1957 THREE VISITORS TO SYDNEY

CIRCULAR QUAY Looking West along Alfred Street.

Anyone who knows me knows my strong interest in Naval History and Naval Vessels. In 1957  The United States Navy  sent a Cruiser Squadron to pay a goodwill visit to Sydney, And of course, I had to go and see the visiting ships , or at least two of them , for the third was berthed at Woolloomoolloo at a wharf which I knew would not make for a good photograph.

U.S.S. LOS ANGELES Heavy Cruiser berthed on the Western Side of Circular Quay

The ships were U.S.S. LOS ANGELES Heavy Cruiser, U.S.S. ROCHESTER Heavy Cruiser, and U.S.S. ROANOKE Light Cruiser . LOS ANGELES weighed 13,700 tons as did ROCHESTER.  But the Light Cruiser ROANOKE weighed 14,700 tons.This was not the anomaly it might appear. The "Heavy" and "Light" terms in the ships' descriptions refer not to their weight , but rather to the calibre of their Main Armament. Both LOS ANGELES and ROCHESTER  each mounted

nine 8" Guns, whereas ROANOKE mounted twelve 6" Guns.She was unusual in that she had  six turrets - three forward and three aft, as opposed to the classical two forward and one aft as LOS ANGELES AND ROCHESTER did. I only learned this about ROANOKE to-day as I began to write this. Had I known at the time I would certainly have photographed her on account of this oddity.

The presence of such a formidable squadron in Sydney on a goodwill visit, when Australia did not even have one comparable ship in service, was an impressive demonstration of the power of the United States Navy which had Defeated the Japanese in WW II with some help from the Royal Australian Navy . And both had played a significant roe in the defeat of North Korea in the late Korean War.

   

U.S.S. ROCHESTER  Heavy Cruiser berthed on the Eastern Side of Circular Quay

 The pictures above are of added interest now sixty years later. Starting from the top, The Cahill Expressway atop the Circular Quay railway line and Station which had been opened the preceding year- 1956, was not yet open to public use- that happened next year in 1958. So the few vehicles seen on the Expressway were obviously officials or contractors. On the left hand side of the picture we can see a portion of the old Thomas Mort Woolstore which had stood there close to the wharves for 107 years. It was to be demolished two years later and replaced by the first building in Sydney to exceed the 150' height limit of 1912 - the 26 storey twin towers of the AMP Building.

In the picture of LOS ANGELES we see the old wharfside storage sheds which were to be demolished and replaced by a new International Passenger Terminal, which has in turn , been repeatedly expanded and and re-furbished several times. The number and size of the ferries now frequenting even this less busy Western end of the Quay has multiplied beyond all recognition.

Likewise the photo of ROCHESTER berthed at the Eastern side of the Quay is interesting also because of what you see - and what you don't. You don't see the Opera House because construction did not start until March, 1959, but you do see the castellated tower of the old Fort Macquarie Tram Depot which was to be demolished the following year in 1958, to make way for the Opera House. Also ,the old Wharfside buildings can be seen astern of ROCHESTER these lined the base of the rock face right along toward Alfred Street until replaced by a series of unloved commercial and home unit buildings in the 1960s. These have mostly ben replaced in later years by more pleasing buildings.

U.S.S.HELENA Light Cruiser berthed at Garden Island Dockyard.

Since we are talking about the United States Navy , Cruisers and aspects of Sydney that have changed, it is fitting that I make mention of the memorable - certainly for me - visit of the U.S.S. HELENA Light Cruiser Guided Missile (CLG).

I hafd the good fortune to travel from Sydney to Hobart Tas. as the guest of the United States Navy along with a small group of others. It was a marvellous privilege. Cruisers are , in Naval custom the beginning of a really significant degree of style and formality in the ship's daily life. They are big enough to accommodate this reality and the presence of a United States Marine Corps contingent on board adds that extra bit of dash, discipline and colour to all that happens.

Cruisers are handsome ships and i could rattle on all day, but I will be concise: three main things impressed me:

. the inside of the 6" Gun Turret - Gun Turrets and the guns they mount are a remarkable feat of engineering. The Turret is mounted on , and can turn about on, a base called a barbette and it sits atop an armoured tube if you will, penetrating the decks below to the Magazine where the 6" Shells are stowed as well as the explosive charges which propel the Shell and its explosives out of the Gun. The guns themselves can be adjusted up and down for greater and lesser range.This is done by Hydraulic power. The crew of the gun where special anti-blast gear to protect their faces from the effects of the gun firing.

.the Gun Control Computer - high in the superstructure above the guns was the MECHANICAL computer  which took in all the multiple pieces of data by means of winding handles around the edge of the high table top of the computer - ship's speed, ship's heading, wind direction , wind speed, outside temperature,..,range of target and so on and in the end it produced :  gun trained to, gun elevated to .... It was a marvel of the mechanical designer's art. Sadly within a year or two it was entirely superseded by the electronic computer.

.the TALOS Missile preparation room. TALOS was a Surface to Surface Missile and HELENA carried a substantial magazine of these missile below the the large room, rather like a small hangar in which we stood whilst the order was given to "Spin-up Missile....."In brief seconds a seal slid back in the centre of the deck and "Whoosh"!" up came the Missile .It wasw then automatically fitted to the rail which carried it to the heavy armoured doors which opened and moved it swiftlt to the rail of the Missile Launcher on the after deck. The Launcher then instantly turned to train upon an imagined target. It was awesome as all this action took place with breath-taking speed . The armoured doors slid shut , because, if the missile were to be actually fired they would become as they are described "Blast Doors" protecting the interior from the blast of the Missile Launch.

The hospitality offered to us was exemplary and the ship was run with commendable efficiency in every way. A journey to remember with  a fond mental salute to the United States and her Navy which came heroically to our aid in WW II when I was only a baby.

The above photograph of HELENA is also now of some historical interest , for the largest crane it shows, rising above the cruiser's stern , is now no more. It was dismantled only last year if I recall , having lain idle for years as the functions it had served no longer apply. 

Our Family connections with the United States Navy actually go back to 1908 when my Grabdfather Edward Beckmann - a German immigrant in 1901 - got his first job in the New South Wales Railways cleaning the carriages of "extra" trains laid on to see the the Battleships of the United States Navy's "Great White FleetT upon its visit to Sydney Harbour. He worked in the Railways for the rest of his workng life as a Signalman, Thank you United States Navy once again!