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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| |
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3rd Naval Armed Guard Report 6/11/1942 CONFIDENTIAL From: Commanding Officer, Armed Guard Unit, Cableship RESTORER 1. Name of vessel: Cableship RESTORER 2. Left Seattle at 2230 on 6/9/1942 sailing singly. The Fourth Naval Armed Guard Report, 8/1/1943 CONFIDENTIAL (The usual preamble up to and including Part 1 is now omitted.) 2. Departed Seattle at 0150 12/11/1942, sailing singly via the Inside Passage to Pleasant Island, Alaska. Departed from there in a convoy of six other ships and were escorted to a position just off Kodiak where the other ships left the convoy. The RESTORER and one escort vessel then proceeded at ten knots to Whittier arriving at 1620 23/11/1942. At 0903 25/11/1942 the vessel and one escort departed Whittier at a speed of twelve knots and arrived Kodiak at 1052 28/11/1942. Departed Kodiak at 1233 10/12/1942 escorted by a cutter for Sitka, arriving there at 0115 13/12/1942. Departed Sitka at 1042 22/12/1942. Repaired cables between Juneau and Petersburg and arrived in Seattle at 1623 5/1/1943. (The usual standard Parts, numbered 3 to 10 inclusive, are omitted.) DATE: 15/2/1943 ARMED GUARD PERSONNEL REMOVED
ARMED GUARD PERSONNEL PUT ABOARD
COMMUNICATION LIAISON PERSONNEL REMOVED
MATERIAL FURNISHED: UNDER COGNIZANCE OF THE BUREAU OF ORDNANCE Removed: Two 30 Cal. MG and appurtenances, spare parts, ammunition, covers mounted. UNDER COGNIZANCE OF THE BUREAU OF SHIPS
All the time while on cable work in the Alaskan war zone the Chief Engineer, Frank M. Jupp, had the strain of knowing great demands might suddenly be placed on the engines. Chief Engineer Jupp had been on the Restorer since 1916, and lavished an Edinburgh trained man's conscientious care on machinery, and of the entire crew, was most aware of its aged condition. In mid-Feb. 1943, came the moment of crisis. This was during the time covered by the Fifth Naval Armed Guard Report. The very real danger of submarine attack was so imminent, that their escort dropped depth charges, and the engine room got the instruction for full speed ahead. The old engines held out, but shortly after, Chief Engineer Jupp was found collapsed with a stroke. Captain Don Cantell had earlier left the ship due to illness, after having taken command from Captain J. H. Connelly. Captain Cantell died at age 46, as had Captain Fleming less than two years earlier. Temporary successor to Captain Cantell was Chief Officer J. L. Thacker. Later Captains took over this spot and Mr. Thacker became Cable Superintendent. Loss of C.S. Dellwood The C.S. Dellwood worked the Alaska cable from Jan. 1943, until she sank at Attu on 19/7/1943. New Cable Ships The C.S. Glassford, built in the summer of 1943, promptly went into Alaska service, and its sister ship, C.S. Basil O. Lenoir, launched in April 1944, also promptly went into Alaska service. This very clearly means the lineup of cable ships on Alaska service during 1941-45 was like this:
More on Naval Armed Guard Reports or Trip Logs The Ninth Trip Log is a very long one, and will be blended with the excellent private Trip Log kept by a crew member, Ira Flare Fredricksen. Due to layout requirements, the 1943 Christmas Dinner Menu will appear immediately before the Ninth Trip Log, after which will appear the remaining almost two pages of Flare's notes. These offer a very rare window into what wartime winter cable laying in the Aleutians was like. More thought provoking perhaps, is the clearly implied great loss to history of so much information. After all, if one crew member's high quality notes are the only ones that surface more than fifty years later, only because of dogged determination to research all possible sources, they are all the more valuable due to their rarity. The Fifth Naval Armed Guard Report, 10/3/43 (The usual preamble and Parts 1 and 3 to 10 are omitted.) 2. Departed Seattle, Washington, at 1225, 22/1/1943, sailing singly to Cape Spencer; convoyed from Cape Spencer by one Coast Guard ship. Arrived Chernofski 1737 19/2/1943. Departed 28/2/1943 at 0800 for Cape Spencer, convoyed by one Coast Guard vessel. Arrived Seattle, Washington 10/3/1943 at 1709. The Sixth Naval Armed Guard Report, 9/5/1943 (The usual preamble and Parts 1 and 3 to 10 are omitted.) 2. Departed Seattle Washington, at 1100, 19/3/1943, sailing singly to Cape Spencer; convoyed from Cape Spencer by one Coast Guard vessel to Dutch Harbor. Convoyed from Dutch Harbor to Adak by one destroyer and one gunboat. Arrived Adak 1020 10/4/1943. Departed 21/4/1943 at 0818 for Cape Spencer, convoyed by one Coast Guard vessel. Arrived Seattle, Washington, 9/5/1943 at 1850. The Seventh Naval Armed Guard Report, 22/6/1943 (The usual preamble and Parts 1 and 3 to 10 are omitted.) 2. Departed Seattle, Washington, at 0955 16/5/1943 sailing singly to Icy Strait arriving there at 0600 19/5/1943. Departed Icy Strait at 1126 24/5/1943 convoyed by one Coast Guard Cutter. Arrived Cable Grounds at 0400 and arrived at Seward at 1700 1/6/1943. Departed Seward at 0500 2/6/1943 and arrived at Cable Grounds at 1800 2/6/1943. Departed Cable Grounds at 0955 11/6/1943 and arrived Seward at 1745 11/6/1943. Departed at 0400 12/6/1943 and arrived Cold Bay at 0600 14/6/1943. Departed Cold Bay at 1900 14/6/1943 and arrived Seward at 1715 16/6/1943. Departed Seward at 1805 18/6/1943 and arrived at Icy Straits at 0900 20/6/1943, still convoyed by the same Coast Guard Cutter. Departed Icy Strait at 0910 20/6/1943 sailing singly and arrived Seattle 0725 24/6/1943. The Eighth Naval Armed Guard Report, 10/10/1943 (The usual preamble and Parts 1 and 3 to 10 are omitted.) 2. Departed Seattle, Washington at 1000, 22/8/1943, sailing in convoy with one other ship and one escort vessel. Arrived in Dutch Harbor at 2000 28/8/1943. Departed Dutch Harbor at 1700 29/8/1943sailing in convoy with two other ships and one escort vessel. Arrived Adak at 0945 31/8/1943. Departed Adak at2030 31/8/1943 sailing singly with one escort vessel. Arrived Amchitka at 1430 1/9/1943. Departed Amchitka on Cable operations at 4/9/1943 sailing with one escort Arrived Kiska at 1600 5/9/1943 and departed Kiska at 1530 6/9/1943 still with one escort and still on cable operations. Arrived in Attu at 1000 8/9/1943. Departed Attu at 0900 10/9/1943 with one escort and arrived in Adak at 1700 12/9/1943. Departed Adak at 0715 23/9/1943 with one escort and arrived in Dutch Harbor at 1130 25/9/1943. Departed Dutch Harbor at o635 27/9/1943 with one escort and arrived in Cold Bay at 1955 27/9/1943. Departed Cold Bay at 0630 29/9/1943 with one escort and arrived at Whittier at 1250 2/10/1943. Departed Whittier at 1540 5/10/1943, picked up one escort at Montague Island and proceeded to Seattle. Arrived Seattle at 2230 10/10/1943. 1943 Christmas Dinner A maximum effort was made to give the crew a touch of home, and a dinner with all the trimmings was had by all. Here's the menu:
The Ninth Naval Armed Guard Report, 18/1/1944 (With this Report, the number of sections increases from 10 to 12, but there is still only one of interest, Part 2. 26/10/1943 Departed from Seattle, Washington at 1710, escorted by PC1081. |
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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
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