History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications |
|
CS Restorer |
Main Menu | Home | Contact Email | Prologue | 1901 - 1904 | Joint Reports 1903 - 04 | Early Operations | First World War | Peace | Second World War | 3rd Naval Armed Guard Report | Winter Cable Laying | 11th Naval Armed Guard Report | Peace Again | Home And Back To Work | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 1 | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 2 | Services Rendered by C.S. Restorer | The End For C.S. Restorer| |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winter Cable laying Wartime Winter Cable Laying in the Bering Sea - Grim Reality The Japanese had only recently been removed from Attu and Kiska, and the threat of their closeness hung over the operation. The often foul weather was an additional factor as the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean are not kind to anyone, particularly in the winter. The strategy was simple. Move slowly, let the cable pay out from the large cable tanks and around the brake drums, and over the bow sheaves, until arriving at the island of destination. At that point a coxswain with four oarsmen manned a surf boat and brought the line ashore, then buried a "dead man" or found something to which a large single sheave block could be firmly fastened. There would be round trips back to the ship and the beach, as subsequently larger lines were hauled to the shore by the ship's cable engine(s). The beach was a misnomer, as the steep sucking black lava stone approaches were anything but a beach, and bitterly cold. Then, hopefully, there would be an Army unit with the proper heavy equipment to assist in bringing in enough slack to satisfy their needs, and then it would be slowly on to the next island. It was bitter cold work, and the surf boat crews never seemed to be warm or dry. Work went on 24 hrs. a day. The weather where the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean meet can be some of the world's worst, as a strange phenomena known locally as "will-o-wahs" takes place. The gale winds go in one direction and the waves in the opposite to create this strange force. It was both an eerie and awesome sensation to see and feel rain, sleet and snow driven in one direction, while huge waves would move across the grain of the elements, or in complete opposition to it. Severe weather would halt the laying of cable, and the cable would have to be severed with the cable end being marked with a buoy, held in position with a "mushroom" anchor. The Restorer hove to or took shelter in the lee of an island. When the weather subsided, the buoy and the cable would be brought back on board. If rapidly deteriorating weather didn't give time to attach a buoy, the cable would be dropped, and grappled for later. The Army cable splicing team would then join the cable ends and the operation would resume. A faulty cable, or one damaged by unknown causes on the ocean floor, would create additional problems, as the cable would have to A Few Loose Ends There was a storm that winter so bad that oil was dumped in the heads to calm the waters, as the ship drifted rapidly towards an island, dragging both anchors. Entertainment, such as it was, was provided by a wind up record player (78 rpm's of course), and records of Frances Langford and others. The Canadian Bosun was an old hand, and brought the green deck crew along smoothly and professionally. The scenic trip back to Seattle down the inside passage of Alaska and B. C. almost made the crew forget the cold and the wet. Almost, but not quite. One didn't realize how valuable the hard learned seamanship experiences were, until shipping out later, on a ship that did not demand the same skills that were required that winter of 1943. The step from Ordinary to Able Seaman came easily for most of the deck crew. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, an education, and an unforgettable way to "learn the ropes". After the Restorer's January, 1944 return to Seattle, two of her veteran crew members left the ship, Cable Jointer Pragnell going into well earned retirement, and Purser Sid Pearce going to an administrative position in Seattle. This saw him working every remaining day of the war except Christmas Day. NOTE: When the ship arrived in Dutch Harbor on 17/12/1943, Ch. Off. Thacker became Acting Captain. On 19/12/1943, Captain Cantell was flown from Dutch Harbor to Seattle, with a terminal illness. Captain Lovering became Master on 31/12/1943, in Seward. Clearly, this makes the above Gate Pass one of the first items signed by Captain Lovering in his capacity as Master of USAT Restorer. ARMED GUARD PERSONNEL REMOVED 9/2/1944
ARMED GUARD PERSONNEL PUT ABOARD
The Tenth Naval Armed Guard Report, 19/4/1944 (The usual preamble, part 1, and parts 3 to 12 are omitted.) Back in the South Pacific After the Restorer's April, 1944 return to Seattle, it was readied for a return to its more familiar tropical climes. The Restorer now came under Central Pacific Base Command, her duties to keep open lines of communication between advance forces and base command. This was very dangerous work. In 1944 Captain Gagnon returned to command, and in 1945 took Restorer back to the Philippines. It was at Leyte that the ship was almost lost when it ran aground and the crew had to abandon ship. Later, with the incoming tide, the crew was able to reboard and refloat the ship. It was experiences like this that made three different reports of the ship's loss reaching Victoria seem creditable. Reassurance to those on the home front was gained by the appearance of mail that was of course, heavily censored. USAT Restorer worked so close to the enemy that there were times when she worked cable the other end of which was still in use by the Japanese. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Main Menu | Home | Contact Email | Prologue | 1901 - 1904 | Joint Reports 1903 - 04 | Early Operations | First World War | Peace | Second World War | 3rd Naval Armed Guard Report | Winter Cable Laying | 11th Naval Armed Guard Report | Peace Again | Home And Back To Work | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 1 | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 2 | Services Rendered by C.S. Restorer | The End For C.S. Restorer| |
Copyright © 2006 Dirk van Oudenol
Last revised: 22 July, 2006
Return to Atlantic Cable main page