Santa Fe (CL 60) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 141 text:

D THEIR WATCHWORDS AND GUIDE ' 3 URING almost every month of her Pacific war career, 10,000-sometimes as high as 20,000-dispatches containing a million and a half words dit-dahed through the SANTA FE's radio receivers. Still more information constantly came by voice radio. Besides this, some 40 messages daily were received visually by Hag hoist, semaphore, or flashing light. The mails-air, registered, guard, and officer messenger-brought letters, mailgrams, and publications. The Communicator must not be snowed but must keep all of this intelligence moving until every party concerned receives it. Follow this action dispatch. Radioman third to radio Supervisor, Urgent-enemy f'leet sighted bearing 290, distance 225 miles. Supervisor to CVVO, Urgent- enemy fleet sighted. Then over the sound powered phones and squawk boxes goes the word: All stations, Radio One-enemy fieet sighted bearing two-nine-zero, 225 miles. Bridge aye. Flag plot aye. Combat aye, keep us informed. And so on. A yeoman types copies for routing and permanent records, and 'a mes- senger delivers the written text as a double check. Thus the SANTA FE's communication center alerts the ship for possible action. Operating around the clock, headquarters for the Communication Department is Radio Central, which con- Sists of Radio One, the Communication Office, and the Coding Room. From Radio One all incoming traffic goes to the Coding Room for processing, from there to the Communication VVatch Officer for treatment, and Finally I . - 5 U 'i 1 1 .V- , , . - ' S .1 3 ' .2 I 5 A, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AND SPEED The Comrnunzraliom OEIKV, Liezzt. Norman R. Ulerhl, USNR, kept importanl information flowing rapidly and zzccurzzlebu to the messengers for routing. Oftentimes two men are continuously tracking dovsn addressees with restricted and non-classified traffic, while an officer messenger makes the rounc's with confidential and secret dispatches. Secondary Radio or Radio Two, in the after superstruc- ture, is the chief' maintenance center. From here tech- nicians hunt down causes of faulty reception or trans- mission. They keep in proper order the ship's 36 receivers 137

Page 140 text:

l 5 K 1 2 E z I! l 1 4 I Ready to go, the- Cooney Bird rests on the catapult waitingfor the next jiight, while the inen take their ease helow it. il g Pilots cy' the Kingj?shers', spotted SANTA FEfre on enemy beaches, f patrolled for suhs, and rescued downed aviators. T is the Victor,' Division's job to Keep ,em Hyingf, Blost of their work on the planes is done topside. Here, despite all the obstacles of nature and war they keep the SANTA FE's planes in top condition. The division is made up of aviators, mechanics, radiomen, ordnancemen, metalsmiths, parachute riggers, photo- graphers, and other special technicians of the aviation branch. All these men have had intensive training in their particular held, equipping them to maintain and repair aircraft. A tribute to their skill is the fact that the pilots never had a mechanical failure in a SANTA FE plane. Une Gooney Bird came down too badly shot apart to fly again and two more were smashed landing in heavy seas, but every one held together long enough for pilot and crew to get out safely. When a plane returns, :nan-y willing hands are needed to place it safeb' in the launching ear as the ship rolls in the sea. l if I i , 1, '.l l

Page 142 text:

? it E 4 Q l 1 5 Q I 2 sl X, .l 'z 1 4 1 1 1 l l' 1 l 1 l l 1 l 1,1 :.l l l l 1 1 H F 4 l 1 1 1 i 1 1 'l l 1 l ,1 1 1 Q 1 1 1 'l 1 I 1 During the war Radio I was a husy place. Heavy trajc kept 35 operators working heller than 60 hours per man per week. Radio II, localed in the after superstructure, is lransmitfer room and headquarfers of lhe malerial mainlenance gang. The mimeograph machine in lhe prinl shop seldom slaps its grinding out J news, forms, and crders for lhe entire ship. If 138 l l V Y I r 1 -V .1 :ff ,.1fMJ','rff,?l:s V1 ,V lf' . 1 11 fi - f fl 1, ' . rf l' '1' ,k'.,1i!l 1, X ,tif .,.,..M L,1,.,1 xv! ,LLL and 17 transmitters, all of which may be in use at the same time. Two of these receivers and two transmitters are in Radio Three, a' well-protected emergency station deep within the ship's armor belt. The Signal Bridge, with a complement of about 20 signalmen and strikers, is the main communications center during combat. Recognition, aircraft identification and all forms of signalling are major duties. Tn charge is the Signal Officer, or Bridge CWO, who also controls the tactical maneuvering voice radio CTBSJ, has charge of current tactical publications and op-plans, and coordinates Radio Central and the navigation bridge. Besides their own office in Radio One, the Communica- tion Department has control over two others. The Captain's Oflice and its personnel, under the cognizance of the Ship's Clerk, handle almost all incoming and outgoing official mail, process ofiicers' records, and route Navy bulletins, circulars, letters, orders, memos, and supple- ments. The Executive Officer's Office is one of the busiest on the ship, particularly since demobilization work began. It does almost everything except light off the boilers and get the ship underway-and it generally publishes the orders for both those events. The newest job assigned to Communications is the management of the City Desk -the Public Information Oflice. Here newshawks turn out stories for home town papers, write material for the Santa Fe Chief, and organize the daily Sentinel. But the Chief and the Sentinel are a small task compared to the Plan of the Day, memorandums, results of inspections, ofiice forms, copies of alnavs, and engineering charts, all of which are turned out by the printers. The battle cry of the C Division's postal clerks is A bag l of mail in every portf, The SANTA FE's post oflice, a stateside rig in miniature, averages 750 incoming and well , over 2000 outgoing letters daily. Communications may Q receive many momentous dispatches, but none more it important to the morale of the ship than these. A ,L Off ffl-I , ,, he 1 in s 3 X X s 'N silo?-L y . . , XXX Z I Whenever mail comes. ahoard the pos! o-gfce is a popular spot,for the ilem mos! desired hy the crew is a letferfrom home. l . - . -I:-WM, Y ll' f V- 7' 'W' Aii' ' 'f ' ot:-. 1 . .. . . ,,,, -- ... ,. .. ...N . ,