Admiral W L Capps (AP 121) - Naval Cruise Book

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.4 vc. i ri 'tluretw making ...ff..ir-.3 wfurnmahon, es- :-clsf-f single pictc of 4 .mr 'Saw an the war. warns 'sm PIR? Pl-IDCIT g-Un, ewursc. speed and elsif vmellxgrnt ust of IM all If could lead US gf gf,-:gn IIIC f3LI2f11'l'Cl'I'5 tm. pak. wr greenish . um kept rwflfd '0 N DIVISION xg , T 4 i I it t I x h The Personnel Ofiee the scope in order to pick out one little spot from among the thousands of others and identify it as an approaching enemy sub- marine or enemy aircraft. The lives of 5,000 men, many supplies and a valuable ship rested on his alertness and ability. Operating alone or in convoy, the radiomen stood con- tinuous watches guarding fleet and local frequencies. Radio trans- mitters in their main radio room or emergency shack reached any part of the world. Coupled with the two aforementioned rates, comes the electronic technician mates. Formerly radio techni- cians, the advent of war and science gave them added duties. Their job of maintaining all radar and radio gear in good operat- ing condition was only accomplished by diligent day-by-day care. Have a yeoman do it , a phrase heard often on any ship, usually fell on the ears of the chief yeoman and his men in the Personnel Office. Theirs was the most monotonous job of all. Handling the ship's correspondence, maintaining service records, and filling out reports. The importance of this routine clerical work should not be overlooked. The paper workn aboard a modern naval vessel, although somewhat complex, provides for eflicient administration. As can be seen, each of the approximately eight different ratings in this division assumed its particular share of the load assigned to N Division and aided that division in establishing an enviable record. Copying FOX in the radio room

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N DIVISIQN Did it concern the safe navigation or communications of the ship? Then, N Division had the men and material. Quarter- masters, radiomen, signalmen, yeomen, electronic technician mates, radarmen, mailmen, and strikers. This division usually had the hot dope on where we are going, when, why, etc. The bridge gangl' was responsible for an alert topside watch. Quartermasters supervised the work for the helmsmen and mes- sengers, maintained a log in the bridge book and assisted the Of- ficer-of-the-Deck in his function as a direct representative of the Captain in the safe navigation of a vessel. ln this latter capacity he assumed a great deal of responsibility 3 performing such duties as taking bearings, keeping charts up-to-date, etc. This relieved the Oflicer-of-the-Deck of all such details allowing him to get a A Quartermaster takes a bearing Signaling an aerial escort better perspective of the existing situation and thereby making for safer handling of the ship. Radarmen on watch supplied much needed information, es- pecially in wartime. Radar, as much as any other single piece of equipment, was responsible for the success of our Navy in the war. This equipment enabled us to beat the enemy to the punch by giving us advance knowledge of their position, course, speed and friendliness. However, radar gear, without the intelligent use of the equipment, could be worse than nothing at all. It could lead us to erroneous and perhaps fatal conclusions. It was the radarmenls job to interpret the meaning of the splotchy, pale, or greenish screen on which he kept watch. His eyes were kept riveted to Q the scope o f 1 P , thousanos of ITl3I'HlC QE' 1 T and a Operating tinuous 'r mitters in part of comes the cians, the Their job of rf ing condition 'rt

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R DIVISION The most unglamorous job of all fell to R Division. Theirs was the never ending and thankless task of keeping the hull and its Httings in top shape at all times. Something was always breaking or otherwise causing trouble, and it was found necessary to keep men continually patrolling the ship looking for clogged drain lines, broken water lines, leaky valves, damaged bunks, and the countless other troubles that occur aboard a large ship. Seldom an hour went by that the call for C and R Patrol did not come over the P. A. system. Most of us became accustomed to this call and took it for granted, not realizing that each such call meant another disagreeable task to be performed by this busy division. h In addition to the repair work accomplished by R Division all construction or alterations, not sufficiently large to require the attention of a Navy Yard, were undertaken by this division. This includes the building of storerooms for the use of various other divisions, and lockers and racks of all descriptions. Most of this Operating the Handy Billy fre pump Burning of at zomm. gun mount Work was time consuming although, perhaps, from the standpoint of the carpenter's mates attached to the division, it was the most enjoyable. At the beginning of the war the subject of damage control was little known or practiced. After a number of U. S. Navy vessels had been lost that could have been saved, more emphasis was placed on this function, and when the Capps was placed in commission, provisions were made for an adequate damage control organization. R Division was the the backbone of the Admiral Capps, three repair parties located fore, aft, and amidships. These parties were equipped with the latest of damage control gear and were proficient in the use of that gear. It was necessary for the men in this division to master the use of the large and small portable fire pumps submersible pumps. the control of darna such as, the proper I that are found aboar and how to appif: e a hole in the ship Although not 5 related to it. is th cofferdams daily the amount of irate that space. the