Smalley (DD 565) - Naval Cruise Book

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S 9 .Jr .5 A fi! il lid if Ei M , 'K af 1+ TTT J' JW 8 Um, ., . ...J ..,, 'fm U Uiyision Op mfivn Department On a bleak cold morning in january the ships of Destroyer Division 302 steamed into Narra Bay. They had left some eights months previously. lust as during normal operations. the shipis oilice became the melting pot lor all ship's business. This is where her Plans of the Day and watch bills were issued. This is where her operating schedules were first made known. This is where all the ships administra- tive information was filed, and then drawn from this pool to he pieced into the jigsaw puzzle known as ships work. News and infor- mation on ports-of-call was published hy the Officc force in the form ol dopc sheets dealing with recreation, cintertainment, and souvenir buying. llc-re it was that our logs were typed. records kept. and the numerous other clerical tasks were pcrlormcd which helped make the voyagc a smooth one. The Clombat team was small and rather green at the start ol' that long trclx toward Taslx Force T7 in the lar-oll Sea ol' japan. lint morale and willingness to Work were high, and the radar gang soon proved themselves a smooth and competent bunch. Occasionally a problem arose which momentarily stumped the experts, but the most involved operations soon became routine. At infrequent moments, how- ever, mistakes did occur, which oftentimes led to a good laugh at the expense of the perpetra- tor. The radio gang began by losing their only experienced man, which put quite a load on the new group of petty otticers. Tratlic literally trebled. Transmitters and receivers were in almost constant use.. Radio soon found it neces- sary to switch totwo sections. In spite of their shortage of personnel and lack of experience, the Snmlley radio gang had a high rating in the performance ot their duties and deserved the NVell Done they received from the Captain. For the Sonarmen, the hours of training condensed into one moment when Mr. XVPTU llill said upermission granted. Marcinowski

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yelled fire, and Sims let 24 hedgehogs ily over the starboard how one Spring evening in the mid-Pacific. NYhether a sulnnarine crew regretted that moment or a whale had a new hole through which to spout, the Sonarmen will never know. However the numerous mammals sighted as we crossed that wide span of hlue water lead us to an embarrassing conclusion despite the convincing arguments presented hy Mydosh. Sluski. House and the other members of the gang. The seemingly endless watches of continuous 'ipingingi' off Korea found Gregory or Brown on the stack and always Myers man- ning the Toe-Potfi Can we ever forget the BKT lowerings every four hours, our feet hare and our pants rolled, dodging the seas that broke over the fantail. Like everyone else, the signal gang started the cruise lacking in task force experience. But after operating with TF 77, the signalmen were a crack combat-trained outfit. The overall excellence of visual communications is elo- quent testimony to the training and hard work put in hy the hridge gang. In addition to this, their line naxigation in tlllliilllllllill' waters is deserving ol eonnnentlation. The SIIIIIHVU carries some I5 million dollars worth ol tnlies and assorted circuits which con- stitute the responsibility' ol' the electronics sec- tion oli the department. And. except for 3 recalcitrant YK, the high degree of opcrahility ol' the equipment is a taeit trihnte to the ET's radio, Sonar, Search and Fire Control Radars. They llorm a rather important segment of the SIIIllHt'tjl.S' personality as a man-of-war. In conclusion, the department was faced with a tough assignment' in girding itself for war. Our fine showing overseas tells part of the story of how successfully that assignment was met. The rest ol' it is known only to those who stood the watches and sea detail, and the thousand and one other items which together, constitute lite ahoard a modern combatant vessel. Comh it plotlr rs ii ' I' Al the keylroarcl 56