Shangri La (CVA 38) - Naval Cruise Book

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SAGA QF A LADY T110 cruise of the USS SHANGRLLA qCx fA-3sp CHIJ CARRIER AIR GRQUP TWC November l956'May 1957

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1 1 I X 3 s I

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HISTORY Every lady has a past, and 1'm afraid I'm no exception. You must be wondering where I got the name G' Shangri-La . Sit down, and 1'11 give you the whole story. It all started with the famous raid General jimmy Doolittle made on Tokyo on the morning of April 13, 1942. Though a top secret at the time, Ifoo1itt1e's flight had originated from the carrier USS 1'lORNl'l'1l. When the press asked President Roosevelt the name of the base from which the raid operated, FITR answered Shangri-La , meaning the mythical utopia of james Hi1ton's novel, lost Horizon When I was born at the Norfolk Navy Yard on january 15, 19-13,1 was christened S11.-XNCIRI-IA in memory of all the exploits of the HORNET, which had been sunk the previous October. On September 15, 1944, I went to sea for the first time and began to get in practice for my first slap at the japanese. This chance came April 25, 1945. You've seen a woman angry before, but you've never seen anything compared to the fury I unleashed from that day until the end of the war. I'm not bragging, you understand, but the raids my men made became so numerous that I became known as the Tokyo Iixpress . With the end of VVorld VVar II, I thought my career was ended when in june, 1947 Iwas placed in reserve. However, with the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, I was given another chance to strut my stull' and on May 10, 1951 I was recommissioned for duty in the Atlantic Fleet. My big thrill came in September, 10:32 when I was selected as the first ship to receive the angled deck, steam catapults, and complete modernization at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, 1Vashington. I emerged from the yard on january 10, 1955 as the most modern carrier in the world and set out to establish a few records for myself. My first first occurred the following September when 1 played hostess to 20.3 wives of my men for a one-day cruise at sea. This was the first time a Navy ship had pulled such a stunt, and it met with such success that the program has been adopted throughout the Navy. The next day I sent nfl' six of my F917-8 Cougars on a non-stop flight from the Pacific to the Atlantic where they observed the commissioning of the USS FORRES'l',-Xl. This was the first such flight ever made. Then on january 3, 1956 I gathered my 3,000 men aboard and became the first angled deck carrier to make a Far East cruise. Among the feats my men performed during the tour was establishing a fleet record for replenishing when they gave me 177 tons of provisions in 52 minutes-and all by liighline from another ship while at sea. After 166 days in the 1Vestern Pacific I returned home on june 23, 19.50. lfuring the cruise 1'd been called everything from a trim lady to The Iron Monster H and a bucket of bolts 3 but there was always a ring of pride in the voices of my men when they talked about me. By the way, if you think Marilyn Nlonroe has some trim measurements, just get a load of mine: Displacement ...... 41,434 tons Overall length .... S89 feet Beam ............... 103 feet Speed ....... .... Z 30 knots plus Armament... .... Iiight 511,038 caliher dual purpose guns Seven 3Hf50 caliber anti-aircraft twin mounts Approximately 75 modern aircraft Your glass seems about empty. just a monzent and I'1l tell you of my latest cruise and the exploits of my many men.