San Marcos (LSD 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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could tow the plane back 1nto posrtron under the crane When the l'lO1St1Ilg shngs were on the hook and the plane was ho1sted clear of the water, all boat l1nes were cast off and the plane was now 1n the hands3of the crew on deck H01Stlng of the plane made rt necessary -to swmg the plane so the crane boom was 1n the angle between the fusllage and the port wmg ln that pos1t1on the port eng1ne and propeller were 1n danger of bemg damaged The plane was swung rn and rested on 1t's wheels on the Superstructure deck and th1S phase of the task was completed AAt 0755, Captam P R Lessenger, USAF and plane crew members SXSGTUR A Marker, USAF, A 2!c A E Gray, USAF and A 2ycW D Vu-gle USAF reported on board for transportatlon, w1th then' plane to Tr1pol1 They bel1eve they were fortunate 1n havmg surface vessels around to asslst the1r wounded brrds By 0955, the plane was stowed securely on the Superstructure deck, the anchor was housed and we were on our way to Tr1po11 One hears much fre1ndly banter be- tween the Sarlors and Marmesl about takmg the Mar1nes back to Tf1pO11 Tr1pol1 was scme 300 mlles away and we arrrved early the next mornmg We hadalmost a day andrmght stead steammg ahead of us In that txme we learned some d6td11S of the rescue m1ss1on1 the plane was on The crashed Dakota was 1n a smkmg cond1t1on when the Albatross arrlved The only method was to set the Albatross down and brmg the survrvors on board After th1S had been accomp11shed, the Albatross could not take off due to excess we1ght and a rough sea The mlsslon was h1ghly successful and l1ves were saved ' We anchored outs1de of the harbor of Tr1pol1 at 0916, 2 August and commenced preparatrons for offloadmg the plane lWh116 our Executlve Off1cer, Commander A W Weaver and Captarn Lessenger, wentrashore- to contact Wheelus F1eld Offlcers and make arrangements for land1ng the plane rAt 15116,,the plane was m the water w1th l1nes to number one LCVP from the starboard Wlhg pontoon and to number two LCVP from the port pontoon The Capta1n's G1g was utllized to control the stern Four of the plane members were 1n the plane and others 'Q ln the G1g Boat crews for the two LCVP's were the same as the day before and the G1g crew conslsted of Ortrz, D , BM3, Mc Clymont, I L SN Hartman, R R SN, Sharpless, W A , SN Moore, OLH , EN3 and Cerventes, S J SN When the plane was well clear of the sh1p, y passed forward tow l1nes to number 2 LCVP and towed the plane to the -beach, a dxstance of about f1ve m1les, w1th the one boat We grounded the plane on the sw1mm1ng beach at Wheelus AF1eld,' a very n1ce beach Gomg 1n, a l1ne was passed from the plane to the G1g as a preventer to keep the plane l1ned up w1th number two LCVP and at rlght angles to the beach After the plane crew members had lowered the land1ng gear and locked lt 1n pos1t1on, number two LCVP towed It rnto the beach at full trottle unt1l the wheels grounded on the sand W1ng l1nes were passed to ground crews on the beach, the LCVP was backed off and the Navy's job was completed Our sh1p's Offlcersand crew rece1ved through our Captam, a very QSCIOUS 1nv1tat1on from the Commandmg Offrcer, at Wheelus Fleld to use recreatron fac111t1es and clubs at the5F1eld Qdurmg our stay w1th bus 11'ansportat1on suppl1ed by the A1reForce Our stay 1n Tr1pol1 was very pleasant a good t1me was had by all but trme passes raprdly and we had otl er th1ngs to do, so on the 5th of August, ta 1402, we were underway to jo1n our un1t 138 r t Q .. ' ' 1 , . ' t 1 ' I . , f . . . . I ' 1 A nl g 5 . l ' . . - . 1 9 1 I' I I I '. li . I . . . .. , I Q I l . ' n . . . ' I 1 e Q . I ' ' ' ' I ' a I I . . . ' ' ll I YI ' ' I ' . l 0 I ll ' . . 1 I ' . . . . 0 II 9 ' , . I l 0 ' ' . . . . . . . . . , . . . . 1 . - - .. . . . . . o vi, 9 on, . .. . .., . we . . . . . . . . . . . . O O . . . . . .. .. . .. . . . . I 0 I . O 1. . . . . . . . . ... 9 . I. . . . . . . . ' s . . . . , n . . O

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'6Land The Landing Force The landing force of the SAN MARCOS during the cruise consisted of a variety of units. Marine tanks, DUKW borne artillery, cranes of shore party. and a SeaBee boat salvage unit, all embarked in three LCU's: 1330, 768, 763. Each one accomplished a vital part in the landings on Malta, Sardinia, and Crete by the SIXTH Marine Battalion Reinforced. In order to make these landings possible much preparation is necessary. Operation orders must be written, reconnaissance of beaches must be made by UDT's, men must be briefed, and transport ships present must have debarking gear and boats in readiness. Then comes the actual landing. On the SAN MARCOS with the passing of the word Set Condition 1 Able, Land the Landing Force the final preparations shift into high gear. The troops having been fed earlier are embarked in their respective U's R Division commences to ballast' down the ship, gripes are removed from the LCU's and as soon as they are afloat, the Deck Force lowers the stern gate, tends handling lines that asists the LCU skippers in easing out of the well. After leaving the ship, they and the DUKW's, if weather permits, disembark from the SM , rendezvous forward of the ship until directed to the line of departure. ' All U's and DUKW 's having been off loaded, they rendezvous off the San Marcos until time to head for the line of de- parture, from which all waves of the landing force are dispatched. Upon arrival at the control vessel, again the waves rendezvous until such time as the tactical control group orders them ashore. The Tank Platoon, all in LCU 763, and LCU 1330 containing the Shore Party, the Beach Group QCB'sl and the detachment from HSS Company are part of wave 33, to hit the beach at H + 10. The artillery, which swims ashore in its own DUKW's is the first non-scheduled wave, which is to say that it is ready at any time and proceeds ashore when so requested by the infantry commander through the TACLOG Group. However, prior to the time it is called, the Batter Commander will proceed ashore in his ownDUKW a free boat, or one that can proceed to the beach anytime subsequent to H - Hour with his reconaissance party, the purpose of which is to ascertain routes of progress from the beach and to choose a position area for the battery. When the two LCU's hit the beach, the doctor, Lt. Qj. g.l Baumhauer, will proceed to the vicinity of the Battalion CP and set up the Battalion Aid Station, or make himself available to it. The Beach Group, under the command of Ensign E. Gaffney and Chief Lane, will, with their A Frame DUKW, their dozer and Surf Crane, make themselves available for any necessary jobs on the beach. The two Bay City Cranes of the Shore Party will be put to use here onthe beach in one of the many dumps to assist in unloading. The tanks in general may be employed in one of two ways, terrain being the dictating factor. Either in direct support of the front line .troops - that is, right up with them, moving as they do, or in what might be termed general support, where they remain largely stationary making use of their five 105mm Howitzers as the occasions might arise. In' all our operations, conditions of terrain and otherwise dictated the latter course. When the 'artillery hits the beach, the first step is to get the Howitzers out of the DUKW's with the use of the A Frame. Ideally this is accomplished on the beach, or reasonable close thereto. With the DUKW's then being used as prime movers, the guns move into the battery position. Due to the fact that the artillery forward observers and the liaison parties land in the same waves with the infantry, and that the recon party has already established communications with them, the battery is ready for a precision registration as soon as the first piece is in position and has been laid by the exec. Since the tanks use the same I-lowitzer as the artillery, it was ddemed advantageous to tie them in with Fox Battery, in effect giving the infantry an eleven gun battery capable of firing indirect fire with reduced charges or direct fire with full charges. lt was not too simple a task to coordinate the firs of these two because of differences in gun sights, communi- cations and so forth, but several missions were fired during the Sardinia operation which were deemed highly successful by those involved. After the logistical problem of landing the troops, arms and supplies has been successfully accomplished, the operation becomes typical in every respect to the usual land operation. The infantry moves forward as rapidly as conditions will permit with the other supporting arms -keeping themselves constantly in position to give effective support.