Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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.AX lillllllt' STORY UI' Yti H3 QBy lat. lYillit1111 ll. liettrns. USNR. Nltttttlroii .Xir Lfoinbgtt lntelligenee Ullieeixl Cold and giuiy. the dgnyii ol' 12 xl1111t1g11'y 11111 found 21 light rain slirouding the builtliiigs gintl I'llllXN'ilyS ol' the Naygil .Xir Station. Seattle. Neither the ehill nor the lltlling min were 1111- usual: yet o11 that inorning. Ll group ol' lllt'll arose who were to be joined by Ll Vtllllllltlll txntse into a eon11no11 body and they alone. pt-rltgtps. felt the presence of the hour. Clad i11 blues. with gray gloves. they drifted to lmltiiigttr No. ig: i11 groups. talking ol' tl1e liutttre and ol the sexi. The eomniissioning CCl'CI11OI1y was brief. .X bundled up Lieutenant ciO1l'lIHLlIlClL'l' read the Squadron orders. Nobody heztrd hiin. tiny- wayg his yoiee was lost in the 1'o111' ol' ll 'llilf turning up o11 tl1e apron. It CllCll1il llllllll'l'. They were liOl'I'UCCl, united: they were now members of Composite Sqtttidron 83. insteqid of nameless souls lost in tt llight pool. lioin that cltiy Ull the work be xx ith its lt1x111'io11stltigtrtersaiid t'2ig3fnlifCS:31iE3ii only to l111'11isl1 the planes and equipment ililll'll, on -to .l.lIlll4ll'y. it was left behind as the ililllus Qllltl l'f1l s l'U2ll't'f'l away in formation. dt-y1i11.11io11 l'.1s11o. Wtisliiiigtoii. Barremwindz sxxelil l'11st11 ttitlltl well lit' l't'g2lI'ClCd as the base tl1.1t tlitl the most lor tl1e Squadron. Ag the tlgtys l'llllllllt'll past, eoiirdiiiation matured with eyery tlitihtg unity and precision came to be the l'lllt' instegicl ol' the exeeption. The old l9-1l 's lowly oll' tltiy by tlany to praetiee gunnery, .Xt lirst, the sleexes equine bztelt with scarcely 3 bullet hole to intliegtte that they l1ad been under lire. but, as the xyeelts lengthened into months, Qlt't'lll'Lll'y klllllllltll :incl sleeves became riddled and torn to the delight of the fighter pilots, Meqiiixxliile. the torpedo planes l1ad not been idle. lXletl1ocliet1lly. they were loaded with waiter-lilletl boinbs :ind set o11t to practice Ulitle boinbing. The pilots made simulated 5 lldfll' l ifhtz1- Jl,H'1l nfygf, UV!! ' f' L1 7 l ' ' ' IH lrtrr' W. N 1 , . 1 I!'l' emslig l,,.f,,,,,. 'II' I I urelr: Sl.d-l'l!lS by wftitintg fm. fmllwl dwk 'U 'H' lylrylllmlb initio hifi yt., mn, Mk' E A HM' .UNA hmm, Mvimion mmm pull from 'fS'1 'e axmlill 'll US- I '1' 1 :lit ilirtk 111 Xu nut in llliihl - . 1 ' 11' 1 lv ' l

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PART VIII Llttle IS 2111 L1ttIe I Eli A O? th' d a O9 h I

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torpedo attacks on windmills, swooping down over the rolling prairie, and sweated out nav- igation problems to Grand Coulee and Spo- kane. Spring verged on Summer when the Squad- ron began to pack away the endless gear and prepared to move again. On 30 May the ma- jority of officers and men piled aboard a train and settled themselves for the long ride south to the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Holtville, Calif. Twenty-one of the pilots manned the planes and lifted away in the still morning air, leaving Pasco behind, a memory, pleasant and fresh. Through the Columbia Gorge, then south past the mountains and marshlands of Oregon into California. Down the Hat valley past Sacramento they swept, dipped low like so many pigeons and alighted at Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco. The next morning they were off again. A gassing stop at San Diego, then inland over the coastal mountains where Holtville greeted them with a blast of heat. Elsewhere in the world night is meant for sleep. Not at Holtville. When dusk cast long shadows over the desert, men began to stir and engines roared. Night tactics, night bombing, night gunnery, until every pilot felt at home in the black loneliness that comes high above the earth after dark. They wore shorts andbaseball caps and acquired deep tans from the burning sun. The torpedo pilots moved over to Salton Sea for five days and learned to hit with rockets while the fighters took a brief rest. The landing signal officers appeared and lost no time in making themselves known. Day after day they stood in the run- ways and moved the bright little paddles until their arms were leaden and their eyes achec.. But the efforts told as approaches became surer and more precise. It was not in the Squad- ronjs blood to stay in one place too long, and itchy feet soon found solace when on I4 July Holtville was evacuated and the trek made to Brown Field, perched high atop Ctay Mesa overlooking San Diego. Brown Field was regarded as a final buffing plant for Squadrons about to go aboard a carrier for combat duty, and excitement ran high, for few in VC 85 had ever served aboard ship. Training was devoted to carrier tactics, breakups, and landings. Frequently VC 85 teamed up with her sister squadrons in ffgroup gropesf' and attacked coastal areas in sim- ulated beach assaults or flew out for the fre- 145 quent invasions of San Clemente Island, sixty miles westward from North Island. The lighter pilots moved en masse to the craggy held on that island for a final week of gunnery drill, but, beset by a low and persistent blanket of fog, they had to content themselves with lively games of baseball on the taxi strip. I Top: Flight deck being respotted with aid of tractors, renin: The uOld lN4an', briefs squadron in ready room, below: Avenger engine being given check on flight deck.