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USS ALBERT DAVID - Westpac/Vietnam on the Gunline


Salvage Sailor
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Salvage Sailor
What was it like in the USN during the Vietnam war?
 
These films have been around for a bit but now they've been strung together to give a full picture of a Westpac/Vietnam deployment on the Gunline. They are from the deployments of the Garcia class destroyer escort (frigate) USS ALBERT DAVID commissioned in 1968. The films are from her 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 deployments which ends with Operation End Sweep.
 
It also includes excellent UNREP, Carrier Plane Guard (Phantoms), Boarding Party (check out the typical WWII shipboard arsenal we used), and Helicopter sorties (SEAWOLVES!) Watch for the O-10 Bird dog (Black Ponies) adjusting the NGFS (naval gunfire support as it was called then);
 
Good mix of 1970's uniforms which we've been discussing lately on the uniform boards. Also some great close aboard shots of the USS LLOYD THOMAS, she was decommissioned just months later. Lots of great details in these films of typical shipboard duty on a Tin Can.
 
 
 
Published on Dec 30, 2014 - YouTube
 

Part 1: Under the Southern Cross - USS ALBERT DAVID escorts USS CONSTELLATION CVA 64 in the Tonkin Gulf, 1971.

Part 2: Magic Carpet Ride - Flight Ops aboard USS RANGER CVA 61, winter 1970 (ALBERT DAVID escorting as plane guard at the

mark). ALBERT DAVID shipboard activities, UNREP , liberty, etc

Part 3: Fortunate Son - More shipboard activities, UNREP etc.
.
Part 4: Time is Tight - ALBERT DAVID combat footage along the DMZ, Vietnam 1972. (Note the NVA counter-fire from the shore batteries)

Part 5: Fire for Effect - Audio from ALBERT DAVID's CIC of a gunfire mission.

Part 6: Band of Brothers - ALBERT DAVID UNREP with USS CONSTELLATION CVA 64 in the spring of 1973 during Operation End Sweep.

Part 7: Eternal Father - In memory of our shipmates who have left us.
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That was awesome Salvage. Thank you. That was my life. I served aboard one of Albert Davids sisters, USS Bradley FF (DE)-1041. So many memories. For those who don't know, when you watch those men handeling the shells and powder charges for the 5in 38cal guns, each projectile weighs 54 pounds, the powder charge is 38 pounds. We would sling them all day on the gun line, then stand off and reload. Each round and each powder can is hand carried to the magazine. Completely loaded Bradley in Seal Beach after a yard period in Long Beach. Took 3 days loading from freight trains. Complain all day long. But nobody stopped. Good days.

 

Did anyone notice down in gun plot, the guy on the head phones wearing a white pocket t-shirt. Since in WestPac we could wear t-shirts underway, many guys bought pocket Ts. Always missed the shirt pocket when wearing just a regular skivvie shirt

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Salvage Sailor

Sigs, check out the Signalmen doing semaphore by hand (no flags) between the ALBERT DAVID and GUADALUPE (AO-32) while they unrep at 3:30

 

Also, anyone catch the modified Seawolf carbine at 5:30 He's also has a Canon Ftb SLR camera slung around his shoulders. That was the camera of choice before the AE-1 came out (still have both of mine, they're what I used to take most of my photos I post on these threads.)

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Sigs, check out the Signalmen doing semaphore by hand (no flags) between the ALBERT DAVID and GUADALUPE (AO-32) while they unrep at 3:30

 

Also, anyone catch the modified Seawolf carbine at 5:30 He's also has a Canon Ftb SLR camera slung around his shoulders. That was the camera of choice before the AE-1 came out (still have both of mine, they're what I used to take most of my photos I post on these threads.)

we very rarely ever used the semaphore flags when we were along side. No need for them. We did use them if we were out in boats. But not too often. At night we used the flashlight cones. Sometimes we would have two guys sending side by side, one guy doing half of a character. Then slowly walk away from each other
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Salvage Sailor

Lots of good footage of Gunplot in CIC, my old office as CIC Watch Supervisor directing the shoot at 15:50

 

DRT, NTDS, EW, Airsearch, Comms, etc.

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I actually spent a lot of time in Combat on that class of ship. It was easier to update the surface plot by just writing bearing to known targets and then go down and point them out on the scope. Sometimes the boys down there would get turned around ?.

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To be honest, the entire class had constant equipment issues. They were called "McNemerras Frigats". They were built on the cheap. Only the hulls and structures were built new. All equipment, weapons and machinery were stripped from decommissioned ships. So, basically, they were worn out before they hit the water. It took constant attention and care to keep them running. Electronic equipment would just "Slip" Out of calibration. Our MK 56 gun director was never synced up to our gun. It was always off a few mills right or left. We had a Spring Bearing burn and seize which caused our shaft to freeze. It s lubricating line parted, spraying pol on the bearing in a shaft ally. The bearing got hot and it all caught fire about 0300. They were single screw ships, so we were dead in the water. This is normally a ship yard job. We were on our way home from WestPac. And would go into port 3 days late under tow by a cruiser.

 

We actually had a spring bearing on board, bolted to the deck under a ladder in deck berthing with a canvas cover over it. No one actually knew what it was until the BM2 who was the fire team leader who fought the fire recognized it. So, working 72 hours straight, with guys from all over the ship man handeling the one ton bearing from all the way forward to all the way aft and down 3 decks, the crew fixed it. The snipes separated the shaft, got the old bearing off, installed the new one, while rocking and rolling in a space where you can't stand up. Including trying it up to stop vibrationThe rest of us heaved around moving the new one in and the old one out. And, the cooks made sure there was food available the entire time. We got her fixed, cast off the tow and steamed home. We made it on to under our power. Point of all that is as you watch this video, those guys humping ammo, manning gun crews, unrep stations and flight deck crew were just deck, ops, engineering and supply guys.

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Good memories. Fleet oiler Engineering Officer myself, but also stood topside OOD underway----this brings back many, many pleasant memories.

 

Thanks, Al

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Bradley (FF/DE-1041) was my second ship. I had spent 2 years on the Kitty Hawk (CV-63) working on the flight deck before converting to SM and transferring to Bradley. Total culture shock. She would rock tied to the pier. I loved unreping. You got to talk to some one new, swap news, and just see what was going on. I had a CO on Bradley who had standard orders when we met an unrepper such as what was the Peso exchange rate in Subic ?. Good days, but ships for young guys

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Speaking of semaphore alongside, notice the SMs arms are bent. This was referred to as"Short Arm". I personally hated this and "Disencouraged" it's use among my guys . Semaphore was one of those things that was very personal. Normally, you could see the guy you were communicating with. So if you were sloppy and in efficient, everyone in the fleet knew it. You got reputations out there. And it was nothing for someone to come up to you in a bar in Subic, Hong Kong, Yokohama, what ever and basically call you out for being a crappy Signalman. I once got into an altercation in a bar in San Francisco with an SM2 on the Okinawa who was a total slug. I was SM1 on the St. Louis. Years later, I walked aboard the Pensacola as SMCS and he was SM1. It was "uncomfortable". He was still a slug.

 

Any way, we would do all sorts of fun stuff with Semaphore. At night we would some times use Star Wars "Light Sabers" we got at Toys R Us. Once made a set of Sem Flags out of two full size Oscar flags attached to swab handles. You had to wear a jacket and put part of the handles down the sleeve to brace them, but out in a boat, they were definitely visible .

 

In order to attract attention of the guys on the other ship, that you had a Sem message for them, we would whistle as loud as you could. It was an important skill. Wee would also get those long plastic horns from the toy story like they use at sporting events. I had a bugle that I got in Hong Kong. Still have the bugle. My boys hated that bugle. Sometimes I would take it to their berthing compartment and play them a tune when they were having a bit of trouble getting out of their racks ( no, I do. Or play the bugle, just make noise . Yep, good days.

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Salvage Sailor

A few times in the films, including the initial scene, you'll see the Golden Bone hoisted on the halyards beside the flags and pennants.

 

The Dog Bone represented successful completion of their gunfire support missions on the gunline (i.e. BZ = Bravo Zulu, Well Done in USN code)

 

2 different cut edge patches USS ALBERT DAVID

USS ALBERT DAVID (DE-1050) Japanese made cut edge 02.jpg

USS ALBERT DAVID (DE-1050) Japanese made cut edge 03.jpg

USS ALBERT DAVID (FF-1050) Japanese made cut edge 02.jpg

USS ALBERT DAVID (FF-1050) Japanese made cut edge 03.jpg

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  • 3 years later...
Salvage Sailor

Bump due to coolness

 

US Navy Destroyer on the Gunline off of Vietnam

 

What was it like in the USN during the Vietnam war? These films have been around for a bit but now they've been strung together to give a full picture of a Westpac/Vietnam deployment on the Gunline. They are from the deployments of the Garcia class destroyer escort (frigate) USS ALBERT DAVID commissioned in 1968. The films are from her 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 deployments which ends with Operation End Sweep. It also includes excellent UNREP, Carrier Plane Guard (Phantoms), Boarding Party (check out the typical WWII shipboard arsenal we used), and Helicopter sorties (SEAWOLVES!) Watch for the O-10 Bird dog adjusting the NGFS (naval gunfire support as it was called then); Good mix of 1970's uniforms which we've been discussing lately on the uniform boards. Also some great close aboard shots of the USS LLOYD THOMAS, she was decommissioned just months later. Lots of great details in these films of typical shipboard duty on a Tin Can.

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