Hamner (DD 718) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 31 text:

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.

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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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S SHIPFITTERS-Front Row: ENS. HIATT, HEARNE, BROADWATER, MacNEAL, JONES. Back Row: DAVIS, M. A., HAWN, HOMFELD, SAFFORD. Missing: MOREN. AUXILIARY MEN-Front Row: HELMS, W. H., RAU, CAPORALI. Back Row: NELSON, L. A., JENKINS, H. S., HENSON, A. E., BERGMAN, CAIN, JONES. HIPFITTERS AND AUXILIARY MEN Want some special work done such as welding a shelf bracket, fabri- cating a much needed bulletin board, repairing a badly worn chair or punching a hole through a bulkhead? If this be your problem, then neatly fill out a ship's force work request, have it approved by your de- partment head and turn it into the Repair Gang for ACTION! We guar- antee your pet project will receive weighty consideration while it is filed amongst the backlog of other work requests after being assigned a priority ranging anywhere from Rush-Rush Cto be accomplished within three weeksj to Temporarily Deferred Cnever happenj. We do not like to be sarcastic when referring to your requests, but you must realize that we, too, have a mammoth job in taking care of our assigned spaces, equipment and material. Don't ever develop a complacent attitude that all the intermingled steam and fresh water systems carrying services throughout the ship just happen to remain in good working condition or, when using a fire hose, the fact that the water spouts out under a good pressure head is natural. If we let one duct of the intricate ventilation system stop supplying air, there is always plenty of howling, and when the turbo generators suddenly fail, immediate response is expected from the diesel generators to bring the lights back on. Maintaining the above requires plenty of man-hours, but this isn't all by any means! The BTs and MMs always have plenty of work to be mounted on the lathe or drill press, and while at sea, in addition to our normal damage control watches, we supplement them in the firerooms and enginerooms where personnel shortages arise. How about General Quarters? Here you find the key damage control party billets occupied by our personnel whether it be for fire-fighting, flood arresting or emergency repairs, and all of the bulky damage control equipment has to be maintained and properly stowed by us during off GQ hours. We can't overlook ABC warfare for it most certainly isn't going to overlook us. No one enjoys struggling into the tight, oil im- pregnated protective clothing of the monitoring and decontamination teams, and for how many hours during this cruise have you watched us installing the vast washdown piping system stretching from bow to stern, side to side, and main deck to bridge only to witness, not nearly as dis- couraged as we, the dismal results of the first full scale test? Yes, as with the BMs cleaning and painting, our job of repairing and fitting out the HAMNER is NEVER DONE! Gite le?-Zi 1 E-C'Q'3!If diff, X Q ME,DC.,EN giiive AFP