Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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Naval Academy Class of 1930. Leading assist- ant to the Navigator since the ship's com- missioning has been Lieutenant Parker Smith, formerly attached to the U.S.S. California. Charles E. Hahne, a chief quartermaster when the ship was commissioned, aided Lieutenant Smith in training the quartermasters. Hahne was promoted to Boatswain and transferred back' to the USA early in 1944. Under his supervision, quartermasters and strikers be- gan their training program. THE QUARTERMASTERS: Wheelhorse of the pilot house, indispensable aid to the Navigator Qwho is also the ship's Education Off-icerj, an all 'round man in the know on the quarterdeck or the bridge is the quarter- master. His rating badge is often a deceiver: a lot of other people look upon the quarter- master as the helmsman simply because there's a pilot's wheel sewn on his-sleeve. While he is supervisor of the helm, it is actually one of his lesser duties. He has a notebook to keep, he handles telephone traffic to the 1 i l E i lf fr li I i bridge, he presides over the intercommunica- tion telephone systems leading to and from the bridge, and he answers an average of 2,193 questions a day Cnot counting the im- portant onesj, most of which are indirectly directed at the Officer of the Deck, a man' whose job has no counterpart on shipboard. For these obvious reasons and additional veiled reasons, the quartermaster is a care- ff-fi -------'A:I.,,j,l -'j l fully chosen and well-trained man. Ev from above-average intelligence to a person outlook on life is pretty well requiiw, The Bunker Hill's N Division grew fram a group of energetic, willing seamen who built themselves around several old sea-goerg, Their initial training--and many of them were seeing their first sea-going vessels on these trips--came in Boston Harbor, where arrange. ments were made to have the men stand quartermaster watches on harbor craft--just for the experience and hell of it all. They aided pilots and tug skippers in maneuvering small craft in and out of wet slips, they charted make-shift courses to and from outer harbor points, and they recorded with dili- gence the activities of Tug X and AYB. After ,.......,....---we 5 S --1 L A! My 17' the ship moved into South Boston Navy Yard they stood practice watches on the quarter- deck of a sister carrier. On lazy afternoons they listened to lectures, practiced using nav- igational equipment, and learned the differ- ence between various tables. By the time the Bunker Hill was ready for sea, the quartermasters were all willing and waitingg and it didn't take long for their laborious efforts to show unmistakable signs of thor- oughness. .Much credit for the shaping of the N Dlvision goes to Boatswain Hahne, whose 1908! was' filled by George Butler, Chief Quarter' master, Carly in the year. These men invaluable assistants to Division Oliilcer Smiths Other men who have contributed Iiibmily

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NAVIGATION The plotted the westward course to the enemy Star-gazers repeatedbf took us there and hrought us out ageing every minute is tremendously important when the safety and efficiency W 3,000 men are at stake. he Ways and Means Committee of a ship is the Navigation Department, which is composed of the Navigator, the Assistant Navigator, quarter- masters and quartermaster strikers, not to mention the ship's band, which, though not inclined toward star-gazing, is very much a part of the N Division. In the hands of these representatives rests the responsibility of getting us to and from a target, in and out of Naval anchorages, furnishing any infor- mation the Commanding Ofiicer desires re- garding navigational aids, tides, and channelsg these people also are charged with the actual handling of the ship, the anchoring procedure, and the quartermaster of the watch is the right-hand man of the Officer of the Deck in that he is the recorder of all ship's move- ments, formation guides and such watch rou- tines as enemy air attacks, launching aircraft, men admitted to sick bay and the amount of fuel taken on from a tanker-in other words he keeps the rough draft of the war diary. Also included in the Navigation Department's seemingly endless host of duties is that of charting courses back to home ports, a job they have not Cto our knowledgej had an op- portunity to practice since the Bunker Hill came to the Pacific theatre. First Navigator for this ship, or chairman of the Bunker Hill's Ways and Means Com- mittee, was Commander VVallace B. Mechling, USN, a Naval aviator of Wide experience, who last spring stepped up a notch and became the Executive Ofiicer. Commander Mechling came to the Bethlehem Steel Company in Quincy, in connection with fitting out the Bunker Hill, early in 1943 from the engineer- ing desk of the Bureau of Aeronautics. His aviation background includes nearly fifteen years of flying experience. In the Spring of 1944 Commander Mech- ling's move to the Executive Oflicer's Office followed Commander M. Carson's transfer from the ship, Commander Andrew MCB. Jackson, USN, then Commander of Air Group Eight, moved in as ship's navigator. Com- mander Jackson finished number one in the

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to the department's success include Rod De- Camp, QMlc, Roland Falk, QM1c, C. W. Krenke, QM2c, W. M. Dickson, QM2c, R. A. Lawson, QM2c, and a late-comer, Irving Meissner, QM1c, all of whom com- prise the first team on the bridge. THE BAND: This robust group of sea- going musicians hold the poetic distinction of being able to praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, and they frequently do-all in the course of a day's work. Offering instru- mental support for church services is only a small part of their regular work, and manning gun stations is another of their extracurricular activities. They are easiest remembered, how- ever, for their shipping over music concerts during their in-port routines, and for their spirited jive hours on the flight deck during slack moments in operations at sea. Proof that they are an important part of the Bunker Hill's life came one noon-time in the Gilbert Islands: they were lulling the meridian sun- worshippers with Duke Ellington's Don't Get Around Much Anymore, when the General Quarters call scattered the audience in nothing flat and sent the bandmen to gun stations, leaving brightly-polished instruments ff scattered in their wakes. Said Chief Musician Douglas C. Cameron, band director, When you gotta go, you can't take it with you- not even Duke Ellington. You'd probably be surprised at the crew favorites among perennial requests. Fred- erick Dean, trumpeter deluxe, says, for in- stance, Anvil Chorus heads the list. Tastes also include particular affection for Begin the Beguineu Cmemories attached thereto, they sayj, Jersey Bounce Cat least thirty percent of the crew comes from Frank Hague's statej, and People Will Say We're In Love Ca little number from the show Oklahoma , which has been going great guns on all-but- forgotten Broadwayj. Other members of the hot Bachs include Paul Bowerson, bass and tuba, George Cata- lanotto, drums, Delmar Fleely, trombone, Richard Miller, trumpet, Marvin Schneider, sax, Henry Taylor, clarinet, Joseph Suldo, sax and clarinet, Louis Thomas, trumpet, Billy Tilson, sax and clarinet, Leo Warila, trombone. Added to the musicians at quarters are F rank Banyas, sax, Eustolio Garcia, bari- tone, Elston Hall, sax, Charles Hall, tuba, William Prophet, trumpet, Louis Uzee, French horn, George Meredith, drums. H g . Pf'!s rf 'e ' L i