The FReeper Foxhole Studies USS Alaska CB-1

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[alfa6]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

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The USS Alaska CB-1



The six Alaska class "large cruisers" were ordered in September 1940 under the massive 70% Expansion ("Two Ocean Navy") building program. The Navy had been considering since 1938 building ships of this entirely new type, intermediate in size between battleships and heavy cruisers. The new ships were to carry out what were then the two primary missions of heavy cruisers: protecting carrier strike groups against enemy cruisers and aircraft and operating independenly against enemy surface forces. Their extra size and larger guns would enhance their value in both these missions and would also provide insurance against reports that Japan was building "super cruisers" more powerful than U.S. heavy cruisers. In fact, Japan developed plans for two such ships in 1941--partly as a response to the Alaskas--but never placed orders for their construction.

As built, the Alaskas were much closer to cruisers in design than to battleships or battlecruisers. They lacked the multiple layers of compartmentation and special armor along the sides below the waterline that protected battleships against torpedos and underwater hits by gunfire. Other typical cruiser features in their design were the provision of aircraft hangars and the single large rudder. Unlike other U.S. cruisers of the day, the hangars and catapults were located amidships, and the single rudder made them difficult to maneuver. On the other hand, the Alaskas' side armor covered more of the hull than was standard in contemporary U.S. cruisers.

Wartime conditions ultimately reduced the Alaska class to two ships. Construction of CB-3 through CB-6--along with the five Montana (BB-67) class battleships--was suspended in May 1942 to free up steel and other resources for more urgently needed escorts and landing craft. A year later, CB-4 through CB-6 were definitively cancelled. Hawaii (CB-3), however, was restored to the building program. Launched and partially fitted out, her construction was suspended and she was considered for conversion to a missile ship or command ship, but she was scrapped, still incomplete, in 1959.



After more normal construction periods, Alaska (CB-1) and Guam (CB-2) both arrived in the Pacific theater ready for action in early 1945. There they carried out both of their designed missions--carrier protection and surface strike--although their chances of encountering their primary intended opponents, Japanese heavy cruisers, had long since disappeared. Both returned to the U.S. soon after the war's end and, not finding a place in the postwar active fleet, remained in reserve until scrapped in 1960-61.

Design Specifications for the Alaska Class Cruisers displacement. 27,000tons; length. 806'6"; beam. 91'1"; draft. 27'1" (mean)
speed. 31.4 Kts; complement. 2,251;
Armor: 9" belt, 12 4/5" turrets, 1 2/5" + 4" + 5/8" decks
armament. 9 12", 12 5", 56 40 mm, 34 20 mm; aircraft. 4
Machinery: 150,000 SHP; G.E. geared turbines, 4 screws.

The Alaska class consisted of six ships, of which three were never begun:

# Alaska (CB-1), built at Camden, New Jersey. Keel laid in December 1941; launched in August 1943; commissioned in June 1944. # Guam (CB-2), built at Camden, New Jersey. Keel laid in February 1942; launched in November 1943; commissioned in September 1944. # Hawaii (CB-3), built at Camden, New Jersey. Construction suspended between May 1942 and May 1943. Keel laid in December 1943; launched in November 1945; never completed. # Philippines (CB-4), ordered at Camden, New Jersey. Never begun, suspended in May 1942 and cancelled in June 1943. # Puerto Rico (CB-5), ordered at Camden, New Jersey. Never begun, suspended in May 1942 and cancelled in June 1943. # Samoa (CB-6), ordered at Camden, New Jersey. Never begun, suspended in May 1942 and cancelled in June 1943.



The Navy's third Alaska (CB-1 )-the first of a class of "large cruisers" designed as a compromise to achieve a fast cruiser with a heavy main battery was laid down on 17 December 1941 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Launched on 15 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Ernest Gruening, wife of the Honorable Ernest Gruening, Governor of Alaska, and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 June 1944, Capt. Peter K. Fischler in command.

Following post-commissioning fitting out at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Alaska stood down the Delaware River on 6 August 1944, bound for Hampton Roads, escorted by Simpson (DD-221) and Broome (DD-210). She then conducted an intensive shakedown, first in Chesapeake Bay and then in the Gulf of Paria, off Trinidad, British West Indies, escorted by Bainbridge (DD-246) and Decatur (DD-341). Steaming via Annapolis, Md., and Norfolk, Alaska returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where the large cruiser underwent changes and alterations to her fire control suite: the fitting of four Mk. 57 directors for her five-inch battery.

Alaska departed Philadelphia on 12 November 1944 for the Caribbean, in company with Thomas E. Fraser (DM-24), and after two weeks of standardization trials out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sailed for the Pacific on 2 December. She completed her transit of the Panama Canal on 4 December, and reached San Diego on the 12th. Thereafter, the new large cruiser trained m shore bombardment and anti-aircraft firing off San Diego before an availability at Hunter's Point, near San Francisco.



On 8 January 1945, Alaska sailed for Hawaii, and reached Pearl Harbor on the 13th, where, on the 27th, Capt. Kenneth M. Noble relieved Capt. Fischler, who had achieved flag rank. Over the ensuing days, Alaska conducted further training before getting underway as a unit of Task Group (TG) 12.2, weighing anchor for the western Pacific on 29 January. She reached Uhthi, the fleet anchorage in the Caroline Islands on 6 February, and there joined TG 58.5, a task group in the famed Task Force (TF) 58, the fast carrier task force.

Alaska sailed for the Japanese home islands as part uf TG 58.5 on 10 February 1945, assigned the mission of screening the aircraft carriers Saratoga (CV-3) and Enterprise (CV-6) as they carried out night air strikes against Tokyo and its airfields. During the voyage, all hands on board Alaska speculated about what lay ahead almost three-quarters of the men had never seen action before and sought out the veterans in their midst "for counsel and advice."

Sensing the air of expectation on board his ship Capt. Noble spoke to the crew over the public address system and reassured them of his confidence in them. In doing so, he used an analogy familiar to most Americans: "We are a member of a large task force which is going to pitch directly over the home plate of the enemy, " he said, "It is our particular job to back up the pitchers."

Backing up the "pitchers" proved comparatively easy. TF 58 cloaked by bad weather, approached the Japanese homeland from east of the Marianas. Using radio deception and deploying submarines, lona-range patrol aircraft from Fleet Air Wing 1 and Army Air Force Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses" as scouts ahead of the advancing task force, the Americans neared their objective undetected. The first major carrier strike against the heart of the Japanese Empire, a year after the successful raids on Truk, covered the developing Iwo Jima landings and proved good practice for future operations against Okinawa. The low ceiling prevented Japanese retaliation, thus giving Alaska no opportunity to put into practice her rigorous antiaircraft training as she guarded the carriers. Assigned to TG 58.4 soon thereafter, Alaska supported the Iwo Jima operations, and, as before, no enemy aircraft came near the carrier formation to which the large cruiser was attached. For nineteen days she screened the carriers before retiring to Ulithi to take on stores and carry out minor repairs.



With the decision reached to occupy Okinawa, in the Nansei Shoto chain, in early April of 1945, invasion planners proceeded on the assumption that the Japanese would resist with maximum available naval and air strength. To destroy as many planes as possible—and thus diminish the possibility of American naval forces coming under air attack from Japanese planes—the fast carrier task force was hurled against the enemy's homeland again: to strike airfields on Kyushu, Shikoku, and western Honshu.

Alaska, still with TG 58.4—formed around the fleet carriers Yorktoum (CV-10), Intrepid (CV-11), Independence (CVL-22) and Langley (CVL-27 - again drew the duty of protecting the valuable flattops. Her principal mission then, as it had been before, was defense of the task group against enemy air or surface attacks.

Its battle plan outlined in detail, TF 58 cruised northwesterly from the Carolines, following the departure from Ulithi on 14 March. Refueling at sea on the 16th, this mighty force reached a point southeast of Kyushu early on the 18th. On that day, the planes from TG 58.4 swept over Japenese airfields at Usa, Oita and Saeki, joining those from three other task groups, TG 58.1 TG 58.2, and TG 58.3 in claiming 107 enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground and a further 77 (of 142) engaged over the target area.



Alaska tasted action for the first time as the Japanese retaliated with air strikes of their own. Task Force 58's radars provided "Iittle if any warning" of the approach of enemy planes, due to the weather conditions encountered. All too often, the first indication of the enemy's presence was a visual sighting. Alaska spotted a "Frances" at 0810 and commenced fire. She registered hits almost immediately but the suicider maintained its course— toward the stern of the nearby Intrepid. Less than a half-mile from his quarry, however, the "Frances" exploded into fragments with a direct hit from Alaska's guns.

Soon thereafter, Alaska received word of the proximity of "friendlies" in the vicinity. At 0822 a single-engined plane approached the large cruiser "in a threatening fashion" from ahead m a shallow dive. Alaska opened fire promptly and scored hits. Unfortunately, almost simultaneously her fire eontrolmen were receiving word that the plane was, indeed, a friendly F6F"Hellcat." Fortunately, the pilot was uninjured and ditched his crippled plane, another ship in the disposition picked him up.

For the balance of the day, the suicide attacks continued. The vigilant combat air patrol (CAP), however, downed a dozen planes over the task force while strips' gunfire accounted for almost two dozen more. Alaska added a second enemy bomber to her "bag" when she splashed a "Judy" at about 1315.

[colorado tanker]

If you can get wire, can you get DSL? We've got DSL and it's almost as fast as cable.

[snippy_about_it]

Nope. Bell South says no way. Believe me I tried everything I could before resigning myself to the dreaded truth.

[snippy_about_it]

Most places open after church, after about 1 o'clock, some are closed. The pace of life is much slower down here, no one is in a hurry but we'll just slow down ourselves and enjoy it.

[snippy_about_it]

btw, do the pine beetles look like other beetles? How will we know if we have them.

We have lots of toads, LOL.

[Humal]

We never really "saw" the beetles. The way we first knew something was wrong was when the tops of the trees started turning brown. It seems to start from the top and works down the trees canopy. Then, when we looked at the trunk we could see hundreds of little holes in the outer bark. After the tree was dead, thick layers of the bark would come off, and we could see larvae on the underside.

I don't know if there is anything that can save the tree. One horticulture site I checked said to remove the infected tree and all the pine trees in a wide area around the infected tree.

Some people don't like pine trees, but I love them -- especially on a rainy/misty day. I love to walk among them then. The drip of drops from their needles; the strong smell of pine; and the misty look of the air makes for such a calming setting. During the day, they make a nice thick canopy to block the sun and lower the temperature.

[The Mayor]

September 22, 2006

Mixing-Bowl Musings

LISTEN TO ODB RADIO: Real | MP3 | WMA

READ: Luke 18:18-27

The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. —Luke 18:27

Countless times I’ve heard myself say, “I’m going to bake a cake.” Then one day I realized that I’ve never baked a cake in my life—only my oven can do that. I simply mix the right ingredients and allow the oven to do its part. Through that division of labor, I have the joy of seeing others taste and enjoy delicious cake.

God used my mixing-bowl musings to clarify a dilemma I once had after starting a neighborhood Bible study. It was one thing to bring my neighbors together to study the Bible, but seeing them believe and follow Christ was another. I felt powerless. Suddenly I saw the obvious. Like baking cakes, making Christians was impossible for me, but not for God. I had blended the right ingredients—an open home, friendship, love. Now I had to trust the Holy Spirit, through His Word, to do His work. When I cooperated with that division of labor, I had the joy of seeing others taste of God’s goodness.

In Luke 18:18-27, Jesus so vividly described some hindrances to saving faith that His listeners began to wonder if anyone could be saved. Do you feel that way about someone? Be encouraged by the Lord’s strong reminder that there are some things that only God can do. Saving people is one of them. —Joanie Yoder

The Lord’s the only one who can
Transform a person’s heart;
But when we share God’s saving truth,
We play a crucial part.  —Sper

We sow the seed, but God brings the harvest.

Bible in One Year: Bible in One Year; Ecclesiastes 10-12; Galatians 1

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning, FOXHOLE!

[xsmommy]

hi, bent. i wasn't sure where to direct this, so i will ask you. i just spoke to my sisterinlaw. she is a big fan of Jeopardy and she said last night that Alex Trebek referred in a question to MILITARY INTELLIGENCE being an oxymoron. i wondered if anyone else had seen it, and mostly i wanted to post the link to the form where this can be complained about. The supercilious jerk is Canadian, so if he has such a low opinion of our military, perhaps he should go back up there and let THEIR's protect him! in any event, it was the 9/21 show and the contact info is HERE THanks!

[Soaring Feather]

Hi mommy.


I think that some FReepers think I am Canadian, I am not. I do not like them saying negative things about our Military, their rears are safe due to the USA!

I don't watch game shows. ;)


Thanks for thinking about me though.

[xsmommy]

well basically i was just looking to publicize the controversy so that military-minded freepers might complain. i had no idea anyone thought YOU were canadian.

[Soaring Feather]

LOL


Thanks for spreading the word mommy!

[investigateworld]

Someone please explain to a old ground pounder, why the German ships have numerous port holes vs. US ship, apparently of later design, that don't?

TIA

[snippy_about_it]

Most of ours are long leaf pines, really pretty especially when a breeze blows those long needles.

[Humal]

I believe they are called lob lolly pines. That's what we had.

[The Mayor]

September 23, 2006

Finding The Flow

READ: John 7:33-43

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38

While using a computer to edit a video presentation, a colleague and I were greeted one morning by the on-screen error message: UNABLE TO FIND THE FLOW. Whatever the software program meant by those words, it brought to mind the popular saying, “Go with the flow.” To some people that means behaving as most other people do without trying to swim against the current of the culture. To others it speaks of being more accepting of circumstances without trying to control everything that happens.

But for followers of the Lord, there’s another dimension of going with the flow. Jesus said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). Christ spoke of the Holy Spirit, who would make His home in every believer. In a very real sense, when we invite Christ into our lives, the Flow finds us and we find the Flow. From then on, we are recipients and conduits of living water—the eternal source of thirst-quenching satisfaction for our souls. The indwelling Holy Spirit carries us along by a power and purpose greater than ourselves.

As channels of God’s living water, we are free to go with His flow. —David C. McCasland

Father, thank You for Your Spirit,
Fill us with His love and power;
Change us into Christ’s own image
Day by day and hour by hour.  —Anon.

What Jesus accomplished for us, the Holy Spirit works out in us.

Bible in One Year: Bible in One Year;   Song of Solomon 1-3; Galatians 2

[Wneighbor]

Bitty Girl got her hair cut in a nice bob. She looks adorable! I don't have a pic to post, though.

Well, I had to scroll through the rest of the posts after I read that to see if there was a pic posted yet. I know it must be cute as a bug. :-)

I was working up in Ft. Worth for about a week. Working constantly. But, Myranda did come down from Gainsville to visit and have me take her to Joe T's. That was a week ago - was thinkin' 'bout ya'll then too.

[Soaring Feather]

Hello, hello FOXHOLE, anyone around??

[snippy_about_it]

Hi miss feather, we're here for a minute anyway.

[Soaring Feather]

Well my goodness, hello snippy and Sam! So nice to hear from you.

How is everything working out for you?? Getting settled in and all that I mean.

Fall has arrived in NY. We are into the rains now and temps are doing down into the 40s tomorrow night. The temps won't stay down that low yet, it will warm up and get cooler as we fall into fall. How's that! LOL

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. We're falling into fall to, I hope! It actually got down into the 50's. 80's for highs, 91 today but you can tell cooler weather is on the way and we're looking forward to it. Sam is still busy clearing the land and we are working on putting the NC property on the market, pray for a quick sale!