Greetings all! Formal training in my new ride is complete. The airplane is impressive and I couldn't help but ponder how far aviation has come in such a short time. The "round dial" or "steam gauge" technology of the WWII era…
...has given way to the flat panels and rectangles of the Dreamliner...
And now? Onward to the past!
When last we blogged, Princeton had just completed several days of combat operations against Japanese forces in The Caroline Islands, after which she had once again proceeded directly to Majuro Atoll where her men would spend a fast-paced 36 hours off-loading ammunition and weapons in preparation for the 2000 mile transit to Pearl Harbor.
6 May 1944
Through the early morning hours Princeton and crew continued making preparations to get underway, which included "receiving aboard a total of 18 officers and 62 enlisted men passengers to the Hawaiian area."
At 0932 The P was underway from Berth 99 and met outside the channel by a two-destroyer escort comprised of USS McCall and USS Pritchett. By 1051, now part of Task Group 58.7 — 3 carriers, 7 destroyers, and 1 battleship — had set course 045˚ and 15 knots. All ships would undergo "availability periods" at Pearl, which is Navyspeak for varying degrees of, but typically significant, maintenance.
After a day of zigzagging and minor course changes, TG 58.7 had eaten up almost 150 of the 2000 mile journey.
7 MAY 1944
The monotony of an oceanic transit can be mind-numbing for most hands on an aircraft carrier, the exception being the aviators, assuming the winds and the threat condition allow them to exchange its gray confines for the occasional untethered freedom of the wild blue. On this day, Princeton's VT squadron launched two separate 4-plane ASP events, all 8 aircraft conducting their search missions and recovering uneventfully. On the day, TG 58.7 had covered 224 nautical miles, leaving slightly less than 1500 miles to Pearl Harbor, and perhaps some R&R at the Royal Hawaiian.
8 MAY 44
Despite leaving the active combat zone, the ships and aircraft of TG 58.7 continued to train and the day was full of aircraft launches for surface search and fighter intercept training. Yorktown launched a tow aircraft which provided an aerial target for gunnery practice in support of several surface combatants.
At 1658, while returning for recovery, one of Princeton's Avengers "dropped an aircraft depth bomb about 1500 yards off the port bow. This depth bomb exploded about ninety seconds later, causing a slight jar to be felt throughout the ship; an inspection revealed no leaks or structural damage to the ship."
I imagine that was a somewhat...sinking...feeling for the aviator who mistakenly dropped that bomb. But...no harm, no foul.
I'm not sure if the Navy conducted Shock Trials in the 1940s, but it does today:
This incident reminds me that much, but not all, of the buffoonery I witnessed during my career occurred at what we called "Air Power Demonstrations," which normal people would call an "Airshow." When the Navy is not engaged in active combat, our primary mission is one of deterrence. A subset of deterrence is "showing the flag" and there is simply no denying that an aircraft carrier up close is quite a sight to see. In my fifteen years being in, on, and around them, I was never not humbled and awestruck when seeing the boat pier side or at anchor in some foreign bay.
It was fairly routine for the carrier to host "Dee Vees" — Distinguished Visitors, which normal people would call "VIPs" — often heads of state, more often military or business leaders from foreign nations we were trying to impress. The demonstration was designed to show visitors the myriad capabilities of the ship and its embarked Air Wing. As such it included high speed fly bys, air-to-air refueling, fighters strafing and bombers bombing. On some occasions our guests would be treated to a fighter shooting a live missile at an aerial flare.
A-6E Intruders from VA-196 demonstrate the "Wall of Water" produced by two aircraft dropping two dozen 500 pound Mark 82 bombs one mile abeam the carrier. Bomb fuzing was set so that half the bombs would detonate on impact with the water and half would explode fractions of a second after impact, producing the alternating white or dark explosion pattern. One mile abeam was the minimum safe distance to drop in order to preclude any fragments reaching spectators.
With this in mind...
Remind me to tell you about the time we almost killed Benazir Bhutto and her husband during an airshow off the coast of Pakistan.
Or the day a Hornet dropped a live bomb less than half a mile abeam the ship, well inside the 1 mile safety minimum, and every swinging...dude...hit the deck face first, including the Admiral in Charge of all U.S. Naval Forces in the region. The lone exception being the Japanese Chief of Naval Operations who stood alone, and apparently unafraid, in his immaculate white uniform while bomb fragments rained down on the flight deck.
Or the time, during another demonstration, I was strolling along the flight deck chit-chatting with a buddy when a Hornet rolled in to strafe the ocean alongside the ship. I recall watching the roll-in heading and thinking to myself, his nose is not really pointed away from the ship like usual. Shortly after firing a 2 or 3 second burst, (it was not uncommon to see tracer rounds hit the water and careen off in directions that seemed absurdly contrary to the laws of physics) I heard a hollow "THWUMP!" and simultaneously my Shipmate froze and put a hand on his chest. There we stood, like pigs contemplating a sundial, staring at a 20mm round spinning clockwise on the catapult track. The round, its lethal energy largely spent, had hit Stinky center-mass in the sternum, where it left a nice bruise and provided him with a decent story and a quality souvenir.
So ya, a depth bomb 3/4 of a mile off the port bow? No big deal.
9 MAY 1944
May 9th was unremarkable, which for any naval vessel is generally a good thing. Target sleeves were towed by the Air Groups at which various surface vessels were able to shoot and hone their gunnery skills. Every day is a training day in the Navy and all the while, TG 58.7 continued to eat up the miles. By the end of the day, Pearl Harbor was less than 48 hours distant.
NNNN
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