Admin note: Welcome aboard to our newest Shipmate Pam Booker! Ahoy Pam, welcome to the journey.
Drill Instructor: WHY ARE YOU A DAY LATE WITH THIS DIARY ENTRY CANDIDATE
OYSTER-LEE?!
Candidate Oesterle: NO EXCUSE SIR!
20 JAN 44
Dawn on January 20th found Task Group 58.4 and Princeton “en route from Pearl Harbor, T.H., to Marshall Islands area*.” Princeton turned into the wind at 0650 and six minutes later had launched 4 Avengers for Intermediate“ and “Inner A/S patrols.” Throughout the morning the Task Groups' other two carriers, flagship** Saratoga, and Langley would maneuver in and out of the formation in order to launch aircraft for training and A/S patrol duties.
By midday the OTC, Rear Admiral Ginder, had at various times ordered Cruising Dispositions “5L-O”, "5R-O”, "5V-O2”, and back to "5L-O.” If I had to guess, I would assume he was determining, through demonstrated performance, the competence of all the “shoes” in his Task Group to sail in formation.
Another responsibility of the OTC was the training of subordinates who would need to step up in the event the OTC became a casualty. “At 1335 U.S.S. BOSTON assumed tactical command. At 1340 U.S.S. SARATOGA left the formation and launched 7 VT for A/S patrol.”
The day’s flight operations were, unsurprisingly, as colorful as ever:
“At 1615 [Princeton] left formation to take station for flight operations, changing course into the wind to 085˚ at 1639, commenced launching at 1642. The first plane launched, VT No. 4, crashed in the water on the starboard bow. The pilot, Lieutenant (jg) T. M. CALDWELL, A-V(N), USNR, and his two crew members were seen to leave the plane safely and were recoverd by the U.S.S. FANNING with minor injuries. Plane crash occurred in position Lat. 17˚50; N; Long. 162˚48.8 W, and sank in 2900 fathoms of water. Regained formation at 1705 after having launched 5 VT for A/S patrol.”
Ho hum.
At 1915, the OTC published the POD† (Plan of the Day) for the next day's events.
Princeton’s 21st of January would commence at 0700 with the launch of "16 VF for combat air patrol and 5 VT for A/S patrol and 2 additional VT aircraft to act as simulated enemy ‘snooper’ planes.”
Langley would launch 16 fighters and 9 bombers which were ordered “to proceed in any direction to a distance of 100 miles, then to return and simulate an attack on this formation.”
At 1300, Saratoga would repeat Langley’s tasking, but with 23 Hellcats, 20 VSB††, and 2 VT.
In May of 1991, General Norman Schwarzkopf, addressing the graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy spoke thusly: “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” I don’t think he was the first military man to express the sentiment, but suffice it to say that Task Group 58.4’s training did not stop, even while enroute to meet the enemy.
In fact, I would submit that it didn’t stop precisely because they were headed to war.
Princeton’s flying day would conclude with the launch of 4 VT for A/S patrol at 1545, to be recovered 15 minutes prior to sunset.
Which I must admit made me a bit wistful and reminded me of this wonderful William S. Phillips print that I have on the wall of my “I Love Me” room:
* I hope you all are not viewing these emails on your phones but if so, zoom in on right side upper half of the map below to find the Hawaiian Island chain. From there, scroll 2500 miles to the southwest to find The Marshall Islands. The Marshalls are a sprawling collection of atolls, the most recognizable to our modern ears being Kwajelein and Eniwetok, but they include Bikini, Rongelap, Wojte, Maleolap, Mille, Jaluit, Ailinglapalap (10 times fast!), Namu and many others. I recommend you save this particular map to your desktop for future reference.
** The word “flagship" is a term used for the lead vessel in a group or fleet of vessels. It is derived from the fact that Naval Officers whose rank is Rear Admiral (separated into Upper Half and Lower Half, Lower Half also referred to as “Commodore.” Makes perfect sense yes?) or higher are entitled to fly or display a flag denoting their rank. Hence, they are known as “flag officers.” Therefore, a ship in which the highest ranking officer, in our case the OTC Rear Admiral Ginder, is located, is known as “the flagship,” in our case U.S.S. Saratoga. So simple even a pilot can understand.
† The POD is essentially a plan of the ship’s activities for a 24 hour period. It was the master plan for who would be standing watch and when, the Uniform of the Day, training evolutions, chow times, entertainment, and any other significant events (Changes of Command, Distinguished Visitors, etc.):
†† VSB: V - Heavier than air, S - Scout, B - Bomber, in this case referred to the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bomber. Saratoga was a much larger carrier dispLacing 36,000 tons, 21,000 tons more than Princeton and could accommodate 67 aircraft to Princeton’s 33. Saratoga’s Air Group included 30 Helldivers.
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