Ludlow (DD 438) - Naval Cruise Book

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INTRODUCTION THIS is the personal history of the U. S. S. LUDLOW written by a few old hands on board at the end to be made up and sent to every officer and man who ever served aboard her. A She was built when the people of this country became alarmed about the fall of France and were beginning to worry about our own national security. The sons of these same people manned her. Her officers and men were the kind of citizen navy the Axis thought the United States couldn't produce. Truck drivers, mechanics, school teachers, printers, farmers, grocery clerks and just plain school kids all reluctantly left civilian life to come aboard and fight their country's enemies from her decks. The LUDLOW made a proud war record. She was one of the most active destroyers the United States Navy has ever hadf As the war went on she became a happy and a lucky ship. It goes without saying that a lucky ship is a smart one and the LUDLOW always got results when it came to mixing it up with the enemy. Now it's all over. We won as we knew we had to and the men who manned her are going home to pick up their lives where they left off. The LUDLOW, who served her purpose so well, is being retired to the Reserve Fleet at Charleston, South Carolina, where she'll spend the rest of her days in peace unless the country needs her again. 3

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4 1 EARLY HISTORY I On March 5, 1941, while old navy men and new boots stood Hi aiffflfiflfi 031 fantail in spotless blues, the commission pennant was hoisted, and the U.SLiS. was officially presented to Lt. Comdr. C. H. Btfnlleltl .l f -1 the 51' St wmman mg 0 'CCY' bfi' the Cfipgaipupi xtvlieliaggarotlnd Boston and on her speed run she made plenty of knots. Finally, she was ready for her first cruise and left via. Newport, lx. I., and Noriplk, Virginia, for Cuba. Lixfter- returning. to Boston ,for repairs, she steamed down .to INCW York to escort the new battleship, NORTH CAROLINA, to Newfoundlandon firing runs. This was followed by operations with four of our carriers: The RAN GER, YORKTOWN, WASP and HORNET. While escorting the HORNET, two Mitchell bombers took off from the latter's ,flight deck. This was the first time medium bombers had ever taken off from a carrier deck and was the forerunner of a dramatic bombing of japan less than a ear later. A Y After operating with the carriers, the LUDLOVV returned to Philadelphia and from there, in company with the NORTH CAROLINA, escorted the battleship, WASHING- TON, on her trial run. A speed run from Cuba to Rockland, Maine, completed the initial chapter in the LUDLOW'S career. Off 'Newfoundland the war came closer. With the U.S.S. BUCK, the LUDLOW was sent to pick up survivors from a torpedoed tanker but the search was unsuccessful. In the- months immediately preceding the Pearl Harbor attack, she was running con- voys to Iceland. At the time this was highly important duty, though almost unknown to the public. However, some of the old crew maintain those runs were worse than the inva- sions and none will forget the freezingwinds and mountainous seas which upset the strong- est constitutions. On one such trip, Lieutenant Douglas Fairbanks, jr., was so seasick he contemplated writing to the President 'and suggesting that destroyer sailors draw submarine pay. These were the days without radar and it was not uncommon for a convoy to be dis- persed over a 5O'mile area after a storm. On another such trip, four ships arrived at their destination out of an original convoy of forty-four ships. The others were scattered' by the storms which reduced the speed of advance of the convoy to four knots. The LUDLOW was sitting in Boston when the Japs struck at Pearl Harbor and three days later she left for Iceland, where she spent her first Christmas. A Christmas tree was brought aboard to add a note of home to some very homesick sailors. On I january, Captain Bennett wrote the following mid-watch log entry. ' I Two hundred true and twenty five too I The compass course checks two three two At 14 knots you steam ahead With the Nashville and the Tarazed The Hamilton's here and the old Chatteau You patrol your sector as you go For boiler steam there is one and four A And too, you're in a bloody war Which keeps you partly in Afirm And condition three from stem to stern You have your blackout, show no lights And since five March in '4l' To convoy escort, Atlantic run 7 From training cruise to war's mad whirl '!ou've felt the treat of Guantanamo's heat And the chilling blast of Ice1and's sleet And known to you is Argentia mist- So too, is Scollay on your list And so-tonight near yourfirst year end The captain and crew a greeting send With brimming hearts and a little cheer We join in to wish you a Happy New Year, 1'