A USS CC-1 Northampton,the "Floating Whitehouse" patch

[Patchcollector]

Hi Gents,
I always try and seek out the unusual pieces,and when I saw this I really liked it.This patch is actually part of a small group which includes some documents about the ship from a ships' tour.I'm going to dust off my scanner and try and get some better quality images of the documents to post,as they are interesting themselves.

 

 

The Northampton started life as a US Navy command light cruiser (command ship). She was laid down as an Oregon City class heavy cruiser (CA–125), on 31 August 1944 by the Fore River Yard, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Quincy, Mass. Work suspended between 11 August 1945 and 1 July 1948; she was launched as CLC–1, on 27 January 1951; sponsored by Mrs. Edmond J. Lampron; and commissioned as CLC–1, on 7 March 1953, Capt. William D. Irvin in command.
Following shakedown, Northampton reported for duty to Commander Operational Development Forces, Atlantic Fleet. For seven months she conducted extensive tests of her new equipment. Evaluation completed in September 1954 and she reverted to the operational control of Commander Battleship Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet. She next demonstrated her capabilities as a tactical Command Ship by serving as flagship, first for Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet (October–November 1954) and then for Commander 6th Fleet (December 1954–March 1955). Between 1 September and 22 October she served as flagship for Commander Strike Force, Atlantic, a position she was to hold frequently over the next fifteen years.
On 24 February 1956, Northampton emerged from her first overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., and, after refresher training off Cuba, participated as a unit of the Navy’s first guided missile division afloat, CruDiv 6, in the first public demonstration of the Terrier missile. In April, she steamed east for six months with the 6th Fleet, and, during the summer of 1957, resumed midshipmen training cruises. However, between that time and 1961, she infrequently returned to European waters. Deployed on occasion for NATO and Fleet exercises and People to People visits, the command ship was visited by high government officials of various European countries, including Kings Baudouin I of the Belgians and Olav V of Norway.
Redesignated CC–1 on 15 April 1961, Northampton remained in the western Atlantic until decommissioning in February 1970. Her cruises ranged from Canadian to Panamanian waters as she extensively tested and evaluated new communications equipment and played host to visiting national and international dignitaries, including Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 December 1977.

 

Now here's where the story gets really interesting.
According to a Washington Post article on 29 July 2006, the Northampton was part of the U.S. government's plan for continuity of government and reported to be a "floating White House" to which the President could be evacuated in the event of nuclear attack. As such she was designated as the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA). The Wright (CVL-49) was her sister ship and also designated part of NECPA. The ship was modified with an extra deck, the tallest communications mast in the Navy and multi-link communications gear.

 

 

 

Here's some info on the National Emergency Command Post Afloat program:

(The below information is taken from "Ghosts of the East Coast: Doomsday Ships" by Karl C. Priest (January 16, 2006).)

 

Quote

 

The National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA) was part of the United States government's continuity of government plans during the 1960s. It was one third of a triad composing of airborne, ground and sea-based assets.

History
In Oct 1961, the JCS approved the NEACP plan, directing initial operating capability (IOC) by 1 March 1962. United States Atlantic Command converted the cruiser Northampton in March 1962, and the light carrier Wright in 1963 for NECPA duties. The United States Navy began alternating the ships in mid-1964, to keep one at sea and the other in port at any time. The Northampton was marginally upgraded for NECPA duties, since it was due for replacement; however, the Wright was modified to the utmost efficiency to hold the National Command Authorities for indefinite periods.
The software was developed by the Naval Electronics Laboratory, San Diego. The product was turned over for acceptance and administration to the Naval Command and Systems Support Activity (NAVCOSSACT), Navy Yard, Washington, DC.
Communications
A permanent UHF ground station (located in Waldorf, Maryland), served as the primary communications link between the separate command posts (NMCC, ANMCC, NEACP, NECPA). Three ground communications vans were located at Otis AFB, MA, Greenville, SC, and Homestead AFB, FL to cover commonly used routes of Presidential aircraft. After President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, vans were moved to Jackson, MS and Austin, TX, to cover President Lyndon B. Johnson’s travel routes.

 

Some more info on the "Doomsday ships"
Two ships were uniquely configured and assigned the NECPA duties.The NECPA ships had to have good maneuverability to assure safe arrival, a reasonable probability of bomb effect avoidance, and were capable of state-of-the-art communications. The sister ships USS Northampton (CC-1) and USS Wright (CC-2) alternated the alert duty every two weeks as a potential floating White House/Pentagon. The NECPA strategy was to keep one of the ships somewhere off the East Coast. With only the customary naval acknowledgements, just outside of Norfolk, the ships would silently sail past each other as the alert ship was relieved in order to enter port for replenishing and much needed rest and recreation for the crew.
Both the Wright and the Northampton had a huge dish-like structure used for Troposphere Scatter Communications (TROPO.) There were land based TROPO dish sites located in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Delaware. The alert ship usually operated within a few hundred miles of one of those land sites. The gyro-stabilized TROPO equipment provided the capability for access to commercial and military telephone networks. To maintain operational security the ships took steps to decrease radio direction finding activities from hostile sources attempting to trace the location of the alert ship. The TROPO system provided, difficult to zero in on, telephone, teletype, and data circuits with top priority for the Command Posts. The NECPA ships used voice radio call signs Zenith (Wright) and Sea Ruler (Northampton) during communication with other ships, aircraft and shore stations.
The mission of the two ships was to handle communications and command data for the strategic direction of military operations world-wide. The ships, operated under the SIOP, and were always ready for the president (with special presidential quarters). Both ships had access to White House Situation Room classified information. If a nuclear war had erupted the alert ship was third in line behind the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), for full command to maintain Continuity of Government and control of the United States Armed Forces and nuclear weapons.
The Wright and Northampton had interior spaces capable of pressurization to prevent contamination from nuclear fallout. The Northampton had an exterior salt-water wash down system. Each ship had a smaller replica of the Pentagon's War Room. The Wright's command compartments had projection equipment with large screens and a wall of status boards and maps mounted on tracks which could be rolled into view. One entire space was filled with teletype printers. The crew totaled over 1,200 with 200 of those with duties just to operate and maintain the communications equipment.
Life aboard ship was tedious and stressful, mixed with friendship and macho mischief. There were highly restricted areas where only those with appropriate security clearances were allowed to enter. Men from each branch of the military service, as well as CIA personnel, were assigned to both Wright and Northampton. Also, many government officials and high ranking military officers from all branches of service frequently visited each ship. The command ships were kept “spit-shined” from stem to stern, but the crews enjoyed excellent chow since the cooks requisitioned the same supplies to prepare meals for all of the ship's company and guests. In 1968 the Wright received the prestigious Ney Award for the best Large Mess Afloat for the entire fleet worldwide.
The USS Wright was the newer of the two ships both of which had been converted from previous designations (Northampton from CLC-1, cruiser, in 1961 and Wright from CVL-49, aircraft carrier, in 1963). She had, for that era, the most elaborate and powerful communications equipment ever installed aboard a ship. Her “voice of command” could reach any ship, aircraft, or station in the world. Two antenna masts were 114 feet tall (156 feet above the water) and able to withstand 100-mph winds. The Wright had satellite communications (SATCOM) ) and carried a specially designed helicopter that pulled a wire cable nearly two miles high to serve as an antenna for SVLF (Very Low Frequency) communication with submarines. A Battle “E” was awarded to the Wright in 1968 for highest scores in her Atlantic Fleet cruiser-destroyer force squadron competition.
Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson went aboard the Northampton before the Wright was commissioned. In April of 1967, the Wright accompanied President Johnson to the Latin America Summit Conference held in Uruguay. In January 1968, the Wright was urgently called back from the Florida area and placed on high alert when the USS Pueblo was captured by North Korea. (See author’s end note.) President Johnson traveled to Central America in July of 1968 for a meeting of the Presidents of Central American Republics. The Wright was in the shipyards and was unable to get underway. With short notice, the Northampton left port at about 0200, traversed the Panama Canal, and lay off the Pacific Coast of Latin America while President Johnson met with the leaders of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala.
The NECPA ship, which was on alert, often sat just off the East Coast of the United States while running helicopter and communications operations. Coastal residents would go to bed with nothing on the horizon and awaken to see a dark, strangely shaped, ship silhouette materialize through the morning fog. The ship would be there for a day or so and then “disappear” out to sea leaving an empty horizon. This experience probably had the aura of a mysterious, even ghostly, occurrence. Although it was rumored that a submarine shadowed the alert ship, as far as the eye could tell the NECPA ship cruised all alone. At the top of each daily Deck Log for the duty ship was this entry: “00-04 Wright is alert ship NECPA operating independently in accordance with COMCRUDESLANT12 message 171840Z of Feb 1968”.
The NECPA mission was a vital part of the Cold War for ten years. The men who served aboard the NECPA ships served their country well and contributed to keeping the world from a nuclear holocaust. The USS Northampton and the USS Wright were decommissioned a few weeks apart in the spring of 1970 when communication capabilities became more sophisticated. The NECPA ships also became susceptible to satellite surveillance and Soviet aircraft based in Cuba. Additionally, Soviet submarines had become more improved and numerous in the Atlantic. Both the Wright and Northampton were scrapped long before the United States won the Cold War in 1991. Now, only memories remain of the East Coast “Ghost Ships” that waited for a Doomsday that did not happen on their watch.

**********
ADDENDUM
(added after first publication)
>Two officers, aboard each ship, had orders to be present if the top secret authentication codes for nuclear war orders were handled or transferred in any way. The codes were secured with two combination locks and each officer knew one combination. (http://www.bobwoodward.com/Questions-And-Answers/)
>A large section of the ship was a powerful VLF transmitter, with vacuum tubes taller than an average man. Each stage of the transmitter was contained in a separate compartment with posted designations such as “Pi Network Room”. (http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=192598&threshold=1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&cid=15813107)

 

[Patchcollector]

Back view,nice older piece,no plastic back

[Patchcollector]

Here's a pic of the group,some ship tour documents and the patch together.

[Bearmon]

Thomas Gates collected a crap-load of patches, and kept the provenance with them.

I am glad to have chances to purchase from his collection! For everyone who complains about EBay I think about

the patches I would never have if it EBay wasn't around.

I like The Northampton patch very much congrat's on the win!

[Patchcollector]

Thomas Gates collected a crap-load of patches, and kept the provenance with them.

I am glad to have chances to purchase from his collection! For everyone who complains about EBay I think about

the patches I would never have if it EBay wasn't around.

I like The Northampton patch very much congrat's on the win!

 

Thanks Bearmon.I have some more of Gates stuff,was'nt he making a book about the units?I think I have some groups with letters where he states he needs the stuff for research for a book he was writing.

 

Also,regarding eBay,I'm solidly with you.I get most of my stuff there,and I figure I have underpaid WAY more than I have overpaid!

[Patchcollector]

I found this photo at the www.virhistory.com site.It shows President Kennedy on board the Northampton.Notice the huge communications antenna.

[Dave]

I found this photo at the www.virhistory.com site.It shows President Kennedy on board the Northampton.Notice the huge communications antenna.

 

I think what you're thinking is the "huge communications antenna" is the ship's air search radar. Below that is her fire control illuminator. The only comms gear I can spot in the photo are the HF whip antennas...for what it's worth...

 

Dave

[Patchcollector]

 

I think what you're thinking is the "huge communications antenna" is the ship's air search radar. Below that is her fire control illuminator. The only comms gear I can spot in the photo are the HF whip antennas...for what it's worth...

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

I'm not an "antenna" expert,so thanks for the info.I based my comment on this info I found, "Both the Wright and the Northampton had a huge dish-like structure used for Troposphere Scatter Communications (TROPO.)"

I assumed that the "huge dish-like structure" was the one in the photo I posted.

[Patchcollector]

I found this info and pics too.

 

This describes some aspects of her refit as the "Floating Whitehouse"

 

Distinguishing features:

hull is one deck higher than standard cruisers
two solid-sided towers instead of the usual masts
transmitting and receiving antennas are "can-shaped" sleeve type
126' stick-type mast forward (tallest unsupported mast afloat)
smooth contours and "closed envelope" design for ABC defense
Troposcatter antenna (mesh) added 1964
New 35' diameter troposcatter antenna (solid) added in 1968 or 69?

 

 

This photo shows her with the "mesh" antenna

[Patchcollector]

This photo shows her later with the "solid" one.

[Dave]

 

Hi Dave,

I'm not an "antenna" expert,so thanks for the info.I based my comment on this info I found, "Both the Wright and the Northampton had a huge dish-like structure used for Troposphere Scatter Communications (TROPO.)"

I assumed that the "huge dish-like structure" was the one in the photo I posted.

 

No sweat... I used to own all the dishes and antennas on my last ship, so I'm a little familiar with them (though not the old ones!)

 

Here's the dish you're thinking about, installed after the air search radar was removed. This photo is from wikipedia...

[Dave]

This photo shows her later with the "solid" one.

 

Yep! Great minds...

 

That's when she was classified as CLC vice CC

[Patchcollector]

 

Yep! Great minds...

 

That's when she was classified as CLC vice CC

 

Ok,I still am needing some education here.In my post #9 photo,which antenna is the "huge Tropo" one?

[Bearmon]

the tropo is circled in this photo. your post 9 only shows the mesh communications antenna

Bearmon

[Patchcollector]

Yes I already knew what and where the solid one was.So none of the antennas in the photo of post #9 is a Tropo?

[Bearmon]

No offense but apparently you don't what the solid one is or you wouldn't ask if the Tropo is pictured in your post #9.

That's why I circled it and told you what it was and that it wasn't in your post #9

[Dave]

Yes I already knew what and where the solid one was.So none of the antennas in the photo of post #9 is a Tropo?

 

It's the round mesh-like one that looks like the image below...

[Dave]

And on the image, it looks like:

[Patchcollector]

No offense but apparently you don't what the solid one is or you wouldn't ask if the Tropo is pictured in your post #9.

That's why I circled it and told you what it was and that it wasn't in your post #9

 

I knew what the solid one was,I was asking where was the Tropo in post 9.

 

 

And on the image, it looks like:

 

Thanks Dave

[Bearmon]

I apologize next time I will learn read better! My bad no doubt!

Sorry

Bearmon!

[Patchcollector]

I apologize next time I will learn read better! My bad no doubt!

Sorry

Bearmon!

 

 

 

No sweat mon,I've done it myself a few times...well maybe more than a few

[SteveG]

Hello, new member here. Sorry to necropost on an old thread, but I recently became aware of NECPA and its possible association with my hometown of Waldorf MD and am curious if anyone can help me here. I recently watched a Dark Seas video on the USS Wright and promptly went to Wiki to learn more about NECPA. On Wiki there is mention of a UHF ground transmitter associated with NECPA being located in Waldorf MD. I am aware of numerous NIKE/Hercules anti air defense missile sites, and the resulting C&C installations, in the Waldorf/ Southern MD area, but can find no info on this NECPA UHF transmitter location. I think it may be the large antenna array that was located between Waldorf and Pomonkey MD, very near where I went to HS at, but can find no confirming info on this and had previously thought that array was related to the local NIKE installations. Just wondering if anyone may possibly know anything about this, as this is one of the few sites that came up when searching NECPA. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to chatting with you all, I am absolutely fascinated with Military History and would love to hear some of the stories you all have to tell.