Mobile Bay (CG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

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FREEDOM ' S FLAGSHIP — HER FIRST YEAR — In the beginning. There was little. While planning for a team. It was only through hard work. That conception. Was turned to dream. The nights were long. The days were hard. It would never end. Or so it seemed. But we pulled together. And knocked it out. Through working as a team. As we slowly grew together. It became apparent to me. That we were something special. In all that could be Yes. there ' s something unique. That you see today. With muscle as her truce. Her name the MOBILE BAY . — RMS Brian Canuel Welcome men of MOBILE BA Y. families, friends, and curious souls, to an artistic trip through the first year of Freedom ' s Flagship . Presented herein is a pictorial essay of the dedication, professionalism, and patriotism which 350 of America ' s finest have given to their ship, their Navy. and their country. This is the story of cooks, helmsmen, radar trackers, deck seamen, engineers, and technicians who collectively are MOBILE BAY and have, in but one year, transformed an inanimate object into one of the United States Navy ' s most successful and capable warships. Appropriately, this book is dedicated to the Surface Warriors known and respected as The MOB ' — CRUISE BOOK STAFF

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The Officers, Crew, and Cruise Book Staff wish to thank the Mobile. Ala- bama Commissioning Committee whose generosity made this book possible.

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SHIP ' S HERITAGE MOBILE BA Y ' s heritage springs from the famous Civil War battle and our ship is the first Navy vessel named to commem- orate the historic clash between Union and Confederate fleets. By 1864. Mobile. Alabama was the last Gulf Coast port of major significance still remaining in Confederate hands. The only entrance to Mobile Bay was a channel running between Forts Morgan and Gaines, reduced to a width of 150 yards by Confederate mines and obstructions. Such Southern strategy forced Admiral Farragut to place his 18-ship force within easy range of Fort Morgan ' s heavy guns. Admiral Buchanan, the ranking officer of the Confederate Navy, was ordered to Mo- bile from Hampton Roads and frantically worked to organize a fleet in hopes of countering the imminent Union attack. On the morning of August 5. 1964. the mouth of the Bay was a spectacle of breathtaking magnificence. Lashed together by twos, wreathed in smoke from water to mast top. belching flame and thunder from 200 guns, the Federal fleet was run- ning the gauntlet between Morgan and Gaines. Abreast of the Fort, the monitor TECUMSEH veered from her course and dashed at the TENNESSEE. She struck a torpedo, and a terrific explosion rose above the din of the battle. The battle line broke, and ships backed up upon one another. With fire from Fort Morgan raining upon them, they tangled in the channel. Then Farragut. lashed in the rigging of the HART- FORD, damned the torpedoes and moved into the Bay at full speed ahead. For two hours Farragut s ship milled about the great iron- clad, firing broadsides into her and ramming her with their prows. Bolts that held the plating were stripped by the concus- sion, and the nuts ricocheted within the ship. The steering gear and smokestack were shot away and. at last, she lay helpless and choked with suffocating coal fumes. It was only then that the wounded Buchanan gave the order for surrender As TENNESSEE ' S colors came down, one of the most impor- tant battles in the Civil War ended. The ironclads had been defeated, marking the end for wooden warships. USS TECUMSEH sinking from torpedoes (mines) as she led Rear Adm. Farragut ' s fleet past Fort Morgan into Mobile Bay. Rear Adm. David Farragut ' s flagship. USS HARTFORD, attacking CSS TENNESSEE CSS TENNESSEE attacking federal ships RICHMOND and LACKAWANNA.