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What is in my Father's notebook?

Started by Walks_At_Night, October 13, 2018, 06:20:43 PM

WOTR

Quote from: K_Dubb on December 27, 2018, 11:48:57 AM
The widespread abandonment of fasting during advent and lent has dampened the real holiday feasting considerably and I think we're all poorer for it, as we shove away loaded trays of cookies after a whole season of overindulgence.  It really is the same principle.
Something I had never given any thought to.  Perhaps I will take the time to actually fast next season.  It would be an interesting experiment.  I can imagine the astonishment as I refuse those home made squares while on a fast. 

*I honestly think I may do this.

WOTR

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on December 27, 2018, 08:05:44 PM
Page 38 discusses doors, hatches and fittings aboard ship.  They are labeled with letter V, W, X, Y and Z and each has a different meaning as when the labeled item should be closed.  For example. Dad has a line item "Z: Close in action".   A little research shows an interior water tight door on an American WWII era destroyer that has a Z prominently labeled.

(BTW - the R2D2 looking thing in the lower center, is a foam dispensing unit for fighting fires.)




Page 38



Cool. I spent too much time looking at water tight doors (right up to finding manuals on how to rebuild them) while looking at another thread on BG.  It is interesting to see this written down.  I do seem to recall that they said the hardest part was to get people to actually follow procedure.  When fully locked down you would have to open and close dozens of doors- and lots of people thought if they were just going to a store room and right back out (or even to change a light) that leaving a door open was no big deal and would save time.

Page 39 begins a detailed description on the After Body of the Mark XV Torpedo.


Page 39

Page 40 continues the in depth discussion of the components of the after body of the Mark XV Torpedo

Page 40

Page 41 begins an in depth description of the Turbine Bulkhead

Page 41

So we've discussed Battleships, Cruisers, Dive Bombers and even Blimps.  Now it's time to get to the Greyhound of the Sea - the Destroyer. 
                         

On the day my Father joined, the United States Navy had 171 Destroyers in commission.  Through out the course of World War II, the US Navy would lose a total of 90 Destroyers.  That is a huge number but the Destroyers were definitely jack of all trades - convoy escort and anti-submarine platform, radar picket, scout, surface action screen for the fleet, torpedo platform, mine sweeper, anti-aircraft platform and shore bombardment platform. They definitely went In Harm's Way and paid a high price for doing so. 

My Dad would serve on two classes of Destroyers during the war - the Wickes Class and the Benson/Gleaves Class.  During his time in the Navy he would see the North Atlantic, Iceland, Greenland, North Africa, England, Ireland, France, Italy, Bermuda, Egypt, Hawaii and Okinawa - all aboard Destroyers.

He was only on the Wickes Class Destroyer for just a short period after he graduated from Torpedo School as he awaited for his new ship to be built.  This was older ship that was designed during WWI.  They had flush decks and four smoke stacks and were known as "4 pipers" as a result. He would make a few convoy escort trips handling the Newfoundland to Iceland leg.

USS Cole - Typical Wickes Class Destroyer


In the later part of 1942 he would transfer to a new Benson/Gleaves Class destroyer.  These were the top of the line Destroyers that the US Navy had at the start of WWII - they would match up decently against their competition but were out gunned by some of the Japanese destroyers.  That would be addressed by newer classes of destroyers as the war went on but Dad was on Benson/Gleaves Class
ships for the duration.  These are actually two classes of destroyers but they are commonly lumped together as the only external visible difference between Benson and Gleaves class ships were the shape of their funnels.

USS Butler - Typical Benson/Gleaves Class Destroyer


We will learn a lot more about this class of ship and the action my Dad saw aboard them in the future of this thread.

Here is Jack Webb narrating a short film called Destroyers: Greyhounds of the Sea   Gives a nice introduction into the roles Destroyers play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooWEC-BUhv8

The thread will be on Hiatus for a period.  I'm headed to sea in the next day or two. 

I think it will be a little more luxurious than what Dad's experience was.  ;)




WOTR

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 04, 2019, 09:46:06 PM
The thread will be on Hiatus for a period.  I'm headed to sea in the next day or two. 

I think it will be a little more luxurious than what Dad's experience was.  ;)





Hope you had a good time.  With the picture that you posted, I suddenly realize why I have been resistant to "cruise" when friends have asked (I actually never pieced it together until now.)  They all want to go on the massive monstrosities that now steam across the oceans.

When you start getting into some of the larger ones it starts to feel like a floating version of Vegas. (oh, look.  This ship features three cirque shows in addition to 35 restaurants run by 20 celebrity chefs and thee on board casinos.)

I get that seems to be the choices that most people want.  I was tempted last year by a Vancouver to Japan repositioning cruise on a smaller Holland America ship. Expected to dress for dinner- no shore excursions, no trapeze in the main dining room.  Kind of sounded nice.

So, was it fun, what line were you on, and was it your first cruise?

*Bonus question- did you father ever cruise after his service- or did he see enough of the sea to not want to go back regardless of the luxury and food choices?

Quote from: WOTR on January 15, 2019, 02:42:16 AM
Hope you had a good time.  With the picture that you posted, I suddenly realize why I have been resistant to "cruise" when friends have asked (I actually never pieced it together until now.)  They all want to go on the massive monstrosities that now steam across the oceans.

When you start getting into some of the larger ones it starts to feel like a floating version of Vegas. (oh, look.  This ship features three cirque shows in addition to 35 restaurants run by 20 celebrity chefs and thee on board casinos.)

I get that seems to be the choices that most people want.  I was tempted last year by a Vancouver to Japan repositioning cruise on a smaller Holland America ship. Expected to dress for dinner- no shore excursions, no trapeze in the main dining room.  Kind of sounded nice.

So, was it fun, what line were you on, and was it your first cruise?

*Bonus question- did you father ever cruise after his service- or did he see enough of the sea to not want to go back regardless of the luxury and food choices?

Kind of hard to have a rotten time on vacation but I've certainly had better cruise experiences in the past.  Our first time on Carnival.  A little too rowdy for our tastes.   The food in the
dining room was much better than I would have expected and the shows in the evening were quite good.  Just too much loud, crappy music and large twerking female butts for us. 
We've been on a number of cruises -  Carnival just isn't our thing.

There are some fabulous looking re-positioning cruises out there.  I've always wanted to try one but while you can get a good deal, not sure that you can get the crushing deals that
Mrs. Walks look for.   Our tickets this past cruise were $180 US a head with $25 in credit.   Tough to beat that.   Also she tends to get seasick and you aren't bobbing around in a bathtub when re-positioning.  We went to Bermuda once and got pinned by a Hurricane.  She was most unhappy.  Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother me much.

My folks went on a Great Lakes cruise when I was a young 'un but I think that was the extent of it.  My folks moved to NC so that I could look after them easier.  Took Dad out to the Outer Banks and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  He wanted to see it from the land!

WOTR

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 15, 2019, 10:20:32 PM
Kind of hard to have a rotten time on vacation but I've certainly had better cruise experiences in the past.  Our first time on Carnival.  A little too rowdy for our tastes.   The food in the
dining room was much better than I would have expected and the shows in the evening were quite good.  Just too much loud, crappy music and large twerking female butts for us. 
We've been on a number of cruises -  Carnival just isn't our thing.

There are some fabulous looking re-positioning cruises out there.  I've always wanted to try one but while you can get a good deal, not sure that you can get the crushing deals that
Mrs. Walks look for.   Our tickets this past cruise were $180 US a head with $25 in credit.   Tough to beat that.   Also she tends to get seasick and you aren't bobbing around in a bathtub when re-positioning.  We went to Bermuda once and got pinned by a Hurricane.  She was most unhappy.  Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother me much.

My folks went on a Great Lakes cruise when I was a young 'un but I think that was the extent of it.  My folks moved to NC so that I could look after them easier.  Took Dad out to the Outer Banks and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  He wanted to see it from the land!
I'm glad you got back safe.  I suppose for $180 a ticket, I might have traveled with you.  I always think that the killer on a repositioning cruise will be the extra costs. After one way airfare from Japan, a few nights in Japan, and a couple of shore excursions suddenly the cruise is twice the price that you think you are paying.

The one that starts at :20 and the one that starts at 1:00 minute are my favourites. Possibly the guy riding the shelving unit in the background at 1:35 makes the whole thing worthwhile. I don't think that much would bother me- but possibly those two cruises would cause my stomach to expel it's contents...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31cZdeVnV-0

albrecht

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 15, 2019, 10:20:32 PM
Kind of hard to have a rotten time on vacation but I've certainly had better cruise experiences in the past.  Our first time on Carnival.  A little too rowdy for our tastes.   The food in the
dining room was much better than I would have expected and the shows in the evening were quite good.  Just too much loud, crappy music and large twerking female butts for us. 
We've been on a number of cruises -  Carnival just isn't our thing.

There are some fabulous looking re-positioning cruises out there.  I've always wanted to try one but while you can get a good deal, not sure that you can get the crushing deals that
Mrs. Walks look for.   Our tickets this past cruise were $180 US a head with $25 in credit.   Tough to beat that.   Also she tends to get seasick and you aren't bobbing around in a bathtub when re-positioning.  We went to Bermuda once and got pinned by a Hurricane.  She was most unhappy.  Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother me much.

My folks went on a Great Lakes cruise when I was a young 'un but I think that was the extent of it.  My folks moved to NC so that I could look after them easier.  Took Dad out to the Outer Banks and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  He wanted to see it from the land!
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/10/01/15/49/royal-caribbean-cruise-nightmare-families-horror-playboy-bunnies-wild-bender 


https://www.newsweek.com/cruise-ship-refunds-passengers-after-1300-men-took-over-and-turned-it-giant-1148493 



Page 42 continues the discussion of the Turbine Bulkhead on the Mark XV Torpedo.

Page 42


WOTR

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 21, 2019, 07:18:09 PM
Page 42 continues the discussion of the Turbine Bulkhead on the Mark XV Torpedo.

Page 42


Where is my page 42?  (I don't know if it is just me- it is not displaying.)  :(

As I have previously mentioned, Dad served mostly on Benson-Gleaves class destroyers through out the war.  By appearance, the
only difference between the Benson and Gleaves classes were the shape of their funnels (rounded vs oblong).  These were the newest Destroyers that the Navy had at the time the war started, as the war went on they would be augmented with the famous Fletcher class ships.  They were solid war ships and certainly better than almost all their contemporaries except for perhaps the Imperial Japanese Navy's Kagerō class. As when designing anything certain compromises have to be made.  Nations like the United States or the United Kingdom might opt for a smaller design with fewer guns with the goal of being able to build more of them as they had multi-Ocean commitments. Most of the combatants in WWII did not have the global commitments and as such tended to build larger, heavier gunned vessels than the US Navy's
Benson-Gleaves

Here are few thoughts on the various destroyers afloat at the time my Dad started his service.

United States Navy Benson-Gleaves Class Destroyers
Hardy, seaworthy vessels with good speed and range, that carried radar, sonar and probably the best Destroyer based naval gun at the time due the traditional  US Navy's concentration on firepower.





Kriegsmarine Narvik Class Destroyers
Handsome looking ships that oddly greatly under performed for a German designed weapon system.   Their steam turbine based engines
were unreliable and to keep them going had to be run well under their rated speed.  Designed for use in the North Sea and the
Baltic, they had severe problems with sea keeping while operating in the Atlantic - which meant that the outstanding German Battleships had to operate without a Destroyer screen with disastrous results for the Graf Spee and Bismarck.



Royal Navy Tribal  Class Destroyers (also Royal Canadian and Royal Australian Navy)
Fine ships, named (with typical British panache) for some of the tribal peoples found throughout the Empire and Dominions (ex: HMS Zulu, HMCS Iroquois, HMAS Warramunga.  They would serve with distinction all over the globe, although to be honest my Dad hated the British in general and the Royal Navy in particular.  Didn't mind working with Aussie or the Canadians and thank God he didn't have to work with the Dutch (not many of those boys came back) but he did not think much of the Brits.




Marine Nationale Mogador Class Destroyers
The French marched to the beat of a different drummer.  They went with a beast of a design that on paper could out gun other navies Light Cruisers and were the fastest Destroyers in the world (probably faster than even modern destroyers).  However the engines were not reliable and the way the propeller shafts were laid out internally resulted in a terrible turning radius - worse than the Battleships they were designed to protect.
The main guns were worse and were exceedingly difficult to load.




To be continued..............



Quote from: WOTR on January 21, 2019, 09:14:41 PM
Where is my page 42?  (I don't know if it is just me- it is not displaying.)  :(

Hhmmmmm.   I've seen stuff like that before.   Works for me on two different browsers. 

Well here is the raw link -> https://i.ibb.co/F8wGTqB/Page42.jpg

Page 43 lists the steps for testing and putting on the warhead on the Mark XV torpedo.

Page 43

Page 44 is a continuation of the testing and putting on the warhead discussion.

Page 44


Here is a continuation of a brief over view of other nations destroyers at the time Dad joined up

Royal Netherlands Navy Admiralen Class Destroyers

Based on an older British design, they were definitely out classed and although they fought bravely.  Uniquely among all Destroyers, they carried a single seaplane for scouring that could be lowered into the water via a crane instead of being launched from a catapult.  The Japanese and Germans would sink all of them.




Regia Marina Soldati Class Destroyers

Faster than just about any Destroyer afloat aside from France, these durable Italian warships would over perform in their battles with the Royal Navy.  The Regia Marina would be locked in mortal combat with the Royal Navy in the central Mediterranean for almost three years.  They would pay a huge price but did manage to keep a sea lane mostly open between Italy and North Africa and thus kept the Afrika Korps and Italian Army supplied.



Imperial Japanese Navy Kagerō Class Destroyers

Heavily gunned and carrying almost three times the amount of torpedo's that any other Destroyer afloat carried, these were the best Destroyers in the world at the time.  Of the 19 that were built, 18 would be sunk by the US Navy but they were very dangerous opponents.


albrecht

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 26, 2019, 09:28:30 PM
Here is a continuation of a brief over view of other nations destroyers at the time Dad joined up

Royal Netherlands Navy Admiralen Class Destroyers

Based on an older British design, they were definitely out classed and although they fought bravely.  Uniquely among all Destroyers, they carried a single seaplane for scouring that could be lowered into the water via a crane instead of being launched from a catapult.  The Japanese and Germans would sink all of them.




Regia Marina Soldati Class Destroyers

Faster than just about any Destroyer afloat aside from France, these durable Italian warships would over perform in their battles with the Royal Navy.  The Regia Marina would be locked in mortal combat with the Royal Navy in the central Mediterranean for almost three years.  They would pay a huge price but did manage to keep a sea lane mostly open between Italy and North Africa and thus kept the Afrika Korps and Italian Army supplied.



Imperial Japanese Navy Kagerō Class Destroyers

Heavily gunned and carrying almost three times the amount of torpedo's that any other Destroyer afloat carried, these were the best Destroyers in the world at the time.  Of the 19 that were built, 18 would be sunk by the US Navy but they were very dangerous opponents.


Not Destroyers but some interesting books I read a while back. That also include the Jap perspectives which is interesting. And some "super secret" at the time. 

Can be found at Amazon, sometimes the local bookstore, or your library (though there maybe by inter-library loans) : 

Battleship Musashi: The Making and Sinking of the Worlds Biggest Battleship
Shinano!: The Sinking of Japan's Secret Supership
A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato, April 1945

Page 45 has no header but it discusses the removing the after part of the Mark XV Torpedo.

Page 45

As I have mentioned in the past, Dad spent most of the war aboard a Benson/Gleaves class destroyer.  The main battery of these ships were the 5"/38 caliber naval gun.
They were fantastic weapons.  They were dual purpose guns in that they could be used against enemy ships/ground targets ashore and also against enemy aircraft.
The Benson/Gleaves Destroyers typically carried four of these guns in four turrets - two turrets forward and two aft as shown in the example below:



Here is a close up of one of the turrets:


Here is a diagram that shows the Magazine where the shells and powder bags were stored, the handling rooms where they would be loaded on the hoists and
the turret itself where the gun would be loaded.   A good gun crew could load, fire an aimed round and reload every 4 to 5 seconds. 


The turrets had an elevation that maxed out at 85° and could traverse 328.5 degrees.   The 5" shell weighed 55 pounds and could be fired at a range of about 10 miles or up to 37,000 feet against aircraft.   A gun crew included, but was not limited to the Mount Captain who was a Senior Petty Officer in overall charge of the gun, a Gun Captain who was a Gunner's Mate in charge of maintaining the gun, a Pointer who was in charge of the elevation of the gun, a Trainer who was in charge of setting the traverse bearing of the gun, a Sight Setter who operated the gun sight equipment, a Fuze Setter who set the fuze time on the shells, a Powder Man who handled the gun powder cases, a Projectile Man who handled the shell, a Hot Case Man who caught and dumped the shell casing out of the turret after it was fired and a Check Sight Man who verified the mount was aimed on target.


Rix Gins

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 31, 2019, 09:08:09 PM
Page 45 has no header but it discusses the removing the after part of the Mark XV Torpedo.

Page 45


Rudder Rod.  I keep finding cool names for new bands in every one of your dad's pages.

Quote from: Rix Gins on January 31, 2019, 09:58:21 PM
Rudder Rod.  I keep finding cool names for new bands in every one of your dad's pages.

He He.   It sounds cooler than it looks.  Item 2 is a torpedo Rudder Rod.


albrecht

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 31, 2019, 09:08:09 PM
Page 45 has no header but it discusses the removing the after part of the Mark XV Torpedo.

Page 45

Just to reiterate what others have said: what a cool project you are doing. And hopes you archive it all and it even could become a historical thing. And so neat that they were kept over the decades. Fascinating stuff from a single sailor etc and so much detail. No kissing the gunners daughter for you.

Quote from: albrecht on January 31, 2019, 10:04:19 PM
Just to reiterate what others have said: what a cool project you are doing. And hopes you archive it all and it even could become a historical thing. And so neat that they were kept over the decades. Fascinating stuff from a single sailor etc and so much detail. No kissing the gunners daughter for you.

Well thanks.   We come to a cross roads at Page 46.   I'll post it tomorrow and we'll see what everyone's thoughts are. 

Jackstar

Quote from: Walks_At_Night on January 31, 2019, 10:07:10 PM
We come to a cross roads at Page 46.   I'll post it tomorrow and we'll see what everyone's thoughts are.

PLOT TWIST: "Dear Diary, today I killed Hitler in single combat..."

Quote from: Jackstar on January 31, 2019, 10:08:37 PM
PLOT TWIST: "Dear Diary, today I killed Hitler in single combat..."

Ha!   Yeah and then the Bigfoot was next, right?


albrecht

Quote from: Jackstar on January 31, 2019, 10:08:37 PM
PLOT TWIST: "Dear Diary, today I killed Hitler in single combat..."
He, or his dad, is no DD! I hope....  ;)

So on Page 46 in the notebook we come to a long section of dittoed hand outs.  This particular one lists errors.    As they are not hand written I am not sure if there is any interest in them or not.  The handouts might be rather dry although in Page 46's defense, Item #13 does discuss tits.   ;)

What does the thread think?  Keep going with the ditto's or skip them?


Page 46


Gunner65

I would not skip them WAN.  They may turn out to be rare "dittos" - in which case you will have documented them also and will not have reason to worry yourself over not having done so.  Great job.

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