Toledo (CA 133) - Naval Cruise Book

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ln carly lfchruary thc lll'il.l+lN:X canic into Yokosuka and alongside thi- ship to transfer flags. Admiral Hart- inan who had been aboard since October would leave and Nice .-Xdniiral liusscll S. Berkey, Connnander Seventh Fleet. would conic aboard. ln addition to the official transfer of records and personnel, there was again an exchange of liberty dope between the well- tanncd incn of the HELENA and those of the TOLEDO who had put in thc long, hard winter in Japan. There were longing looks toward the sinking coastline as we left. but what dope the other guys put out made Sang- ley Point. Cavite in particular, sound not bad at all. The first night out was one for the books. Weather reports hadn't indicated any typhoons in the vicinity, but from somewhere, murky weather sneaked up and had the ship rolling above twenty degrees, the amount above depending on how much it changed hands before it got to you. There was Air Defense at this time as the Air Force planes from Japan gave us a fond goodbye. This combination produced disastrous results on many stations. Our journey to Sangley was via Guam and while approaching this undesirable tropical rock We were again attacked by land-based planes. This was but a small part of what lay ahead of us. Duty in the Philippines found the carrier BOXER tagging after us with her F8F,s and ADl's, in addition to Air Force Air Defense--the 40's fry for the 'target sleeve. , V Q ' fi ,. . JWQV I 0 ,, It X ZW ,X up ,, V ,W Jo, 'f , Af f f 'fff X , M, 4 fffff ,, , , X W, vf ' My MV' ' f f f f f ff H f f ff ww , W, f A I I, I ,, ,Awww f

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VADM Russell S. Berkey. Com. SEVENTH Fleet, made TOLEDO his flagship upon departure of RADM Charles C. Hartman, ComCruDiv THREE. The change of command, a double switch between HELENA and TOLEDO, started a new volume of our WesPac story. To- CA-133 came Vice Admiral Berkey, bringing with him his Seventh Fleet staff of nearly a hun- dred officers and men, to HELENA went Rear Admiral Hartman, ready to continue his duties with the Japan forces in a new flagship. Soon after the interchange of flags, off we sailed on 10 February for a two- day stop at A pra Harbor, Guam, sunny southern island of the Marianas group. Here the beaches and pools claimed most of the attention. The harbor that once held battle- wagons, carriers, cruisers, and multitudes of smaller vessels now had to be content with only us. Training and exercising is never easy, and under a tropic sun it was real work. Never- theless, we pitched in to do the job, and by the time the ship steamed by the rocky island bastion of Corregidor at the entrance of Manila Bay, TOLEDO was looking and azcting' like a real man-o-war. For the Qhrst time in years, we moored to a buoy-this one at Sangley Point, our new base, and the liberty lure of Cavite. ,jauthwwwl Bntuwl . . . The Guam stop included swimming, shuffleboard. We entered Manila Bay past the island fortress of Corregidor. First visit to Cavite required directions from the local constabula I ,,,!!,, A , ,T Mi . 1-i-'wins s - . t, L',SQ,i fg,i- .X as X: f K X s - Q Q ' . . A ,,., .K X. . x lg cf if K x K QNX X X . st . . . ,?

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Q .,,.5 .MA , 3 S H T I .4 , . W wig, , 3 B K W., .,.,,., M gf, M -f 'Vr. f 'L ij: 1 T ' A .A,W f 1 ' l l t T i , , -A 1 T' it p D M A i -' 1 A ' Striking a bargain with the ieepney driver-BEFORE the ride. Seats four, and sometimes more. Af least the SP's could have ice cream. F-80's, so well known. These, plus more gunnery, C.l.C., damage control, etc., drills than you could shake a man-hour at, gave us the undisputed title uThe most drilled ship in the Pacific Fleetfa By the time We left Guam enroute to Sang- ley Point, the uni'form of the day had changed to undress whites and then to Hwith- out jumpers. The hot weather was hard on everyone, but the sun was something new and very pleasant. As the ship threaded its way up the many islands which make up the Philippines, the many pairs of Japanese binoculars were well checked-out as puffs of smoke and odd looking buildings of nearby islands were given the once over. This was especially true with the looming up of Corregidor on the horizon marking the entrance to Manila Bay. The rock was passed and off in the distance, Sangley Point came into View. The first look consisting of quonsets and an air strip was nothing to rave about, and, in fact, as time went on, the look remained the same and the opinion became Worse. Once outside the gate, however, things be- gan to look up. The first object to meet the