Hank (DD 702) - Naval Cruise Book

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Pas ha Palme r TI-IE MIDDLE EAST Leaving sunny Italy behind, the Hank made abrieffuelstop at Athens, then passed through the Suez Canal for a month in the yet sunnier Middle East. In an area where lOO degree-plus tempera- tures were the rule rather than the exception, the Hank men abandoned long trousers for tropical shorts and worked on a half-day basis to avoid the afternoon heat. First stop in the Middle East Was the British protectorate of Aden, just 600 miles north of the equator, for fuel and a brief shopping tour. The Hank steamed out of Adenharbor during the night, calling on the old fashioned lead line for soundings when the fathometerbroke down tempor- arily, and proceeded through the Arabian Sea to Bahrein Island in the Persian Gulf. A Aerial View of Suez Canal

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COLISEUM ST. PETERS VICT OR EMANUE L MONUMENT

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The monotony of the Hank's stay at Bah- rein was broken by shopping tours , beer parties , smokers aboard the ship, and a brief visit to Basra, Iraq. Going to Basra called for steam- ing 85 miles up the Shatt-al-Arab River, which is formed by the joining of the Tigris and Eup- hrates Rivers just above Basra. From Basra a few rugged individuals drove ten hours over a boiling desert to see the ancient city of Ur, while several archaelogically minded members of the crew journeyed to -Bagdad and Babylon. Returning from the Persian Gulf the Hank stop- ped at Massawa,Eritrea, for fuel and one night's liberty. lt was at Massawa that the thermo- meter finally soared above 130 degreest Four daysafter leaving Massawa the Hank was again in Mediterranean waters and the crew had glad- ly stowed away their shorts in favor of long pants . Y nnsuzwwfwfm-yffmiw ,.w,,rs-,,.w,ss r , 2 . r ,, . .. , .,