Smalley (DD 565) - Naval Cruise Book

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. af, .fW.,.,,,,,., lt Division to be repacked, bilges to be scraped and bulk- heads to be XYZlSllL'Ll. :Xnd then there were those in the engine rooins among the Nlachinist Mates who probably received less I't'CUgllltlOll than any other group, tl1e evaporator lI'lCIl. Twenty-four hours a day in port llllfl underway they had to he on the job. Tl1e 111c11 of Division, whose idiosyncrasies were never co1n- pletely tathomed by tl1e nninitiated, were always 'iready to answer all bells. To the Shipfitters of R Division fell tl1e task of keeping tl1e utin can from disintegrat- ing. You could follow any welding li11e to its end and find a shiptitter busily patching up a seam or putting up a IIGWV bracket for a fan. The heart of tl1e damage CUl1tI'Ol parties. tl1e Ships plumber a11d general repairnian. the members of tl1e shipfitters gang were literally jacks of all trades. The electrician's do1nai11 ran from the HIIIN- eral lights on tl1e bow to tl1e stern light. i11 Short the whole ship. It electrical current flowed tllfflllgll it tl1e electricians 111ates were on hand to keep it flowing. They switched generators and split the plant with the Silllll' ease that they changed lnses. They showed 53 movies a11d repaired the projector and when a 'glenionn was shown they took the rap as if it were they who had personally produced the Hop. And finally the third but not the least of the groups in KRD Division, the Av gang. It was their sweating and swearing that kept our temperamental dishwashing machines operat- in ging throughout the cruise. They maintained the refrigerating system and the emergency Diesel generator. They can be congratulated for having the most complete and up to date set of records in the Department. Then of course there was the 1nan with the typewriter. He not o11ly chased the liberty cards and the logs down each morning, but kept a fantastically large number of blueprints. records and files in order. It is probably because there is no other job anywhere on the ship aki11 to that of the engi- neers that their efforts are not always fully appreciated, but it 111ay be 11oted with pride that 11ot o11ce was tl1e Smalley unable to ful- fill l'l0l' operational coinmittnients because of a11 enginee1'i11g casualty.

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S 9 .Jr .5 A fi! il lid if Ei M , 'K af 1+ TTT J' JW 8 Um, ., . ...J ..,, 'fm U Uiyision Op mfivn Department On a bleak cold morning in january the ships of Destroyer Division 302 steamed into Narra Bay. They had left some eights months previously. lust as during normal operations. the shipis oilice became the melting pot lor all ship's business. This is where her Plans of the Day and watch bills were issued. This is where her operating schedules were first made known. This is where all the ships administra- tive information was filed, and then drawn from this pool to he pieced into the jigsaw puzzle known as ships work. News and infor- mation on ports-of-call was published hy the Officc force in the form ol dopc sheets dealing with recreation, cintertainment, and souvenir buying. llc-re it was that our logs were typed. records kept. and the numerous other clerical tasks were pcrlormcd which helped make the voyagc a smooth one. The Clombat team was small and rather green at the start ol' that long trclx toward Taslx Force T7 in the lar-oll Sea ol' japan. lint morale and willingness to Work were high, and the radar gang soon proved themselves a smooth and competent bunch. Occasionally a problem arose which momentarily stumped the experts, but the most involved operations soon became routine. At infrequent moments, how- ever, mistakes did occur, which oftentimes led to a good laugh at the expense of the perpetra- tor. The radio gang began by losing their only experienced man, which put quite a load on the new group of petty otticers. Tratlic literally trebled. Transmitters and receivers were in almost constant use.. Radio soon found it neces- sary to switch totwo sections. In spite of their shortage of personnel and lack of experience, the Snmlley radio gang had a high rating in the performance ot their duties and deserved the NVell Done they received from the Captain. For the Sonarmen, the hours of training condensed into one moment when Mr. XVPTU llill said upermission granted. Marcinowski