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Useless Trivia The world's first passenger train made its debut in England in 1825.
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Member Biographies :
Member Biography
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| Title: |
NAVY DAYS - CHAPTER 3 |
| By: |
John Prichard
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LEARNING THE "ROPES" AT SEA |
| Bio: |
The twenty two of us met in front of the Bethesda Naval Hospital for the ride in a gray Navy bus to Anacostia Naval Air Station where we took the Admiral's air plane to Norfolk, Virginia. Esther must have taken me to Bethesda from Kensington in our green Dodge. Bethesda is only about two or three miles from Kensington, Maryland. (Esther reminds me to insert in here someplace, that little son John had the Chicken Pox while I was away and that she had a rough time. - You see how dutiful I am; I mention this right off.)
This air ride was pleasant, only thirty or forty minutes and no bumps. Piped up the gang plank, I reported for duty. Officers are "Piped up the Gang Plank". I forget the exact ceremony, but I believe it some kind of a horn or "(Tooo-whee)" whistle. I reported to the Captain of the Cruiser Baltimore as "TAD" Medical Officer (From the Navy Medical School, Bethesda, Maryland). A seaman ushered me to my state room, aft. (Forward, in the bow of the ship). He advised me that this was a good place to be. On my ride to Gibraltar I was free, indeed encouraged to prod into all facets of Capital Ship operation. We had an operating room on the Cruiser Baltimore and my main attachment was that. Officially, that was my "Battle Station". The "Battle Station" call on board ship was the highest priority. We knew the drill and were advised to follow it precisely.
The "Baltimore" was docked at Pier 7. We were Task Force 26.1 sailing to the Mediterranean Sea as a semi annual replacement within the 6th Fleet, Mediterranean Task Force. The Cruiser Baltimore was the Flag Ship of this task force. Admiral Moher was the top dog of this Task Force. He was "The Flag". During the cruise he interviewed all new officers, including me. Later in life he became the Chairman of the "Joint Chiefs of Staff", a four star admiral. Task Force 26.1 consisted of the "Baltimore", Flagship, which sailed in the center, Two Air Craft Carriers, "The Lake Champlain" and the "Corral Sea", one on either side of the Baltimore. In addition there were twenty six destroyers strategically placed in this group. This is how we were arranged at sea.
The Navy is very good at getting the "Money" by means of public relations. What better idea than to take one hundred congressmen, (Senate and House Members) on board for a day's outing of "War Games". Impress them and they will cough up the "Money" for more and better war games. So, for the first day's outing at about one hundred miles at sea we played war! Fifty congressmen on the Lake Champlain, fifty on the Coral Sea. For this show I stood on the deck of the Baltimore right next to a five inch gun, hat strapped under my chin because of the high wind. Navy air planes from each Carrier roared off the flight deck; they swooped the sea, dropping "Napalm" creating huge balls of flame on the sea. Next: The shooting down of the drone, a full sized pilotless air plane. Admiral Moher came on the ship's loud speakers: "The drone will approach from the rear at ten thousand feet. It will follow the center line of the "Corral Sea; it will proceed aft turning to the right across our bow; it will turn right on the projected center line of the "Lake Champlain" , turning right again to our stern where it turns right and goes right up the middle. You gunners, hit that damn drone or there will be Hell' to pay" I t was pretty much like that; I remember it well because it startled me, and to some extent I thought "He was cheating". No congressman heard that speech. Standing by the five inch gun, I am squinting the sky; looking up and to the right, I see, maybe see a tiny dot. THEN for about 30 seconds I was numb. I did not know what happened. Regaining sensibility, I finally realized what happened. THE FIVE INCH GUN HAD FIRED. I have never had such a sensation, a novice, standing next to a five inch gun when it fired. I suspect the approach of death is like that. Looking up again, I see a trail of smoke spiraling to the sea. The gunners had hit it with the first shot; there would be no "Hell to Pay". And to think, I truly, never saw the drone, just a speck in the distant sky. This was fifty four years ago. Compare the advance in technology now. The show was over. I'm sure the point was made. "The Navy is good; it deserves all the money it can get". The two Carriers turned back to Norfolk to discharge the one hundred new acolytes. Task Force 26.1 slowed down so that the Carriers could return to Norfolk drop off the votaries and return, to resume the voyage to Gibraltar.
IMAGES AT SEA: Pitch, Roll and Yaw: These are the three movements of time and space. Sailors say, and we learned in our class that the cerebral response to these functions is different in different brains. With some, it's pitch, some roll, some yaw, some all. Some, none, we were taught, is only a topic of sailor bravado. Sea sickness is real.
I had been watching the sea slide smoothly by the side of the Cruiser, and the diminishing distant wake when the dinner chimes sounded. I left the teakwood aft deck feeling quite good. In those days, usually, it was a Filipino seaman who walked through the ship ringing those odd sounding chimes. In the Ward Room. (The ward room is for officers, only) dinner was served on a table cloth with solid china and silverware. In a corner of the Ward room was a box containing napkin rings. In the box the napkin rings were labeled and situated according to rank. As a TAD (Temporary Additional Duty) Officer, my ring was unmarked. I sat in a proper designated place. Soup was served. Quick to appetite, I grabbed my spoon. Then I watched as the soup filled one side of the bowl, then the other, back and forth in rhythmic timing. I began to feel a little queazy, then more queazy, then I left the table for my stateroom. and bed. I believe this is the only time I was seasick. I guess I am a candidate for the "Roll".
I had to report to the dispensary every morning. No sick call; I was free. Free to explore and find out about the ship. We did have a patient, a ailor transferred from a Destroyer by Breeches Buoy to our operating room where we patched his finger. A Cruiser has two or three assigned Doctors at all times. I was TAD. It is standard practice for this kind of transport.
I took my role as curious interloper seriously. I visited the guns, the engine room, the radio shack, radar room, the bridge, the Library, the ship's store and the kitchen. The following vignette points the finger at who really runs the Navy. I visited the "Radio Shack" reporting to the officer in charge, as protocol requires. At the "Radio Shack" it was an Ensign. "Sure Doc, come in we'll show you around. Actually, I'll call the chief; he knows all about this stuff. I just graduated from Annapolis, and I haven't got the hang of it yet." At every station mentioned above it was the chief, not the officer, who "showed me around". Of personal interest, at the radio shack one can "Patch in" and call home. I believe I called Esther once from the Cruiser, Baltimore.
THE GUNS:
The whole and singular purpose of a Navy ship is to provide a platform for a gun, bigger boat, bigger gun. This mobile gun is used to inflict pain on an enemy. The advantage of a Carrier, only introduced into warfare in the early 1930s, is to have little guns flying off the carrier and returning. Fifty four years ago the Battleship had sixteen inch guns, (That means the diameter of the breech and the diameter of the projectile was 16 inches.), The Heavy Cruiser had eight inch guns; the light Cruiser had five inch guns, Destroyers and Carriers had 40 millimeter guns. The big Navy ships are for bombardment; the little Navy ships protect the big Navy ships. From my doctor's perspective, that's pretty much "Naval Warfare".
The Chief gave me a tour of the five inch and the eight inch gun. I was dumbstruck; you remember that I was numbed when the five inch gun went off. Now, I am dumbstruck by its overall size and complexity. The "Five" inch shell is five inches in diameter, but it is about three feet tall or long. The gun's base or platform is five decks below the gun itself. The shells are loaded from this base platform, traverse upward five decks and are shot off by the gunnery officer. I don't know how he pulls the trigger. The eight inch gun is the same except that instead of a brass casing holding the gun powder, a bag holds the powder. The "Bag" is eight inches in diameter and two or three feet tall. My feeling was WOW! and it still is WOW!
The Engine room is in the basement of the ship (Below Decks) I remember the noise, the heat and the clutter. I did ask about sealing the throughway for the propeller shaft. It's done with a special compound. It takes a special guy, a special officer or sailor to enjoy the engine room.
The Radar room was rather dark. The "Hands" in the view boxes were swinging around ever ready to warn of something in the way. The Bridge was interesting. A big heavy brass steering wheel. The Helmsman let me drive it for a few seconds. It takes about a mile to turn a heavy cruiser around. From the library, I requisitioned Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" or was it "The Apple Tree". The library was rather extensive. The Kitchen was clean, as you would anticipate in the Navy. We had a squad of twelve Marines on board. I think I have already mentioned the long history of Marines on board U.S. Capital Ships. At the Ship's Store, I bought little Jane a doll. We lost one sailor overboard in rough seas; the whole task force spent one day traversing the sea, back and forth, just as the rule book requires. No, we did not find him. There was time to sun oneself on the teakwood deck. The Baltimore's top speed was 32 knots per hour. Holystoning the deck is a Navy Tradition and interesting to watch. As demonstrated, these impressions are everlasting. Our ride was regal compared to that of the noisy Carrier or the bobbing Destroyer. Our first land fall, the west coast of Africa. We cruised North to Gib. In the Navy a stairway is a "Ladder", a post, a stanchion, and only a novice would use other than Navy terms. The whiskey: On Board, we carried a case of Old Overholt Whiskey. (100 proof) rye whiskey. The Pharmacist's mate and I, the Doctor, had to count it periodically for the records of the Ship. Perhaps other incidentals have slipped me by. On to Gibraltar:
Note: *Overholt Whiskey is made in Connelsville, Pennsylvania. where my wife, Esther, grew up.
John Prichard, M.D.
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