Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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Lieutenant Williams took it over maintained its high level of efiiciency. B Division junior oH'icers were Lieutenant W R. T. Church, fueling officer, and Ensign E. A. Merritt. As in other divisions, the oiiicers were the men directly respon- iihk for the operating maintenance of the machinery. Chief Machinists A. L. Ernest and R. Simmons, together with twenty hard- working boiler repairmen, constantly kept the division's equipment in top shape. ln a division embodying almost two hun- dred men, the spirit and industry of those men is, in the last analysis, the thing that malta the division go. Working, as they do, in the hottest spaces of the ship, it is to their everlasting credit that the will to work and the willingness to cooperate with each other and with other divisions made the B division one of the best. While it is difhcult to single out individuals, the mention of a few names of those who helped make the division an eiiicient operating unit would include: Chief Watertenders A. J. Anderson, W. H. Makin, W. M. Martin, E. D. Nico- laus, G. L. Picard and R. M. Venningg Chief Machinist Mate F. J. Eienesg H. L. Grath- wohl, CB, T. Allen, D. M. Bishop, W. Bryan, D. Girard, I. Monette, W. P. Page, J. E. Puterbaugh, A. R. Restall, R. W. Webb and S. Wenschreider, Watertenders Firstg G. W. Austin and J. C. Entringer, MMlc, and O. Nichols, Blc. Custodian of everything electrical on the ship, from foretruck to keel, stem to fantail, is the Electrical Division, plagued with a maze of installations ranging from the tiny light in the pilot house binnacle to the huge motor-generators. The division's responsi- bilities also extend to upkeep of all electric motors on the ship, from pumps to gun mounts, and maintenance of the interior com- munication network of ship's service and sound-powered telephones, the general an- nouncing system, and the various squawk boxes. Guiding force of the division from early Quincy days was Lieutenant N. Nelson, USN, quiet-voiced, current-wise former War- rant Electrician with a sixteen-year record of duty in the work. A steady, conscientious Workman, an able division officer, Nelson left the ship late in 1944 to put his vast knowl- edge to work at SupShips, Quincy. Only one of the three junior oflicers re- mained of the original team, Ensign C. I. Shaw, USN, former Warrant Electrician and holder of the dubious distinction of having two ships sink under him in three days. He was aboard the ill-fated U. S. S. Langley when the ,laps caught her taking a load of P-40s out to the Philippines and bombed her to the bottom. Picked up by the U. S. S. Whipple, he was transferred to the U. S. S. l l Pecos, which was sunk while trying to get out of the battle area. Rescued again by the Whipple, he returned to the States via Aus- tralia, helped Ht out and commission the U. S. S. Fraser, and shortly thereafter re- ported for duty for commissioning and fitting out of the Bunker Hill. Lieutenant J. E. Alford was an E Divi- sion junior ofiicer from early pre-commissiom ing days but was detached in June, 1944, and the third of Lieutenant Nelson's first assist-

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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

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ants, Ensign T. A. Sofos, 1944 Naval Academy graduate, went aboard the S. S. MafYland after six months in the division. is FOUR WARRANTS IN DIVISION Four warrant oiiicers were attached to the division: Electricians A. M. Plascjak, who returned States-side for duty, and L. E. Lentz, I-I. A. Manuel and R. C. Pennington, who was ':..'2.'Q-:7 - l- W cggggggfiiffifif Si' Si 45 1 P' A :U 4- ' 1 ,.:.,g.1.g. QL 7- Y 1, g M 4' A, ' iijggfi' -geifl Q ai is A 3 it , . - ' '- gf 159 497 -3' f izi:55Qi ., Mi'4'iA Qui . ig 5 ..ff,f::rgif:,:1 ' 1 ' ' w'g, 't,5' W, ..,,-. -.. .. - - l Q it 5- ,. ,A ' 'M' QQQvl?'w.'iL 1-3 Q , 1 .5 ,if . ,Q -: :iw V' Q A rffsgir I' ,gigE2'?i7ETiE fi-T? ' x '-- D. A i V ,f 444fig:.i4g,1.1,i.gii,i 555' t t if ,, L . .., I ...r...- 1 -. t --ee. -. gr.: ... .TT. ,gl-pgfigy .. . ,Y 5- ?5f'ff5Q.jf:f:if, t , lift detached at the iirst of 1944. Lentz, one-time battleship sailor, took charge of electrical dis- tribution and the auxiliaries and lighting in the machinery spaces, While Manuel majored in supervision of the I. C. circuits. Directly concerned with the maintmtamd the thousands of miles of electrical cable, gg the machinery and appliances nf Tilt zhipwm six Chief Electricians Mates and EM1c's who helped train the newcemuu. They included such Chiefs as C. A. Clark, Lowe, J. H. Brown, W. B. Garlington, L. D. Swinford, il. M. Croker and C. L. Pace, and the EMlc's H. Nise, lil. M. Woodman, C. VV, Wolfe, G. Renken, Finney, A. M. Adams, and A. P. Moylan. Moylan's caliber work won him promotion to Warrant Electrician and a transfer. JE- ALERT AND CONSCIENTIOUS Lieutenant M. C. Jorgenson, USN, Wim fifteen years of naval experience behind him, headed the unit the first year, with die exception of the shakedown era when Lim- tenant J. H. Millington, USN, ran the divi- sion. Jorgenson's j.o. was Lieutenant fjgl H. G. Dutch Phelps, Brown University graduate, who had been attached to Bethle- hem Steel Company at Quincy before moving aboard. Originally, two station officers also were on the roster, Chief Machinist L. M. Estridge, and Machinist R. A. Brumlow, both USN. Brumlow was transferred in March, 1944, however, and the combined duties fell to Estridge. Estridge joined Jorgensen and Phelps in forming an ideal combination fer engineering eliiciency. Alert, conscientious men of the M Divi- sion on many occasions prevented major cw- ualties to the ship's power plant by their tlwf- ough familiarity with the division's machlmfl' and to the men who helped train them MW go credit. A few of those who gave freely' ef their knowledge and experience include Machinist Mates F. Crane, W. E. Brennlfif Stuhli S. Wnorowski and P. M. Sdtw, S. Horak, I. L. Bocox, Gray, S. we Ostrowski, K.. F. Madsen, Gabarra, C. 0 and S' Baifczie, First Class Machinist