Hamner (DD 718) - Naval Cruise Book

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MACHlNIST'S We Machinist's Mates are the men who channel the surging, poten- tially explosive steam through nozzles against speedily revolving blades of the steam turbines, draw this soon expended steam swifty out of the turbines by condensing it violently in a 1200F, 29 mercury vacuum, then scrub the new feed water free of any entraped air and recharge it to 850 psi prior to sending it back to the boilers for re-use. lt is the rapid turbine rotation which harnesses the restless steam energy to propel the HAMNER through the seas, provide electricity for all it's internal power requirements and sustain pressures for lube oil to thirsty bearings, reduction gears, etc. and for fuel and feed water to generate more steam. Living eight to twelve hours daily in the hot, moisture laden atmosphere of our enginerooms, maintained as such by imperfect turbine, pump and piping insulation and the vapors from many steam MM T3 28:2-F0 1QJx:i C744 iifw I 49,-X Cf FORWARD ENGINERDOM-Front Row: SPIVEY, FRINK, HENSON, H. E., HOLUB. Back Row: FOX, CAMPBELL, L. G., BOENZLI, RANDALL, DAVIS, R. P. Missing: WEBB, 1. W., FARMER. MATES leaks, renders us habitual consumers of large amounts of water and salt tablets, and our drowsy appearance on watch stems from hours of warding off tempting sleep while blankly staring toward the seldom varying pressure and temperature gauges spotting the throttle boards and the evaporator shell fronts. The motions of spinning the main throttle wheels in answer to bells of a new speed or the hourly routine of recording readings from the many gauges about the enginerooms do little to puncture this shield of slugginess, but let there be a marked change to the main steam, feed water, auxiliary exhaust or condenser vacuum pressures, a sudden drop in the de-aerating tank level, over- heating in one of the main spring or turbine bearings or an accelerating whine from inside a turbine. Wowl, then things really hop! For if the cause of the casualty is not found and corrected in a matter of seconds, ie: ,fa-1.5 E ...'!,!i . frm -

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tips and varying the fuel oil pressure to tightly control the volume of steam generated and, by watching the color of exhaust gases through the periscope above the economizers, controlling the intake air pressure to insure efficient combustion and clear stacks. In port there is normally one boiler due for interior cleaning of firesides, water- sides, or both to keep half our crew busy on an around the clock schedule. For the other half there are always cuts to be taken on leaking steam or water valves, gaskets to be renewed, insulation patched up, scrub brushes for taking off the fuel oil spillage from the boiler fronts and slippery deck plates, and plenty of paint brushes for applying blue tinted white paint over our yellow stained bulkheads. We're used to being HOT and HUMID, and the day has not passed yet that our hands, arms and faces are not stained with the oil and soot of our boilers. Our dungarees, when pur- chased, were regulation, but, with the passage of time and close association with the fuel oil and combusion soot, our dungarees shirts are general- ly discarded in favor of worn discolored T shirts, the pants become black, the shoes oil soaked, and the hats turned down, frayed, stained and greyed. We make some of the thickest, blackets coffee ever brewed and for certain untold reasons, left- overs such as pies, roast beef, bread, etc., seem- ingly misplaced from the galley, normally make their last appearance in our firerooms. Having all of the ship's water tanks padding the sides of our firerooms and conveniently spaced with depth testing spigots provides assurance that we boiler- men will never be thirsty during water hours! AFTER FiREnooM-from Row: HELMS w. H., ESPINOZA, MOLES, GREENE, CAMPBELL .l. M. Back Row: COURTNEY, LYONS, RANDT, JENKINS, H. S., MACREADY, ALLEN, J. R., KANAE, GUPTILL, JOSEPHSON. Missing: NU'lTALL, PIKE, PHILLIPS. .. ,. ..

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AFTER ENGINEROOM, Front Row: WILSON, C. N.: DEBENEDETTI, DAVIS, P. P.: Mc- CARTNEY, MANN, I. D. Back Row: BENNER, DURBIN, FISHER, FLOYD, R. T., WEBB, R. W., DEANDA: Missing: GUNN. we may lose the electrical load, have to slow, stop or lock the propeller shaft, or, in the worst instance, be a victim of a violent steam explosion engulfing the entire watch with a scorching suffocating fog! Despite the ever present element of danger, there are plenty of ad- vantages in belonging with the Machinist gang. The senior officers very seldom tour through our spaces to scrutinize us and our equipmentp the uniform of the day lasts only so long as it is convenient, and it's damned comfortable in the enginerooms when the HAMNER plows the cold winter waters. Like the BTs we never lack for anything to eat or fresh water to drink, and boiling water for coffee can be had for a quick twist of the de-aerating tank test valve. Our attestation to learning a civilian trade combining the characteristics of the plumber, the ma- chinist and the janitor is based on the infinite number of valves we repair, our honing of turbine shafts and replacing of pump bearings and our endless scrubbing of bulkheads, pipe insulation, deck plates and oily bilges. The ultimate aim of the career Machinist Mate is to attain the position of Chief of the Watch, the key billet in the control of the engineering plant. With this watch stationed around the clock while underway, the Chief of the Watch is the man who determines how much super-heat can be safely carried, which unusual conditions warrant being brought to the attention, of the Chief Engineer and upon the occurrence of an unannounced casualty, which isolation steps shall be taken im- mediately to prevent further damage. During the four hours each indi- vidual chief or first class petty officer has the watch: the safety and proper operation of the HAMNER's engineering plant rest solely with him.