The Comstock is one ship in a three vessel Amphibious Battle Group. The largest ship, the Makin Island, is sort of like an an aircraft carrier. It accompanied us on this trip. The newest ship, the San Diego, stayed in Hawaii for a day or two longer. It caught up with us by the time we reached California. The ships are docked in Pearl Harbor before we leave in the first photo.
The fuel for the US Pacific Fleet was in a big tank farm near the naval base. The tanks were close together, and if one burned, it is likely the other ones would catch fire, too. The Japanese were so intent on destroying ships and planes that they did not bomb the tank farm. That, and the US carriers being out to sea, was gook luck for us. The war would have been vastly different if we would have lost the fuel, the carriers, or both, I am told.
The Navy learned from this. The closest we are to the Makin Island for most of the trip is shown in the second picture. Note the little ship far away on the horizon. That is the carrier. An officer said that keeping the ships apart, and that most of the fleet is all over the Pacific and not in port, makes it harder for us to have a big loss in a surprise attack.