Ludlow (DD 438) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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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 under similar operating conditions the crevxil dismfziiaiggon with other Ships of our type aged less than half as many consultations li d P y an excellent morale and aver- Stated that the LUDLOW! I ' .ase on a neurotic trend. It can truthfully be las been a healthy and happy ship as well as a lucky one THE BRIDGE GANG G were more numerous than at other times but b V ' U RR ' - - - ei imglcftizffgfgt 't?rhf'Bpl?:1aSeE Very famlllar to every man aboard and is the clear- ie ri ge ang , consistin of ' 1 , who make with the fl - d ' g Sigma men an quarter masters . U uags an searchlights and pass the word, are on the job. This conception is correct but inade uate fo th ' , . .Y , u q , r. e1r duties are many and varied. The responsibility for the smooth running of the ship, the swift as well as accurate reception and transmission of all visual messages and the ship's snappy and on the ball appear- ance, both underway and in port, rest largely on the shoulders of the bridge gang. Both signalmen and quartermasters of the watch are the officer-of-the-deck's right hand men. The 0.0.D. depends on the quartermaster to keep a record of all that tran- spipes duiiing thle watch, fuel and water reports, compass checks, weather readings, calls t' .x ' - . o. e mac c, an the passing of the word. The quartermaster IS also a great assistance to the sh1p's navigator, who relies on the quartermaster for the correction of all his charts, assist- ance in plotting the ship's course, shooting the stars and sun, and the general care of all navigational instruments and equipment. The entire ship depends on the quartermaster for the correct time, for it is one of his duties to continuously check all the ship's clocks, keeping them wound and running correctly. The signalmen are ever on the alert for a signal by flag-hoist or those minute flashes of light which may mean a change in course, speed, or formation, and even alter the routine of the ship. It is the signalman's job to keep the 0.0.D. informed of the movements of all ships, both in formations and in the general vicinity- of the ship, and through him all vis- ual messages are sent and received. G And when you salts recall how those flaghoists were two-blocked at the yardarm, how the signal lights used to blink away like lightning bugs with the hiccoughs, and how the word to Man your battle stations would electrify the ship as only the real thing could do, remember the human element behind all of it! The bridge gang. ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT HEN the Navy constructs a combatant ship, they just decide the speed and fire power desired, then build the vessel around the guns. The LUDLOW is no exception, butito make the various guns function as one unit involves complications. Much technical equip- ment is needed, and that calls for highly train personnel. The division is divided into three gangs -Gunner's mates, Fire controlmf-in and Torpedoman's mates-but all three work pretty much together in the overall set-up. . ' Briefly, the duties of the various gangs are as follows: The gunner s 'mates malntam the guns and ammunition and are assigned cleaning stations which range from the five inch magazines to the pyrotechnic lockers on the bridge. The firecontrolmen are responsible for the main and secondary battery gun directors, plotting room and all electrical equipment associated with the guns. The master-mind computer in plot requires a lot of high priced attention. The Torpedomen have all the depth charges, depth f3hH1'ge racks and th1'0WCfS, land torpedoes when we had themj-not an easylinamtenlpnce Job when you remember that ' ' is usua awas . they Thi: lgaiiiffofoihilllihliz iclsfleifdlhaiiid constantylabor comes during action when the guns respolliidfeivxwiddxgfriplilsabissglgzaadiifice and outstanding courage of individuals in the division ' t d ith res ect and admiraton for all of them. During the 'Viichy French. re- 'S here mer 6 W P ber s, 1942, while the LUDLOW was firing on various sistance at Casablanca on Novem 35 1