Renshaw (DD 499) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 38 text:

. 1911 x X Wi STANDING port and starboard didn't bother signalmen, a close knit group. From left, p 5 Epling, SM3, Hughes, SM2, Nowlin, SMSN and Newcomb, SMSN. Flag Ba s And Flashin Lights Sinalmen are a valuable asset to a destroy- er that relies so much on communications. These men must be quick and absolutely sure of them- selves. Misreading a number could result in catas trophe. Of all destroyermen, signalmen are most exposed to the whims of the weather and the seas. They are constantly waiting for the light in the dark or the flag hoist to signal a turn 180 degrees. They freeze in the cold rain and sweat in the heat of a south China sea sun. lt's simply all in the job and the challenge. 34 .f THE UNIFORM FOR WASHING DOWN NEWCOMB uses 12-inch flashing light to communicate with another ship Morse code 1S used for messages. , , i f' at ,f 2 , - Q E f 4 n ' Q' ' 5 7 . 9' .,,, if X I I

Page 37 text:

-tl . N N 'fs 'i 4 rf Radiomen Faustman, RMSN, Smith, f RM3, and Christenson, RMSN, on . their freshly painted 01 level. Radlds Query' RM3' 66 K 'Ol'!w'in gqu... M .gg Q fs I' 4pi 'i'i C f . V-f- 1 RCU I lf . X, '99 Crabb, SN, turns too on screen protectlng antenna. Sammons, RM3. Harris, RM3, relaxing. A-vi

Page 39 text:

Plotting a point on chart, Lacy QMSN, carefully crosses points with a compass qbarely visable in sunlightj after using RA.DARto get ranges and bearings to nearest land. Fiie s, unlines, And Sextants I I f I J I ff I 1 -JV' .f t ' When Un Station... Quartermasters fall into that time honored category known as navigators, the readers of stars, clouds and trade winds. The RENSHAW'SQuartermasters aren't quite the romantic sailors of the windjammer days, but they serve the same purpose--getting the vessel from point A to point B. They do this in a much more sophisticated manner, using radar and a radio navigation device known as loran. The classic celestial bodies, of course, will always be used. From the Left: Goe, QM3, Brown QM3, and Lacy, QMSN. One quarter- master per watch is all a Navy destroyer is allowed. Ours were in three sections. Quartermasters are also keepers of the ship's logs. They record every deviation in the ship's course and speed as well as unusual happenings, weather and who has the Conn at any given moment. The RENSHAW'S Quartermasters are few and the demands many. They plotted this ship through 36,347 nautical miles of sea. They plotted us home to Pearl.