Columbus (CA 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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Newspapers were filled with stories of the impending exercises and carried many pictures of American sailors seeing the sights of Glasgow. One paper quoted a taxi driver as saying that, They must have learned about English money from their wartime brothers. The tips are good but nothing like during the war. The city ' s dance halls were jammed and reported their biggest nights since the war. It was a wonderful opportunity for relaxation fol- lowing the many days we had spent at sea after leaving the states. And it gave us an equally good opportunity to get in shape for the then forthcoming Operation Mainbrace . After leaving Helensburgh on 13 September, we steamed into the North Atlantic and headed for the northwest coast of Norway. It was our job, as a unit of the Blue armada, to find the Orange naval force. This was Operation Mainbrace , the largest joint naval exercise ever held. The navies of Britain, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand and the U.S. utilized the services of 85,000 men and 160 ships in waging the maneuvers over an area of a half million square miles. One of the highlights of the exercises was the mythical sinking of an enemy raider, the HMCS QUEBEC, by the COLUMBUS. Even though the QUEBEC tried to pose as a friendly ship by using radio code employed by the Blue forces, Captain Campbell received a well done for his keen judgment in disregarding the trick and for the subsequent sinking. The operation carried us north of the Arctic Circle, into the Royal Domain of the Polar Bear, and that made each of us a member of the Order of Bluenoses. But as it turned out, our noses hadn ' t even begun to turn blue. We kept going until we reached a point about 1300 miles from the North Pole before returning to Rosyth, Scotland, to embark Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, USN, Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. Low Bridge Chimney Tops

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SCOTLAND ' Ts the music of the ship ' s band drifted across the har- bor, the COLUMBUS slipped from its berth In Boston ' s Charlestown Navy Yard and began its fourth European cruise. The date was 25 August 1952. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining brightly and hardly a cloud in sight. And that ' s the way it stayed during most of the 16-day trip across the Atlantic. Our first port of call was hielensburgh, Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde, where an immense NATO fleet was anchored in preparation for the forthcoming Operation Mainbrace . As we first passed through the colorful banks fringing the Clyde, ' twas mony on eye cauld nae belyve wha thy saw . The flowing landscape of Bonnie Scotland , with her massive forests and proud castles looming out at intervals high above the stately pines, was truly impressive. Near hielensburgh, the banks of the Clyde recede and form a large bay. A major portion of our task force pro- ceeded to their respective anchorages there and dropped anchor. COLUMBUS sailors found the town to be a scenic little resort with tree-lined streets and picturesque churches and homes. hlowever, a majority of the crew traveled to Glasgow for liberty, a distance of 21 miles. That city ' s mighty ship- yard, its throngs of people, busy shops and hum of am- bitious industry all lent an air of greatness and purpose. The ruddy complexions of the pretty lassies reflected the healthy consequence of Scottish air and the men wore countenances of rugged rural vitality: yet, these were city folk. English, naturally, is the native language of the Scots but the thick accent the people possess gave many sailors a bad time. The people were cordial, though, and wel- comed us warmly. Edinborough Castle

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NORWAY Tfter embarking SACLANT at Rosyth. we returned to Malnbrace to spend the re- maining five days of the operation before proceeding to Oslo. Norway. The flagships WISCONSIN, MT OLYMPUS. SALERNO BAY. and hIMS EAGLE were present at Oslo and NATO leaders held conferences aboard them to talk over the recently completed exercise. Even though it rained almost every day we were there, the crew enjoyed the visit to Norway a great deal. The trip up the Oslo Fjord (pronounced fiord) was an experience that will be hard to forget. Its shores, lined with rocky cliffs interspersed with sheltered bays and stretches of level land, reflect the rugged beauty of the entire country. The 80- mile trip from the Skaggerak to Oslo, at the head of the fjord, took about six hours and every minute on deck that morning was an enjoyable one for salt and boot alike. Even though we anchored over three miles from the fleet landing, the liberty hounds throughout the visit. The first thing to catch the eye of the lens jockeys when they hit the beach was the magnificent new town hall building on the waterfront. In contrast to some ports, the waterfront in Oslo is not an undesir- able area. In fact, some of its better shops and businesses are located on Radhuset, near the town hall. That building, a handsome 13-story affair, covers a full city block and is a veritable museum of modern Norwegian arts and crafts. Cast in concrete and covered with a veneer of hand-moulded brick, its exterior is richly ornamented with detail work, bas-relief and statuary in hewn stone. Twenty years, including the period of the German occupation, were required to complete the structure. A large percentage of the people spoke English well so it was not hard to find such points of interest as the Viking ships, used by Leif Erikson and other explorers over 1000 years ago; Kon-Tiki Museum, where the balsa raft used in 1947 to make the historic 4300 mile trip across the Pacific is on display: Frogner Park, where sculptural project of one man Aerial View oi Oslo