Ludlow (DD 438) - Naval Cruise Book

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paired however, if the parts could have been obtained b t able. Regardless of these hindrances we man d i' u rarely were spare Parts avail. age to c t ig it Wag m the popular shade of tattle-tale grey. on mme 0 tum out clean gear' even If h . . Fiction Z? g5f10dS,:nb,Ibe N3-Vy Yard were used to greatest advantage, yet at the com- ' , , I alfa' a .1 WY: 3 new breakdown was inevitable. Even our good fortune in receiving a new machine was bad luck, since it turned out to be the wrong type of cur- rent, but we managed to keep everyone happy Cwe hopej, Buttons were always our greatest woe, and someday we hope to open a button factory and replace all the many buttons that we always found in the bottom of the machines. P. S. officers will refrain from using paper clips on their cuffs in place of buttons, the Ship s Office complains too much. There were ho . u h wever many happy days between our ups and downs like finding dollar bills floating on the water in the washing machine and it was not unusual f th ff' . . , or e o icers and crew to double time to the laundry in search of a lost fountain pen The honest laundry men would always return these, after all, they were so badly damaged, they were of no use to us. Honest fellas, we did the best we could. SHIP'S STORE HE ship's store, known as the Bait Locker in better circles, was designed to provide -. men with those items which make life aboard a destroyer just a little pleasant, as well as necessity items, such as razor blades, shaving cream, soap, and other little unmention- ables . This ''little-bit-of-Macy's-on-a-destroyer'' is under the cognizance of the Supply Officer and capably handled by a storekeeper or storekeeper striker. Although the quantity of stock carried is not large, an effort is made to carry a large variety of items. In some cases variety of stock ranged from Mennen's foot powder to Chanel No. 5-perfume and at the height of cigarette rationing, men on the LUDLOW were contentedly puffing away at the brand of their choosing for only fifty cents a cartoon. These same cigarettes were a fast moving item on the beach at 314.00 per cartoon. p The maximum allowed profit on the ship's store is 15 percent. All profits thus de- rived are turned over to the Welfare Fund, where they are expended at the discretion of the Commanding Gfficer for the welfare and recreation of the crew. The money is usually spent for those long remembered ship's parties, or for athletic gear. This book, for the most part, has been paid for with ship's store profits. In spite of the usual healthy gripes, the ship's store has always been the most popular' spot aboard ship, and a great factor in maintaining morale at a high level when days were: d k t. , , ar The customer fusuallyj was satisfied, and we in the S Division feel that the ship's store has served it's 'mission in a creditable manner. ' SHIPFITTERS GANG l HE last compartment aft on the starboard side, like the caboose on a powerfully loaded T Freight train, is the office and shop of the mightl' Lad?-9 Capflble Shlpflttefis gadg- Winding up under the ever-loved Chief Shipfitter Tarpey, this outfit takes just pride in IIS long record of improvising and efficient work at any hour and 1n any part of the world to ke the Lud watertight and on the move regardless of its shell hits or hull rips. Known ep th C8zR ang fconstruction and repairj, these men operate in and from their 2'x8' also as k.e if all Carpentry plumbing, sheet metal work, and all necessary repairs Sho? ta Tghcare' mee,-in gpacesi This department has a well established war record cov- Ziiiigdifacst :ind itfgective ripair of damage from enemy shelling, bombing, and mines, and v f t l h l th h li being Constantly readY for any CmC1'genCY ffiin flghtmg Q 'res O p uggmg O es m e ul

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i1 - THE HUMAN ELEMENT HE t' h' h f 11 W5 is not repeat, not for you old salts, both real and self styled. It sec ion w ic o o T . a - better half or little t , Wh ever our mother, dad, your is purely for home consump 1on en Y LOW PH Ou can break out junior starts prodding with, just what did you do. on the - Y HH d ye olde Ship's History and turn to the indoctrination section and SaYf ere' 'ea this. -- . 4 RADIO THE Radio gang under full wartime complement consists of a Chief, a first class, two sec- -. ond class, four third class radiomen and three strikers. Their duties are carried out in Radio Central and in Emergency Radio when necessary. . . h 'The biggest job from standpoint of time and effort for the radiomen is copying the Fleet Broadcasts or Fox Skeds . This traffic is transmitted to all fleet units in Interna- tional Morse Code at speeds varying from 18 to 25 words per minute. Generally, copying skeds is the duty of the third class radioman. - D I . . Before a striker sews the coveted crow on his arm, 1115 dUf1C5 are Varied- Flfst he 15 3 messenger, routing all traffic to the Captain, Executive, Communications Officer and to whomever else is concerned. Of course, the shack must be kept clean and orderly and as usual in this man's Navy these tasks fall largely to the junior men. Naturally making a .good pot of coffee is a prime prerequisite. ' 1 U ' s A RM2c is usually the supervisor of the watch. It is his duty, while acting in this ca- pacity to make certain that the best frequencies for proper reception are in use, to have all 'incoming traffic routed promptly, and to clear outgoing messages and dispatches, He is the snapper or foreman of the watch and he must constantly guard against discrepancies in circuit discipline so as not to hinder transmission and reception of high priority traffic. A first class radioman has added to the duties of the second class petty officer, the job of copying the radio press for the daily fweather permittingl perusal of the morning paper. Radio press is the only real link with the world when the ship is at sea. All the im- portant news is edited by the operator on the circuit and mimeographed in time to go with morning coffee. It is this same press news that has cumshawed many a loaf of warm bread from the baker or an egg sandwich from the cooks for the mid. or morning watch. The Chief Radioman is at the top of the ladder. He is the key to the performance of the entire gang. Among his duties fall the jobs of advising on advancements in rate, desig- nation of watch supervisors and organization of the watches. The diligence with which he fulfills these tasks is reflected in the finish ed product each radio guard. p All radiomen feel a certain pride every time a wide eyed landlubber is introduced to the complicated maze of the radio shack. Many a chest has noticeably swelled at these words, How can you ever learn what all those knobs and dils are for? or All those signals sound the same to me. This is the reward of many hours of hard work. p i . SHIP'S LAUNDRY THIS Destroyer was built for fighting, and this is her primary purpose for existence every- thing else being considered secondary. The ship's laundry comes under the latter and crammed in a 5'x12' space isa washing machine, dryer, extractor, and press leaving, very little room for the operators. This was reason enough to make a big job difficult but rough weather and invasions were the real stumbling block and it has not yet been decided which of the two was the most hazardous since during rough weather the extractor had ta bad habit of bounding all over the place making it equally as dangerous as an invasion, Besides invasions and rough weather, break downs in equipment were not unusual Q which naturally only happened when all ry,-,,.yf was Caught up With. Breakdowns Could be re 30 A

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and pumping out or. flooding various compartments. Speaking of fighting flfes and PIPE' ging A holes, there was the time when the ol' Lud was off the .coast of Africa, CCasablanca, to be exactjnblasting away at the ,lean Bart, French cruiser. Suddenly, the mighty L lurched and snorted. She had been hit-a direct hit forward of number two magazine. Everyone was stunned, and for a few seconds, welded to the deck. .But it had. its effect-this was no drill! This was it! Here wasnwhere these men, these drill-happy fire- eaters, showed their stuff. In a short time, the fire was out and the hole plugged. When things calmed down again, it was found that there was not a single casualty. I At a later date, the Lud received another hit, while steaming off the coast of Italy fAnzio, this timej. But that damned can was charmed. The shell ripped through her decks, -but it was a dud. No explosion occurred. However, a few electrical fires broke out. Again these men were right on the ball. No sooner were the fires under control than word was passed that the shell had ruptured the fire main, flooding the mess hall. Tarpey, knowing the ship better than his own home, cut the supply of water to and from the ruptured sec- tion, then had his men rig jumpers and set up the pumps. A while later the mess hall was ready for use again. It all seems like a long time ago now. Well, to get back to the details again, this outfit is also trained to maintain stability :against war damage and storms. If one compartment should happen to become flooded, taking the ship off an even keel, they have to know which compartment has the same ca- pacity, and by flooding it too, bring the ship to an even keel again. Underway, this gang stands security watches consisting of checking all compartments and bilges against flood- ing or fire, and keeping the officer of the deck informed of their conditions. Most of the time these reports are routine and monotonous. But there was one time when the 0.0.D.'s were anxious tophear them . . . On the way back from the Pacific the Luci was sent on a trip to the Aleutians. Upon arriving there, high winds and unfavorable seas caused her to ram the dock, ripping a nine 'foot gash six inches above the water line in her starboard bow A temporary patch fwhich leaked slowlyj caused many sleepless hours on her final trip back to the States. But now she's home, awaiting the final curtain on a grand and glorious career. The vigilance of those guys in C8zR will long be remembered by the officers and men of a great ship- The United States Destroyer 438. CIC I CIC stands for Combat Information Center but with all of the gadgets, radars, plotting boards, radio phones and speakers, voice tubes and demands for information from the bridge and several other places, it is affectionately tagged Cripes, I'm confused , or better yet, Cripes it's crowded . . . Probably all the work, effort and money invested in this small room has been well spent however. when it's value to the war effort is tabulated. The story of the surprise attack on the Lud at anchor by a German E-bgat at Gglfe Juan, Southern France, shows the value of CIC. What chance would we have had of chas- ing that fast enemy boat at night without our radars and expert tracking ability to keep its positions plotted, keep track of its changing speed and course and finally be able to train and point the 5-inch guns into the darkness so accurately that 40-knot targets can be knocked out of the water. Even the splashes of our salvos showed up on the screen as the pursuit continued. The chase and probable destruction of this target took less than an hour. A high speed example of excellent, well trained teamwork on the latest gear. Much of our Success against our enemies is due to the effectiveness of our CIC teams. CIC with its constant use of at least the surface radar and it's dead reckoning track play a vital role even in peace time. Here navigation with comparative safety in any kind of weather is its big contribution. Just as enemy targets, planes and ships etc, could be tracked and always accounted for, so can peaceful ships, rocks, floating wrecks, islands, and other na- vigational dangers be seen and avoided miles before they become dangerous Better than 32 '