Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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:Sli LN. l 4 11228 HELLO LOCUST EMERGENCY TURN 500 EMERGENCY TURN 500 ' THIS IS STORK MAKE IT LEFT MAKE IT LEFT EXECUTE p EXECUTE ANTONIO ACKNOWLEDGE 11229 BOGIES NOW o2o S AND 270 6 AND 110 7 S CLOSING SAINT JO OUT ANOTHER PLANE COMING IN ON STARBOARD BOW 6 MILES SAINT JO OUT Our own radar reports enemy planes coming in low on port bow. I 11230 HELLO BEAGLE HELLO EXECUTE T0 FOLLOW BREAK TANGO ROGER BEAGLE THIS IS STORK PLUS 10 I SAY AGAIN EXECUTE TO FOLLOW TANGO ROGER PLUS 10 STAND BY EXECUTE CANEBRAKE DURANGO ACKNOWLEDGE OVER THIS IS CANEBRAKE WILCO OUT HELLO STORK THIS IS WILCO OUT DURANGO BOGIE NOW CROSSING AHEAD 080 6 MILES SAINT JO OUT I 11:51 Our five inch guns fire at two to four planes reported approaching from starboard bowg our 40 mm guns just below the bridge open up, their tracer shells suddenly illuminate the under side of a lap plane as it banks sharply to the right and gets away without being l 3 hit . . . that lap was too close . . . I am holding my breath . . . our guns stop firing ' . . . we are swinging under a full right rudder . . . BRRUUMMMMMMMPH. . . . The Lexington gives a thumping bounce followed by violent up and down whipping movements along the full length of the ship. MATTAPAN THIS IS MASooT DID You RECEIVE FRoLIo'S LAST TRANSMISSION OVER . HELLo STORK IS HANCOCK HIT BY TORPEDO. HAVE LOST STEERING T THIS Q CONTROL. OVER. l 1 5 1 3 ? A l v S 127

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11:25 11:25 at the enemy at a moment when his closeness blows a cold chill down your back. The flares burn out one after another. What a relief! The immediate attack I expect isn't taking placeg maybe they've overdone it-adding the light of the Hates to the moonlight may have cross-lit and confused the picture for them instead of clarifying it. The quartermaster makes an entry on the log sheet. I-Ie holds a red-filtered flashlight close to the paper, its lens masked down to a narrow slit gives the minimum light necessary to see the words as he puts them down. Commands for changes in our course are steadily coming over the TBS from the Hag- ship. The helmsmen swing the rudder for the evasive zigzag twists and turns. These maneuvers are diagramed by the moonlight coming in through the open hatches and portholes of the wheel-house. The probing shafts of light violate the anonymity of shadowsg in the manner of a slow-motion movie film they lugubriously creep and slide along the decks and up and down the bulkheads. At first, the TBS reports and commands came from the squawk-box in the drab monotone of the police precinct routine 'cCalling all carsn . . . but as the battle action steps up it sounds more like the ringside radio report of a fight. It has become evident from the TBS talk that the code name for the Lexington tonight is HANCOCK and that STORK is the Yorktown, Hagship of Admiral Pownall and task group 50.1. There are too many things going on in my mind to make it seem worthwhile to identify the code names of the other ships. I make a guess that FROLIC is the Hagship in a neighboring task group and that SAINT IC is probably one of the outlying scout destroyers. Our radar reports task group 50.1 is surrounded by large and small groups of enemy air- craft on all bearings. A major attack appears to be developing. F rom over the TBS comes: 11:27 THIS IS FROLIC ALERT ALERT RAID ABLE O50 4 MILES OUT 126 5 Sie ,.- - -..anna M..- ,Q-. .A -

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11:54 11:55 11:56 11:57 11:58 128 THIS IS STORK ROGER OUT. ALERT EVERYBODY. HANCOCK HAS LOST STEERING CONTROL. ALERT EVERYBODY. THIS IS STORK THOSE ASSIGNED STAND BY HANCOCK. THOSE ASSIGNED STAND BY HANCOCK. BUT ALERT. THIS IS DURANGO SHALL I STAND BY HANCOCK. THIS IS STORK AFFIRMATIVE. AFFIRMATIVE. OUT. One of the oHicers asks me if I know how to adjust my lifehelt. Yes, I think I can Work it out. I take off the fool thing I have, self-consciously, worn around my waist every time there was general quarters, blow it up, squeeze it, find it holds air, carefully deflate and strap it around my waist again. So this is it . . . I think of the Liscome Bay. The lighting with the enemy continues, in less than a minute after the torpedo hit, the fight to save the ship is under way. The Captain receives telephone reports from all parts of his ship, where the torpedo hit . . . how much she has settled and what is happening to the steering mechanism. brief commands. HANCOCK GIVE ME DETAILS WHEN YOU CAN. ROGER. WE HAVE TWO PORT ENGINES OK. STARBOARD ENGINES OUT. ENDEAVORING TO RESTORE STEERING CONTROL. BELIEVE WE ' , WILL BE OK IN FEW MINUTES REGARDS STEERING. OUT. ADVISE WHAT YOU CAN BEND ON. WAIT. STAY IN VICINITY TO HELP US TAKE CARE OF HANCOCK IF NECESSARY BY DAYLIGHT. OVER. WE JUST LOST ALL POWER ON STEERING All reports are answered by sharp THIS IS STORK STORK THIS IS HANCOCK HANCOCK THIS IS STORK FROLIC THIS IS STORK THIS IS HANCOCK