50 Years Ago, Mullinnix Arrives in Boston!
(Excerpt from “The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944” - A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood)
The crew’s prayers were answered. Mullinnix found pristine steaming conditions with cloudless skies and star-studded nights. They were closing in on Boston and by 16 August were within spitting distance of mooring stateside when a storm was building. In the south the sky was the blue-black of gunmetal, the waves capping as far as the eye could see. The thunderheads rippled with electricity.
A network of lighting bloomed, all the way to the top of the sky. While brilliance lit the clouds and waves you could see shipmates on the fantail smoking - like fire flies on a summer night doing a slow burn. The temperature dropped suddenly and chains of dry lighting pulsed inside the clouds, flooding the Mullinnix with a white brilliance that turned the stacks the pale color of old bone.
Fog rolled over Mullinnix smudging out her entire outline. At 1801 she commenced sounding fog signals and stationed lookouts to be the eyes of the ship. For the next several hours ship’s speed was limited to 5 to 7 knots. At 0135, the morning of 17 August, all engines were stopped – visibility was zero. The fog so thick, the crew thought they were steaming inside a light bulb. Would they ever get to Boston?
By 0222 visibility had increased to 700 yards and Mullinnix was able to increase her speed to 15 knots. At 0559 she sighted Cape Cod light bearing 291 true distance 2 miles. You could smell the clam chowder.
With the aid of Civilian Pilot McNaughton, Mullinnix maneuvered to moor port side to pier 4E, Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown, Massachusetts. SOPA was CO of USS Macon CA-132. Macon was the first Atlantic Fleet cruiser to fire a Regulus Missile on 8 May 1956 while anchored off the North Carolina coast. In the coming year, her crew would witness Macon to be the first cruiser to enter the Great Lakes region for the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. A photograph taken during it's passage through the locks was featured on the cover of Life Magazine with a cow grazing in a field in the background. She was also the first to be over 500 feet above sea level.
It was good to be back. The crew needed the down time, the Mux a breather. She’d performed beyond all expectations.
To be continued…
Cheers,
Woody
The crew’s prayers were answered. Mullinnix found pristine steaming conditions with cloudless skies and star-studded nights. They were closing in on Boston and by 16 August were within spitting distance of mooring stateside when a storm was building. In the south the sky was the blue-black of gunmetal, the waves capping as far as the eye could see. The thunderheads rippled with electricity.
A network of lighting bloomed, all the way to the top of the sky. While brilliance lit the clouds and waves you could see shipmates on the fantail smoking - like fire flies on a summer night doing a slow burn. The temperature dropped suddenly and chains of dry lighting pulsed inside the clouds, flooding the Mullinnix with a white brilliance that turned the stacks the pale color of old bone.
Fog rolled over Mullinnix smudging out her entire outline. At 1801 she commenced sounding fog signals and stationed lookouts to be the eyes of the ship. For the next several hours ship’s speed was limited to 5 to 7 knots. At 0135, the morning of 17 August, all engines were stopped – visibility was zero. The fog so thick, the crew thought they were steaming inside a light bulb. Would they ever get to Boston?
By 0222 visibility had increased to 700 yards and Mullinnix was able to increase her speed to 15 knots. At 0559 she sighted Cape Cod light bearing 291 true distance 2 miles. You could smell the clam chowder.
With the aid of Civilian Pilot McNaughton, Mullinnix maneuvered to moor port side to pier 4E, Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown, Massachusetts. SOPA was CO of USS Macon CA-132. Macon was the first Atlantic Fleet cruiser to fire a Regulus Missile on 8 May 1956 while anchored off the North Carolina coast. In the coming year, her crew would witness Macon to be the first cruiser to enter the Great Lakes region for the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. A photograph taken during it's passage through the locks was featured on the cover of Life Magazine with a cow grazing in a field in the background. She was also the first to be over 500 feet above sea level.
It was good to be back. The crew needed the down time, the Mux a breather. She’d performed beyond all expectations.
To be continued…
Cheers,
Woody
posted by Frank A. Wood at 20:44
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