[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by OG68

The Midway Museum here in San Diego is the #1 tourist attraction in town. Moored downtown down the block from the Amtrak station and the Cruise line pier

Earlier this year, I spent the night in the bunks of the Midway with my son’s Cub Scout pack. I remain fascinated by aircraft carriers: they can cram over 5,000 personnel on that ship, then move 34 mph in the water - and that was a diesel-powered (not nuclear) ship.

The kids loved spending the night in the bunks. The adults - not so much. It reminded me how much tougher 18 year olds (as the soldiers in it’s day) are then us grown ups.

[64speed]

I joined the army is 1997 as an infantryman assigned to a Bradley company. Basically a jump out the back door and start shooting stuff. I did my two years infantry deployment with no excitement. Got out September 11th happened and I was working as a new sheriffs deputy that hadn’t even completed my law enforcement training. I got word that able bodied infantrymen in. IRR were being recalled so I joined the national guard as what best I can describe as a war zone air traffic controller. Went to the military district of Washington for operation clear sky’s. Basically providing coverage for the capital so that no one flew anything into anything. The irony is that even though I did get to complete the police academy and get certified in time when I got mobilized I spent more time in DC than I would have in Iraq or Afghanistan

[OG68]

[QUOTE=Chris65LeMans;6081482] I remain fascinated by aircraft carriers: they can cram over 5,000 personnel on that ship, then move 34 mph in the water - and that was a diesel-powered (not nuclear) ship.
/QUOTE]

We had a term for that; All eight burning and all four turning. This referred to all eight boilers producing steam for the four steam turbines driving the four screws)

Older aircraft needed a certain amount of air speed to launch. The ship would turn into the wind and pick up speed. Whenever we surpassed 30 knots the whole ship would shake and vibrate. Would really move your coffee cup around above 32 knots (36 mph). Modern day nuclear carriers can move at a much higher speed but that is classified.

Nuclear carriers still produce steam for the turbines but use a reactor instead of boilers.
The Navy started moving away from boilers in the mid 70s. Almost all ships in the fleet today are either Diesel, Gas Turbine or Nuclear powered.

[455firebird1969]

I was deployed on Coast Guard Cutter Glacier in Antarctica in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred. Back then we received our communications via message traffic. There were several copies of the message passed around the ship. It was a shocking read to say the least. The Glacier was an old Navy hand me down ship, it was diesel electric.

On another deployment in the Bering Sea on a 378’ ship we were bored to death one night. When I say we, it was me and two others, a aircraft mechanic and an avionics technician. Anyway we put a message in a bottle that night and through it over board. Several years later the other mechanic received a letter from a guy in Japan who found the bottle on the beach.

Then there was the time we had fish call in the Caribbean and we caught a lot of Mahi Mahi, but the boat didn’t have a net to scoop the fish up over the gunnel and they kept breaking the line and loosing them. I took the rescue basket out of the helicopter and used a trail line to save the day. The entire crew feasted on fresh fish that night.

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by Chris65LeMans;6081482 - and that was a [B

diesel-powered[/B] (not nuclear) ship.

Steam powered. Gives the snipes something to do.

[Bill H]

Originally Posted by Bob Dillon

Steam powered. Gives the snipes something to do.

Thanks pretty cruel Bob , I was a snipe my entire 28 years, I was a Boiler Tech (BT) E1 to E9 then got demoted to Ensign when I became an officer. Even as a LCDR and Chief Engineer I still had to sit in the hot hell holes for many hours with nothing to do, Ha!!
I was also on the Midway CV-41 (1983-1985),as the Boilers Material Officer, we had 12 boilers in 12 separate Boiler rooms,8 generators and 4 engine rooms.

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by Bill H

Thanks pretty cruel Bob

I knew you'd be along eventually, Bill.

[OG68]

Originally Posted by Bill H

Thanks pretty cruel Bob , I was a snipe my entire 28 years, I was a Boiler Tech (BT) E1 to E9 then got demoted to Ensign when I became an officer. Even as a LCDR and Chief Engineer I still had to sit in the hot hell holes for many hours with nothing to do, Ha!!
I was also on the Midway CV-41 (1983-1985),as the Boilers Material Officer, we had 12 boilers in 12 separate Boiler rooms,8 generators and 4 engine rooms.

I was an Electricians Mate (EM) on the Hancock. Stood generator watch in #3 and 4 Firerooms. I actually think Hell was a lot cooler than 'down in the hole'. 160-170* was the norm if I remember right. Boiler uptakes went right over the generator switchboard in #3. Couldn't understand how the Chiefs and PO1s could drink hot coffee down there. Now days they have Air Conditioned booths inside the engine rooms.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Bill H

Thanks pretty cruel Bob , I was a snipe my entire 28 years, I was a Boiler Tech (BT) E1 to E9 then got demoted to Ensign when I became an officer. Even as a LCDR and Chief Engineer I still had to sit in the hot hell holes for many hours with nothing to do, Ha!!
I was also on the Midway CV-41 (1983-1985),as the Boilers Material Officer, we had 12 boilers in 12 separate Boiler rooms,8 generators and 4 engine rooms.

Uncle Bill was a Boiler Tech on Midway(‘53-‘56). One of his favorite stories to tell was about one night when a new chief accidentally allowed a slug of water to enter the outboard turbine. Bill swore the entire turbine assembly jumped a foot into the air.

[Bill H]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

Uncle Bill was a Boiler Tech on Midway(‘53-‘56). One of his favorite stories to tell was about one night when a new chief accidentally allowed a slug of water to enter the outboard turbine. Bill swore the entire turbine assembly jumped a foot into the air.

That situation is called a "High Water" casualty. It means the jerk off controlling the boiler water level was either sleeping or not paying attention, it was all done manually at that time on most Navy steam ships. That is a good way to destroy a lot of machinery and maybe some shipmates.

[OG68]

Originally Posted by Bill H

That situation is called a "High Water" casualty. It means the jerk off controlling the boiler water level was either sleeping or not paying attention, it was all done manually at that time on most Navy steam ships. That is a good way to destroy a lot of machinery and maybe some shipmates.

That woke everyone up. The Machinist Mates shutting down the turbines, closing steam valves to prevent water from entering other engine rooms and turbines. Electricians shedding power due to the loss of the generator turbine, Makes a lot of people upset, especially during flight ops.

On board a ship your mind gets in tune with the frequency of the ship. I called it the '60 Cycle Hum'
The electrical system operates at 60 cycles or Hertz. The generator steam turbine (or gas turbine/diesel) must be regulated to the correct speed to maintain that frequency. When it starts to slow down due to a casualty the ships 60 cycle hum changes.
A sharp Snipe (Ships engineering crew member) recognizes when there's something wrong in engineering just by being in tune with the ship. I could be asleep and then suddenly wake and be on my feet before the lights would go out, just by sensing the hum changing.

Good times, (not then) and fond memories. Great thread.

[Red Box Rebel]

My worst memory of my service in the Marine Corps was on 23 Oct 1983 when 241 Marines from Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 1/8 were killed in Beirut. Lost two close friends that day.

My best memory was hearing the USS New Jersey's 16" Guns pound Syrian anti-aircraft positions Southeast of Beirut on 15 December 1983. All that was left of them were dog scraps! It was the first Marine directed hostile "Fire Mission" for the New Jersey since the Viet Nam War. It was also the first off the coast of Lebanon during the "Peace Keeping" mission. It was not the last.

Semper Fi!

[SRR]

Once I got my certification as a welder I lived down in 3 MMR welding in high and low pressure drains. Most of these valves were so far gone, broken hand wheels, stuck shut, rusty as heck. We had at the time a Chief Engineer, rank of Captain to put it lightly was terrifying. He would quiz you on what you were working on and you had better know your stuff.

[goatman1970]

Late to the thread, but glad I saw it. Thanks to all who served!

I did 13 yrs in the AF as an Electronic Warfare Technician, 4 with spec ops (1st SOW, participated in Iran hostage rescue attempt April 1980), several years marking time at Homestead working on F-4s, then 5 years in Electronic Security Command (U-2 program), last year with a State Department unit that flew drug interdiction in South America. More stories than I can shake a stick at, but the one that really stands out to me is taking off from Hurlburt Fld, FL on an MC-130E Combat Talon (if you don't know what that is, it's the spec ops C-130 that pulled the Vietnamese General out of the jungle in the movie The Green Berets), which had souped-up (for a C-130) turboprops, the hot shot pilot decided to perform a combat take-off and we went nearly vertical after leaving the runway. Problem was, this was the middle of winter (January), we were headed to frigid Utah, the C-130 requires prop heaters in winter (small gas engine on a small 2-wheel trailer that pumps hot air through large flexible ducting into the center of the propeller hub to warm the hydraulic actuators that control the pitch of the blades), and we had two heaters on board, and some greenhorn AGE (Aircraft Ground Equipment) guy stowed them wrong, with full gas tanks and the tongue of the small 2-wheeled trailer was on the deck down toward the rear. Needless to say, as soon as the pilot pulled the nose nearly straight up (an amazing feat for a C-130, especially if you are on board), the fuel tanks of the prop heaters spilled their guts all over the inside of the cargo area. The fuel went right through the deck seams, and the interior was filled with fumes. One spark could have turned us all into ashes. We scrambled to open all the doors (crew door up front, two jump doors, and the upper & lower ramp doors), while the hot-shot pilot (a Captain) wisely continued climbing to reduce the oxygen levels and temperature, and we flew at an altitude where the temps were frigid but we could still breath, for at least a couple hours, until all the fumes were gone. Quite a shock as we were leaving the Florida Gulf Coast, but since we were headed to Utah in dead of winter, we had been issued B-Bags (cold weather gear), so after the initial scramble, we chased down our gear and dressed up. That was a real IFE (In-Flight Emergency)!

But one of my favorite memories was flying a terrain-following mission through some mountains on that same MC-130E. I was strapped into a jump seat on the side, the rear upper tailgate was open all the way up, the lower one was just opened to deck level, and as the ailerons and rudder slammed to full stops making loud continuous thuds, the bird would dive and climb and swerve left and right, and out the back all I could see was the horizon appearing and disappearing at different angles, and I barely felt the movement where I sat. It was a weird sensation. We were warned to eat a light breakfast, but I never got motion sickness so I ate a full breakfast. So did the electrician sitting next to me, and he left his breakfast in a barf bag. One of the most enjoyable things I've ever done, better than any roller coaster ride I've ever been on (and as a roller coaster aficionado, I've been on nearly all of the good ones).