Columbus (CA 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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fft ' We Division, one of the six Engineering Divisions aboard ship has as its nriain purpose the operation and maintenance of the main engines and their auxiliaries. It plays a major part in the propulsion of the ship. Located in each of the two engine rooms are two main engines. Each one in turn has its own shaft and propeller which gives the ship high speed four propeller operation. Each engine is controlled by two valves known as the throttle valves. One controls the forward motion of the ship, and the other is for backing the ship down. The personnel standing this watch must be highly qualified. A regular steaming watch consists of eight men in each engine room. The officer of the watch, whose duty it is to see that all logs are properly kept and all safety precautions are carried out, is assisted by the chief of the watch. The OFT man has duties including the operation of deaerating feed tank and the constant checking of turbines and reduction gears. Two men man the throttles and their job Is to control the speed of the ship as ordered by the officer of the deck. The main propulsion plant must maintain proper lubrication and feed water at all times. This Is the duty of the booster and Lub. oil pump watch. These men control the pumps that feed and lubricate the many different systems. The recorder and messenger ' s logs tell the story of the efficiency of the machinery and whether they are running at the correct speed and temperature. The division stands four hour watches. The men have four hours on and eight off. On the off hours the men clean their respective spaces. I wouldn ' t say we don ' t get topside very often but the Engineering Officer is thinking of Issuing dark glasses to the men to protect their eyes from the bright glare of the sun in case they happen to get topside. There is a small unit of men In the division known to all hands as the Rain Makers . This group Is without a doubt one of the most important aboard the ship. It is its job to operate the three units of evaporators which supply all the water for shipboard use. The division, we feel, is run efficiently under the direction of Ensign llsemann with ChH MACfH Anderson as assistant division and maintenance officer. Iwl V «»«

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ow go to your stations all the navigational sea detail . How many times during the past cruise have you heard this word passed? When it is passed the COLUMBUS is either entering or leaving port or transiting one of the many straits of the Atlantic Ocean or Mediterranean Sea. For the ship ' s control stations are manned by quartermasters. Whenever the ship is fueled or fuels other ships or transfers personnel while underway the helm is manned by either Jim Swickey or Joe Choiniere, the division ' s two Ace helmsmen. The rest of the time underway the quartermaster strikers stand their watches in the conning tower keeping the ship ' s logs or In steering aft standing by to take steering control In case of emergency. The rated quartermasters stand their watches In the chart house keeping the ship ' s position plotted. In port the quartermasters stand their watches on the quarterdeck keeping the ship ' s log and acting as right-hand men to the Offlcer-of-the-Deck. They also insure that morning and evening colors are run up smartly and on time. Also In the Nan Division there are three men who are responsible for those weird noises which come blasting over the I MC jarring us all from our blissful sleep or peaceful day-dreaming. These men are the buglers who sound all the routine and emergency calls. Another man who has an important and responsible job Is the Aerographer ' s Mate. His job is to predict the weather and keep tabs on storms and other weather conditions that may affect the safety of the ship. Incidentally he is the only Aerographer ' s Mate in the Navy who can predict the weather from his rack. The Navigator, LCDR Watson, is also the head of the department while LTJG Griest doubles as assistant navigator and division officer. Under the assistant navigator comes our leading petty officer, Dube Du Bois who can usually be found in the navigation office writing books to his wife or out collecting odd stories. Our chief chart man Is the well known man about town Chichi .