United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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R OF SHIPS AND MEN - s Q- - Q-- qrt.. -1 .1 - 1 , - - Bremerton and Bayonne, Mare lsland and Newport News, Brooklyn and New Orleans, this country has wit- nessed the growth of the world's most powerful fleet. Lumbering LST's, slugging battleships, and queen-like carriers have streamed from these Navy Yards in a torrent never witnessed before in history. But ships alone are not enough. lVlen,abundantlyendowed with training in Naval matters, prepared in mind and body for a Naval career, must be furnished to guide these ships in the performance of their appointed duties. Familiar to every sailor are the spider-like cranes, the gaping dry- docks, and the teeming workshops 4, J l 'x if . i I ' A fe Il , i, 'W t of the Navy Yard. The machinists, electricians, Welders, and architects of these yards leave an indelible mark of achievement on each ship. A mark which, through battle or peace, will remain with the ship throughout its lifetime of service. Familiar to every Annapolis man are the grey 'X-'L Nye 'JW buildings, monuments, and tree- -. A 5, , covered walks of the Yard, ' - in ' Pennies tossed at an icy Tecum- N ' 3 seh in the winter, or P-rades in 'lag-gx' ' the flower-scented mugginess of EX - June will furnish a background of memories to follow the Academy graduate through the years at sea. Many months of planning and research precede the construction ofa warship. Experts are consulted and layouts are drawn up long before the first weld is made. Such plan-

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THE FLEET , s can be called a fighting team

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Ships and men grow strong together ning has resulted in the Navy whose performance is second to none. The proper design and layout of its course of in- struction has always played an important role at Annapolis. also. Over the period of its history, the Naval Academy has constantly sought to End the V , best possible system of producing .Q , V the best possible Naval officers. X if i lv l fill nj T I me I N rf l , yy X l Not all of these changes have been I successful, not does the Academy ll? 1' -as S ' ' system lack its critics, but no one 4 has questioned the war-proven re- 'fv sults of an Annapolis education. Iron ore from Minnesota, timber from the West, steel from the mills of Alabama and Pennsylvania and California, pro- ducts from a thousand other areas flow to the Navy Yard. An entire nation plays a role in the production of its Fleet. ln a much similar pattern come the candidates to Annapolis. From every state, territory, and many a Southern neighbor arrive the men who will rise to lead their country's Navy. After the planning stage has f been completed and the mate- 5 rials gathered, the initial step of - ' lx, QL construction is taken and the keel 1- 5 ' of the new warship is laid. It is Tx It 9 axiomatic that upon the strength 9-day V E 'yi of the keel depends the strength f of the ship. Similarly upon a ' l 'Q Naval of'Hcer's Plebe Year depends much of his achieve- ments in the Fleet. The molding of character, the instilled dis- cipline and loyalty developed during this first year furnishes, not only a wealth of wardroom steric, but a firm founda- tion for the future. Months of labor followed the i laying of a ship's keel, climaxed, VFIQ' at length, by its launching and Vif-'ffgf ' 323' . . f'.g,MX 5j 'ggi a period of outfittmg at the dock- side. Guns must be emplaced, L-'A' 4 7 -l,' . l X: qblnm 'l . Ai AW i' . i fire-control instruments installed, -IT: :E I di and the warship made ready for i. ,F .: s its duty. At the Naval Academy, plebe year draws to a close, and a new clas is launched to spend its remaining period as underclassmen in preparation for Erst class year. Drills and recitations stretch on for what seems an interminable length, but, as the ship must be out- '. - ' fitted, so the undergraduate must absorb the required knowledge in order that he, too, may be 3 ready for duty. 1 ' ll ' -1. rf f , nf . ,Iii F 1--1 55 : Ejrw' , ' V .- Y AQ: Amid ceremony and crowds L X 51, ,kt I' of well-wishers, the completed ':l ' A ship Ls commissioned. Still unready for sea duty, the ship has yet to become a full-fledged and accredited member of the Fleet and with her new crew aboard begins the final period before leaving the yard. Each June, at Annapolis, a new class receives their class rings amid the ceremony of the Ring Dance. This event announces their new rank as lirst class, and the commencement of the last year before joining the Fleet. An invaluable aid in the production of a well-built Naval vessel is its shake- down cruise. On this cruise, at drill and practice,