Latimer (APA 152) - Naval Cruise Book

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More than anyone else, the electronics technicians are allied closely to the radiomen and the radarmen. Upon them falls the responsibility for the maintenance and repair uN. 0 A 1. if of all shipboard electronic equipment and other types of communication, detection, and ranging equipment employing electronic circuits. Far removed from any of the above ratings are the duties of the teleman. He opera- tes the ship's post oflice and serves as its mailman. On the Med cruise, he became the most popular individual aboard ship. In the pilothouse, on the bridge, in the charthouse -- any three places will harbor the quartermasters of NH Division as they check bearings and soundings and plot the course. Otherwise, they maintain the ship's navigational publications, charts and tables. if

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ship. Cloudy skies and cool temperatures greeted the LATIMER as it moored to the dock in Mers-el-Kabir, Africa, a small community located some five miles west of Oran. The date of arrival: I Ucto- ber 1954. For liberty, most sailors journeyed into Oran which offered many interesting sights: impressive mosques, veiled women, and tra- ditional or religious customs unlike those found in Western nations. With all its Arabic background, however, Oran possessed a pre- dominate French influence. Smart shops, modern restaurants, and beautiful women caught the scrutiny of all liberty hounds M. Yet visits to Oran usually exasperated even moderate temperaments, for the ever-present kids hounded every man in uniform for cigarettes or money. Even a tour to the headquarters of the French Foreign Legion at Sidi-bel-Abbes failed to offer complete escape from them. Consequently, some elation accompanied the ship's departure from Mers-el-Kabir on the morning of 7 Uctober 1954.