Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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it t 2 t ,t A .mae-mr, 2.1.2.1-ssszawt 5,...,W.,a. A tween the l'hilippines and the .Xduiiralties lay an hypothetical line. lt was, to be sure. at mere technicality. yet it could not be avoided. lt was the lfquator. Nor were iuinds assuagcd bythe sight olicanyas billies that all Shellbaclts were industriously liashioning. Still. the Squad- ron reasoned, NN'hat price surrenderE ' So they talked it over and evolved a plan ol' action. The basic theine of this operational routine was this: If one nteinber becatne oyerwlielined he had but to yell HEY RUBEN and help would be fortheoining. 'llo further confuse the Shellbaeks two ol' the more slippery pilots filehed King Neptune's beard and crown at the eleventh hour. This put a definite criinp in the scheduled arrival of the Ruler ol' the Deep. and by way of punishment all Pollywogs were made to run around the llight deck until such time as the sacred vestments were returned. It was during' this lXfIarathon that a billy Iell too heavily and the ery ol' HEY R UBRH was heard. It was a signal for organized chaos as an-lI the Squadron broke lree and inade overwhelm- iug gains against weak delenses. VVhile the Scluatlrou was prone to classify this as 3 major upset, the leading Shellbaclis took a dim View and ordered the initiation to proceed in 3 mme uiilitary iuanuer, zelmlz Il flffl. 'illhq hapless ollicers and iueu were led one by one to the hangar deck and there taught their lesson of never trying to rexolt against the Loyal Shell- baclts. l.ilte tlaclarabbits, they pelted down between the double line ol' waiting Shellbaeks only to be urged to greater efliorts en route, Once ou the liantail the Pollywogs were made to pay obeisance to the Royal Court. After losing the greater part of their hair and being duulted. they. too, becanie Shellbaeks, although it scarcely sniaclted ol' being' an honor then. XN'ith the pounding still smgii-ting, the Squad- ron was launched the morning of Q7 November lor landing' at the sinall island of Ponam in the Adiniralty group. As they eireled the tiny bit ol' coral and sand awaiting' their turn to land, wr Awww sn- M X 0 llama, 'ah . 4 ,nw 'lille lli 'ltlf ls ltclt is alwave H lmu l,l,u.1, V , ' t r H1 tit S tt s , t :fl it , Nl, 1 F A sit , g i 'f , 1 t 2, E w e W s 4 t fi li 'L tl ei M s Po H tt 4 fx s 1 A an P 4 3 ,A

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Q15 ' 5 ?5 1 I I v l 1 i i . longest, the most monotonous. But at that time, the horizon was rosy. It was seven days .to Pearl. Seven days of simulated attacks and grand weather. The islands broke from the horizon the morning of 23 Qctober, green and wreathed in clouds. It was nearly every- body's Hrst view of Hawaii, and it made a strong impression. The ship slid into the harbor and tied up. There followed two days of liberty, during which souvenirs were bought and sent homeward. Then CarDiv QQ cast off again and set course for the vast reaches to the west. Eniwetok provided the initial view of a battle Held with its denuded palm trees. It was a short look and was quickly replaced by the end- less horizon of the sea as the ship and her im- patient crew sped on. Ulithi, but a few weeks an American base, provided the next anchor- age. Here the Squadron first realized the grimness of war, as mines, torn from their moorings by heavy weather, began exploding on protecting reefs and were found drifting be- tween the ships, necessitating a machine gun and searchlight watch. Kossol Passage in the Palau Islands was where the ship and VC 85 were given their first assignment, providing air coverage for convoys approaching and depart- ing Leyte Gulf. In the light of later develop- ments this was a tame job, but it looked big then. The convoys were guarded with the Fighter races down deck on fly-away. zeal of a hen protecting her young. Cn the rare occasions when one of the patrols caught a glimpse of Jap-held Mindanao, it was re-told in the ready room as a major occurrence. These days, though they were dull and un- eventful, broke the Squadron in gradually to the complications of combat flying and sharp- ened carrier operations to the point -where few faults could be found. The days crept slowly past and on 23 November CarDiv 29 was re- lieved and set course for the Admiralty Islands. What happened next is a chapter many would prefer to forget. It was painful. Be- Avenger ready for catapulting into the sunrise.

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they marveled at the brilliant colors of the reefs and jungles of Manus, close by. Island life proved pleasant, what with the othcer's Club and the lazy days. The afternoons found pilots and men swimming in the lagoon or paddling rubber boats under the warm Equatorial sun. It was a rest and a welcome one. Two weeks sped past swiftly and then the word came to prepare to embark. Planes were checked, equipment exchanged and replaced, and on I4 December the Squadron returned aboard ready to fight. This time a more am- bitious objective was in store as the pilots learned when they were briefed. South the ship sped to New Guinea, where for two days they helped cover a mock invasion, a prelude to the real thing soon to come. Christmas was spent aboard ship as she lay rocking gently in Seeadler Harbor, Manus. screws of the ship, and ther crew pushed back from whence she had come. Back to the Phil ippincs, but this time there was to be no convoy herding. Instead, VC 85 was to cover the in Nam , f Q-1-V in rr 4 'V' ee -:sys ff WG ff! W f fff ff WQQW .0-A 5' infix.. gg Q K-M WK z The New Year was rung in to the beat of the Top: Avenger bounces high after engaging arresting gear wireg below: Avenger on Hy-away into the sunrise. Midday Tofu Avenger comes in too high and takes a wave-offgfrfcozzrl from lop: Avenger takes cut from L.S.O.3 llzfrdfrom mp: Arresting gear wire brings Avenger to a sudden stopg bollom: With tail hook disengaged from arresting gear wire, Avenger drops wings and taxies forward. E A ,... x 1 w i Y 4 2 Y 1 ll l u 'I la ! f X X Q ffm f vw Q ww: fr f 'sn yayy- . . q 0, 1 1 ,MX M . , iq. X 'g-jf, - .34 wN',X'XXtn - 15,5 va ' mf-5 ., - ji -vgg 4 jff . ,N , N 5 We .tv-.. ,, I .' 1 ' M .. , sq ' -- ' 'sf1.spfe -X,i sa 12.2.4 - w'f.Z ,X SWK .fegfa Q' 2' , ,eff w i '. '51, ' A ,,5ggQi,. 5 ,5 L i 15 sy . 3? 'T 'aff . rl' Qi fe A, . Q X X XsX,,,,..Q,,, 4. mf' MX , . 1 N Xffvg.4XX-ff ,5Q..3..,,w - . Xi: X . 3 as A X .X X Ebhift JffYfX'1 WXSDQ, ' .refs rsggikji Q -N X' XE? 'sci ff X X. X N X SX, fleas.-QQX is X X fl f ' ss as Y X . X WX .1 ' s 1. A Ss- ' f X was X1 g Eel' .f- 1. tX,X as sums 55 1 ' .s 1 X X XX X s . X X X QNX? 1f'sSfYss,b9s,-Q as f:'.1t'f i1'S'5-rg - 1 was.. ,X ff-N X- gs .QNXQ MX QQ.: is X , Q, 2 ,X s:wgsYXsfys,s ss, .uv X. 1 , .X , X XSXQXSXAXXWX 5 :,5.i,:N,:.'g,fsi X N X i f ' -1- ' X . , XSRNNP F- ' ' I I Q4 4 ' ' A Q f ff gi 4, ,, 14, t A ' ' '1.l,,..v ,..4 't Tj.t.Ji..:ij.. .25,j,:.',T,gli5g:t..:1f ...L::4:44,i..:g:11g,g:g.:1::i':'z:,.f.,i . ::1:r- - ':.-:sir:gt::.'1:J:giL::z4' - v ref .- - -i-3 1, ,, We A U A -5 4, , AM 5, ...,, .. . 5. ... . AA- A - ,.,,. .Jgvn U ,, A Mi, ,.Xf A., - AJ.: ,,T,,A,,, M. L.?.-.....Ti:,.T.:.5.T..:......j...............,.... 3 T..i,.., . 4-::i.T..f:n A T.gl.T: ia-.jr ..- ..v-3,6-...L f 5 I ug, ---ggi:-rg. 'Mtv fnmwv