At 1951 on the 22nd, Princeton had secured from flight quarters and was steaming on course 090˚, the sun and ENIWETOK vanishing behind her. En route to a fueling rendezvous, Task Group 58.4 and been divided into two smaller units and the "P" was now part of Task Unit 58.4.7, comprised of Saratoga, San Juan, Case, Craven, Maury and McCall.
23 FEB 44
While other ships refueled, at sunrise Princeton launched 4 VT and 4 VF for Surface Patrol and Combat Air Patrol respectively. Proving that while the Japanese had been temporarily vanquished, the flight deck was an enemy that would never back down: "At 1008 VT-5, in landing, crashed into barrier wires and damaged propellor and engine; no injuries to personnel."
By 1245 Princeton had begun her approach to the port side of USS Ashtabula (AO-51) for refueling, "steaming on a fueling course of 065˚ at fueling speed 10 knots." The unrep lasted almost 4 hours during which Princeton "received 85,000 barrels of fuel oil and 72,000 gallons of aviation gasoline."
Wait. Whut? Recall from this post that one barrel of fuel oil = 42 gallons, therefore on this day Ashtabula transferred...3,570,000 gallons of fuel oil? Methinks that log entry is a typo. 85,000 barrels would have been 58% of Ashtabula's entire capacity (146,000 barrels) and given that she had previously replenished at least six of the Task Unit's ships, including the carrier Saratoga, I believe the P took on 85,000 gallons, vice barrels.
Either way, Skipper Buracker was impressed enough to include in the War Diary this praise: "The proficiency of the USS ASHTABULA in fueling at sea was worthy of note; the operation was smoother than any other in the experience of this vessel."
Ashtabula had a long and distinguished career, earning 8 World War II and 4 Korean War battle stars along with 8 campaign stars for her service during Vietnam.
I understand that ships are inanimate objects, but I admit that I still have an emotional attachment to both Constellation and Independence, carriers in which I spent over 4 1/2 years of my life. I was melancholic when they were towed from Bremerton to Brownsville, Texas to be dismantled:
That said, Ashtabula's service to the nation included her disheartening but important final duty as a target ship for a SINKEX. She was defiant to the end:
"Ashtabula was subjected to eight RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, two RIM-66 Standard SAMs fired in the surface-to-surface mode, three helicopter-launched Sea Skua missiles, four Mk82 500 pound bombs, and nearly one hundred rounds of 3", 100 mm, and 5" gunfire from an armada consisting of one French, three British and three United States warships. Ashtabula remained afloat and was ultimately sent to the bottom after being fitted with demolition charges."
February 23rd closed with Princeton and her Task Unit turning back to the northwest and proceeding to a station north of ENIWETOK.
24 FEB 44
Just yesterday the men of Princeton presumed they had seen the last of ENIWETOK but in the early hours after midnight, orders were received that she would on this day "furnish air cover for consolidation operations by landing forces on Eniwetok Atoll." Flight operations commenced at 1542 with the launch of 4 Avengers which would provide a Surface Patrol and 16 Hellcats, 8 of which would CAP over the ship and the remaining 8 over ENGEBI.
By 1844, all 20 aircraft had recovered...with zero crashes.
At 1920 the air operations plan for tomorrow was received, outlining a repeat of today's events.
25 FEB 44
At 1606 8 fighters were launched with the mission to CAP over Engebi An hour later 8 more took to the sky to provide Combat Air Patrol over the ships of the Task Unit, along with an additional 4 bombers for Surface Patrol.
By 1848, 56 hours and 40 minutes since the "No Accidents In The Last ____ Hours" board had been updated, plane "VF-14 crashed into number one barrier, suffering minor damage to plane, no injuries to personnel."
February 25th marked another milestone for "The Peerless P," the one year anniversary of her commissioning, which did not go unremarked upon in the War Diary:
"This date marked the first anniversary of this vessel's commissioned service, and was marked by appropriate programs recapitulating the past year of activity, a special issue of the ship's paper, and a special dinner for all messes at evening meal. The following statistics covering the first year of operation are of interest:
Total Engine miles steamed... 70,701 miles
Fuel oil used... 6,923,324 gallons
Gasoline used... 662,378 gallons
Water distilled... 9,869,499 gallons
Bombs dropped... 440,000 pounds
40 mm. ammunition expended... 18,698 rounds
20 mm. ammunition expended... 38,538 rounds
Number of air strikes made... 44
Enemy planes shot down or destroyed... 26
Enemy ships sunk... 3
Landings on flight deck... 3,828
Catapult shots... 897
Crossings of the equator... 40
Electrical power generated... 4,403,104 kilowatt hours
Time underway... 3,452 hours
Steaming boiler hours... 16,287 hours
A solid year's work. Bravo Zulu to all hands.
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