USS MULLINNIX DD-944

Unitas III
16 August – 6 December 1962

USS Mullinnix during Unitas III Exercises of coast of South America 1962

1962 Welcome Abroad Brochure (PDF)



1962 Mullinnix Deck Logs

January 1962 (PDF)
February 1962 (PDF)
March 1962 (PDF)
April 1962 (PDF)
May 1962 (PDF)
June 1962 (PDF)
July 1962 (PDF)
August 1962 (PDF)
September 1962 (PDF)
October 1962 (PDF)
November 1962 (PDF)
December 1962 (PDF)



Sailing with South America’s Navies
Claude E. Erbsen, Ensign, USN
All Hands Magazine - February 1963

SOMEWHERE OFF THE COAST of South America, the sonar gear of a United States destroyer (USS Mullinnix DD-944) detected the presence of a submarine. A Uruguayan captain was immediately notified and he in turn detailed a Brazilian as well as an Argentine destroyer to form a search and attack unit to seek out the intruder hiding deep below the surface of the ocean.

Working smoothly together the two destroyers located the submarine and forced it to the surface.

It was USS Picuda SS-382, the gadfly of Operation Unitas III, a series of combined antisubmarine exercises involving the navies of the United States and the maritime nations of South America.

Designed to stimulate the development of common ASW doctrine and techniques, as well as a unified system of communications, Unitas exercises have welded the navies of South America into an able and skilled ASW force capable of almost immediate action in case of a submarine threat to the sea lanes of the continent.

The product of combined planning, Unitas provides an opportunity for the navies of South America to work with each other, as well as with U.S. ships in the development of increasingly advanced ASW tactics.

THOUGH ONLY THREE YEARS old, Unitas has established itself as the high point of the South American navies’ annual training schedules, and their ships train throughout the year to reach peak effectiveness during the operation.

The outgrowth of limited bi-lateral ASW exercises along the east and west coasts of South America during the spring of 1959, Unitas has developed into an annual continent-wide exercise involving as many as four countries at once.

Under the command of Rear Admiral John A. Tyree, Jr., USN, Commander of the South Atlantic Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the 1962 edition of Unitas included Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela were also scheduled to participate, but the Cuban crisis forced cancellation of the last phases of the operation.

The U.S. Navy was represented by the destroyers USS Mullinnix DD-944, and USS Lester DE-1022, Picuda, and two P2V-7 Neptune aircraft, as well as an R4Y support plane. Mullinnix, a Forrest Sherman class destroyer, served as Admiral Tyree’s flagship.

THE OPERATION began in Trinidad, W.I., on 23 August, when the ships left COMSOLANT headquarters for Recife, Brazil. There they were joined by four Fletcher class Brazilian destroyers, the flagship CT Paraiba D-28 (ex-USS Bennett), CT Para D-27 (ex-USS Guest), CT Parana D-29 (ex-USS Cushing), and CT Pernambuco (ex-USS Hailey). The Brazilian submarine SE Humaita S-14 (ex-USS Muskallunge), and SE Riachuelo S-15 (ex-USS Paddle), also joined the force, together with the Uruguayan destroyer escort Uruguay DE-1 (ex-USS Baron).

The task force began operations as soon as it had cleared the Recife breakwater, continuing to exercise all the way to Rio de Janeiro. There the Unitas forces - known as Task Force 86 - were joined by another Uruguayan destroyer escort, the ROU Artigas DE-2 (ex-USS Bronstein).

Argentine units also joined up in Rio de Janeiro. They included three Fletcher class destroyers newly received from the United States and the submarine ARA Sante Fe S-11 (ex-USS Lamprey).

The three destroyers were the flagship ARA Brown D-20 (ex-USS Heerman), ARA Expora D-21 (ex-USS Dortch) and ARA Rosales D-22 (ex-USS Stembel). The British-built oiler ARA Punta Medanos B-11 joined the task force at sea between Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo.

THREE-NATION SUB GROUP slipped out of Rio ahead of the main body of the task force, lurking outside beautiful Guanabara Bay while the surface units simulated an opposed sortie.

The Most significant aspect of the exercises, COMSOLANT said, was "the ability of the navies of four countries, speaking three different languages, to work closely and effectively." He noted that the continent-wide Unitas exercises have a whole series of bi-national and regional joint exercises.

Between Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo the task force was battered by the heavy winds and high seas of a strong South Atlantic gale. The Argentine aircraft carrier ARA Independencia (ex-HMS Warrior) took several waves over her flight deck while steaming with the task force. Though not a part of TF 86, Independencia provided S2F Tracker aircraft for the operation.

It was during this storm that Unitas suffered its only personnel casualty. A high wave injured Picuda’s officer of the deck when it threw him against a steel angle beam.

A soon as the seas had abated somewhat, the stricken officer was transferred to Mullinnix for medical assistance. At the same time, Independencia volunteered its aircraft to evacuate him to the beach, and Brazil granted immediate clearance to any Argentina aircraft which might be involved in the evacuation.

When it was found he required hospital care, an Argentine helicopter plucked him from the Mullinnix fantail despite high seas and rolling decks. Seasoned naval aviators described the Argentine pilot’s flying as excellent, and praised his skill in hovering only a few feet from the pitching destroyer.

DRAMATIC EVIDENCE of the solidarity of the navies of the Americas came less than two months later when President Kennedy decreed a quarantine of Cuba against the introduction of offensive weapons into the island. The response from South America was almost immediate as several nations offered ships to assist. Many of these ships had participated in Unitas.

The first phase of Unitas III ended at Argentina’s naval base of Puerto Belgrano, and the U.S. ships steamed on alone to rendezvous with the Chilean Navy at Punta Artenas, the world’s southernmost city, in the middle of the Strait of Magellan.

At the same time, the U.S. Unitas III air detachment headed across the Andes to Santiago for a period of maintenance and ground school with the Chilean Air Force. In Uruguay and Argentina the aircraft had operated with local naval air groups flying ASW missions in conjunction with the surface units.

From Punta Arenas the combined U.S.-Chilean task force headed north through the inland passage and along the Pacific coast toward Talcahuano and Valparaiso.

THE CHILEAN UNITS which joined the force in Punta Arenas included the recently acquired British-built destroyers Williams and Riveros, and the French-built oiler Almirante Montt.

Riveros had arrived in Chile from England only a month before the start of Unitas, and her presence in the task force pointed out the Chilean navy’s deep interest in the operation.

While the task force neared Valparaiso, two more destroyers and two submarines were readied for participation. The destroyers had reached Valparaiso from Norfolk at the same time as the U.S. Unitas ships had arrived in Punta Arenas from Argentina.

Loaned to Chile by the U.S. Navy, the Fletcher class Lord Cochrane (ex-USS Wadleigh) and Blanco Encalada (ex-USS Rooks) had raced south to Valparaiso in an effort to take part in at least a portion of Unitas.

The submarines SS Simpson and SS Thomson (ex-USS Springer) also put the finishing touches to their training, together with the attack transport Presidente Pinto (ex-USS Zenobia), and joined the operation.

IN LATE OCTOBER, Task Force 86 sailed from Valparaiso. At the same time units of the Peruvian fleet left El Callao for quiet Mejillones Bay, just north of Antofagasta, on the edge of Chile’s immense northern desert.

En route to Mejillones, Presidente Pinto served as a simulated convoy while Picuda, Simpson and Thomson skillfully tried to penetrate the destroyer screen around her. Chilean Air Force aviators joined the exercise, cooperating with the surface units in their relentless hunt for the attacking submarines.

At Mejillones three Peruvian destroyers joined the task force. They were the BAP Villar DD-71 (ex-USS Benham DD-796), BAP Guise DD-72 (ex-USS Isherwood DD-520) and BAP Castillas DE-61 (ex-USS Bangust, DE-739). The submarines, BAP Dos De Mayo SS-41, BAP Abtao SS-42, BAP Angamos SS-43 and BAP Iquique SS-44, which joined en route, are modified versions of the Mackerel class.

The submarines attempted to bottle up the task force in Mejillones Bay, but the surface unites succeeded in evading the subs’ surveillance, heading for the calm waters of the open Pacific.

THAT PHASE of the operation had just begun when the Cuban crisis occurred. Admiral Tyree found it necessary to detach Mullinnix for a fast run to El Callao.

Leaving Captain R. Maza, Peruvian Task Force Commander, in charge of the remaining ships, Admiral Tyree headed for El Callao, and within a few hours the COMSOLANT staff was en route to its shore-based headquarters in Trinidad in planes of the Unitas air detachment.

Though curtailed by the Cuban situation, Unitas III yielded rich dividends, both as a training exercise in antisubmarine warfare and as a goodwill cruise.

Like its predecessors, it enabled the participating crews, both officers and men, to develop an appreciation of each other’s professional competence.

"We have worked together, and observed each other closely," Admiral Tyree commented after a series of exercise, "and we’ve developed a deep respect for each other’s professional abilities."

Unitas III thus served the tree-fold purpose of strengthening the ASW capabilities of the Eastern Hemisphere navies, furthering inter-American good-will, and, perhaps most importantly, developing a strong feeling of mutual respect among the hemisphere navies.





Virginian-Pilot Article
18 December, 1962
Courtesy of SOG3 Ken Robarge





This account is from Ken Fogarty of Stratford Connecticut (Sailor on board the USS Lester (DE-1022):

"As a 19 year old SMSN, Unitis III was an experience of a lifetime. It was my first cruise and the first time away from the USA. The Captain's name was LCDR Stringfellow. My fellow Signalmen were John Davis SM1, O'Brien SM2, Don Penn SMSN and Bruce Lawton SMSN.

I was a crew member on the Lester from 1962 to 1964. While in Lima, Peru on our Unitis III Cruise, the Lester and USS Mullinnix DD-944 were ordered to get underway in the middle of the night and as we passed through the Panama Canal we were told of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Lester participated in the blockade until boiler trouble forced us to return to Newport. The boilers also caused problems early on in the cruise when we were dead in the water for 4 days off the coast of Recife Brazil."

Entered port in Trinidad on 21 August 1962	Crossed the Equator on 28 August 1962	Entered port in Recife Brazil on 30 August 1962	Entered port in Rio de Janeiro Brazil on 6 September 1962
Entered port in Montevideo Uruguay on 18 September 1962	Entered port in Bahia Blanca Argentina on 30 September 1962	Passed through the Straits of Magellan about 4 October 1962	Entered port in Punta Arenas Chile on 6 October 1962
Entered port in Valparaiso Chile on 15 October 1962	Entered port in Callao/Lima Peru on 27 October 1962	Entered port in Rodman/Colon on 30 October 1962	Entered port in Trinidad on 12 November 1962
Entered port in San Juan Porte Rico on 19 November 1962	Participated in the Cuban Blockade about 21 Novemember 1962

The Strait of Magellan is the passage immediately south of mainland South America. It is located between the continent and Tierra del Fuego, and (Cape Horn aside) is the biggest and most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean.

The strait was "discovered" in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan during the first global circumnavigation. Because Magellan's ships entered it on November 1st, it was originally named Estreito de Todos los Santos .

On May 23rd 1843, Chile took possession of the channel. Today is still under Chilean sovereignty. On the coast of the Strait lies the city of Punta Arenas and the village of Porvenir.

Before the creation of the Panama canal, this was the second-most travelled way to pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (the most used route being around Cape Horn).

It is known as a difficult route due to the inhospitable climate and the narrowness of the passage.



Chart published at Madrid in 1769




Unidentified Forrest Sherman Destroyer in "ALL HANDS" January 1962 edition.











Latins Help, Too
Navy League Magazine
January 1963

Another Task Force entered the scene a short time later. While small in size, its political weight was considerable, for this one was the Combined Quarantine Force containing units of South American navies.

On October 23rd, Rear Admiral J. A. Tyree, Commander South Atlantic Forces, was headed up the west coast of South America aboard the destroyer USS MULLINNIX. Since August, the MULLINNIX had been engaged in ASW exercise UNITAS with South American destroyers.

A message arrived ordering Admiral Tyree to fly to Trinidad to establish Task Force 137. MULLINNIX steamed at flank speed to the nearest airport (Lima) then began its long run up the coast and through the canal.

Another run was underway at the same time. The Argentine ROSALES and ESPORA raced 4,500 miles at flank speed to catch up.

“These boys came to fight,” said the MULLINNIX skipper, Comdr. W. H. Shaw. “They were real disappointed when we didn’t move in.”

On the arrival of the ZULIA and the NEUVA ESPARTA from Venezuela, the force was deployed to the Lesser Antilles, which guard the eastern approaches to the Caribbean.



UNTIAS OPERATIONS
Procedures
January 1985

Regional naval co-operation has most clearly manifested itself in recent years in the success of the UNTIAS operations, a series of annual, multi-national training exercises conducted by the navies of South America in conjunction with a small United States Task Force.

In the last summer and fall of 1962 the third operation in the series took three United States ships around South America, starting in Trinidad and proceeding south to the Straits of Magellan and north again along the Pacific coast.

The force included the USS MULLINNIX (DD 944), DD, which served as flagship, the USS LESTER (DE 1022) and the submarine PICUDA (SS 382), which joined forces with South American submarines in testing the ASW readiness of the combined task force. In addition, the United States contributed three aircraft to the operation, two P2V-7 "Neptune" patrol planes from squadron VP-18 and an R4Y support plane.

The exercises on the Atlantic side involved the navies of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. In the Pacific Chile and Peru took part. Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela had also been scheduled to participate, but the advent of the Cuban crisis forced cancellation of the last phases of the operation.

Other Exercises
Designed primarily to stimulate ASW proficiency, the exercise had given rise to a number of smaller, regional ones, such as the pre-UNITAS joint maneuvers of the Colombian and Venezuelan navies and others by the Argentine and Uruguayan navies. An active program of midshipman exchanges has also evolved during the last few years. Virtually every type of ship is represented in the American navies, from the aircraft carrier to the river gunboat, and there are even a few four-masted schooners used to train future officers.



Extract from an unknown article:

As President Kennedy spoke on the evening of October 22, Admiral Tyree directed a force of Chilian, Peruvian, and U.S. ships from his flagship the USS Mullinnix (DD 944). They were conducting antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises off the northern coast of Chile as part of UNITAS III. On being ordered by CinCLant to establish the combined Latin American-U.S. Quarantine Task Force (TF) 137, Admiral Tyree departed the UNITAS operations on October 24. He flew to his headquarters at the naval base in Chaguaramas, Trinidad. The Mullinnix also proceeded to Trinidad via the Panama Canal.

Offers of assistance soon began arriving from Latin America led by the new military government of Argentina. That country’s navy pledged its single aircraft carrier, ARA Independencia, ex-HMS Warrior, two ex-U.S. destroyers ARA Rosales (ex ) and ARA Espora (ex) ………………
(missing info here) ……….
on board their ships during the quarantine operations. I was aboard the ARV Zulia and Lieutenant Orville R. Whaley to ARV Nueva Esparta.

Admiral Tyree activated Task Force 137 for operations on 7 November when he promulgated ComSoLant/CTF 137 Operation order 9-62. The order stated that the force would “conduct naval quarantine operations in the Lesser Antilles passes into the Caribbean Sea in order to intercept designated shipping and prevent the importation of prohibited material into Cuba.” The operation order further stated that the force would “patrol assigned quarantine stations, maintain surveillance, report sightings of surfaces ships, submarines, and when directed, conduct interception, visit and search, seizure, and diversion of designated shipping.

ARV Zulia and ARV Nueva Esparta patrolled stations that covered the passage between Venezuelan mainland and the island of Granada. ARA Rosales patrolled the passage between the island of Dominica and Guadeloupe. The ARA Espora had to cover two stations, one in the Guadeloupe Passange and the other off of Montserrat Island. The Mullinnix patrolled the northernmost station covering the heavily traveled Anegada Passage between the island of Anegeda and Anguilla.

In the nine days the ships of TF 137 patrolled their stations, they reported 153 ship contacts; the Zulia 40, Nueva Esparta 31, Espora 21, Rosales 6 and the Mullinnix 55. Operations ceased on 20 November when President Kennedy ended the quarantine. But ComSoLant did not officiall dissolve TF 137 until 24 December when the…………………..



Another unknown extract from an article:

On November 12, 1962, a combined naval force of the Organization of American States (OAS) set forth on an operational operation in defense of the Western Hemisphere. When combined Task Foce 137 sortied from the U.S. naval base at Chaguaramas, Trinidad, that morning, it represented 11 warships volunteered by six OAS nations in support of the naval quarantine otary preparations made by the Kennedy administration for the Cuban Missile Crisis.




Mullinnix Track Chart for 1960-62. Courtesy Robert Hall


Courtesy Robert Hall

A Personal Account of Crossing The Equator (PDF)
Courtesy Robert Hall

Personal Reflections of Unitas III (PDF)
Courtesy Howard Hart
(Great pictures and memories in the PDF! Thanks Howard!!!)





_______________

Excerpt from "The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944"
A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood

The Situation: Somewhere off the coast of South America, the Mullinnix (Rear Admiral John A. Tyree, Jr., USN, Commander of the South Atlantic Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, flagship) sonar gear detected the presence of a submarine. A Uruguayan captain was immediately notified and he in turn detailed a Brazilian as well as an Argentine destroyer to form a search and attack unit to seek out the intruder hiding deep below the surface of the ocean. Working smoothly together the two destroyers located the submarine and forced it to the surface.

It was USS Picuda SS-382, the gadfly of Operation Unitas III, a series of combined antisubmarine exercises involving the navies of the United States and the maritime nations of South America.

Designed to stimulate the development of common ASW doctrine and techniques, as well as a unified system of communications, Unitas exercises were designed to link the navies of South America into an able and skilled ASW force capable of immediate action in case of a submarine threat to the sea lanes of the continent.

The product of combined planning, Unitas provided an opportunity for the navies of South America to work with each other, as well as with U.S. ships in the development of increasingly advanced ASW tactics. Though only three years old, Unitas had established itself as the high point of the South American navies’ annual training schedules, and their ships train throughout the year to reach peak effectiveness during the operation.

The outgrowth of limited bi-lateral ASW exercises along the east and west coasts of South America during the spring of 1959, Unitas developed into an annual continent-wide exercise involving as many as four countries at once.

Under the command of Admiral Tyree, the 1962 edition of Unitas included Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela were also scheduled to participate, but the Cuban crisis would force cancellation of the last phases of the operation.



On 16 August, only after the shore patrol returned RD3 L. A. "Larry" Morton to the ship, Mullinnix steamed out of Norfolk to participate in UNITAS III - a multi-national anti-submarine warfare exercise and circumnavigation of South America. She would travel more than 18,000 miles during UNITAS III and received thousands of visitors during goodwill ports of call. She couldn’t have headed south without her trusty Radarmen like Morton, nor her steaming companion USS Lester, DE-1022 – none of which knew what world crisis was in their near future.

Steaming at 18 knots, Mullinnix test fired her 40mm saluting batteries at 1315 on 18 August. At 2046 on 19 August, the two ships sighted Cape Rojo Light, Puerto Rico bearing 117, distance 27 miles. The band of purple clouds looked like a majestic mountain range. The only color missing was the pure whiteness of snow-capped peaks. By the midwatch, the ships were steaming in the Caribbean Sea in route to Trinidad, British West Indies, arriving at 0857 on 21 August. The ship moored port side to Pier 2, US Naval Operating Base, Trinidad.

GO TO Liberty Call Trinidad 1962

Operation UNITAS III 'officially' began in Trinidad, W.I., on 23 August, when the ships left Chaguaramas Bay and COMSOLANT headquarters for Recife, Brazil with SOLANT, staff, and a navy band aboard. Amid strains of the band's Bell-Bottomed Trousers; Coat of Navy Blue; I am a Weary Traveler; and Anchors Aweigh, the tropical breeze off the bay, hot and dry, swept by the ships as they picked up speed. The nuclear crystal-sky heat pounded down on them like a blow-torch.

There, they were joined by four Fletcher class Brazilian destroyers, the flagship CT Paraiba D-28 (ex-USS Bennett), CT Para D-27 (ex-USS Guest), CT Parana D-29 (ex-USS Cushing), and CT Pernambuco (ex-USS Hailey). The Brazilian submarine SE Humaita S-14 (ex-USS Muskallunge), and SE Riachuelo S-15 (ex-USS Paddle), also joined the force, together with the Uruguayan destroyer escort Uruguay DE-1 (ex-USS Baron).

Early that morning, USS Picuda SS-382 got underway first, then USS Lester, then Mullinnix - headed to Recife, Brazil in accordance with COMSOLANT OP-ORD 3-62 as a unit of Task Force 86. By suppertime, seas had become choppy and Lester is taking waves over her fantail – pitching and yawing in the stormy turmoil. A rainbow makes a complete bridge over a towering cloud mass to the East.

On the morning of 25 August, at 1016, USS Lester reported engineering causalities. Boiler Alpha had been using an abnormal amount of water. By 2200, a fuel tank cover erupted and sent an oil spray down the starboard side covering the weather bulkheads and deck. By 0200, the reefers flooded and the IMC signaled an alarm, waking all off watch hands out of their bunks. "Repair 2 - Repair 2 - lay up to the reefers on the double!"

Lester's refers were flooded with four-feet of water. The forward ammo magazine is totally immersed. A general turn-to of all hands and the ammunition is carried to the foc'scle and driedd. Both Lester's boilers are secured. With no power, air conditioning or water, the ship flounders in the sea.

The ship is dead in the water. First Division goes over the side to clean the mess and a shark watch is set. One is caught and brought aboard and cameras and movies record the action. Lester's compartments are too hot to enter. Captain Stringfellow authorizes sleeping on the boat deck. All hands, including officers and chiefs find a place and curl up in the equatorial heat of a still night. A pale quarter moon hung above them.

Sunday morning 26 August, without power or water, Lester flounders off the coast of French Guinea. Men, sticky and sweaty without fresh water, strip to their BVD's and set up a firefighting sprinkler to run seawater like a cool fountain shooting straight into the air. The spray offers a cooling relief. Two more sharks are snared and dragged aboard.

At 1400, Lester informs Mullinnix one boiler has been repaired. The two ships are soon underway. All maneuvering and tracking exercises were cancelled for the day by COMSOLANT. Mullinnix, using her motor whaleboat, transfer BTC Lanier and BT2 Toms to Lester to appraise damage to the boilers. Mullinnix stayed within 5 miles of Lester while the ships headed to Recife. On 27 August, Mullinnix transferred 5,118 gallons of fresh water to Lester.

_______________

Nearing the Equator, the uniform of the day shifted to 'tropical'. A sea bat is captured on the midwatch. Two shellbacks set up a show on the fantail as a prelude to crossing the equator. A bucket, covered with burlap with a hole punched into it holds something that needs air. One by one, Pollywogs approach and bend down to see. Then, Wham! A whack with a broom and the victim has seen his first sea bat.


1962 Mullinnix Stationary & Postmark Letter

The sun resembled a red ball falling slowly out of the sky. The color of the sea changed to a greenish yellow from the Amazon's silt. The evaporators needed more frequent cleaning and constant monitoring. 600 miles north of El Rio, the Amazon's current was sufficient to take a few knots off the ship’s speed. Latin music from a nearby radio station is heard loud and clear on the ship’s entertainment system.

The Shellbacks gathered to plan the initiation ceremony while pollywogs grew anxious.

"Taps! Taps! Lights Out! All hands maintain silence about the decks. Turn in to your bunks. The smoking lamp is out in all berthing areas. Now Taps!"

The next morning, as the sun peaked over the horizon, the word is passed: "All pollywogs lay up to the foc'sle." King Neptune arrived, sporting a big red lifesaver and ringing a cowbell. The pollywogs are herded into a tight group like cattle. One of the 'snipe' chiefs is dressed as a pirate. Someone brings forward subpoenas and slowly intones each pollywog's name to the sound of boos and hisses. King Neptune's Court orders a hearing, all hell is about to break loose.

The shellbacks use large cloth filled sheileighlies and pollywogs are beaten as they are herded down the starboard side. The royal barge arrived and pollywogs are ordered to greet the royal party as they parade onto the foc'sle. King Neptune, his queen and the royal baby are identified. Ordered to crawl on hands and knees with nose pressed to the deck, pollywogs make their way through the line feeling the sting of sheileighlies and paddles. A firehose is brought into play and the royal barber, inspects and clips the pollywogs. Chief commissariat feeds rations of hot chili sauce and peppers. Shellbacks inspect gaping mouths, deciding medication is required, and squirt lube oil down their throats. Raw eggs are smashed on weary heads. Pollywogs crawl dazed, to the feet of the assembled royal family for final judgment and the king issues orders for all to kiss the royal baby's belly! Covered and coated with oils and tabasco, their faces are smashed into the baby's fleshy stomach. Then the real nightmare begins.

With shellbacks yelling in all directions, pollywogs present their subpoenas as the mock charges are announced.

"He looked up the queen's dress!"

"He claims the baby's a bastard!"

"Tyranny!"

Three ugly pirates drag the pollywogs to a garbage chute and force them to lie flat and drag themselves through the maze of old vegetables and leftover garbage that had been collected for days. At the end of the long and agonizing tunnel, they crawl into the open air only to be hit with a sharp blast of water.

The royal baptism pool is next. A tub, the size of a small swimming pool, is full to the rim of pink-colored seawater. Pollywogs are submerged, and grasped by their hair sputtering the answer to a question "What do you want to be ye lowly and begotten pollywog?"

"A shellback oh great one, oh royal inquisitor!"

And with a final dunking, it is done. Baptism complete - the equator has been crossed - the royal domain accepts its converts. Drenched and stinking, the former pollywogs strip out of their clothes and take salt-water showers. Tired but happily relieved, the royal barge members parade the ship one last time and there is time for pictures. The Captain gives a "well-done" to the ceremony and the royal barge is piped away.

With fair weather, wind blowing up a small chop, the sky a brilliant clear blue, the engines rumbled to life. The black mast shimmered against the sky, an optical trick played by the sun. At 2020, 29 August, Mullinnix and Lester sight Lume of Pta, Pinto Light bearing 184, distance 34 miles.

_______________

29 August: The State Department briefs a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives, stating, "After a lull since early 1962 the Soviet Union resumed large scale military deliveries to Cuba in the last week in July. Since then, Soviet ship movements to Cuba have totaled at least 25, including at least 5 passenger ships. This is in addition to normal tanker and cargo movements. The shipments contained both military and economic goods and personnel… The size and shape of some of the boxes delivered suggests that it is possible they could contain ground-to-air missiles for antiaircraft use..."

SAM sites are "first observed" as a result of U-2 photographic mission.

Operation KAMA has begun. The Soviet Navy's high command looks for nine submarines, but finds only four that are in good shape. Four Foxtrot class submarines are moved under cover of darkness from their usual berths at Polyarny to Sayda Bay, to mask final deployment preparations to Cuba.

Nuclear-warhead torpedoes are loaded aboard. This type of torpedoe had never been carried on any type of Soviet sub before. The Soviet Foxtrot submarine capability of creating a 15-kiloton nuclear explosion with a single torpedo was unknown to U.S. intelligence (and remained so until 1995). The weapons intent is to destroy an entire U.S. force that might attempt an amphibious invasion of Cuba while Operation Anadyr is being carried out.

The Soviet submarines are assigned permanent numbers instead of names. All had prefix B, in Russian meaning Bolshoi or large. These numbers are not related to the tactical numbers sometimes painted on their sails for deception purposes.

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Early dawn on 30 August, the fog was hugging the water's surface. Not high enough to make the main deck invisible, but thick enough to hide the water’s surface. The effect was that by 0640, Mullinnix appeared to be slicing through a cloud generated by the release of liquid nitrogen into the atmosphere. The ship was coated in fog, the deck and bulkheads beaded with moisture as big as marbles.

While approaching Recife, the fog reduced visibility to less than two miles. The ship stations a radar navigation detail and fog lookouts on the forecastle.

"All hands fall into division quarters for entering port!"

She entered Canal de Olinda at 0824. With the help of Pilot Mr. Hugo De Oliveira, Mullinnix moored starboard side to Pier 3, Recife, Brazil. At 0938, RADM Atules, Brazilian Navy came aboard to call officially on COMSOLANT. A short time later RADM Atules and RADM Tyree left the ship to make official calls.

GO TO Liberty Call Recife Brazil 1962

On the morning of 31 August, a number of Mux shipmates didn’t make it back to the ship by the 0230 curfew. Only Fireman Keith Richardson, however, managed to miss quarters. At 0850 VADM Toscano, Brazilian Navy, Commandant 3rd Naval District, made an official call on RADM J.A. Tyree, COMSOLANT. Having slept off the previous night’s liberty, Fireman Richardson managed to make it back to his ship prior to general visiting and refueling detail.

On the morning on 1 September, USS Lester and Mullinnix steamed out of Recife. That afternoon, Mullinnix participated in a bent line screen with CT Parana D-29, CT Pernambuco D-30, CT Para D-27, USS Lester DE-1022, CT Paraiba D-28, and ROU Uruguay DE-1. The Uruguayan destroyer escort ROU Artigas DE-2 (ex-USS Bronstein) also joined the fleet.

USS Bronstein DE-189 was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys, sinking several. She returned home at war's end with a three battle stars. She was named in honor of Ben Richard Bronstein, Assistant Surgeon, who was killed in action 28 February 1942 when USS Jacob Jones DD-130 was sunk by an enemy submarine off Cape May, New Jersey.

Bronstein departed New York and proceeded to Green Cove Springs, Florida, where she was decommissioned on 17 June 1946 and berthed with the St. Johns River Group. On 3 May 1952, Bronstein was sold to Uruguay. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 14 May 1952.

On 2 September, in the spirit of international cooperation, Mullinnix assumed tactical command of TU 86.8.1 consisting of Parana D-29 and Uruguay DE-1. At 0752, she received a motor whale boat alongside for transfer of LTJG Pedro C. Marquez and Chief Jose F. Laino to the ship. Muxmen ENS Dukes, SOG3 Fanek, and RD2 Ditko left for ROU Uruguay DE-1 as observers. Mullinnix, Uruguay, and Parana conducted ASW exercise with USS Picuda SS-382. The following day, additional personal transfers were executed in maximize the effectiveness of each Navy's understanding of the others operations.

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4 September: The White House issues a Presidential Statement to the American People: "All Americans, as well as all of our friends in this hemisphere have been concerned over the recent moves of the Soviet Union to bolster the military power of the Castro regime in Cuba. Information has reached the Government in the last 4 days...which establishes without a doubt that the Soviets have provided the Cuban Government with...antiaircraft missiles…[Castro regime's aggressive purposes] will be prevented by whatever means may be necessary from taking action against any part of the Western Hemisphere..."

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At 0814 on 6 September, Mullinnix received pilot, Captain A. Marins aboard. Immediately following Captain Marins' arrival, Mullinnix commenced firing a 21-gun salute as she entered Rio. Four minutes later, the Brazilian Navy returned the courtesy with a 21-gun salute of their own. At 0848 the ship was moored starboard side to Pier da Proca Muau, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

GO TO Liberty Call Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1962

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7 September: CIA report states, "The first large pieces of equipment for the MRBM (medium range ballistic missiles) sites near San Cristobal were probably shipped from the USSR on the ship “Omsk" which arrived at Mariel..."

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Monday, 10 September: Before the ship left Rio, RADM Weatherwax, Chief of Naval Mission to Brazil paid an official call on COMSOLANT. At 1215, the Honorable Linocln T. Gordon, US Ambassador to Brazil arrived to pay and official call on COMSOLANT.

"All shore connections clear except for morring lines, sir," reported the OOD to the CO.

"10/4 Lieutenant."

"Captain, one and two main engines on propulsion."

"10/4. Let's get underway."

"Single up all lines," commanded the OOD.

"Answer bells. Take in lines one, three, and five."

"Port, back one third. Take in lines two, four, and six."

"Port stop."

"All back one third."

Soon after USS Lester and Mullinnix left port, they were steaming as an acting convoy for opposed sortie with screening units, ARA Brown D20, ARA Rosales D22, ARA Espora D21, CT Paraiba D28, CT Pernambuco D30, CT Parana D29, CT Para D27, ROU Uruguay DE1, ROU Artigas DE2, ARA Santas Fe S-11 and USS Picuda SS-382.

At 1202 Lester came along side port, and Mullinnix commenced transfer of two photographers, USN Attache, Chief Naval Mission to Brazil, and US Ambassador to Brazil. Transfer was completed at 1725.

11 September: Off the Brazilian coast, Mullinnix received a 13 gun salute from the ARA Independencia. She returned the 13 gun salute at 0632.

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11 September: Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, speaking on the floor of the Senate states, "...I think it is ridiculous and insulting to the American people for grown men to wring their hands publicly about Cuba’s being a military threat to the United States…we have it within our capacity without even so much as violently flexing a muscle, to destroy every single military installation in one day. So I do not want the people of my state to lose a single night's sleep worrying about the might of Cuba..."

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Thursday, 13 September: The sea was as dark as fine Chinese jade with a moderate chop. The white caps were dancing reflective neon lights, moving at will. Cloud shadows moved across the water’s surface. Thick air blew across the bow of Mullinnix and began whipping up storm caps.

Aboard Mullinnix, Fireman "Teddy" Holtz slipped and fell 20 feet onto his back from the ladder in the aft fireroom due to rolling of the ship. The sea, like death, is ever present. The ship's medical officer diagnosed an acute lumbrosscual strain with possible fracture dislocation. The x-rays will have to be confirmed in Montevideo.

Navy weather specialists alert the fleet that a strong South Atlantic gale is moving towards their position. The Argentine aircraft carrier ARA Independencia (ex-HMCS Warrior and ex-HMS Warrior R-31) take several waves over her slightly angled flight deck.

On 15 September the weather became the enemy. All events scheduled in CTF 86 Op Order 4-62 were cancelled due to inclement weather. The howling of the stiff wind caused the wires, antenna, and superstructure to cut the wind into a myriad of strange noises - from shrill screams to chilling howls to unholy whistling. The wind was so intense it precluded conversation on the top decks.

The sea sounded like the shallow breathing of some vast, mysterious undersea being. Its color flooding the surface like broken clouds of ink, deepening from pale to a darker blue. The sea clashed its undulating cymbals, bringing forth a tremendous foam that sprayed onto MT51, soiling it with its choleric ejaculation.

The seas increased to running 12 to 14 feet as Mullinnix pitched and rolled in the storm. It was a bitch just walking through the passageways. A long sliver of lightening divided the black sky, followed by the sound of the water.

In the world of weather, they call it the 'Perfect Storm.' It is when weather conditions that normally do not co-occur do co-occur, resulting in dramatically destructive storms. According to meteorologists, such 'perfect storms' occur only once in one hundred years

Rain turned to hail, scattering hailstones like pieces of smoking dry ice on the decks. The black clouds curdled above them, then dropped their load with such concentrated force that the ship seemed to be driving through a wall of water. The rain plummeted the fleet mercilessly with thousands of tiny fists.

A thin slash of bright light hurled itself into the sea, followed by a loud crack of thunder that split the sky above the ship. The rain was blowing in a vortex that looked like spun glass in the running lights.

Caught in the middle of the hurricane and suffering hour after hour of green water cascading over the ship’s bridge. The fresh grey paint that had been applied to the decks only days before was being washed off in sheets turning the steel into rust before the crew’s eyes. Life line stanchions near midships were bent over at a 90 degree angle to the deck just from the force of the water. The ship occasionally rolled over in excess of 55 degrees.

The ship moved with an irregular, lurching motion, as if it were as fatigued as the crew aboard. The wind was shearing the tops off the swells and laying lashes of spray across the heaving glossy backs of the swells.

It was during this storm that Unitas III suffered its only personnel casualty. A high wave injured Picuda’s officer of the deck, LT Stibler, when it threw him against a steel angle beam.

The sky rolling with blue-black clouds and a tree of lighting bloomed without sound on the horizon. The air was dense, a smell of salt and warm seaweed on the wind.

The rain was striking the water so hard the air glowed with a misty yellow light six inches above the surface. Finally, as the seas started to abate somewhat, LT Stibler was transferred to Mullinnix for medical assistance.

When it was found he required hospital care, an Argentine helicopter plucked him from the Mullinnix fantail despite the high seas and rolling decks.

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14 September: CIA reports that known SAM sites remains at 12, "with the latest evidence pointing to...additional locations."

September 15: Soviet freighter Poltava arrives in Cuba with the second shipment of MRBMs.

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0844 18 September: Upon entering the waterways of Montevideo, Uruguay, ROU Uruguay DE-1 took the lead and commenced exchanging honors and fired a salute of 21 guns with Mullinnix. By 0844 Mullinnix was moored starboard side to Muelle De Escala, Montevideo.

GO TO Liberty Call Montevideo, Uruguay 1962

Morning, 23 September: Mullinnix left Montevideo headed for Puerto Belgrano, Argentina, home of the Argentine Navy. Six days later she arrived in Puerto Belgrano at 1203 on 29 September, moored port side to Pier A. RADM Tyree departed to make official calls on VADM Maloberti, Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet; FADM Vasquez, Naval Area Base Commander; Municipal Delegate of Punto Alto City; Municipal Delegate of Bahia Blanca; Commanding Officer of the Fifth Army.

The Argentine Navy was fresh from attending A and C schools in the United States to bring their crews up to speed before the transfer of title of the following Fletcher Class ships:



1. ARA Brown D-20 (ex-USS Heermann DD-532 - In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Heermann had received the Philippine Republic Unit Citation Badge and nine battle stars for World War II service )

2. ARA Espora D-21 (ex-USS Dortch DD-670 - Dortch received eight battle stars for World War II service and one for Korean war service )

3. ARA Rosales D-22 (ex-USS Stembel DD-644 - Stembel received nine battle stars for World War II service and three for service during the Korean War)

The Muxmen got along well as many Argentineans had "love" letters from San Diego, Mare Island, and Seattle they needed translated. They liked teasing the Muxmen about the motto painted on the ship’s forward stack, "Anywhere, Anytime, Anyplace". "To do what?" they asked implying slyly, "To fuck or fight!" "Either or both," was the usual response.

GO TO Liberty Call Puerto Belgrano, Argentina 1962

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September 27: In Havana, five CIA agents are arrested and large quantities of weapons are confiscated.

28 September: Navy air reconnaissance aircraft observing Cuba-bound ships photograph ten large shipping crates on the decks of the Soviet vessel Kasimov. After studying the size and configuration of the crates, photo analysts determine that the containers hold Soviet IL-28 light bomber aircraft. Although technically capable of carrying nuclear payloads, the aircraft have never been given a nuclear delivery role.

2400 30 September: All four Soviet submarine commanding officers are directed to attend a meeting with their squadron commander. They are informed that they are to deploy at 4:00 A.M. The details of their mission had been delivered to their ships in sealed packets, and they were directed to read them carefully to their officers after submerging. They are told they possess the capability of inflecting lethal damage to the American forces, but were urged to use discretion.

Two of the submarine commanders, one of B-36 and the other of B-130 were viewed as the most efficient commanders in the squadron and both looked forward to the adventure. The other two commanders, B-4 and B-59, were not enthusiastic about the deployment. All are concerned about the rules governing the use of the special torpedoes. They were told to enter these words in their log when they returned aboard: "use of the special weapons is authorized under the following conditions: first, in the event you are attacked with depth bombs and your pressure hull is ruptured; second, if you surface and are taken under fire and hit; and third, upon orders from Moscow".

Game on.

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30 September, Mid-watch: Mullinnix is moored at Pier ALPHA, Naval Station, Puerto Belgrano, Argentina. She is tied up next to USS Lester DE-1022 and USS Picuda SS-382. Water pressure from the pier is reduced due to Naval Station having trouble maintaining enough pressure to the Argentina carrier Independencia.

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0400 1 October: The four Russian subs sail, completely darkened with running lights off, and steaming on electric power until clear of the channel. Total secrecy had been ordered.

1 October: Secretary McNamara meets with the JCS for a briefing on the latest intelligence on Cuba and to discuss intensified Cuban contingency planning. Defense Intelligence Agency analysts inform the group that some intelligence points to the possibility that MRBMs have been positioned in Pinar del Rio Province. After the meeting, Admiral Robert Dennison, commander-in-chief of the US Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), is directed by McNamara "to be prepared to institute a blockage against Cuba." The commanders-in-chief of the US Navy and the US Air Force under the Atlantic Command are also directed to preposition military equipment and weapons needed to execute the airstrike plan.

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1730 1 October: Mullinnix completes taking on 62,392 gallons of fuel from Puasin Puerto Belgrano.

The first phase of Unitas III ended at Argentina’s naval base in Puerto Belgrano, and the U.S. ships steamed on alone to rendezvous with the Chilean Navy at the world’s southernmost city, Punta Artenas, in the middle of the Strait of Magellan. Punta Artenas is also home to the southernmost brewery in the world.

At the same time, the U.S. Unitas III air detachment headed across the Andes to Santiago for a period of maintenance and ground school with the Chilean Air Force. In Uruguay and Argentina, the aircraft had operated with local naval air groups flying ASW missions in conjunction with the surface units.



0655 2 October: Mullinnix shifts electrical load to 1 and 3 ship's service generators. Tug R-7 came along side shortly after and at 0705 all hands were ordered to quarters for leaving port. At 0713, the ship was underway for Punta Areanas, Chile. As she headed south, visibility was reduced to 200 yards by thick fog at 1145. The ship stationed the fog lookouts at 1155.

A luminous mist settled over Mullinnix, whose dark shape seemed to float, insubstantially between sea and sky in a hazy continuum of light. The mist was gray and swirling, as thick and damp as wet cotton. It thickened into a damp, occlusive fog, shrouding the blue of the sea, transforming the superstructure into a looming presence. Shipmates disappeared into the obliterating mist and their voices faded and then died.

The ARA Rosales broke off and returned with their squadron to Puerto Belgrano.The remaining ships entered the Straits of Magellan and Chilean waters leaving behind the moderate climate of Uruguay and Argentina. The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego. The waterway is the most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the unpredictable winds and currents and the narrowness of the passage.

The strait is approximately 310 nuatical miles long and about 1.1 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point (Carlos III Island, west of Cape Froward). The northwestern portion of the strait is connected with other sheltered waterways via the Smyth Channel. This area is similar to the Inside Passage of Alaska. Southward from Cape Froward, the principal shipping route follows the Magdalena Channel.



They crew enjoyed a beautiful view of the colorful city of Punta Arenas and its hills, besides being able to spot dolphins, sea lions, and the local bird popoulation. Old docks, sunken ships, and historic piers were not uncommon to spot along the shoreline.

In the Straits the ship witnessed snowdrifted and glacier-covered as well as one or two boatloads of the natives, called Patagonians (Patagonia is also the named of one of this author's favorite brews in the world). As the passage narrowed the importance of having the services of a local pilot aboard, who was familiar with the waters, became more evident.

The crew saw glaciers, granite towers, turquoise lakes and the vast grasslands of Patagonia. In addition, the oversized grandeur of the ice from the largest non-polar glaciers in the world that spilled into cold pristine lakes was breathtaking. Awesome spires dramatically piercing the sky to penguin colonies made many feel like they were literally at "the ends of the earth".

To be continued...



Mullinnix Unitas III Brochure in Spanish (PDF)

Unitas III Brochure in Spanish (PDF)

Mullinnix Family Gram 25 July 1962 (PDF)

Mullinnix Family Gram 23 Aug 1962 (PDF)

Mullinnix Family Gram #3 (PDF)

Mullinnix Family Gram #4 (PDF)

Mullinnix Neptunus Rex (Crossing the Equator) (PDF)


GO TO Cuban Missile Crisis (Page 1 of 3)

GO TO Liberty Call Trinidad 1962
GO TO Liberty Call Recife Brazil 1962
GO TO Liberty Call Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1962
GO TO Liberty Call Montevideo, Uruguay 1962
GO TO Liberty Call Puerto Belgrano, Argentina 1962

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