European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 14, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                F con tinned from Pago 11 seems and by 1 . The log keeper was Able to cheerfully report that the ship no longer rolled More than 65degrees. The destroyer escort Nawman quickly lost its mainmast which supported All major communication  no. 1 gun shield solid Armor steel was Bent and finally carried away by smashing Waves. Everything topside that could t e carried away was. Reported the Captain in its fresh coat of paint the ship had looked Good before the storm but after. Shews a mass of  because the Nawman was unable to report to the flagship it was considered As sunk for several Days until it re joined the formations after jury rigging a receiving set. The Light Carrier Cowpens ordeal began at 10 51 when a hellcat broke Loose during a 45-degree Roll ripped into a catwalk and triggered a Blaze. The ship s air officer was lost in the fight to shove the blazing plane into the Ocean. Then the commo equipment and radar went and the Carrier was Blind. The Captain. Capt. G. H. Debaun wrote later we were rolling to such an extent that on each Roll to Star Board the flight deck Edge would hit Green water. On the big Rolls on could reach Down from the starboard Wing of the Bridge and touch  below decks a couple of 2,000-Poundbombs broke Loose from jury rigged harnesses they were air Force bomb Sand did t fit the regular Racks and crewmen desperately fought to tie the Down before they smashed a Hole in the ship s Hull. And As a final note the ship s Anemo meter which measures the Speed of the wind registered 120 knots before the whirling cups were blown away. He Carrier Altamaha. Whose Job it was to deliver fresh aircraft to the big Ger flattops was rated at 27l/ 2 degree by the builders for maximum Safe Roll by 9 30 this limit had been far exceeded by measurement and even farther the Captain said by Rolls that went beyond instrument capability. The whole starboard gun Battery of20mm and 40mm guns was battered beyond use and All rafts nets and radio Antenna carried away. Planes began flying off like leaves in the wind two plunged Down the Forward elevator Shaft and jammed it while the aft Shaft flooded with five feet of water. By noon air planes on the flight dec were being torn to pieces bit by bit the cables held but the wings and tails did t. Fires broke out on the hangar Deckand what planes remaining above be Gan wind milling their propellors turned by the strength of the storm the blazes were extinguished and the ship saved but of the 65 aircraft aboard destined for action 43 were lost or dam aged beyond repair. The destroyer Hull 1,395 tons of fighting ship was slowly being battered to bits in the morning As guns an boats were torn off topside. At 11 a 110 kno blast hit the Hull As it was Tak ing up a new course sending it yawing across the sea out of control. The de Stroyer slipped Down in a trough that special almost canal like sea shape Peculiar to typhoons and could t get out held in Irons by the sea and the wind. The Rolls began and quickly passed70 degrees and finally the destroyer tiredly Lay Down on its Side. Slowly i slipped under the Waters As the Crew clambered on rafts and hopefully Waite for Rescue. The Light Carrier san Jacinto was braced for the storm with planes and gear triple lashed in place. And not a aircraft on the flight deck broke Loose but below decks the bigger torpedo bombers were lined up in two rows of five. One broke Loose freeing a second and within a half hour the entire hangar deck was a mass of flying car nage threatening sure death to anyone who dared enter into  this sliding  triggered a below checks Blaze but hoses and foam plus torrents of water roaring in through the holed Hull quickly cooled the fires. Machine gun ammunition began to goofy and spare steel plates carried in elevators shafts broke Loose and threat Page 12 " a thr"1 \ i 4s ,. Hie Battle of the typhoons to i Ai i ? i % Vav t of a Rev v f/-v4v-.c. Tes. A a . ,t",.vv to i be v destroyer locked in trough of typhoon is almost hidden from View As it lies helplessly in  ened to Cut the ship in  miraculously the wind eased and the seas fell. The Carrier survived. The Light Cruiser Miami meanwhile the Only big boy of the 3rd Fleet to suffer serious damage first lost it two catapult planes Early in the morn ing of the big blow. On station a few Hundred Yards of the flagship new Jersey the Miami was rolling and pitching but holding on until it was ordered to go to the Aid of a Light Carrier. Turning its Bow through the wind and seas frames 19 21 and 22 buckled. But the damage was not serious on the Bridge it was t even noted. Several months later when the Cruiser put in for refit the Bow was discovered to be Bent six inches out of line. But for Little boy destroyer Mon aghan a Veteran of the War in the Pacific cobra lashed out with a stronger bite. At 9 25 the Monaghan radioed unable to steer base course on about330  then moments later cannot get  apparently the 1,395-ton destroyer was locked in Irons by a Combina Tion of the wind and the sea and help less. Use More Speed advised the taskforce commander and the destroyer skipper it. Cmdr. Floyd b. Garrettjr., replied have tried As High As  then 10 minutes later amenable to come to base course have tried full Speed and it will not  that was the last recorded message from the Hull. But from the six survivors of the 251 men aboard som details emerged. As it became Clear that the ship was in the Middle of typhoon the Captain ordered water pumped into the fuel tanks for  this failed. Water did get into the ship however through the blowers and smashed hatches. By 11 30 the ship s seam were leaking and the overhead the sup 1 c t can Gray ship was Hulk in the  crowded into a widening Roll sea and waterline sea. A the Hulk slipped be Hickox ironically Carrier Hornet survived 18 months of warfare largely undamaged but typhoon twisted flight deck like Book Page. The stars and stripes thursday too Side went first radar at pm guns. The after As battered. Electricity was Nower went and steering was blocked. But courageously control men Dove into the flood Ting compartment and kept the bed i o the seas the Hickmet the destroyer Dewey but Bare i Little boy was rolling 40 degrees but was under control Mother ship Cut across its path forced evasive manbevers. This i the typhoon needed quickly the mashed All the windows in thei rushed below decks through is and smashed  . Engine Power and elec was lost As the water invaded compartments a bucket brigade sorted to give the submerged a Chance to work. Then the inter dropped to 26.60 and cobra y a Shock ran through the Shipke m to Stern As the typhoon ripped smokestack and snapped steam the Roar was deafening. It was a Blessing in disguise. The smokestack meant a reduction in area and the destroyer s Rolls had been exceeding 75 degrees i up. It was As close to disaster destroyer could come and survive. Ere were no hidden blessings a however to help the bigger a Spence a 2,050-t.on destroyer with i of 273. Although the Spence was a than the Farragut class tin can ii capacity was much lower Andly Hung its Fate. Topped off the be carried 492 tons of Oil but be a of the delays in refuelling its bunk Fere Down to 50 to 60 tons when struck. The Captain had not red Saltwater into his Oil tanks be a he wanted to be ready to take Pel when the weather  Story for the Spence was about Jame As for other destroyers Mosti Way. In Irons it rolled 50 de As the seas cleaned the decks smashed Bridge windows. Water led electrical control boards Andi Pence was out of control. The ship Al to 70-75 degrees Power went out then with a lurch the Spence was i Side. St crewmen were below decks i topside went Over the Side in a is rom of debris. They were  Hulk which bounced about for Jutes. No survivor saw the Spence own but it did taking More than t f its Crew with  details were common throughout pro Fleet fantastic seas and Stom churning Rolls. The 48-hour Rescue it was an epic in itself the destroyer it Tabberer earned the Navy unit emendation for its heroic Rescue of is of sailors adrift. Dec. 19 the Day after the big i cmdr. Kosco was going through Toner reports on the Bridge of the Jersey. At 9 . He was handed freshly decoded message which re that a scout plane had spotted a typhoon at s . Dec. 17. I had gotten the message hat had happened in the Middle of of War weather messages Soine s Luul  priority than action is and the Busy code clerks All data was tactical inform and therefore had to be encoded Rote Etuin just had t gotten to theist report sooner. Shh Ial court of inquiry convened j1�hi in december found Halsey possible for the loss of lives and it tint Don cd k 1968 destroyer Farragut moves up on Oiler Chikaski and Carrier Essex to take on Load of fuel in Mediterranean. While steam driven ships were faster than their wind drive predecessors the sail less models had one major shortcoming they kept run Ning out of fuel. The prevailing westerlies were about As valuable to the Iron hulled engine powered vessels As wind socks on a freight train. The steamers had to carry a tremendous amount of fuel which slowed them Down and  or else they hopped from one port to another like a 16-Cylinder limousine trying to make it to the next Gas station. Then came the concept of mid sear fueling from an Oiler which is Best described As a floating Gas station. Ineus Navy perfected the technique and now these Gas  on the run Are twice a week Man Euver on the High seas for ships like the guided missile de Stroyer Farragut. Aboard the Farragut steaming to Ward a refuelling rendezvous Point at sea the word had spread from the Cap Tain s table to the mess decks that the ship would take on fuel around 3 .that Day preparations were already under Way to take on the 100 000.gallonsof fuel at the rate of 1,500 to 2,000 Gallons per  the horizon two Small dots appeared which slowly took on the shapes of the Oiler Chikaski and the aircraft Carrier Essex. For the next hour or so by Charles Graham staff writer under a Bright Sun and cloudless scythe three ships pushed toward their meeting  Farragut pulled along Side the Oiler some 80 feet away As the Esse did the same on the Chikaski s other Side All three kept their position and held their Speed at 12  always try to keep the sea slight 1v off the Bow said chief Petty offic Rbryant Miller. That helps reduce the  this time the sea was Calm but even so the water rushed Between the two ships like a River of whitecaps. No far behind another ship stood by As a life guard station in Case of an Emer gency and on the aircraft Carrier a helicopter whirred restlessly just incas there was someone to pull out of the deep Blue  with a lot of signal waving and ceremony a weighted line was fire from the Oiler across the Farragut s Bow one of the crewmen quickly retrieved the line and made it  line is fastened to a heavier one which in turn is fastened to the wire Rig that carries the fuel Hose said Miller. Two lines Ifor the fuel Are fired one fore and one aft from the Oiler to the destroyer. Amidships is a lighter line for a High line lift and an other line at the Bow which measures the distance Between the ships. A phone line Between the Bridges of the two ships completes the link up. While the Farragut s band played hey look me Over sailors on the signal Bridge asked the Oiler if the Essex had any mail for the Farragut. Word was flashed Back that mail forthe destroyer was coming Over and the news spread quickly. It or nearly an hour the three ships moved together the sea slightly of their bows. High above decks Hung two basketball sized red Canvas balls the International signal for mane vering with  with another flurry of paddle and hand signals the hoses were blow Clear the couplings  napped and the heavy Black fuel hoses drawn Back to the  the . Navy this operation is dramatic but routine said it.  c Thompson jr., the Farragut is executive officer. Very few of the world s navies refuel at sea As often or As fast As the .  the refuelling completed the sailors returned with their new mail to their old routines. Gassing up at sea is no substitute for putting in to a goo port but it sure beats waiting for a Strong wind. Iron ded aboard Oiler i. Handle lines i. D.tray.�, carriers coming alongside a drink o ail. The stars and stripes