Ludlow (DD 438) - Naval Cruise Book

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anything else is the fact that a clear radar scre . we Shipping or other navigational danger to be iiiclian ive .3 reasonably certainty that there is and tracked with the radars- Considering the n one with. Even ram squalls can -be seen CC l Billy tint these war Years and the resultant shoriiiieyofotrr the ciremendous elipanslon of our ships, it must be realized that this almost im oss'bl ame men and Officers to mn the There is no substitute for - ' v i ' P I ? task was made a lot Simlllef by radar experienced captains to quickly train the ff' i a e it possible for the old shil-TS in relativell' short time. O was of the deck necessary to man the new Theeffi' ' f 'f ' - our first fouri:liiRfLa,si?mnsL liaczlzi we hliwci: It today, however, was not an actuality in the day of in those days While Seellnin 1 r We 3 f true, but the two comparatively crude radars aboard It waSn,t until March of 123gZ4m1?3Cu10US,hwere located in a corner of the Captain's sea cabin. t u . a er our it at Anzio that the t I the division conimander's stateroom below the bridge. presen C C was made out of e essential information CIC continuously puts out on movin O experience at ship handling but CIC m d ' ' i But, in addition to th Sllifls in rings of its radar eyes- it is CVC11 1T1Ore popular with the night watches for its pri .eision-ma e rew called coffee. Varying all the way from really fine tasting stuff in a rea- n a slimy mug, it was always friend- sonably clean cup of an evil brew of Lord knows whati ly and never failed to warm and cheer. Occasionally when a heavy roll sent someone's -coffee spilling over -the fresh-laid tracing cloth on the plot, The CIC Officer would inti- mate that the next time it happened the coffee pot was going out for good. Itboiled on, however, right to the end, adding a real measure of comfort in the otherwise dreary and dark black hole of Calcutta. As one might imagine the dark and not too well ventilated shack had more than its share of seasickness, but somehow even in the roughest weather when chairs would not stay upright and the DRT tracking arm was unmanageable, the required infor- mation still went up to the bridge. The men and officers standing these four-hour watches in rough weather made-frequent use of wastebaskets in their illness, but no complaints. The watch and the storm would pass and all would be well for a while again. THE DECK FORCE N the days of old, when men went down to the sea in ships, and Diesel and Steam Engine were words yet unknown, every, sailor was a seaman, and every seaman a stout-hearted man through and through. With the passing of the years, there was an acceleration in the migration of peoples and an increase in world trade. These things brought on the building of new and modern ships and gave birth to jobs and skills never before practiced on the world's water. Yes, men still go down to the sea in ships, but, now, not every sailor is a seaman. There are engineers, shipfitters, radiomen, radar- men, and many others. As a result, the men who still carry on the traditions of the salty occupants of Davy Jones' place, are now formed into their own select group on ships, 'known as The Deck Force. Well, wife, mother, father, sister, brother, do you know much about that sailor of yours since he joined this cocky outfit? Oh, you probably know he's in the deck force but do you know anything about his job or the men he works with? Well, then, give a listen. On a Destroyer, the Deck Force has two divisions, numbered l'1st and 2nd . The ratings are usually divided equally between them, seeing as how their -Jobs are equally im- portant. The majority of the men are of the Seaman second class ratings. lxlext there are a smaller number of Seaman first class ratings. Men promoted .from Slc become Cont- swains, Qand say coxin to him, not cox-swane , or he'll cringej. Next step up. is Boatswain's Mate second class, followed by BMlc , and finally by Chief B0atSWa1n S Mate, fand give that word Boatswain the same treatment as Coxswain Their main job is to see that this ten million dollar can moors to a pier, or anchors, 11 d or in'ur . To do this they have to be ,and gets underway smoothly and wit out amage J y Smart in handling lines and fenders, and quick m understanding and obeying orders. They can make or break a ship. Theirs is the outward sign that represents the navy. 33 '

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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 '

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And then there are all those tedious jobs that add uP to malfe CVCfYthmg SPIPZMEE' scraping, wirebrushing, painting, sweeping, swabbing-never ending- And fhlfffs t e at' and the long, and sometimes cold watches that go with it. Speaklflg of Watc es' H0 matter what the weather underway, there's always a seaman to man the helm and keep hcl' WUC. and several more to provide a continuous lookout for enemy ships, mines, and Other dan' gers. His watches are never over. Even in port he's the messenger, and the sentry, and the numerous other people who are always needed. Funny thing about . being needed,--rI1flkCS, you sharp, on the ball , and cocky at times. Watch him at marlinspike, ,hand1ng.l1nes, at dress parade, or walking down main street. Sure he's proud, but he won t admit 1t.,He knows he looks good in those blues, but that kind of talk sounds crazy to him. He s a sailor, -he's a seaman,--he's navy from way back, this Deck Force Man. THE BLACK GANG He name Black Gang originated in the old navy when the snipes handled coal, but even today a member must not have an aversion to working in spaces below the main deck which is desirable in winter but almost unbearable in summer. The snipes are the men who keep the ships of the fleet moving. g Four groups comprise the engineering force, The fireroom gang, engineroom gang, electricians' gang, and the auxiliary gang. Besides the steam to power the LUDLOW's two propellers, the engineers provide us with some of the comforts of home such as lights, water, heat and ventilation. Little maintenance work can be done below underway, but once in port, it is not un- usual to see the snipes working the clock around. When old man winter starts breathing icy breaths, the man who has a topside watch begins to wonder if he made a wise choice after all, for all is warm and cozy down below with a big pot of java in the corner steam- ing away. There are always plenty of visitors at such times and none have ever been turned out. 4 . There are eight men on a fireroom watch and the safety of the ship depends greatly on their alertness. Twelve men stand watch in the engine room ready to respond to all orders from the bridge. Close cooperation between the two watches is imperative as each is dependent upon the other. Contrary to the impression that all one has to do is press a button and presto an order is complied with, there is a mighty scramble all through the engineering spaces each time the bridge rings up a change of speed. Depth charge attacks have proved to be almost as hard on our own engineering spaces as on the submerged targets. When shallow settings are used, the concussion is apt to rup- ture the condenser tubes, trip out the generator, or buckle the keel plates Though the work of the black gang is tough and the plant is a stern taskmaster, the snipes wouldn't swap for a million. Q . MEDICAL DEPARTMENT HE sick bay aboard the LUDLOW is just about large enough to allo t 1 . w wo peope to stand in or three to sit in during sick call. However, every inch is utilized to advanta . . C with equipment to counter any emergency. r g The pharmacist's mates are well schooled in They are the only men aboard whom people would rather see idle than bus The general health of the ship has been goodg very few condition ogia gel-igus naturg having been encountered. For the most part the diseases have consisted of minor ailments peculiar to the area and climate in which the ship was operating. The average of those on the sick list has beenslightly less than IW of the crew at any particular time The ship has participated in the rescue of survivors from fri dl i , , . en has encountered no fatalities among them. A y-and enemy Graft and s was to be expected at 1: as those preceeding an invasion of a dangerous tour of dut h , lmes' of tenslqni such 34 Y, f Ose reporting for sick call first aid and in the rudiments of medicine.