John McCain (DL 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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3 VICE ADMIRAL JOHN S. MC CAIN :inf fmwvf--1-fr-f+b.f Xf,- - v------Y - -

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C . H 11 E Vi C E E sm Il ' L WESTERN PACIFIC CRUISE x QE uss JQHN S. MCL CAIN DL-3 MARCH I96I-SEPTEMBER !96l 4-jERUSADER EOR PEACE? i 3 'Sb -I gl

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iw is I BUREAU o HlP's HISTORY USS JOHN S. MC CAN DL-3 The USS JOHN S. MC CAIN lDL-31 is the second ship of the MITSCHER frigate class and was constructed by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine. She was launched on 12 July 1952, and commissioned on 12 October 1953. The ship is named for Vice Admiral John S. McCain of whom Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal said, Admiral McCain's conception of the aggressive use of fast carriers as the principal instrument for bringing about the quick reduction of Japan's defensive capabilities was one of the basic forces in the evolution of Naval strategy in the Pacific War . . The USS JOHN S. MC CAIN is one of the five largest gunned destroyer type ships ever built in the United States and in the world. She is bigger and has greater fire power than some ships rated as light cruisers in other countries. Her cost S29,000,000, exclusive of armament. She is specifically constructed as a heavy weather, long- range fleet destroyer type equipped for both anti-air and anti-submarine warfare. The latest surface, underwater and anti-air weapons fwith the exception of anti-air guided missilesl are aboard. Her propelling machinery, of light weight, includes many advanced engineering features not previously installed in fighting ships and produce speeds in excess of 35 knots. MC CAIN numbers among her ports of call, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Kingston, Jamaica, Panama, LimafCallao, Peru, Buenaventura, Columbia, Hilo, Hawaii, Boco-co, Pescadores, Hong Kong, Subic Bay and Cebu City, Philippines, Buckner Bay and Naha, Okinawa, Yokosuka, Sasebo, and Kobe, Japan, Calcutta, India, Rangoon, Burma, Singapore, Guam and Midway. During the Formosa crisis in the summer of 1958, MC CAIN was assigned patrol and convoy escort duties in the Quemoy area of the Taiwan Straits while the island was under fire from Communislt guns on the mainland. In December 1958, MC CAIN was part of a Seventh Fleet Task Group which aded the victims of a fire that ravaged the town of Koniya on the island of Amami Oshima. In October 1959, she carried anti-biotics, donated food, and raised over S 1,000 for flood victims in the Bengal-Orissa lowlands outlying Calcutta, India. In January 1960, the ship rescued the entire 41 man crew of the sinking Japanese freighter SHINWA MARU in heavy seas in the East China Sea. Hoshin Nakamura of Naha, Okinawa is currently attending the University of Hawaii under the auspices of a scholarship funded entirely on a continuing basis by MC CAIN's crew. On 25 February 1960, after a 6 month goodwill tour in WESTPAC, MC CAIN returned to Hawaii and on 15 March she entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to begin a 54.5 million dollar overhaul. The major change to MC CAlN's silhouette was effected with the installation of Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopters QDASHI facilities-a platform landing deck and a hangar to house two of the small pilotless craft. Other alterations included: A new sonar dome three times larger than the old one, two new improved radar antennas, and complete remodeling and enlargement of the Combat Information Center CCIC1. These changes all helped to make MC CAIN one of the most modern anti-submarine warfare ships in the Pacific Fleet. MC CAIN was the receipient of the Commander Cruiser Destroyer Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Battle Efficiency Award for 1959. This marked the second time a frigate had been so recognized. In 1960, MC CAIN received the third battle efficiency pennant ever to be awarded a frigate and became' the first frigate ever to receive the award twice. MC CAIN is the only ship in the Destroyer Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, in which both Operations and Engineering Departments are holders of 1960 departmental excellence awards. The after anti-aircraft director, the forward 5 f54 caliber gun mount and the 3 f70 caliber gun mount also are recipients of efficiency awards. MC CAIN is the flagship of Commander Destroyer Flotilla FIVE, and is homeported in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is her home yard. This book is a picture history of her fourth tour to the Far East as a unit of the Seventh Fleet. I