, Captain Brewer was succeeded by Captain Lunsford Y. Mason, Jr. From Singapore, the USS Calyfornia CBB-445 and here sister, the USS Tennessee, continued their long voyage, via Columbo and Capetown. Fi- 3. ,ff nally, after 15,000 miles, they rnoored sr. 'he Q i Q. Philadelphia Navy Yard on llecernher 7 if- 47 the fourth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor tack. The process of trirnrning the 1,5 Na: If down to postwar size required that wider. ,et useful, ships be assigned to Hrnothballsf' B, the summer of 1946, the USS California fBB- 441's last skipper, Commander Forrest N1 Price, who had succeeded Captain Mason ir, March, 1946, had preservation work well .ri hand. On August 7, 1946, the ship was placed in commisssion in reserve. Seven months later. on February 14, 1947, after guns and rnachinerj. were rust-proofed and water-proofed. the ensi gn of the 'fPr11ne Bargei' was hauled down for the last time as she was placed out of commission. The USS Calyfarnia CBB-441 remained the inactive reserve fleet for another tvvelue years. By then, time and technology had passed her by and, on March 1, 1959, her name was stricked from the Naval Vessel Register. On March 1 of that year, she was sold for scrap to the Boston Metal Company of Baltimore, Mary - land for S860,000. The veteran battlewagon ar- rived at the head of Chesapeake Bay the follow- ing March, 1960, under tow. There. after a few memontos were saved, she was completely bro- ken up by the end of summer, 1960. THE NUCLEAR GUIDED MISSILE CRUISER USS CALIFORNIA KCGN-36,1 The advantages of an all-nuclear carrier task force were demonstrated in 196-1 when. in '4Operation Sea Orbit, the USS Enterprise CCVAN-65J, USS Long Beach QCGN-91. and the USS Bainbridge CDLGN-251 circled the globe at full speed and without replenishment in FY 1967, two nuclear-povvered escorts were also approved, the lead ship to be named the USS Califimriu fCGN-36.1 fCl7Ill'fc'A1'Y QfHr1rnld Ruin. 1 I 'r cw sit.-j xlllx- 5