Bowen (FF 1079) - Naval Cruise Book

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MLg Br y flSfS V Moving a Monster t a weight of just over J 1100 pounds, moving . m.a fire pump motor can beachallengingjob. Particu- larly if the motor doesn ' t co- operate. BOWEN ' S engineering plant includes four fire pumps, one in each main en- gineering space, which sup- ply firefighting water to the ship at 900 gallons per min- ute. On occasion, the four foot tall motor must be re- moved from its foundation for repair. At times like those, the boiler technicians (or ma- chinist mates) break out the chain falls. Maneuvering the huge electric motor, the largest in the engineering plant, is no easy task, normally, four technicians require five or six hours just to lower the pump from its foundation to the deckplates — a vertical distance of just a few feet. ' You can ' t just swing it over, said BTC (SW) Rickey Dawson. Ain ' t nobody gon- na catch it. if th e problem is relatively simple, repairs may be com- pleted by ship ' s force on the deckplates. If more complex repairs are required, the mo- tor may have to be removed from the ship to a shore based facility. In that case, ladders and other interfer- ences must be removed throughout the ship in order to move the motor to the main deck and then onto the pier. When repairs are complet- ed, the whole process is re- peated in reverse. After the motor has been returned to its foundation, it must be carefully aligned to the pump — a process that in it- self can take as long as 12-14 hours. This page, top to bottom: BT3 Brown and BT3 Hodges maneuver the fire pump motor into position on its foundation; BT3 David Mill- saps attempts to remove the chain- fall from the fire pump after it has been lowered onto the foundation; BTl Dick Moravec aligns the elec- tric motor to the pump. Bowenlife 45

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BT3 Darryl Hodges and BT3 Ken Brown, right, hoist number two fire pump off of the deck plates on the lower level of the flreroom. BT3 Brown, above, rigs the chain fall that will be used to lift the fire pump into place. 44- Bouciilife

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Clockwise, from above: 1 ) Mark and Richard Robbins, Jr.. sons of BOW- EMS Commanding Officer, await the ships return from the Mediter- ranean with a clown who provided entertainment for the crowd; 2) Ra- quel and Maya Millin. daughters of rC2 Murillo Millin. shortly before being reunited with their father.- 3) family and friends wait to board the ship; 4) the brow is crowded as BOWen family members hurry to- ward the flight deck; 5) as the ship departs for the Mediterranean on June 6, 1987. the Cooper River Bridge begins to fade in the ship s wake; 6) many family members and others made signs to welcome home their BOWEM sailor; 7) line- handlers on the fantail watch silent- ly as the ship leav es its Charleston pier. 46 Bowenlife