4/3-4-5-5-6/44: Back to Majuro, Fleet Guide

3-6 APR 44

"Steaming as before in company with Task Group 58.3 en route from fueling rendezvous to Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands..."

The bridge log entries for April 3rd through the 6th are generally unremarkable running commentaries of fleet formation dispositions, course changes, routine ASP mission aircraft launches and recoveries and the occasional recording of weather conditions.

At 0800 on the 3rd Princeton's position is noted as 0˚ 11' South, 150˚ 11' East which, if plotted on Google Earth, indicate Majuro is some 1300 miles to the ENE of the Task Force.

And yet...the War Diary records fleet course as 100˚ up until 0845 on the 4th, when it was turned slightly port to 090˚. By noon on the 4th fleet course was changed port another thirty degrees to 060˚, in what appears to be a straight line to Majuro. It is not clear why the Task Force spent a day and a half avoiding the shortest distance between two points.

The relatively uneventful transit time was, as always, an opportunity for training and throughout both days "OTC had been following the practice of rotating the [fleet] guide to various ships."

The "fleet guide" was a ship designated as a reference point which all other ships of the formation would use in order to keep proper station in the formation. Recall our generic fleet formation example from a few days ago...

...and let us assume that the flagship CV is designated as fleet guide. Each ship's Navigator, assisted by the bridge team and Sailors such as Princeton Quartermaster Robert Valliant, would take constant bearing and distance measurements in order to maintain proper position in the designated formation.

It sounds like it should be relatively easy, but as with many things it was easier said than done.

"At 0845...USS MASSACHUSETTS designated fleet guide, bearing 101˚, distant 6600 yards from this vessel. ... It proved particularly difficult for the ships in the after semi-circle to keep accurate station on a vessel 6600 yards distant." This difficulty was exacerbated when "At 0904 steamed into a frontal area with heavy local showers, reducing visibility to 2000 yards at times; this condition continued throughout the day."

The poor weather persisted throughout the 5th, the OTC at first delaying and eventually canceling flight operations.

Overcast skies during daylight hours at sea turn the beautiful blue Pacific into a flat, monochromatic desert. As the Task Force churned relentlessly forward, USS Caldwell (DD-605) became the dedicated postman, ping-ponging from one barely distinguishable gray shape to the next delivering mail and messages.

USS Caldwell (DD-605), recipient of 8 Battle Stars for her service in World War II. On 12 December, 1944 while escorting landing craft to Ormoc Bay Caldwell bore the brunt of a fierce air attack. Hit on the bridge simultaneously by a suicide plane and fragments from a two-bomb straddle, the destroyer suffered 33 killed and 40 wounded including her Commanding officer. Despite the heavy damage, Caldwell's after guns continued to fire on enemy planes, while her well-trained damage control parties saved the ship.

Overcast skies at night obscure any hint of star or moonlight, creating a profound and disorienting blackness one has to experience to comprehend. It was in these conditions on the evening of the 5th that Princeton "At 2400 changed to Zone Plus 12 Time, making the date again 5 April 1944, West Longitude Date."

At 0900, the 33rd hour of April 5th, ComFifthFleet Admiral Spruance in USS New Jersey directed Task Force 58's Task Groups to divide and proceed independently to Majuro in accordance with previously issued orders. Task Group 58.3 changed course left to 030˚ and "with frequent rain squalls and heavy overcast" persisting, cancelled all planned flight operations for the remainder of the day and maintained a consistent 16 knot speed to the NNE.

As dawn broke on April 6th, Princeton was slightly north and approximately 50 miles west of Majuro. The weather had cleared and the atoll was sighted at 0900, bearing 129˚ and 16 miles distant. OTC ordered the Cruisers and Battleships, designated Task Unit 58.3.1, to detach and enter the lagoon independently. "At 1009 carrier task unit formed column formation in order USS LEXINGTON, USS YORKTOWN, USS LANGLEY, USS PRINCETON, with 1000 yard distance between ships." Each carrier was detached by OTC to enter the lagoon singly and at 1152 Princeton passed through the entrance buoys of Calinin Channel. By 1247 she was "anchored in Berth 99...in 33 fathoms of water with 120 fathoms of chain to the port anchor, sand bottom."

For the next week, Princeton would remain at anchor while a seemingly unending parade of barges, oilers, repair vessels and provisioning lighters would come alongside to prepare for the next phase of her combat duties.

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