Her week in Majuro Lagoon at an end Princeton hoisted anchor for parts as yet undivulged at mid-day on April 13th.
Some of you may have taken note by now that some of the verbiage used in the War Diary, while unique to the Navy certainly, betrays a distinct bureaucratic quality. With that in mind, I will quote in full the entry noting The P's departure:
"At 1216 underway from Berth 99, Majuro Atoll Lagoon, Marshall Islands, to sortie in accordance with order of ComTaskGroup 58.3, Speed Letter, File Number CCD-4/A4-3, Secret Serial No. 0070, dated 11 April 1944, to operate in accordance with ComTaskGroup 58.3 Operation Order No. R01-44, File No. CCD-4/A4-3(1), Secret Serial No. 0072, dated 11 April 1944, in conjunction with ComTaskForce 58 Operation Plan No 5-44, File No. A16-3, Secret Serial No. 00192, dated 9 April 1944."
Exhale. This was not a joke. And for what it is worth, having been a part of the Department of Defense bureaucracy for about 24 years prior to working at the Federal Aviation Administration for a few...I can tell you honestly that the layers upon layers of FAA/DOT bureaucracy make the DOD look like amateurs. Just sayin'.
And how did getting underway go?
"There was confusion in forming up resulting from the fact that no fleet guide was specified at first and doubt existed as to whether the disposition should be formed up on the USS LANGLEY, which should occupy fleet center, or on the USS ENTERPRISE, which vessel had been last acting guide as column leader; the signal designating the USS LANGLEY as guide being executed finally at 1401."
Of note is the fact that Task Group 58.3 — now comprised of 4 aircraft carriers, 4 battleships, 3 heavy cruisers and 15 destroyers — has sailed with a new Task Group Commander, Rear Admiral J. W. Reeves, Jr. Interestingly, there is no mention of the departure of Rear Admiral Ginder.
And to make one last comment with regard to our recent zig-zag discussion, here is a chronologic summary of April 13th's zig-zagging:
- 1318 commenced zigzagging, base course 100˚
- 1341 ceased zigzagging and resumed base course.
- 1454 commenced zigzagging, base course 265˚
- 1545 ceases zigzagging, fleet course changed left to 220˚
- 1615 commenced zigzagging
- 1631 ceased zigzagging, fleet course changed right to 255˚
- 1635 commenced zigzagging
And then...exasperation: "This was the fourth different zigzag plan employed in the space of less than four hours."
- Local sunset was at 1847.
- 1900 ceased zigzagging, fleet course changed left to 250˚
- 1915 resumed zigzagging
Knowing what we now know about at least some of the finer points required to zigzag a formation without self-inducing a catastrophe, in particular the absolute precision required to do it successfully, the above seems kind of crazy to me and I can only imagine there was some salty banter taking place up on the bridge.
I would like to have been a fly on the wall.
NNNN
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