Ranger (CV 61) - Naval Cruise Book

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UNREP Fuel, stores, ammunition. These are the three basics which most Ranger sailors take for granted. From some limitless bin in the awe- some hollows ofthe ship, they feel, comes a per- petual supply of those three constants. . .ammuni- tion, stores and fuel. The boatswain mates know better, however. It is they who are responsible for the rigs which transfer everything-black oil to blackshoe polish -from the supplying ship to the Ranger while the two vessels steam parallel. Were it not for sea refueling and replenishment, even a ship the size ofa carrier would be a slave to logistics and seriously hampered in its strategic role. In other words, it would spend a lot more time in port. Damn boatswain mates. The work of replenishment itself, assuming the weather does complicate things, is always always long, hard, and dangerous. The order to Hhlan stations goes at anytime during the day or night while on the lineg usually, four or five hours pass before the lines can finally be unrigged. During these operations, thousand pound net loads or the swaying bulk of a fuel hose must often be grappled into place, and the bosun mates in their blue helmets and orange jackets approach such tasks with all the cautious energy of prehistoric men subduing mammoths. Relief is evident in every face as the hectic strains ofthe Lone Ranger Overture bid farewell to the departing ship. Now, however, equip- ment must be stowed, lines coiled, and wire re- wound for tomorrowls unrep.

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