Henley (DD 762) - Naval Cruise Book

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HISTORY of the CRUISE The HENLEY had its ups and downs during the cruise. The crew worked hard during the pre-cruise period, and the trip across wiped out much of the work. Heavy weather was prevalent almost doily. On the way across the HENLEY distinguished itself by picking up Seamon Patters who had fallen overboard from the Albany. The HENLEY had some hard luck in losing its refueling tripod on the after station. We spent Christmas in Toulon, entertained some orphans, and started our many goodwill pro- jects, and athletic season. Through the whole trip our athletic teams shone and our goodwill projects gained many friends. Tarragonafor example was highlighted with goodwill. A Spanish General inspected both the HENLEY end Goodrich. In Tarragona we also had our smashing ships party. There were many good tours to be had during the Med trip. Ones that drew the most were ski tours, the Munich tour, the Paris tour and the Rome tour. The cruise ended in a successful notewiththe HENLEY the Shangn- La ' s shadowi picking up LTJG Henning. The last important event of the cruise was the change of command ceremony with Cdr. Sigler relieving Cdr. White. The trip back was easier for on the end was our home port, Norfolk.

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U.S.S. HENLEY (DD 762) The USS HENLEY is a summer (DD 762) class destroyer named in honor of Captain Robert Henley, U.S. Navy, who first saw action while serving in Constellation as a midshipman in 1800, during the Quasi War with France. Captain Henley is most renowned, however, for his part in the decisive battle on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. As Commanding Officer of the Brig Eagle, he was second in command of the American Forces. For this action he received a vote of thanks and a gold medal from congress. The present HENLEY is the third to bear the name. The first one was scrapped in 1934 in ac- cordance with the terms of the London Treaty on Naval Disarmament. The second ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine at New Guinea after winning Battle Stars at Midway, Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the Savo Islands. The present HENLEY ' s keel was laid down in 1944 and commissioned in October 1946. In March of 1950 she was inactivated and placed in mothballs , but at the outbreak of War in Korea, less than six months later, she was reactivated and again placed in commission. To a great extent the voyagesof the present HENLEY reflect the world wide committments ossum- med by the United States. Since the second World War. The friendly HENLEY has deployed eight times to the Mediterranean to act as part of the Sixth Fleet, three times to the Middle East, four times to the waters of Northern Europe and once to Artie Waters -in order to test equipment under extremely low temperatures. Also once through the Great Lakes as far as Chicago. And all of these operations were in addition to a round the world cruise of 47,000 miles land 218 days) undertaken by HENLEY in 1953 to join U. S. Naval Forces in the Far East. The HENLEY has a displacement of about 3000 tons, a length of 376 feet, a beam of 41 feet, and a navigation draft of nearly 20 feet. She is powered by four oil fired boilers and two sets of tur- bines driving two 4-bladed screws, and steared by twin rudders. There ore six 5 38 caliber guns in 3 mounts, and four 3 50 calibre anti-air craft guns in 2 mounts. There are six mm 32 torpedo tubes capable of firing either the MK43 or MK44 A S HOMING TORPEDOES. In addition their are two MKl 1 hedge hog mounts and finally a rack of depth charges on the fantail. HENLEY is considered to be a General Purpose Destroyer , capable of anti-submarine, anti- aircraft, and shore bombardment operations, able to respond quickly in any naval situation.

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CAPTAIN WHITE Commander Allan E. White, United States Navy, was born in Plattsmonth, Nebraska on 26 Sep- tember 1921. After attending public school in Plattsmonth he attended Tarkio College Tarkio, Missouri one year before entering the U. S. Naval Academy in June 1942. After graduation from the Naval Academy in June 1945 as a member of the class of 1946, Ensign White attended Mine Warfare School at Yorktown, Virginia and upon completion of this course of instruction he reported to U.S.S. YMS-433 in the Pacific for duty as Minesweeping and Engineering Officer. In July 1946 Ensign White reported aboard U.S.S. Maddox ' DD-731 i in Tsingtao, China for the first of his several tours in destroyers. This was followed in 1948 with duty on U.S.S. Rogers DD 876 ' . Having been selected for Post Graduate study in the field of Naval Intelligence, Ltjg White commenced his course of study at the Naval Intelligence School Anocostia, D. C. in January 51 finish- ing in December 51 . From Intelligence School he reported to the office of Chief of Naval Operations for duty in the Technical Section of the Off ice of Naval Intelligence where he served until March ' 53. In June of that year he reported to the Supervisor of Naval Shipbuilding at Quincy, Massachu- setts for duty in connection with the building and fitting out of U.S.S. Wilkinson 01-5). Leaving Wilkinson in June 1955, Lt. White reported to Commander Second Fleet as Aide and Flag Secretary, in which capacity he served for two and one half years. A tour of duty as Executive Officer of U.S.S. McCard 06-822! was followed by a year ' s study at the Naval War College as a student in the Command and Staff Course. This was followed by a tour as Force Intelligence Officer on the Staff of Commander Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. On June 27, 1 962 Cdr. White assumed command of U.S.S. Damato lDD-871 I where he served until 1 April 1963 when Damato entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for conversion. He assumed command of HENLEY in April 1963 and was relieved toward the end of this pre- sent cruise. He will assume command of U.S.S. Daihgren lDLG-12l in June 1964.