ASSOCIATION
Cruise Books & Other Deployments
It seems the Beale was always underway except for the period between 1946 and 1951 when she was mothballed. Upon her commissioning in 1942, she steamed the North Atlantic for a few short months before being deployed to the Pacific. She saw action in the Aleutians, New Guinea, the Philippines, Okinawa and finally in the occupation of Japan. In the 1950's, she made several Med Cruises and a Med-Mideast Cruise. In the 60's, she made Med cruises, Caribbean Cruises and she played an active role in the Cuban Missile Blockade and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Also in 1966, she made a World Cruise to include combat action in Vietnam. Her final cruise was to the Mediterranean in 1968.
We have four "official" Cruise Books and an "unofficial" Cruise Book for the World Cruise. it is hoped shipmates will step forward to share their pictures and sea stories of the many cruises taken by the Beale and its crews over the years.
You can select a Cruise Book by clicking on the appropriate button below. You will then be asked to open a PDF file. Open the file using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Upon finishing a Cruise Book, close the PDF file and it will return you this page.
The 1951 Caribbean - Mediterranean cruise book is the first cruise book known to be pulished by the Beale. This cruise occured shortly after Beale was recommissioned in 1951. Officers and crew involved in recommissioning the ship are recognized as "Plank Owners". Accordingly, Beale has two (2) Plank Owner Crews. Our copy was donated to the Association by Andy Current, son of Eugene Current, EM1 and a 1951 Plank Owner.
The 1957 Middle East - Mediterranean - NATO Cruise took the Beale and her crew to many exotic places. East bound, Beale did not transit the Med but crossed the Equator in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa for the first and only time. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope and visiting CapeTown, she had ports of call in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea areas. Transiting the Suez Canal, she entered the Med, made a few ports of call then crossed the Atlantic to Norfolk. The cruise book was donated by Henry "Harry" Heller, RD2. Harry should be given credit for the "Sea Serpent/Submarine" wall paper on the home page as he developed it for a very early website.
Task Group ALFA was established in 1958 as a submarine hunter-killer group consisting of a carrier, its aircraft, destroyers and submarines. Its units were equipped with the latest ASW sytems. The Beale was a member of this formidable task group. And, she played a key role during the Cuban Missile Blocakade. The Task Group Alfa story is told in the following cruise book sections.
About midway through the Operations section, you will see Beale refueling from the carrier Randolph.
There is picture of the Beale Band on the third page and you can see Beale launching her Hedgehogs towards the end of this section.
Great pictures of our 1960 shipmates.
An "official cruise book" was never commissioned for the World Cruise. Accordingly, this is a "virtual" edition composed from photos and memories. If any one would like to make any additions, please contact us at ussbealeinc@gmail.com
This cruise book chronicles the last cruise the Beale was to undertake under her own power.