Newport News (CA 148) - Naval Cruise Book

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HIS IS NOT just a story about a ship, nor is it a factual back- ground of its history . . . rather let us consider it fa personal account of the men who have lived, worked and played on board this mighty man-of-war. Yes, it could easily be said that we have laughed, cried, and prayed with every dip of her majestic bow-and that one without the other is useless-for it is you and your ship which have made this description possible. Therefore, take pride in the following pages, for they not only record the auto-biography of the USS NEWPORT NEWS QCA-1481, but the ever-heart-warming story attributed to those who have shared her adventures and triumphs. Some say a ship is born when it transcends the ways and first hits the water, but not those who had for some time conceived the beginning of this vessel. It all started way back in 1934 when the Vinson-Trammel Act was authorized thus giving the Navy the green light in its plans to increase our fighting fleets. On April 8, 1944, the Navy awarded a contract to the New- port News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia, to start production on a new heavy-cruiser. The keel was laid on November 1, 1945, and the busy hum of this eastern port continued on until March 6, 1948, when hull number u456 was launched. Mrs. Homer L. Ferguson, wife of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shipbuilding Company sponsored the double-N at the launching. With the clouds of a threatened freedom-loving world hanging BL E PHI TS m BL E SEAS in the overcast, plans were speeded up and a group of men were assembled, rior to the commissionin , to tackle the roblems P g P of-injecting life into these steel veins. iThe occasion arrived, and ontjanuary 29, 1949, this ship was proudly commissioned as the United States Ship Newport News VQCA-1481, in honor of itis namesake, the Shipbuilding City of Newport News. Besides the more than 300 crew members who lined the decks for the momentous ceremonies, there were many guests, among them: Admiral W. P. Blandy, Commander ln Chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet at that time. Throngs stood by as a beau- tiful 315,000-dollar Silver Service, commemorating the occasion, was presented to the ship by the proud citizens of Newport News. Rear Admiral R. O. Davis, USN, then Commandant of the Fifth Naval District accepted the ship for the Navy and in turn Captain Roland N. Smoot, USN, accepted command. Cap- tain Smoot stated that accepting command of such a magnificent ship as the Newport News was MA Naval oHicer's dream come to life.'7 And with the raising of colors and the strains of 'The Star Spangled Banner filling the air, the CA-148 assumed the re- sponsibility to carry out its part as a unit of the worldjs greatest Navy. However, this role could not be effected without the training and proper indoctrination of both men and ship, and shortly after commissioning and a three-month outfitting period, the Newport News first cut her wake out of Hampton Roads, Va., heading south for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and shakedown train- ing. Firing the Sis, maneuvering in tactical formations, tAA' exer- cises, and sea-drills under the tropical sun followed. Upon com- pletion of this vigorous schedule under the capable leadership of Capt. Smoot, the Newport News, now a Hman-of-warw and

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x B C b Admiral Blancly and Officials during Halifax, Nova Scotia Visit At Anchor in Guantanamo ay, u a Battling Arctic Weather i . . . Turkish Tots perform on board NN in Istanbul Sunday Mass at Port Au Prince, Haiti p h art enon in Athens, Greece, cluring first Mediterranean Cruise l 4 Q 1. f i i 1 r