Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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new the pride of accomplishment when the amines were called upon to deliver , , , Ind did. His record must have impressed the Bureau, for in December he was called back to put mother carrier of this class in commission, after which he was attached to SupShips at Bethlehem Steel in Quincy, Massachusetts, where his know how will be used to full advantage. As a general rule when a key man is removed his replace- ment poses a difiicult problem. In the case of the Chief Engin- eer, however, there was no deliberation on this score. As if it were custom-made for him, Commander D. F. Kinert, USN, stepped into the spot vacated by his pred- ecessor. Having un- derstudied Commander Agens while holding down the job of Assistant Engineering Officer, Commander Kinert was thoroughly familiar with the doctrines and policies in effect, and was well qualified to take over the reins, guiding the hundred-odd thousand horsepower which drives the ship. Sufiice it to say the Engineering Department still ranks number one among the carriers of this class. The job of Assistant Engineering Ofiicer entails reams of paper work, the handling of ofiicer training, and personnel supervision in the department as well as pinch-hitting for the Chief Engineer when necessary. It is a position which we were fortunate to have had capably occupied, Hrst by Commander fthen Lieutenant Commanderl Kinert and followed by Lieutenant Commander J. R. Carmichael, jr. Small wir and when the occasion de- Y, mands, acid-tongued, Lieutenant .Commander Carmichael reported aboard with ta back- ground of Naval experience that included K W xf QNA 'FX Slf:'Xx i a harrowing tour of duty as the executive officer on a transport during the African in- vasion. Upon reporting to the Bunker Hill early in her pre-commissioning days, he was appointed B Division Gfiicer. The Engineering Department is divided in- to four divisions, each having cognizance of a separate phase of operation, and all four coordinated by the Chief Engineer to form a smoothly working team. A DIVISION: The A Division . , .-, .,........a,..............--.---.-. .. ,.,,..,-.-........-.-... has charge of main- tenance and opera- tion of all auxiliary machinery excepting those units directly concerned with boil- er or main engine operation. Prior to the com- missioning and until mid-March, 1944, k ' the A Division Of- ficer was Lieutenant James Williams, Jr. An engineer at heart and with machine shop experience, Slim Jim came to us as a survivor of the U.S.S. Laffey, the gallant destroyer which practically single- handedly sank several heavy units of the Iap Fleet before going to the bottom. When moved to the B division office, he was suc- ceeded by Lieutenant L. Sarge VValdo, a University of California product who had gone on duty with the U.S.S. Arkansas in January, 1942. He stayed with the Arlcie for a year, before joining the Bunker Hill's pre-commis- sioning detail in the Hull Department. He transferred to the Engineers in September, 1943, and was first a junior ofiicer in the division he took over from Williams. The A Division junior ofiicers included: Lieutenant Cjgj Stan R. Gabert, a one-time Appleton, Wisconsin, barrister and a plank- owner, and W. A. Sottung, who arrived from Joisey via Penn State and a YMS oper- ating out of New York. Former division j.o's who have been transferred to other duties , . -,. .... ,..-,-.................- .. , .-..-...,.............-Q I ,,:..........-i-,-TM...,...,.,--N,-qw-ww. Y, A f I

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'M L I 'Wi-L as V . VG Q 5, ENGINp ERING ,u-,,,,..,w...t..,.......a.... ..,,. U., f53gf'g'Qf,1fu' ' ax X, i---E-..,......,,,,..--dw Qi:-jjj , ,Q - Q- ---' w' ,A .M sw I e xv f f ' Q ' Q- .ns Y , 4 Et if awww' K W ..-' 1 . , ..,.,.- . , 1. . . ' 4 , . -'f' Q rv ,ev 5 K ,M M ,.... A ,tal , jf- Xl , , Y' , :li ,fbi ii h fl N L The performed record breaking achievem6TlfS Daibf communiques from the sea fronts to the newspapers hack home have carried story after story which hegan as follows: A Fast Carrier Task Force . . . .... . ,V , , .. - .,.a-.T.,...f.u.,.q.,.,,lun-n-uncut' Y Y 1 W --frm , WY WY,-, , T .-,,,,,,.,l,,,,c,,q,,,,...,.- -:yawn QL,f1,U5f41ef:aa:-ma::fAf.u:.r.:v:4wA -0: AA-Q: :A-N --1---f was af- ---W f-N ne of the vaster differences between this war and any other has been the factor known as speed In the Bunker Hill, for a year the spearhead on fast carrier attacks, the speed and drive were furnished by the en- gineers, whose equipment and ability to handle this equipment were the forces that drove us over tens of thousands of sea miles. Powerful engines, excellently maintained and expertly controlled took us into the Battle . . . time and time again . . . and brought us back again. While the propulsion of the ship is its primary consideration, the Engineering De- partment embodies other duties of far-reach- ing importance. Its giant evaporators distill the enormous quantities of water used daily for all purposes, its generators produce the thousands of kilowatts which are sent out from the central distribution panels through miles of electrical cable to every part of the ship, its refrigeration makes it possible to have fresh meat, fruit and vegetables no matter how long at sea, its ship's service and sound-powered phones link remote sec- tions of a sea giantess . . . to name but a few of the department's manifold duties. The helm of this tremendously complCX structure is the Chief Engineer. His is the task of maintaining all machinery on a 24- hour-a-day operating status, and having the boilers and main engines ready for full power at an instant's notice. That the Chief EH- gineer is usually one of the first officers as- signed to a ship in commission and fitting out is an index of the importance attached to his job. Our first Chief Engineer was capable, quiet Commander F. F. Agens, USN, and too much credit cannot be given him fm- the splendid work he did in organizing an Engineering Department that will take back seat to HOM- He stayed with the Bunker Hill long elwlmh to see us weather several engagements with the enemY, and on more than one occviw

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included Lieutenants R. G. Buchner and H- J. Chedester. More than thirty-five years of Navy Cfillef' ience was embodied in the two station oflicers: Chief Machinist L. M. Carl, a former sub- mariner whose intimate knowledge of aux- iliary machinery was largely responsible for the smooth functioning of the diesels, all' compressors, elevators, and steering eng111CS5 and Chief Machinist H. C. Barr, whose duties have taken him from the sealing islands of Pribilof to recruiting duty in Chillicothe, Missouri, and who was the principal factor in the steady operation of the turbo-gener- ators, refrigerating and air-conditioning equip- ment, supervising and allocating work in the machine and metalsmith shops. Backbone of any division, however, is the men of which it is constituted, and the A division is no exception. With a small nucleus of experienced personnel at the time of commissioning, the new men took hold rapidly. A few of the original trained nucleii about which the division has been built: Chief Machinists Mates A. L. Alford, Charlie Howard, D. Miller, R. K. Nebus, J. M. Zellersg Chief Yeoman H. W. Johnstone, Chief Motor Machinist Mate W. C. Petsch, and G. N. Haga, L. Horvath, L. L. Jones and M. Ingrum, Motor Machinist Mates First Class. A Those men are a cross-section of the divi- sion, and no less measure of praise is due the men whose names do not appear above, Steam is the life blood of a carrier, her striking and defensive force, both propulgive and electrical. The productionof that vital substance is the duty of the B or Boiler division, as is the distillation of sea water to procure the fresh water used in the boilers for Steam production, as well as throughout the ship for drinking, washing and cooking por- poses. l Production of fresh water from sea water 1S an exacting procedure. A few grains of salt per gallon make water unfit for ' the boilers while a few I ' use In I l i . more grains render it unfit to drink. For this reason, a close control is kept on all water distilled and gh, fact that we had no curtailrnent of ingm- consumption due to lou production by we evaporators is a fine urlllltllfnfafy fm done by the evaporator gang. Cruising for extended periods and at Speedswus we did niost ol that first year- requires quantities ol steam. And to prodqgg the steam requires huge quantities of fuel Oil- Control over the millions of gallons of fuel oil carried, and shifting it constantly to maintain the correct lialance of the ship, is the job of the Oil Kings. Upon visiting the firerooms to see how the other half lives, Air or Gunnery De- partment personnel invariably remark that it can't be this hot all the time. Never- theless, it is. Teinpcratures range from 110 F. to 130 F. in the lireroonis as a general rule. Too much credit cannot be given the men who stand their four on and eight off, day in and day out, in those spaces. Ast mentioned earlier, the B division 3:55, ilsfi A M I 5- . ay- ., If . I M I V L J gift-f.if3t fi iii, QQ Y if t i if it i Stl: Q tilt ' 3 i . V officer from before commissioning until mid- December, 1943, was Lieutenant Commander ffl1Cn.Lieutenantl Carmichael, University of VY?-Shlnngffm graduate and now Assistant En- glllCCI'lhg Oliicer. His organizational ability knit together, in large part, the B division- He was succeeded hy Lieutenant Cjgi R- E- Staff, 1943 Naval Academv graduate, who held the post until March, 1944, when 139 transferred to the l-lull Department, sl10WlY thevfeflfter receiving orders for submlrflm training. UPON Lieutenant Staffs departure from W