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[Swayin]

CVN-77, the George HW Bush

 

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[Swayin]

USS Torrance, AKA-76 (AKA= attack transport)

Torrance and other ships in her division engaged in intensive exercises off Cabugan Island, near Leyte, in mid-March. On 21 March, the attack cargo ship embarked the men and materiel of the Army Engineers 305th Regimental Combat Team and joined a convoy bound for the Ryukyus.

Torrance arrived in waters off Okinawa early in the campaign, but remained in reserve off the Hagushi beaches until her division launched a feint attack and landing on the southeast coast of Okinawa on 19 April 1945. She completed the diversionary operation and returned briefly to Hagushi before delivering combat supplies to Ie Shima. Then, back at Hagushi, she unloaded the remainder of her cargo, despite heavy seas and relentless attacks by Japanese kamikazes, during which Torrance's anti-aircraft gunners shot down two enemy aircraft.

The enemy assault came not only from the skies — in the form of kamikazes — and from the sea — in the small, fast suicide motor boats — but also from strategically emplaced and cleverly concealed shore batteries, whose salvoes landed uncomfortably close to the transports and their escorts. The transports — including Torrance — shifted anchorage to safer waters, as destroyers and cruiser gunfire and carrier-based planes dealt with the shore guns.

 

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[Homebrewcock]

http://www.gamecockarchives.com/img/wheelra01-1995.jpg

 

[Homebrewcock]

Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here - 1975

 

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[kingofnerf]

USS Hoggatt Bay, CVE-75.  One of the more successful CVEs in the Pacific at the job of anti-submarine warfare that the CVEs were known for in the Atlantic theatre.

Service history

After intensive training off the California coast, Hoggatt Bay transported aircraft and crews to Pearl Harbor from 10–25 March 1944. Upon her return and further training in antisubmarine work, she sailed on 1 May for Pearl Harbor and Majuro. The combination of escort carriers and destroyers had proven itself effective against submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic, and was now to be used in the Pacific against the Japanese. Hoggatt Bay and a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts patrolled in the southwest Pacific from 26 May-19 June with notable success. England scored a kill on Ro-105 on 31 May and Taylor sank Ro-111 with depth charges and gunfire 11 June. These operations and those of other groups did much to reduce Japanese submarine interference with the invasion of the Marianas.

Returning to the patrol area after a brief stay at Eniwetok, Hoggatt Bay's group provided air support and cover for the Marianas operation from 5 July–9 August, after which the ships returned to Manus Island. Next on the timetable of Pacific conquest was Peleliu, a valuable air base for further advances, and Hoggatt Bay sortied 1 September to furnish antisubmarine protection and search planes for the invasion. For nearly two months the escort carrier cruised these seas south and west of the Marianas in support of American operations. Samuel S. Miles, a member of her group, sank I-177 on 3 October, and later in the month planes from Hoggatt Bay helped provide air cover for Houston as she struggled toward Ulithi.

Hoggatt Bay arrived at Leyte Gulf on 27 June, and after a month of training sailed on 28 July for Adak, Alaska. The surrender came while the carrier was en route, however, and the planned operation was replaced by occupation plans. After her arrival on 18 August, Hoggatt Bay sailed for Ominato. She arrived September and supported the occupation of Hokkaidō and northern Honshū. During this period aircraft from the ship discovered many Japanese prison camps, and the ship had the pleasure of evacuating Lieutenant Colonel James Devereux, Marine Commander at Wake Island when captured by the Japanese. Hoggatt Bay also participated in the occupation of Aomori before anchoring in Tokyo Bay on 27 September.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hoggatt_Bay

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Donald Cook, DDG-75.

USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy named for Medal of Honor recipient Donald Cook, a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Donald_Cook

Donald Cook was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Xavier High School in New York City and St. Michael's College in Vermont. In 1956 he enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private but was quickly sent for officer training at the OCS in Quantico, Virginia. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1957. In 1960 he attended Army Language School in Monterey, California, studying Chinese and graduated near the top of his class. Lieutenant Cook was assigned to Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, in 1961 and was promoted to Captain March 1, 1962. He held a series of assignments in the Marine Corps and was sent to South Vietnam in late 1964, where he served as an advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Division until he was wounded and captured by the Viet Cong several weeks later. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Viet Cong from December 31, 1964 until his death from malaria at age 33, December 8, 1967 and was buried in the jungle by his fellow prisoners. He was posthumously promoted from Captain to Colonel. On February 26, 1980 he was officially declared dead and the Medal of Honor was presented to his wife by the Secretary of the Navy.

His body was never recovered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Cook_(Medal_of_Honor)

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Harry S. Truman, CVN-75.

 

[kingofnerf]

USS Helena, CA-75.

 

[kingofnerf]

From the Billboard Year-end Hot 100 for 1975.

Lots of great music in 1975.





No.


Title


Artist(s)




1


"Love Will Keep Us Together"


Captain & Tennille




2


"Rhinestone Cowboy"


Glen Campbell




3


"Philadelphia Freedom"


Elton John




4


"Before the Next Teardrop Falls"


Freddy Fender




5


"My Eyes Adored You"


Frankie Valli




6


"Some Kind of Wonderful"


Grand Funk




7


"Low Rider"


War




8


"Fame"


David Bowie




9


"Laughter in the Rain"


Neil Sedaka




10


"One of These Nights"


Eagles





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1975

 

[Swayin]

22 minutes ago, kingofnerf said:

From the Billboard Year-end Hot 100 for 1975.

Like Gramma used to say: Nobody brings it like Daryl Dragon.

 

[Swayin]

USS Helena, CA-75.

You got the first CA! Well done!

 

[Swayin]

The Fisher/General Motors P-75; canceled before production due to the success of the North American P-51 Mustang and its variants.

 

[kingofnerf]

The Fisher/General Motors P-75; canceled before production due to the success of the North American P-51 Mustang and its variants.

Looks like a glorified P-39 Airacobra and we all know how great those things turned out to be in actual combat. [/sarcasm]

Still a great post, though.

 

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