Topic: What is in my Father's notebook?

[K_Dubb]

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

I would have thought outboard tits would be the error, but I was never in the navy so what do I know?  Yes, keep going!

[Rix Gins]

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

Well, they go with your dad's stuff, so I'll read them, Walks.   

[Walks_At_Night]

The Benson/Gleaves class Destroyers were equipped with the Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System which included the Mark 37 Gun Director, the Mark 12 Fire Control Radar and the  Ford Mark 1A Fire Control Computer.  The radar feed information to the analog computer which in turn drove the gun director.  The 5 inch main battery could be placed under control of the gun director and thus bearing, elevation, and range were accounted for in firing.   It was a well built, rugged system and worked well.  Many of the other Navies in the world at the time had nothing like it.


Ford Mark 1A Fire Control Computer


BTW these were not built by the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn Michigan but rather by the Ford Instrument Company of Queens, NY. 

Mark 37 Gun Director





At the 41 seconds mark in this video clip, you can see two of the 5 inch guns under the control of the gun director on a US Navy Destroyer:

[Walks_At_Night]

The thread has spoken.  We'll roll with the handouts.  Thanks guys.

[brig]

The thread has spoken.  We'll roll with the handouts.  Thanks guys.

GOOD decision!  Happy News!

[K_Dubb]

The thread has spoken.  We'll roll with the handouts.  Thanks guys.

I am glad to hear it, Walks; I doubt something so ephemeral is documented anywhere else.

On the off chance you hadn't heard of it (I sure hadn't) I ran across a particularly thrilling account of a WW2 destroyer torpedo attack in this lecture, where four old four-stackers ran amok in a Japanese landing operation:

https://youtu.be/_LQcdWS7ce0?t=686

The naval battle of Balikpapan was a lonely bright spot in a dark time for us.  Random personal note:  my aunt was born in Balikpapan a few years prior since Grandpa and Grandma were missionaries.  They got out before the war; there was plenty of warning on the ground down there.

[Walks_At_Night]

I am glad to hear it, Walks; I doubt something so ephemeral is documented anywhere else.

On the off chance you hadn't heard of it (I sure hadn't) I ran across a particularly thrilling account of a WW2 destroyer torpedo attack in this lecture, where four old four-stackers ran amok in a Japanese landing operation:

https://youtu.be/_LQcdWS7ce0?t=686

The naval battle of Balikpapan was a lonely bright spot in a dark time for us.  Random personal note:  my aunt was born in Balikpapan a few years prior since Grandpa and Grandma were missionaries.  They got out before the war; there was plenty of warning on the ground down there.

The Battle of the Java Sea and that month of January/February 1924 in the Dutch East Indies is kind of a secret obsession of mine.  That whole ABDA Float story would make a great movie but it might flop as the bad guys win. The poor Dutch were so screwed with their homeland occupied by the Germans and cut off while sitting on all that oil and resources. 

On that one night, the four pipers definitely raised some hell!

[Walks_At_Night]

Page 47 continues the discussion of common errors

Page 47

[K_Dubb]

The Battle of the Java Sea and that month of January/February 1924 in the Dutch East Indies is kind of a secret obsession of mine.  That whole ABDA Float story would make a great movie but it might flop as the bad guys win. The poor Dutch were so screwed with their homeland occupied by the Germans and cut off while sitting on all that oil and resources. 

On that one night, the four pipers definitely raised some hell!

Ah you are way ahead of me!  Can you recommend any books?  I have a romantic's penchant for lost causes.

[K_Dubb]

Page 47 continues the discussion of common errors

Page 47

Ah yes, sometimes people do unnecessary filing when they raise a burr on the Bevel Gear.  I hear the calm and steady voice of an old hand.  The warm vernacular so different from today's technical writing.

[starrmtn001]

Ah yes, sometimes people do unnecessary filing when they raise a burr on the Bevel Gear.  I hear the calm and steady voice of an old hand.  The warm vernacular so different from today's technical writing.

K_Dubb.  You are so far and beyond this place and time.  If you ever decide to create your "own," I'd be the first to join.

[K_Dubb]

K_Dubb.  You are so far and beyond this place and time.  If you ever decide to create your "own," I'd be the first to join.

Star, honey, I don't know what that means, but thank you.  I'm just grateful for a place with interesting people where peculiar passions are indulged, and even occasionally encouraged.

[albrecht]

Ah you are way ahead of me!  Can you recommend any books?  I have a romantic's penchant for lost causes.

His and your talk about missionaries and the region made me go down a rabbit hole yesterday and recall some random book I read "Lost White Tribes" by Riccardo Orizo which details the remnants of white communities, now often in poverty and isolation, in old colonies. Or just sort of weird (like the Confederates in Brazil.) Also reminded me of "Dutch Wife" and the VOC etc situation since the Dutch, unlike other countries, only sent men over to colonies initially so Dutch practicality took over and they would get a native "wife."  Batavia by Peter Fitzsimons is good also, but brutal.

[K_Dubb]

His and your talk about missionaries and the region made me go down a rabbit hole yesterday and recall some random book I read "Lost White Tribes" by Riccardo Orizo which details the remnants of white communities, now often in poverty and isolation, in old colonies. Or just sort of weird (like the Confederates in Brazil.) Also reminded me of "Dutch Wife" and the VOC etc situation since the Dutch, unlike other countries, only sent men over to colonies initially so Dutch practicality took over and they would get a native "wife."  Batavia by Peter Fitzsimons is good also, but brutal.

Oh thank you, I will check them out!  My grandparents had nothing good to say about the Dutch colonial administration but I suspect that was driven more by bureaucratic frustration than by humanitarian reasons.

[Walks_At_Night]

Ah you are way ahead of me!  Can you recommend any books?  I have a romantic's penchant for lost causes.

Well there are not all that many and I've never found one that has quite satisfied me.  For an overall view, there is The Battle of the Java Sea by F.C. van Oosten, it
is small, tedious but well researched.   From just a US Navy stand point the The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II by W.G. Winslow is good and
for individual ships both the A Blue Sea of Blood: Deciphering the Mysterious Fate of the "USS Edsall" by Kehn and Ship of Ghosts : The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors by Hornfischer are solid.   I am hoping that Jim Hornfischer revisits the whole campaign as he is quite good
but it probably is not likely as he zeroed in on the USS Houston.

From a podcast standpoint, Dan Carlin's latest subject is "Supernova in the East" which focuses on Imperial Japan during the war.   We'll see if he touches on the subject or not in Episode 3:
https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

[Walks_At_Night]

Page 48 continues the listing of common errors.

Page 48

[K_Dubb]

Well there are not all that many and I've never found one that has quite satisfied me.  For an overall view, there is The Battle of the Java Sea by F.C. van Oosten, it
is small, tedious but well researched.   From just a US Navy stand point the The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II by W.G. Winslow is good and
for individual ships both the A Blue Sea of Blood: Deciphering the Mysterious Fate of the "USS Edsall" by Kehn and Ship of Ghosts : The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors by Hornfischer are solid.   I am hoping that Jim Hornfischer revisits the whole campaign as he is quite good
but it probably is not likely as he zeroed in on the USS Houston.

From a podcast standpoint, Dan Carlin's latest subject is "Supernova in the East" which focuses on Imperial Japan during the war.   We'll see if he touches on the subject or not in Episode 3:
https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

Mercy buckets, Walks!  That will set me up for a while.

[Walks_At_Night]

Mercy buckets, Walks!  That will set me up for a while.

More than welcome.   You'll get to meet Karel Doorman who signaled "Ik val aan, volg mij" [I am attacking. Follow me]  to the mixed bag of Dutch, US, Brtitish and Aussie ships
as they sailed into oblivion.



BTW many of the sunken ships are being looted for their steel.  Economics always seems to win out over respect for the dead.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-is-the-latest-on-the-sunken-world-war-ii-graveyards-in-the-java-sea

[Walks_At_Night]

For most of the war, the Benson/Gleaves Destroyers carried two dual mount Bofors 40mm Anti-Aircraft guns.  Late in the war, the torpedo tubes were removed from some of these vessels as the Japanese surface fleet was no longer a major threat but the Kamikaze's were.  My Dad found himself transferred to one of these as they still needed Torpedomen to handle the depth charges.  During air attacks he helped feed one of these guns at Okinawa.  The Kamikaze attacks were intense as it was not enough just to spoil the pilots aim or damage his aircraft.  You had to actually blow it apart.  My Father's hearing was never the same after the war BTW.

Here is a 40mm quad mount gun crew in the thick of it. 


Here are a couple of other shots of 40mm guns


This picture has always fascinated me.  It is of the Battleship USS Missouri about to be struck by a Kamikaze.  The gun crews seem pretty dedicated to their
tasks.  I think at that point, I'd have boogied on out of there.

[K_Dubb]

More than welcome.   You'll get to meet Karel Doorman who signaled "Ik val aan, volg mij" [I am attacking. Follow me]  to the mixed bag of Dutch, US, Brtitish and Aussie ships
as they sailed into oblivion.

How desperately romantic!  I shall be sure to park next to the kleenex.

[Walks_At_Night]

How desperately romantic!  I shall be sure to park next to the kleenex.

If you look at his picture, it appears he is holding his snazzy bicorne hat as well.

Royal Netherlands Navy Bicorne Officers Hat

[K_Dubb]

If you look at his picture, it appears he is holding his snazzy bicorne hat as well.

Royal Netherlands Navy Bicorne Officers Hat

Sure he was wearing that very hat with a cutlass in his teeth as he bore down on the guns of the enemy.

[Walks_At_Night]

Page 49 finishes up common errors with a flourish!

Finis: Where there is trouble, there is an indicator if you can find it.
There are plenty more besides these and when you have one of your own not listed,  don't hoard it as knowledge of it may prevent some one else from having trouble.

Page 49

[Walks_At_Night]

Page 50 starts a section on Safety Precautions

My favorite is #9 which reminds you not to store TNT next to the detonators for the torpedoes.   

Page 50

[Gunner65]

Excellent tip! 

[WOTR]

Page 47 continues the discussion of common errors

Page 47

Bless me WAN, for I have sinned...

I have used explorer in order to open your attachments. 

How was your father's hearing after the war?  Did they provide much in the way of hearing protection back then (did the sailors actually use it- or figure it was just "new fan dangled safety crap?"

I will add that most of the "common mistakes" appear to be due to somebody being lazy / unobservant.  Based on first hand experience over the last few days dealing with some major problems, I will speculate that very little has changed.  If they had the same torpedoes today, they would find the same problems and people doing the same things / taking the same short cuts.

*I should upload pictures of how they clamped wire insulation under the main 600V feed lugs as exhibit "A".

[Walks_At_Night]

Bless me WAN, for I have sinned...

I have used explorer in order to open your attachments. 

How was your father's hearing after the war?  Did they provide much in the way of hearing protection back then (did the sailors actually use it- or figure it was just "new fan dangled safety crap?"

AFAIK US Navy sailors never wore any sort of ear protection at all.  I think it would have been prohibited as you would have to be able to hear orders and such and the
technology of the time  would have blocked everything out.  I believe those that sat topside were supposed to wear Flash Cream to protect from excessive
heat and burns from the guns.



If worn it would look like this:


I've never seen any WWII photos with actual sailors wearing it in action.  I think the closest is a scene in The Caine Mutiny where Queeg is wearing it when he gets those Yellow Stain Blues and hauls ass and runs away. 


Dad took part in 5 different invasions where a great deal of shore bombardment was done.  His hearing was never good and really got bad as he aged.  Mom and Dad moved down from Northern Michigan to NC in the late 90's so I could look after them better.   I'd often go over to their Condo and you could hear the TV blaring outside.   I'd go in and it would be cranked to 11.  Dad would be sitting there with a hearing aide in each ear with dead batteries.   So essentially an ear plug.   

[Walks_At_Night]

I will add that most of the "common mistakes" appear to be due to somebody being lazy / unobservant.  Based on first hand experience over the last few days dealing with some major problems, I will speculate that very little has changed.  If they had the same torpedoes today, they would find the same problems and people doing the same things / taking the same short cuts.

*I should upload pictures of how they clamped wire insulation under the main 600V feed lugs as exhibit "A".

Ha!  That would be a fun picture.  People do bizarre shit at times.  Back when I was in Server Development, I was sent to a critical situation at a prominent financial institution hat was moaning that our stuff was not working properly with their fibre channel storage setup.  Got onsite and found that they were taking the fiber optic cables and using them to tie together big bunches of CatV  along their run from the Server to the Switches.  Crazy!

BTW - Modern US Navy Destroyers still have torpedo tubes:



Sadly, the US Navy killed the Torpedoman's Mate rating a number of years ago.   They were munged into Gunner's Mate on surface ships and Machinist's Mate on Submarines. 

[K_Dubb]

Page 50 starts a section on Safety Precautions

My favorite is #9 which reminds you not to store TNT next to the detonators for the torpedoes.   

Page 50

I'm delighted to learn that "sluing" is, indeed, an acceptable gerund form of "to slew" before some word sharper made me bet heavily against it!

[Walks_At_Night]

I'm delighted to learn that "sluing" is, indeed, an acceptable gerund form of "to slew" before some word sharper made me bet heavily against it!

I seriously was going to skip these handouts.   I'm glad that you guys talked me out of it...................

Who knows what we'll find ahead.