Shangri La (CV 38) - Naval Cruise Book

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Captam James D Barnet chats wzth Mrs James H Doolittle wiring and intricate machinery were installed and her hull reached the height of a four story building as she was readied for her call to duty. Amid a cheering crowd of nearly 100 OOO the Shangri-La slid gracefully down the builder s ways on February 24 1944 Speaking over a worldwide to the new craft as the carrier tasted salt water for the first time. Prom February to September the precommissiomng detail of the Shangri-La arrived to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of this immense steel city. For in effect she was a Clty of more than two thousand population with her own power light and heating plant a cobbler tailor and barbor shop. Her radio network, Mrs. J. H. Doolittle, wife of General Doolittle, bid Godspeed

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U.S.S. Shangri-La Launched February 24, 1944. Sponsor, Mrs. J. H. Doolittle. Honor guest, James Hilton, author of Lost Horizon was laid in the Norfolk Navy Yard - the twelfth of twenty-four Essex-class carriers. For thirteen months skilled workmen labored around the clock, shaping and forming the huge steel hull sections to be secured to the garboard and sheer strakesg fitting heavy steel traverse bulkheads to divide the long hull into compartments for machinery, storerooms, water tanks, fuel tanks, ammunition magazines, liv- ing compartments, and voids. Deck after deck, and month after month, the Shangri-La took shape. Into those machinery spaces went eight boilers developing 150,000 horsepower, capa- ble of driving her 33,000 tons through the water at 32 knots. Miles of electrical 5

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ship's store carried 'a 360,000 stock of candies, cigars, toothbrushes, stationery, shoe polish, jewelry, inks, plus hundreds of other items including a complete soda fountain, dispensing ice cream frozen aboarfgl ship, Her stainless steel gal- leys were capable of more than 10,000 meals per day and the laundry was more than sufficient for twice the crew. Complete machine and woodworking shops provided equipment to repair any normal battle damage. A printing plant provided a daily newspaper from press releases received on regular Navy radio schedules. Thus the crew of the Shangrz'-Lal assembled on the flight deck the morning of September 15, 1944, to hear Rear Admiral Felix Gygax formally commis- sion the U.S,S. Shangri-La and turn her over to her first commanding officer, Captain James D. Barner. Q Commissioning Ceremonies - September 15, 1944.