Benham (DD 796) - Naval Cruise Book

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?.-t r i »« ft.f ' l- ' f »1 4 Z j Rc u. MCCORMACK. PASSMORE. C. A. ROSS, E. J. ROSS. SCHULTZ, SCOTT. Third Row: REYNOLDS. DAVIS, MCANALLY. BIRCH, LOE, O KEEFE, ANDERSON, HEIM, HOLCOMB, POSTELL, CROCKETT, DALTON. Second Row: TITLIS, BUCKHOLTZ, FERNJACK, DAWSON, KIEWRA. MORRISON, PRYOR, CICCIU, COSTA, PERRIN. WOODS, ROTON, KRATZ. Front Row: REED, BULLOC, DRAGON, MIXON, HALL, EZZO, RALFCH, SPENCER, MCMILLAN, YOCUM. E DIVISION The engineering division is one of the largest aboard ship. It is made up of Boilermen and Machinist ' s Mates who work below the main deck. Usually it is hot and sweaty in the bowels of the ship but these snipes continue to wrestle the valves, manufacture steam, regulate the steam pressure, and govern the speed of the ship. To move, a ship must have steam for power and the BT ' s have their job tending hell hot boilers. It isn ' t easily done but after a watch, these sweaty, grimey, fuel oil smelling snipes know that it is a job that has to be done and they are proud to be doing it. ' Midst regulators, pumps, gears, generators, and evaps, Machinist ' s Mates spend the day in the engine rooms. It is their job to convert steam to power and to regulate the speed of the ship. The Motor Macks convert sea water to fresh water for personal uses and for use in the galley, laundry, sick bay and the boilers. To maintain this essential machinery, their time is filled with constant checks, work and repair; for the heart of a ship must not stop pumping. This credit to give a ship its life goes to the E Division.

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V A Back Row: MILLIKEN, Hl ' SONG, SHARPE. PELTON, HOPKINS, MISCHENKO, SCHOLTZ. Front Row: LTJG HALBERT, HARPER, MCKINNON, PFARR, HEFFERLY, SILVESTER, STAUSS, ALLOY. Kneeling: LAVIGNE, HENRY, GIPSON, CAIN. WELCH. ABE. EDGE. C DIVISION The O Division is composed of the Radarmen, Sonarmen, and Electronics Technicians. Besides operating the radar equipment, the radarmen must keep a constant plot of all vessels in the ship ' s vicinity. This information when used on the bridge is a deciding factor in preventing serious collisions, especially when making high speed maneuvers with other ships. The radarmen ' s headquarters is the Combat Information Center. Here vital information is gathered from a myriad of radio speakers, radar scopes, and maneuvering boards and quickly distributed to wherever it is required. A constant threat to any navy is attack from beneath the surface. Utilizing complex electronic equipment, the sonarmen keep a never-ending vigil over the vast expanses beneath the waves. With their equipment they seek out both the human threat of enemy submarines and nature ' s obstacles, such as rocks, shoals and sunken ships. Keeping the Eyes and Ears of the Fleet in top operating condition is the task of the Electronics Technicians. Correcting equipment failures is the primary purpose of the ET ' s, but a large amount of the work . Bcs ' done behind the scenes. Keeping track of t iW J M thousands of spare parts, maintaining rec- lll k ' K m ords, and making running checks on equip- . YAJ ' B i H ' B ' ' ' ° ' ' troubles before they occur are - H ' ' 1 examples of these behind the scenes jobs. w- 2 H| U B three rates contribute to make the ' ' BENHAM a top ship of the line .

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V JBt Fro,,, Rou: SCHACK, CALHOIN, SANCHEZ, GIEBNER. BRADBURY, CARTON, CONSIDINE, DOWNING. Second Row: MCROY, PAULSEN, WENDOWSKI, GRIFFIN, JOHNSTON. PACKARD, HANSEN. WALTERS. Third Row: MCKENZIE. ROBERTS. KERR. RUSHING. Not Show,,: PARR. KELLY, DOVE. EISENHAUER, VARNER. RIVARD, GREYDANUS. GROSS. •P V ■ » ' ' R DIVISION Repair! How many pieces of equipment aboard ship require repair and upkee p will never be known for there are far too many to be counted and put down on paper. R Division is made up of three separate gangs. The A gang, the electrical gang, and the shipfitters who have the never ending job of constant check, upkeep, and operation of these essential organs of the ship ' s life. Members of the A gang, when not in the machine shop drinking coffee, usually are working on the emer- gency diesel, refrigeration plant, after steering, air compressor, auxiliary steam system, scuttlebuts, ship ' s boats, laundry, or turning down jobs on the lathe. ' What is more important than fresh food? What would a ship be without liberty boats. ' With Chief Walters and Fritz (Junior) Kelly, the A gang have their work cut out for them. The duty electrician report to the quarterdeck. Many times a day this is passed throughout the ship. Elec- tricians work continuously on the 440 volt power system, 110 volt lighting system, ventilation system, motors, electric ovens and ranges, refrigeration controls, signal lights, degaussing, gyro compass, telephones, announcing system, and generators which manufacture the ship ' s electrical power. Credit is to be given to W. I. (Oakie) Griffin and his crew of Sparkies . The shipfitters are a combined group of metalsmiths, damage controlmen, and carpenters. Metalsmiths have a busy time cutting metal, soldering, and welding even without men- tioning the times the BENHAM has slid or rammed its way into the barn ! Carpenters are just that and fill their hands with saws, hammers, and nails to fulfill someone ' s needs. Damage controlmen maintain the upkeep of damage control lockers and if ever a time is such that our ship is damaged, they will patch her up. Dove and Red Giebner, with the shipfitter gang, do a good job for the little R Division. • r f