Tennessee (BB 43) - Naval Cruise Book

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HH! first v cruise T oleution operation klsko torowo h d a roud crew ThaT IT was a proud s ip an p sTeamed down The sTraiTs oT Juan de Fucca Trom The - PugeT Sound Navy Yard aTTer The exTensive modernizaTion period ThaT had lasTed Trom AugusT 27, l942, unTil May 7, I'-743. The ship was garbed in a new blue baTTle dress and even The crew was decked in colors, you mighT say. because They were as green as The grass ThaT covered The hills along The sTraiTs. There Tollowed Two weeks oT Trial runs in The PugeT Sound area wiTh every man spending long hours Tamiliar- izing himself wiTh all oT The new equipmenT ThaT had been insTalled. Guns were TesTed, loading drills every day, hour aTl'er hour, and radar Technicians perTecTed new Tech- niques in The use of This poTenT weapon. The green crew Took To The ways oT The sea, Their language became a liTTle salTier and They soon learned ThaT They had a ship ThaT would Take Them anywhere, anyTime, under any condiTions. Over Two monThs oT Tog, sleeT, and biTTer cold was ahead Tor The TENNESSEE when she sTeamed along The norThern rouTe To Adak in The AleuTians, a Torsaken chain of barren islands sTreTching beTween Siberia and Alaska. Many in The crew Today admiT ThaT Though They spenT Two monThs peering Through The misTs ThaT There were only one or Two occasions in which They sighTed land. When The TENNESSEE enTered Adak June 9, I943, Rear Admiral Howard F. Kingman, USN, husTled his sTaTT and gear from The USS lDAl-lO and broke his Tlag aboard This ship as Commander oT BaTTleship Division Two. Once again The TENNESSEE was The Tlagship. One look around The harbor was enough To suppress any illusions oT a grand American armada being assem-

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The nexT day iT was learned ThaT a sTriking group senT by our TleeT air wing had made conTacT and claimed sunk, one damaged. The planes operaTed under The usual weaTher condiTions, zero visibiliTy, zero ceiling. There was one dark and biTTer nighT The laTTer parT of July when The crew became as Tense as The mainspring oT a dollar alarm clock. Radio reporTs came in ThaT ad- vance Torces had conTacT wiTh nine enemy surTace craTT, laying a headon course To inTercepT Admiral Kingman's NorTh PaciTic force. The ship was in condiTion Three and as The inTervening disTance decreased, condiTion Two was seT. Original reporTs had The enemy Torce I50 miles away and moving aT high speed. As The range closed more oT The crew wenT To Their sTaTions and when 45 miles disTanT all hands were aT quarTers, ready Tor Their hrsT baTTle. And Then, The enemy Torce disappeared. There were many Theories offered as To whaT hap- pened To The phanTom Torce. Many of The Crew believed ThaT The Japs had employed Their TavoriTe baTTle ma- neuver oT Turning Tail and hauling ouT oT The area. OThers believed ThaT The enemy Torce was made up of huge, cargo-carrying submarines who had merely been running on The surTace and when They spoTTed The American TleeT had submerged and had proceeded To reinforce The Kiska garrison. To This day There has never been an official explanaTion. There is a good deal oT evidence To supporT The cargo submarine Theory. A Tew nighTs laTer anoTher Task Torce made radar conTacT wiTh some nine unidenTiTied obiecTs aT 20,000 yards, and The baTTleships MISSISSIPPI and NEW MEXICO Tired abouT 600 rounds Trom Their main baTTery aT The TargeTs. No wreckage was ever Touncl. The following day one of our scouT planes reporTecl nine unidenTiTied ships approaching The Kislca area. When This Task Torce rushed To The area, noThing was found. il 5 . i' V . Q 9 XXL f a 5 e F5 claw vm- 'ra-I Hsieh wmie - A A W