The NEWPORT NEWS operated under the Atlantic Fleet Command until she joined the Mediterranean Fleet on January 6, 1950. Relieving the USS Des Moines CA-134, her Sister Ship, she became flagship for Vice Admiral John Ballentine, Commander Sixth Fleet.
She served as Fleet Flagship for Vice Admiral Ballentine for a period of five months, during which she visited 15 ports in the Mediterranean. She was relieved by the USS Salem CA-139, her Sister Ship, in Gibraltar, British Colony, May 26, 1950. During the three-month yard period that followed, Captain Edward Parker relieved Captain J.S. Laidlaw as Commanding Officer. The NEWPORT NEWS sailed from Norfolk Naval Shipyard to the Caribbean Sea during September 1950 and underwent a refresher training course for seven weeks, operation from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Proceed to 1951
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