Fitch (DMS 25) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 16 text:

-- in-- i I - ..,-... A 4 S ' Q if n-1 s .'F 1 X A V' .. :Z -T I f 4 QV 'x , O o N, 0 I I I NS il M! Nf xr V we si 9 x Sr ir ' I . . .,, , . I I L Wk , r , ' 'W as 0 0 F O o '- ,- iz : f i 151 1 Q 5 'lf 1 xl sr ' -5115 5- .hu sf V :If-. . ,- J :ass 1 ff, ' :-':.':'- - N' :fxa f' ' ' 5 o'G'.4l All ,,,,,. Sim-Q ,,- , 1 --' - 1 vw.. 1 K, ffl- - i:i'S 'sf' ov-If I-1 v IS...-Sf -5- --, 5:2314 k W. 'asa if V .-,-.-J, gg! -'PG' sh '- C --03,1-'J'-V s :-.fm 4-zxzvf' ,' f. , 1' . wg?-. m L, if .ff-I Ii. 1 A ff' Yxfff 5 ' PI 5, i ,J ,. N ., l'1f'k: x '51 , '4 1 ,j f M ,f ' - .rf 1' 4 e2-'ikrizt I ffiff-ref -, -. , gal: .ff , ,c-Qfg.. - -, -f,. 15-W ng - it yi - ,. ,, gyvf 5-5 'fa A L . '- ., -,-.11-Vi ,,f . iw -if 1 1 -ff '. Q , .-IV .1 ,: 'W . - II '-DQ' :TTT ' .- my I. - vu 4fe,f: re. s:-4 , vm 42,1 -1,2--,.E'1 1, if 'Q D -'MP -i .I 1, 17,2 September and October of 1947 found the FITCH operating along the Atlantic coast, training prospective Mine Force Officers and engaging in maneuvers with submarines of the Atlantic Fleet. It was while the ship was in the Naval Shipyard at Charleston that a skeleton crew was assigned, Commander T. A. GREGG assumed command, and certain structural changes made and new equipment added to inl- crease the vessells fighting efficiency. In Ianuary, 1949, having been molded into a well-coordinated team on a freshly painted ship, the FITCH set sail for the Mediterranean Sea to take part in fleet exercises, After visiting such ports as Gibraltar, Golfe fuan, Malta, and Naples, the FITCH sailed for home in April. In Iuly, Commander R. H. BUCK- LEY took command and, in September, the FITCH left Norfolk for fleet exercises in the rough North Atlantic. On the 15 of fuly, 1950, the FITCH once again saw a change of command with Commander G. A. WOLF relieving Commander BUCKLEY. Shortly after, while plane guarding ojf facksonville, Florida, the Fabulous FITCH once again made news by rescuing a pilot off the escort carrier USS CABOT, who had crashed during flight operations On March 20th, 1951, with an intensive period of refresher training behind her, the FITCH left Charleston and headed east across the Atlantic for fleet exer- cises in the Mediterranean Sea. During this cruise, the longest made by the FITCH in peacetime, she visited such ports as Phillippeville, Monaco, Naples, Taranto, Palermo, Athens, Genoa, Trieste, Cannes, Le Spezia, and Gibraltar, On the 18th of August, while in Taranto, Italy, Commander WOLF was relieved by Lieutenant Commander B. H. BRITTIN, former member of the United States Naval Mission to Turkey. After returning from this cruise, the FITCH underwent an upkeep period 1 'I I f Il L.. A 'E fy- ' 1 -sw, .L -I 1- 1 5 if ? .Jh- 5 ,' -1 W E' ZF .f i I -1 .n 1- .L-. -:rr '4- s if fl. at 1, 5 . xi I' R 95 :Si .1. -1 I in Charleston. Following this yard period came several simulated wartime exer- cises with units of the Atlantic Fleet, the second of which took her to the Panama If,- Canal Zone and gave all hands an excellent chance to develop deep tans. Back from the Canal Zone in March of 1952, the FITCH spent several weeks in Charles- ton undergoing minor repairs and left for the U. S. Naval Mine Countermeasures -- Station, Panama City, Florida, where she took part in testing of experimental F torpedo evading devices being developed by the Navy. Back from Panama City in Iune, the crew and officers of the FITCH got a small taste of shore duty as the ship went into the Charleston Naval Shipyard for a major overhaul period. In September, her sea trials behind her, the FITCH set sail for Refresher Training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. During this cruise, on November 24, Lieutenant Commander William E. UNDERWOOD reported aboard, 'I I fresh from the U. S. Naval Ordnance Unit, Key West, Florida and, on 8 December the FITCH, now in Charelston for the holidays, saw another change of command ceremony as Commander BRITTIN was formally relieved by Lieutenant Com- mander UNDERWOOD. ,f . kascubauuz W wi V 1 , I pl. Xu I A 'ff--',, , , - I f 1 'yi' V Wu' Pe'-L.-Ziisif ' ' L- ,. ,- ',' ,' I I V' 'f-hf-':,-f'- QA' If: ttf- -W -' ff Y A ff I2 1' 5 .-:E 5,5 WX .1 LF .lk

Page 15 text:

1 -qi v y '4 NINI Sri' sr ew. s.-uv v ic.. si VN.. 'r ., Q. I . xiii- iff ' i . X X A cg xi A . f,x , . G 25' .54 v fi? 1 .55 ' f K 'gm -mf X 3'- ' 4: 1- . V115 22 1:-ul ..-Ia ..,..x gf... . x -- . 5. 1 91,-, l , . Egg. 'IH' 12 , . .,,L K .,. ' . -x ga. . -gs .. , C u. 'J ...G ,. -.2-' 4 -1 L. , JL, 2 . 1:41 4' J ' !. -1 iii. -4- Vx . W' t.- Q . .. ,. '11- fl, ,. -at si'- -eq.. if 0 F ' -I 5 12 ., Q 1.2- 5' l Q . YR? . . 45.39 ml . .,.,., 1 2-gp 5217 wiv 13111. 5 vi Na? Q, ' V 74 . , egg A155 A 4 ' ---f . 2 jg' Y, .- ' 1, , .1 J' L 'QF' fy Jw.. 1 :lg Ii? .. , . ,n. In the next two hours, the FITCH, like a skilled bantam weight, weaved in and out, making over two hundred speed 'hanges to avoid enemy- fire while showering on the enemy over eighty percent of her ammunition. Then, disaster struck and the gallant little ship got a chance to show her grit. The CORRY, astern of the FITCH struck a mine, and, her' engine spaces flooded, she began to settle. Wheeling about, the FITCH dashed to the aid of the stricken comrade ship before the enemy guns could get the range of the crippled sitting duckn. Two hundred and twenty three survivors were taken aboard. As a result of those few minutes of selfless heroism, several special comlmendations were later received. But much more important to the crew and officers of the FITCH was the thought of the lives of the men who had been saved. As each invasion was undertaken by the Allies, the need for High Speed Minesweepers became more and more obvious. On 15 November 1944, the FITCH, who, along with many ships of her class, had been converted into a Destroyer Minef- sweeper, had her designation changed from DD 462 to DMS 25, By 3 January, 1945, all changes and trials were completed and the old veteran but new mine- sweeper was assigned to Mine Division 58, and with Commander Ennis W. TAYLOR in command, left the United States, bound for Pearl Harbor. Slated ,for duty with the Pacific Fleet in its struggle with the Iapanese Air Force of Okinawa, the FITCH was sidetracked by fate. While practice sweeping off Ulithe, she ran afoul of a coral pinnacle and was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. On the tenth of August 1945, with repairs completed, the new minesweeper, with Lieutenant Commander R. H. THOMAS on the bridge, set out for the forward area, only to learn of the cessation of hostilities against Iapan. But the work of the sweepers of the Mine Force had only begun. On the twenty eighth of August, sweep- ing was commenced on the mine field at Okinoyoma Bank, at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. It was here that the FITCH had the honor of being the first ship of the Bristol class to sweep an enemy mine, later being present at the ceremonies as General Douglas MacArthur received the unconditional surrender of the Iapanese Empire aboard the USS MISSOURI. In December of 1945, the FITCH further distinguished herself by setting a record for mines swept in one day,s operation, bagging 275 of the total of 1,040 cut by the five' ships of her division. With thoughts of home calling just over the horizon, the FITCH steamed out of Sasebo, Iapan, bound for the United States and her first nstatesiden Christmas. After spend- ing the holidays in San Diego, a trip through the Big Ditch to Norfolk for demobilization and rehabilitation of the crew. By March, 1946, nearly a full peacetime crew had been assembled and the next weeks were spent in performing target towing tests for the bureau of Ships. May, Iune, and .Iuly went by quickly in -operations between the Atlantic ports of Norfolk, New York, and Charleston. After finally settling in Charleston, South Carolina in November, she made a short trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and back to Charleston for the Christmas holidays. During the fleet maneuvers, early in 1947, the veteran minesweeper once again proved her worth by sharing top honors in total mines cut with only one other vessel of her class. -in--.. ,.- I' . -9 I 2?-l fi I' 155' X. . 1 . , wil . Q if 3 1 af' A fri 1.-A 1 2? ef 755. gift Q 24,5 'Hui ng aw: ?'L.'1??' iF' X.. C12 I 317: ,. High 5522 1 W. .. I ., ' we T32 iafkilj 'TEH n - :gf 1 1 1 ' ' ' fp i. 5? 5 lf!! ' .115-I tit. 1-1 . wi' 'ig-slr .xI',lq. Q 53'f ' sts, 3,4 1 '7 is . ,gf .- '23, .- wh: - -r If ff? 1, .Vai E 2 -1 I -'fu' -1 , M, ,' . .. ,gg . ,P J ..Yf:. IW' . L. E J' l EE , J X O 0 O O L73 xrurv- g,-'lv' if bf 3 See, Srsr-I S27 O 0 D Q 0 0 334 W Nia! 0 0 0 if Jes 'H N ' ' ii' i..ii Y ' l 14

Page 17 text:

I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I F Doclcside in Algiers I - - ,I ff ,,.. x3gZ::2.:. 7 ,,1,W7'n l,q , li-..s. r,-M I I I , A ,, f .A E. uw! , fag f 'f p 3.:'.:.?W,5f, '- 4 II X .' gs N f ' ' I , 'L X AR 'I ff , X I , x' f 1 , LLC' ' May7-May9 I X' l f ,,, - -'f' 2 Kasbah means walled city, but it held far more meaning than that to each of X u 0 4 - XX X' fi X XX us as we steamed into Al iers that Thursda mornin the seventh of Ma . It meant 17, ,- , Y 44 I Q adventure and the romance of far away places we'd heard of in songs and movies, and ji X- X A. even more it meant a welcome relief from two weeks of stead steamin and one fn' ' Q' X , f A521 I XX X xg in three watches. il' If ' Ay- X lg A tour was arranged and we found the real Kasbah to be a wretched cesspool 1 If Zi I 57,1 l .. I , .', H--.-. ,I -, Y ,, Ui: it if 5-9 if nga. iffsx- f J' IJ III ! Xa X M . 1' XXIJJWKZZL :If gg x ig iF'4lffa -t EI M fXxNi I Hush' X fl XXX 1, jj? twrg3?: L ilmmllll Z lx I, ' I X IQI - Ig f IX . J I H X of humanity but never-the-less exciting and different. Its tortuous streets and treacherous population, the windowless houses and steep stairways suggested that we had stepped three hundred years into the past. Of course all of Algiers was fascinatingg the veiled Moslem women who believe it indecent to show their faces to any but their own familyg the Moslem men in their crazyH red fezesg the ragged, predatory kids with their international catch phrase, Hey Joe, you got ceegaret? g and the Arabs who seem to delight in winding their dirty linen about their heads to form turbans. One of the best hotels in Algiers is the Aletti, which provided us a popular gathering spot, serving good food, good-drinks, and good music. Then there were other gathering spots like the Sphinx and the Rainbow which failed to favor the patron with good food, music and drinks, but nevertheless had certain 'fattractions . One of the most beautiful places in Algiers is the Botanical Gardens, laid out in Moslem Women 'elf First Tour - In the experi- mental gardens 44 classic French style and displaying many strange trees and exotic flowers. For those that took the all day tour, the Lunch at Monkey Brooke Inn was a memorable occasion. Though the steaks we had, demonstrated the durability of Algerian leather, the setting was exquisite. Cradled in the rugged Gorges of Chiffa, the Inn provided general mess for the monkeys in the area. Most enjoyable of all probably was just casual walking around the town, stopping at a bar here and there, and haggling with a shopkeeper there and here. And we all took a French lesson: V00-LAY VOO DAHN-SAY A VEK MWAH?