Pennsylvania (BB 38) - Naval Cruise Book

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, ,, , ...f-1-:....ln1..g,. , .. .M . , . V -'Z'3,5Ff--..-w'- - - ' ' ffwwxenmfxrsevre . - r .-- ---, .-1--w.'-.f cf- --- Y -'- . ,-- . ., -, --ff' r- - I-.f--.,,. ,.f. - - A v ..,......,-4 W , Mu,1.-,,,,,,,,,,,..,..,,...,.,,.,..,,,,, ... V, ., ABOVE: Paul Klein spent the en ire w PENNSYLVANIA aboard as an Si ' 3 ll. 4 I I I 1 I 9 1941, he left Cl L , - I ' ...WP tenant-Commander in l945. I2 HE PENNSYLVANIA left San Francisco on February sixth' and arrived at Long Beach the next afternoon. The following day Capt. King was relieved by Capt. W. A. Corn. During the next two and a half months the ship operated out of Long Beach and con- ducted practices in preparation for a coming combat operation. The crew naturally could not know what was in the wind, and there were loudly-voiced complaints that the PENN- SYLVANIA would serve as nothing more than a training ship throughout the war. Nevertheless the PENNSYLVANIA shoved off from Long Beach on the 23rd of April and sgiikx arrived a week later at Cold Bay, Alaska. This bleak harbor lies at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, and the PENNSYLVANIA stood in during a miserable, wet windstorm. No one questioned the aptness of the name, Cold Bay. Rear Admiral F. W. Rockwell, Commander Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, hoisted his flag in the PENNSYLVANIA, and on May fourth, a force, consisting of three battleships, the PENNSYLVANIA, IDAHO, and NEVADA, one escort carrier, the NASSAU, transports, and destroyers, stood out from Cold Bay. It proceeded to the westward, south of the Aleutian chain, through Amukta Pass into the

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qui tember, at which time she and the IDAHO shoved off tor the West Coast and yard pe- riods. The IDAHO went to Bremerton, and the PENNSYLVANIA to the Bethlehem Steel Company, San Francisco. , The PENNSYLVANIA remained in the yard tour months, undergoing modernization and overhaul. Her tripod mainmast was removed and replaced with a tire control tower and a pole mast. The conning tower was removed. The two boat cranes were removed, and two booms were added to take their place. The catapult on top ot Turret 3 was removed. fi, ig.'f'i .'1 '9'n 'WFh1T 5 li 1 M- W , .... N- December 7, 1941 New radars were installed, two search and four tire control, bringing the total to six. But the most extensive changes were made in the A.A. battery. The 5 f5l broadside guns and the 5 f25 A.A. guns were replaced with eight 5 f38 dual purpose, twin mounts. The I.I's were replaced with ten 40 mm. quads. Addi- tional 2Omm.'s were installed. At the com- pletion ot the yard period the ship bristled with guns: twelve I4 f45, sixteen 5 f38, torty 4Omm., titty 2Omm., and eight .50 cali- ber. At that time the A.A. battery was as formidable as any in the fleet.

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I Bering Sea, and on westward. Its objective was Attu. Japanese forces were known to have oc- cupied two islands in the Aleutians, Attu and Kiska. It was decided to strike first at Attu, the less strongly garrisoned of the twovand the westernmost island in the chain. .The weather in the Aleutians is notoriously bad. It is cold, the fogs are thick and almost continuous, and the seas are usually rough. More unfavorable conditions for an amphib'-Q ious operation would be difficult to find. Dog Day was set tentatively for the eighth of May, but on that day the seas were too heavy to permit a landing. The PENNSYL- VANIA patrolled first to the northeast of Attu and then with the two other battleships and a cruiser force to the west. Dog Day was set definitely for II May. On the afternoon of the IOth the battleships ioined with the transports of the task force, and that night in a dense fog two approach dispositions were formed, one of the transports and fire support ships, including the PENNSYLVANIA and IDAHO, to operate in the Holtz Bay-Chi- chagof Harbor area and the other of the ves- sels to operate in the Massacre Bay area. On the morning of II May the task group to which the PENNSYLVANIA had been as- signed arrived in the vicinity of Red Beach, which had been occupied before daylight by scout troops landed from submarines and an UPPER LEFT: lnformal attire is the order of the day in the press shop. UPPER RlGHTg War and peace make little difference to the barber. LOWER LEFT: Captain William A. Corn, Commanding Officer, and Commander Thomas H. Templeton, Executive Officer, 1943. LOWER RIGHT: Coming up in the wake is the quarterdeck dive bomber. 4, V 1 :WZ f mag: A.: