Dayton (CL 105) - Naval Cruise Book

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U. S. S. DAYTON, CL-105 The U. S. S. Dayton, a light cruiser of 10,000 tons, was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jer- sey, and is the first ship in the United States Navy to bear this name. Her construction was underwritten by the citizens of the City of Dayton, Ohio, through the purchase of War Bonds. The people of Dayton have shown great pride in the construc- tion and outfitting of this new ship. A delegation of citizens and publicofficials attended the launching 19 March 1944 and the commissioning 7 January 1945 and took part in the programs on these occasions. Contributions from the City of Dayton to the ship's equipment and facilities have been many and varied. Prominent among these gifts are a silver tea service and a pic- torial portfolio describing the city, both of which are on display aboard the ship. The Dayton followed the usual pattern for all ships newly com- missioned and after a month of learning the ship and getting stores aboard she headed for sea for the first time-destination Trinidad. Many of the crew were just as new at riding the sea as the Dayton and went through the usual initiation extracted of those who follow the deep. s Six weeks were spent in this area of sunshine and blue skies. Six weeks of toil and strain, day and night, six weeks of gun firing and drill at all hours, but when the honeymoon was over we were one powerful fighting unit. An interlude of one month was spent in the Philadelphia Navy Yard where the Dayton received minor repairs and alterations. All hands enjoyed seven days leave before heading for the Pacific and joining the Third Fleet. On 23 April 1945 the Dayton departed from Philadelphia and steamed out of the Chesapeake for her destination-Tokyo. The first step was Guantanimo Bay, Cuba, for one night. The next one night stand was at Colon on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal where those who rated liberty were introduced to the spices of Panama. The 15th of May the Dayton steamed into Pearl Harbor, from which base we operated while passing the tests required by the Pacific Fleet before becoming one of its members. After getting the green light from Commander Cruisers Division Pacific Fleet we sailed westward-stopping briefly at Ulithi. We joined the Third Fleet at Leyte, Samar Gulf. Two weeks were spent in getting the shipready for our first strike at the Japs. On 1 July 1945 the Third Fleet departed for strikes along the Japanese coast. Little did we know this would be the Third Fleet's last campaign against japan and our only one. During our 72 days at sea we operated with two task forces -depending on the job to be done. Most of our time was spent with the fast carrier group. When given the job of bombarding shore installations at Muro- ran and Hitiachi, the Dayton joined such ships as the Wisconsin, Missouri and I owa. A special bombardment of Cruiser Division 18 consisting of the Dayton, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Topeka steamed into No- jima Straits and had their field day. This was a few days prior to the sudden ending of the war. After 72 days at sea the Dayton steamed into Tokyo Bay. Five days later after a fleeting glance at Yokohama and Tokyo we headed for Eniwetok where two weeks of repairs brought the ship back to a peak condition. We returned to the Tokyo area for occupation duty and remained a month. On 7 November 1945 we headed for San Pedro via the Great Circle route and after a rough, cold trip the Dayton was wel- comed back to the United States by a Navy band and Hollywood entertainers. The first leave party left for thirty days leave the following day. I . v. TN- ,. ..-

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CAPTAIN PAUL W. STEINHAGEN, USN January 1945 to December 1945 WX