Randolph (CV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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Page 68 text:

sf' -. -j K L X fhe whip af Frame 70. Evenfually, long affer fhe rigging was done, as a rule, fhe I JV phones gof manned and fhe anxious Bridge was able fo relax. For fhe resf of fhe ship Secure from General Quarfers meanf an hour of sack before breakfasf: for fhe Gunnery Deparfmenf if meanf seffing fhe wafch, geffing a quic bafches, and manning fhe fueling sfafions, all af once. The hearfbreaking parf was fhaf fhe fanker or can fre- ur or fwo affer k breakfasf in small quenfly was nof alongside for an ho breakfasf, fhaf hour when ofhers afe and snoozed and we sfood by. Back af Ulithi, we were proud of fhe sfrikes our pilofs had made. The Randolph had delivered ifs firsf blow af fhe enemy. His refaliafion came soon. March ll, fhere was a boafswain's mafe gang in fhe Fiffh Division Gear Locker. Warren, MacDonald, Swinharf and ofhers were whooping if up wifh fheir joe pof when all hell broke loose pracfically on fop of fhem. Nof more fhan 25 feef away fhe Jap hif, with his plane, gasoline, and bombs all exploding fogefher. The boafswain's mafes were fough and lucky, and fhey all gof away unhurf. Ofhers did nof. Chief Gunner's Mafe Laws of fhe 5 inch singles, compefenf, fespecfed, and beloved, mef fhe concussion and flame face on af fhe fop of fhe ladder fo Chief's Quarfers and was insfanfly killed. Three men from fhe Fiffh and one in L Division, handling sfores af fhe affer Crane, were also killed. ln fhe fire from sprayed gasoline, all fhe ammunifion in fanfail shields cooked off, making if impossible fo work fhere and very dangerous even af some disfance. Twenfy fhousand rounds of ZOMM wenf off in Group I2 clipping room. The fires in 'rhe Aviafion issue room heafed fhrough fo fhe ready ammunifion for fhe affer 5 inch singles. raising fhem fo a dangerous poinf. Fiffh F and Second Div. men risked fheir lives fo ieffison i board fwo hundred proiecfiles and powder cases while 'che hof ammunifion burned fheir hands and fhe Paini smoked on 'rhe bulkheads. Lfs. Rollins an Chief MacDonald, and I3 Gunnery Depf. men received cifafions for fhis work and for fighfing fhe fires. nd fhe Viv f, fhrowing over- d Brazzell. Throughouf fhe bloody Okinawa campaign a fory Cruise againsf fhe Japanese homeland, fhe GUHFWVY Deparfmenf was on The iob. Our gunners shof f0Uf enemy planes info 'rhe sea and assisfed in manY more GCHOHS. and are hearfily deserving of credif for fhe Pm fhey played in fhe war.

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I- r il I i' X 2-If ur--f ' ,wr x ...,,.iu ,,---anti W: R X i I HULL DEPARTMENT GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS, ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS, and Three minuTes IaTer, SET CONDITION ZEBRA THROUGH- OUT THE SHIP! These were The words ThaT all hands heard very early each morning ThaT The Randy was in combaT waTers, buT Tew oT The crew really knew whaT a iob Iay ahead Tor The numerous repair parTies when These words were passed, The quick acTion ThaT Tollowed-closing all Z haTches, opening This TiTTing, closing ThaT valve, manning various conTroI sTaTions and diTTerenT repair uniTs were The pro- ducT oT consTanT pracTices, drills and never ending work oT The Hull DeparTmenT. This deparTmenT's prime pur- pose in baTTIe condiTions was To keep This powerTul ship aTloaT and TighTing. AT The Time commissioning of The USS Randolph, The Hull deparTmenT consisTed of ThirTeen oTTicers and ap- proximaTely nineTy men. The problems and responsi- biliTies oT This small group were many. Training a new crew in damage conTroI meThods and pracTices while aT The same Time accomplishing many urgenT aITeraTions and changes Tor oTher deparTmenTsg organizaTion of The boaT- swains group, supervision of The general messing TaciliTiesg checking, sTowing, and insTalIing many arTicles of The de- parTmenTsg preparing The ship Tor baTTIeg These and many oTher deTaiIs were The TirsT duTies To be discharged by The Hull DeparTmenT. When The TirsT members oT This organizaTion came aboard, They Tound already hard aT work LieuTenanT Commander Smedley, who was The FirsT LieuTenanT and Damage ConTrol OTTicer. To serve under him were Lieu- TenanT Commander Clark, IaTer To become head oT The deparTmenT and LieuTenanT Commander Gaffney. WiTh each oT These assisTanTs in charge, The work was divided inTo Two divisions-damage conTroI and mainTenance. ATTer a Teverish period oT yard work and loading of sTores and provisions, The Randolph embarked on her TirsT TesTs-The shakedown cruise. The urgenT obiecT oT This cruise was preparing boTh ship and crew Tor baH'le. Yes, a large iob considering The shorT period oT Time available and The newness of The crew, buT we were will- ing Tor There was a daTe To be kepT. Training of The crew in Tire-TighTing and general damage conTroI meas- ures was necessary if The ship was To survive damage. especially Trom Tire. Accordingly a ship-wide program was sTarTed. Training Tilms were shown beTore The regular movieS- Divisional insTrucTion in damage conTroI and TirsT aid were insTiTuTed. Ship-wide baTTIe problems involving mulfiple hiTs were held whenever pracTicabIe. DeTaiIs oT damage. The TrequenT use oT smoke bombs and simuIaTed casual- Ties, The seTTing oT maTeriaI condiTions were all included as parT oT The Training. AT The same Time, The depefi' menT was working hard To prepare The ship as well as TI19 crew. Such problems as check-oTiT lisTs, Tire main Se9f99a'