Essex (CVS 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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3 lf l ll 1 5 ,, Q i 5 v l il li , l if l Arnmo working party X Q 57 Y :i Ss 1 I i , l , il I i A crane.. .a net . . . and old fashioned muscle , 4 No room on the hangar deck . . . take it back! Whee, this slide is slippery! . ' 19

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yi? .f , - M, Q. 4 4.f,.: f Our home away from home ...And then came the time for goodbyes, as ESSEX left her New England home and turned to Norfolk. . . and east It was October 23rd and ESSEX lay at Pier Twelve, completing the final stages of preparation for her long journey to the North Atlantic. It was a time of loading... aircraft, cartons and crates, the endless supplies that would be needed to sustain this floating airbase called ESSEX. The last goodbyes, a last phone call, and it was time to leave behind all we called home. On the second day out of Norfolk, we joined with other units of the Sec- ond Fleet in an all-out Naval demonstration for a V.l.P. audience . . . including Attorney General Kennedy, Secre- tary of the Navy Connally and Assistant White, and Ad- mirals Anderson and Taylor. With ceremony and show behind, we embarked on a pleasant southern crossing l f l l i l l which brought us to Southampton, England, on Novem- l ber 7th. An S2F comes aboard . . . the easy way. i fl

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Lv .. f1.,. ' ' .' ' ' -.. ' Y - Change of Command l l Welcome Aboard! g To enliven her crossing, ESSEX had her change of command while underway. ln an impressive ceremony on the flight deck, Captain G. S. Bogart relieved Captain S. S. Searcy of command of the carrier. Captain Bogart flew aboard to take command as ESSEX prepared for her North European deployment while crossing the Atlantic.