Galveston (CLG 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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- ,■, • ' . ? I 1 fl P ' :?!fc: USS GALVESTON (CLG3) is something of a rarity in the Pacific Fleet--the guided missile Hght cruiser has spent ahnost as much time in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters as she has in the Western Pacific since moving to San Diego in 1962. The cruiser that just can ' t stay away from the Atlantic returned November 9, 1969, from her second tour with the U.S. Si.xth Fleet in the Mediterranean. In her return from the Atlantic, she transitted the Panama Canal for the fifth time since she was commissioned in 1958 at Philadelphia. It was a bright, clear spring morning in San Diego on April 9, just over two months from the day she returned from an abbreviated WESTPAC cruise, when (;. ' FVESTON took in all lines and got underway for the first leg of her journey to the Mediterranean and the second part of a two-ocean cruise. After transitting the Panama Canal the ship paid a weekend visit to her namesake city, Galveston, Te.xas, then stopped briefly in Norfolk, Virginia, to embark Commander Cruiser Destroyer Motilla Eight and his staff. The ship served as flagship for the flotilla and Task Group 60.2 during her stay in the Mediterranean. GALVESTON served as another kind of flag- ship, too. Designated the official Mediterra- nean flagship of San Diego ' s 2()0th anniver- sary celebration, she displayed the yellow and orange flag of the city ' s bicentennial on her quarterdeck in every port she visited. Special plaques, combining GALVESTON ' s seal with the San Diego 2()0th crest, were presented to the mayors of American and Spanish cities GALVESTON visited. While on loan to the Si.xth Meet in the Mediterranean, GALVESTON visited ports in six countries giving her crew of about

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The guided missile cruiser GALVESTON is the third American fighting ship to carry the name of the Texas Gulfcoast port city. The first GALVESTON was a wooden brig built in Baltimore in 1840 for the Texas Navy. She was 110 feet long and carried 14 cannon. The two-masted sailifig ship saw action during Texas ' war with Mexico, engag- ing sailing ships and steam vessels of the Mexican Navy and making sorties and landings along the Mexican coast. Often the Mexicans had larger guns, 42 pounders in some cases, as well as the first explosive shot as opposed to the older solid shot. The steam vessels had a large maneuver- ing advantage over the older sailing ship. Despite these disadvantages, GALVESTON always got the best of her opponeyUs. In 1846 GALVESTON became part of the U.S. Navy. In 1848, after having her name changed, she was sold for $400,000. The second GALVESTON was a third class cruiser built in 1903. The small cruiser (pictured here) saw duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and was part of the U.S. Navy in World War I. At various times she was employed as a convoy escort ship or a: a part of the old China Fleet. H T

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1,000 officers and men the opportunity to contrast the rehcs of old Greece with modern downtown Athens; to enjoy the sun and sand of the French Riviera at Villefranche; or to sightsee in Barcelona, Spain. Galvestonians mingled with tourists from almost every Western European country while they were in Palma, Mallorca, and they also toured the historical island of Malta. Naples and Taranto were the Italian ports on GAL- VESTON ' S itinerary, and many crewmembers took advantage of Naples ' proximity to Rome by visiting the Eternal City.