United States Coast Guard Academy - Tide Rips Yearbook (New London, CT)

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n n tID tttl Mc (PuMe MACHINERY and Power are the flesh and blood of the modern Coast Guard cutter. Every officer, since he will sooner or later serve a tour of duty in the engine room, must therefore be a trained marine engineer. For if the cutter is to help other ships in distress its machinery must be so much the better than average. It is no easy matter to learn such technical and detailed subjects as Thermodynamics, Heat En- gines, Boilers, I. C. Engines and Turbines. Prac- ticability has become the watchword of the de- partment. Careful sifting of material directly ap- plicable to Coast Guard work and repetition of the more important phases is considered the wis- est approach. As a result, we learn how to avoid serious breakdown of machinery as has liap- pened according to Mr. Jones. And if we ever happen to find ourselves with a spare pound of steam we know just what to do with it. For to an engineer the primary goal is safety to person- nel; the second, performance of mission. With the hours of higher temperatures and higher pressures and where are the boilers!! spent in Captain O ' Connor ' s class supplemented by practical cruise experience, the graduated ca- det has a sound foundation for his service career.

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n G n u n U L n As the basis of practically .ill engineering, jL Physics is heavily empiiasized. It paves the way tor our ct)urses in electrical and marine engi- neering, and for gunnery. The subject carries us through three half-year terms with Perkins Un- abridged as our guide. Successively we are initi- ated to mechanics, heat, sound, light, magne- tism, electricity, and electronics. Will wonders never cease! In the classroom we listen with amazemcnt- ve reason — we speculate. We see the whirling gyroscope, the prismatic spectrum, the magnetic flux as outlined with iron filings. Occasionally we join hands, form a circle, and experience with mixed reaction the ellects of voltage. Then there are the discussion groups at which we all in turn voice our opinions. Laboratory work substantiates the book knowledge. From a humble start wherein we learn the methods and accuracy of measurements we advance right up to a study of photoelectric cells and radioactive substance. There are occa- sional interruptions as Professor Hoag looks around for a microfarad, or a smoking voltmeter is hastily taken out of the line. Additional fea- tures of the lab course are useful demonstrations of more elaborate experiments which require the magic touch of a full fledged scientist for per- formance. But on the whole we learn by doing and the dividends are reaped from there on. 27

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3 t?S ' s» Vif ' - Tuice is potential pcnvcr and, as cngmccr, tl an oHiccr should know liow to control it and develop it. Our first encounter with the intricacies of elec- tricity begins during the Physics course. Here we are introduced to the terms, perform elementary experiments, and obtain a thin crust upon which to base the more complex and formidable knowl- edge of the subject. D.C. Circuits and Machinery is the next step and it proves to us that there is more to electricity than just pushing a button. Lieutenant Creedon is ever inclined to allow the cadets to express their opinion as to the truth of a statement. Typical polls: How many say this answer is right? — 6. How many say it is wrong? — 4. How many don ' t vote? — 11. Total in class — 36. But we master D.C. and go on to A.C. This is perhaps the most theoretical and at the same time the most practical part of elec- tricity. We study the operation of the alternator and the A.C. motor and their attendant phe- nomena. Radio is the final branch of E.E. and is a necessary study as it deals with the nerve system of the service. Laboratory work is concomitant with theory. It is here that each cadet actually gets the feel of the humming machinery and becomes ex- perienced with its idiosyncrasies. CAPT. (E) G. R. O ' CONNOR Head of Engineering Department 29