Diphda (AKA 59) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 17 text:

Shortly after sighting the dis- tressed vessel, all last minute prep- arations were made for taking her in tow. We made our approach star- board side to, and when almost abeam of her it was easily seen that the Morning Light',s propeller was missing. A few moments later we passe-d our tow line to her, and she began retrieving it. We then gradually pulled ahead of her, and soon had the Morning Light in tow. That evening the seas increased and we could maintain only minimum headway. By the following morn-' ing, with very rough seas and the two ships rolling heavily, the tow line parted, and the Morning Light was again adrift. The DIPHDA took station in proximity to the Morning Light until an assisting fleet tug from Japan arrived. - Often times the unexpected arises, which alters the ship's normal routine. A good example of this occurred when, on a recent trip, the DIPHDA was directed by Commander Naval Forces Far East to as- sist a civilian ship, the S. S. MORNING LIGHT, which was in distress some nine hundred miles off. the coast of Japan. Upon receipt of this message, we were more than twe-lve hours steaming from the Morning Light's last reported position. Knowing that she had lost her propeller, we spent the re-mainder of the day making prepara- tions to take he-r in tow, once we had rendezvoused. Although we had the Morning Light in radio contact, by midnight we- still had not sighted her visually or picked her up on radar. Believing ourselves to be somewhere in the Morning Light's vicinity, we attempted vis- ual contact by shinning our 24 inch search lights on the low clouds. Finally at daybreak, we sighted her. A , , 1. wg if ' . ' , f Q L . . . , , , , . , , , , . .. . . . . . ... . , . , , , . , .. . , . , . , . , ii , . . , , . A . , ... , , . , . , .. , ii , .. , , . . , . , .. , ... . , , , . , . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . M . .. .. .. ., . ,......... .... . . . c We resumed our course for Japan, arriving in two and a half days.

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The Ship's organization anticipates a variety ot requirements. Our records and clerical work are main- tained by the ship's ottice, under the direction ot the Executive Otticer. A vital part ot a ship is its elec- trical shop, which maintains all electrical equipment in operating order. The Reel room is a space located in the after part ot the ship, in which mooring lines and underway replenishment equipment are stored on large spools.

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daisies Once in Yokosuka harbor, we anchored out for agricultural inspection before proceeding to the dock. Once there, the item of maior importance after more than two weeks at sea, was wordlfrom home. The mail ar- rived in several bags full, and took the mailman two hours to sort and deliver. The ship soon settled down to normal routine. The anchor was