Columbus (CA 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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Tnother cruise with the Sixth Fleet has ended and material and pictures have been collected and compiled to make once again a Cruise Book for men of the COLUMBUS, who might wish some day to look back on this cruise as a happy one or to bring back memories of friends aboard or old shipmates. The Stewards play an important part in life aboard ship from their service of coffee to formal dinners and help to a large extent, In maintaining a taut ship. Our work started the day we left Boston to join units of the Atlantic Fleet headed for a combined allied operation called Mainbrace. Carrying on with our military and special duties, preparation was being made to receive the Supreme Allied Com- mander Atlantic, Admiral Lynde D. McCormick. Beside having aboard the Commander of the fleet, during Mainbrace, the wardroom was host to six American news correspondents and the pace of the Stewards never slackened due to the extra people to feed. The gentlemen of the press were made to feel at home and upon completion of the operation had nothing but high praise for the Stewards who made their stay a somewhat pleasant one. Before leaving the ship, Admiral McCormick honored the wardroom with his presence for dinner and remarked upon the splendid service. Duties of the Stewards does not stop at service in the wardroom country alone. Over half of the Stewards have their battle stations, some in repair parties, ammunition handlers and loaders on A. A. batteries. After Operation Mainbrace the COLUMBUS moved over to Lisbon, Portugal to join units of the powerful Sixth Fleet for a tour of four months. During Operation Longstep the COLUMBUS was called upon suddenly to embark the Sixth Fleet Commander, Admiral John Cassady, and staff. The Steward group like other departments throughout the ship was quite .unprepared. There was a few hours In between zero hour before embarkation and the COLUMBUS crew went to work making preparations to receive the Flag. The Admiral ' s Cabin and Chief of Staff along with other rooms had to be made and ready, towels, linen, blankets, etc. had to be issued. Upon arrival at embarkation point the Stewards were confronted with what seemed like tons of luggage, but thanks to the rest of the crew who helped that night, made our burden somewhat lighter. Having the flag officers eating In the wardroom presented us with many a problem but soon the smooth running of things was under way and right about here I ' d like to borrow the phrase so often used by our Marines — The situation was well in hand. The Stewards have high praise for the COLUMBUS and all will say It was a cruise worth remembering.

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i Mjri r- 1 ' • 1 ¥ if ' • ! ' • ,, . Tlthough the Tare Division is one of the smallest divisions on the ship, it is still one of the important cogs in the wheel it takes to run a Man-of-War. On these men ' s shoulders rests the responsibility of installing, servicing, and maintaining the ship ' s electronic gear. Under the able supervision and instruction of LT E. S. BAILEY, RELE C. E. hHORN, and E. L. MchHUGhH, division LPO, the division has strlved to keep the ship ' s electronic gear in proper working condition at all times. The division has been sub-divided Into three smaller groups to increase Its efficiency. The men in fire control, with the assistance of George LeMaire, service the radar equipments which are used in the directors to control the ship ' s gunfire from the mighty 8 down to the little 3 . The men in the communications gang stand watches in Radio II and are responsible for servicing and setting up the desired frequencies on all the radio transmitters and receivers. They must necessarily spend much time up on the masts, repairing the transmitting and receiving antennae. There have been quite a few changes in the communications personnel, but the gang operates quite smoothly with E. K. Francis in charge. Lastly, the search radar gang, headed by Ray Thompson, maintains the ship ' s navigating and early warning gear. They too, spend a lot of time swinging round on the masts servicing their radar antennas. The quartermasters on the signal bridge run for cover when an ET goes up the foremast. It seems a couple of our boys have dropped cans of oil and paint from the top of the mast without paying much attention as to what was below them. The electronics workshop is located between the soda fountain and the crew ' s lounge and houses all the heavy test equipment and Important publications. It is here that the men repair record players and radios for their ship-mates and align and service the TV sets that are placed around the ship when we ' re in the states. The main home of the division Is Radio II — that ' s where the coffee mess Is located! All of the rated men have graduated from the Navy Class A School for Electronics Technicians. The school, which Is thirty-six weeks long, starts with basic math and goes right up through most of the complicated electronic circuits.