Saratoga (CVA 60) - Naval Cruise Book

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' 5 FP M itat Rv. M 'M ew.. 'Effie Uv Y. 'Sift sfxf 'WEE ' E .3 14 I 5. I 23, 1 ' at ' Sarafrfga '6 The heavy attack carrier, USS SARATOGA CCVA-601 was constructed at the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York, and is the sixth vessel so named. The latest SARATOGA, one of the world's largest war- ships, was built at a cost of S5207 million. She was commissioned on 14 April 1956, with Captain Robert J. Stroh in command. The carrier left her berth at the New York Na-val Shipyard on 9 August 1956, enroute to Norfolk, Virginia, and Mayport, Florida, readying for her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean in September 1956. On 1 December 1956, Captain R. B. Moore relieved Captain Stroh and became SARATOGA's second commanding officer. On 19 December 1956, she returned to the New York Naval Shipyard for several months. After her yard period and a refresher training cruise in the Caribbean, SARATOGA returned to Mayport, Florida. On 6 June President Dwight D. Eisenhower with members of his cabinet boarded SARATOGA to observe operations aboard the giant warship. For two days, SARATOGA and eighteen other ships put on a demonstration of naval prowess that included air operations, anti-submarine warfare, guided missile operations, and a display of the Navy's latest techniques of bombing and strafing. Highlighting this Presidential visit was the historic flight of two F8U Crusaders which flew non-stop from the West-coast based carrier BON HOMME RICHARD to the flight deck of SARATOGA in the Atlantic. Upon completion of a summer extensive training, SARATOGA made her maiden voyage across the Atlantic sailing from Mayport on 3 September 1957 to ioin OPERATION STRIKEBACK, the massive NATO naval exercise in the Norwegian Sea. Returning home, SARA moved to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard where she underwent repairs for six weeks. On 17 December 1957, Captain Alfred R. Matter relieved Captain R. B. Moore as SARATOGA's command- ing officer. With Captain Matter at the helm, SARATOGA sailed for May- port to conduct operations off the Florida coast. On 1 February 1958, SARATOGA departed Mayport and proceeded to Gibraltar where she officially became a member of the United States Sixth Fleet. On 14 July she was ordered from Cannes, France, to the troubled waters off the coast of Lebanon for the following two months. One of the outstanding highlights of the cruise was the visit of their Royal Hellenic Maiesties, the King and Queen of Greece, King Paul and Queen Fredericka. The royal couples, along with members of their families and guests, witnessed a powerful SARATOGA air demonstration on the 16th day of June. After an eight month tour of duty in the Mediterranean, SARATOGA returned to the United States. After c etinr' s at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 791' H Sf t -' i' ' . Naval Snipxt

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Y ':- 'Z 1 .3 I. if ' -1-' -A :V 251 .1 ' .iw 1 -e r --1 .. ll S Hruzser Sarrzfzfga The fourTh ship named SARATOGA was so named for only parT of her naval service. She was launched on 2 December 1891 as The armored cruiser NEW YORK aT The William Cramp and Sons Shipyard Philadelphia Her name was changed To SARATOGA on 16 February 1911 while she On 1 December 1917 her name was changed To' The USS ROCHESTER pg . . :we I x l N . A., , . , L P' ' fi was flagship of The ATlanTic Squadron. A K 4 O. a Hn V vw' if f ' I . f'+3'i'j! it ' J r World War 1 escorT duTy was followed by parTicipaTion in The Nicaraguan Campaign, 1926-1931, and duTy off China in 1932. The ROCHESTER was decommissioned aT CaviTe on 29 April 1933, and she was sTricken from The lisT of acTive naval ships on 28 OcTober 1938. Towed inTo Subic Bay Channel on 24 December 1941, she was sunk To prevenT capTure by The Her overall sTaTisTics were 380 feeT in lengTh, 64 feeT aT The beam, a displacemenT of 8,150 Tons and a complemenT of 34 officers and 525 ,, 1 H' N x 'Q ' L . , . l u-N,,--w A F T A111 1: may 4 gf . 4'1 i I . f J T' 2 ff 'i rg i i9 i ii. , T 5 Japanese. 1 L fit? 'xy 2 A 'ir qdf., .fl iz ,i f-.M - ' 31. 1 1 I co pill. J . ' rig? 'NCN5 ,, gf 13+ 4, U A a ., ' .aff 5. A l 1 ' .gi. 3 i Q . ' . . K is .5-. ,H . 3-'li 9 JN men. She was armed wiTh six 8 inch breech loading rifles, Twelve 4 inch rapid fire guns, four Gailing guns, and Three 21 inch submerged Torpedo 7897-7938 . . Harrier Sarafvga The fifTh SARATOGA was launched in 1925. Though launched as an aircrafT carrier, she had originally been planned as a baTTle cruiser. During The years preceding WWII, she served as one of The TesTing grounds of naval aviaTion. During The war, she served in The BaTTle of The Solomons in 1942, in The firsT carrier raid on Tokyo in 1944 as a parT of Task Force 58, and in The biTTerly foughT baTTle of lwo Jima. The veTeran carrier compleTed her warTime service performing Training duTies aT Pearl Harbor, From The dafe of her commissioning unTil The end of The war fa period of 18 yearsj a ToTal of 89,195 landings had been made on her deck. She ioined The Magic CarpeT FleeT afTer The Japanese surrender bringing home 29,000 Pacific war veTerans, a larger number Than any oTher individual ship. The baTTle scarred lady was swallowed up by The wafers of Bikini AToll as a resulT of an undervvaTer blasT in The ATomic Bomb TesT, 25 July 1946. The overall displacemenT of This SARATOGA was 33,000 Tons and she had a lengTh of 909 feeT wiTh a widTh of 106 feeT aT The beam. A complemenT'of 195 officers and 1,676 men made up The ship's crew. World War II armamenT consisTed of sixTeen 5 inch .38 caliber dual pur- pose guns, plus baTTeries of 40mm and 20mm anTi-aircrafT guns. 'Q25-1 946 ' i Qi-lie. . x 'ggi' 'iv 15' N 'a -.1 1 95. Eifhf T ' , - ,. ,K . ,, . .R .. . , 4.51 ff, -f iq, Q .K M Q ' if i x . .W S 'ii ..!lYT5 ix . .' K' if . K' Qzxwwrr-f-lmxvuanw-e-una:.M, M x ll V ' J' 3. ij T. is 5 Ti is 4 Q .1 1. sw M i . 5. T ' 'Y-xl..

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