US Navy USS Saufley DD465 1952 Living Conditions

the USS softly was a general-purpose 2,100 tonne destroyer of the fletcher-class equipped to provide anti-aircraft surface and Shore bombardment fire deliver torpedo attacks and furnish anti-submarine protection converted to a prototype anti-submarine warfare vessel she has undergone extensive changes in equipment improved and enlarged ASW facilities have been installed with marked reduction in anti-aircraft and torpedo equipment her war complement of 309 crewmembers has been reduced to 264 with consequent reduction in living accommodations but operating experience has demonstrated the need for additional personnel without additional living space being available a common occurrence on present-day ships the soft Lee's engineering plant controlled from this throttle board requires one third of the ships total crew to operate the machinery that provides the power to carry the ship's offensive weapons to the scene of action and to operate them while their propulsion equipment such as this fire room is particularly costly in space and weight in combatant types this is the price of speed communications with other units are coordinated by radio central messages both manual and teletype are transmitted and received and voice and visual traffic is serviced and filed this is considered a commodious space in a destroyer the combat Information Center receives and displays all types of information necessary to support command decisions this compartment illustrates the increasing cost of this service in space men and equipment the 5-inch plotting room shown here in operation is typical of the complex gunnery installations which make heavy demands on manpower and space within the ship's hull this elaborate underwater battery plotting room exemplifies the soft Lee's primary mission of anti-submarine warfare the installation of this complex equipment improves the ship's ability to deliver killing attacks but the necessary space has been obtained at the expense of the crews living quarters moreover the number of personnel required to offer and maintain this equipment has greatly increased over that of earlier gear also additional space and weight is utilized by the air conditioning installation considered essential for the efficient performance of personnel working here to handle ever-increasing paperwork and records this ship's office accommodates files and working space for for yeoman however space limitations here and in other offices require much of the ship's paperwork to be performed and retained in the officers rooms the ship's laundry contains a washer extractor dryer and presser which must be operated on a 24-hour basis to provide weekly laundry services the ship's sickbay has facilities for routine medical treatment while the engineering log room adjacent provides office space for the largest Department aboard this then is how the crew works now let's look at their living spaces this is the e division berthing compartment before revelry 70 man with all their personal effects and miscellaneous ship's equipment are accommodated in eight hundred square feet of area 11.5 square feet per man but increases in personnel necessitate the use of cots shops and passageways are pressed into use for deck space and sea bags substitute for lockers with dubious effects on sanitation and morale traffic problems approach a maximum at revelry even the bosons maid occasionally gets trapped in the narrow passageways as mentioned earlier this compartment has 11.5 square feet per man a reduction of 2 square feet below the standard of 13.5 prescribed by the Bureau of ship's notice what this means in the way of individual privacy and dressing convenience - this must be added the confusion occasioned by ship's motion the possible presence of additional foul weather gear whenever adverse weather conditions exist the ever-present high level noise from machinery and blowers and the orders resulting from such confined living each transom Locker Shoen accommodates one man six cubic feet of storage space for all his personal gear every bunk and Locker in this space is occupied Speight 10% or more of the crew being continually away at school or on glee restricted passageways and bladders add to the difficulties experienced by the crew on route to the washrooms and topside especially in rough weather notice the large Locker in the background containing electronics spare parts this utilizes space which would otherwise be available for personnel lockers or peacoat lockers this is the passageway at the top of the same ladder shown in the previous scene all the after living compartments funnel traffic up through this space into the heads and washroom Ford or out onto the main deck through the door shown in the background this crews head has one urinal for 41 men and one seat for 21 men when all equipment is working the after crews washroom has installed one wash basin for sixteen men and one shower for 49 men these figures are very close to beYOU ship standards and these two spaces are considered better than average for destroyer types even when occupied the after crews head is considered large for a destroyer and far superior to the Ford crews head normally the after crews washroom can accommodate the number of personnel assigned tattoos and all however during periods of maximum utilization the presence of excessive water vapor indicates the need for improved exhaust ventilation this space serves two-thirds of the crew and is considerably superior to the forward crews washroom which was too small to be photographed notice that no provision exists for hanging gear or for drying towels to increase the available berths the mess hall also serves as a berthing space for 31 men folded mess tables and benches are visible in the foreground and the storage of clothing and shoes thereon is a common occurrence considerable difficulty is experienced in access to the lower bunks the passageway shown comprises one of the two available routes from all forward berthing spaces to the forward crews head which is a bath and one deck above this space the dual use of this space prevents late hammocks for the mid watch since all bunks must be secured for meals also access to lockers is impossible during mealtimes in addition to the inaccessibility of the lockers shown some are unusable due to steam fittings located inside the ship has a total of 264 lockers for the crew with the majority being the standard transom Locker shown here personnel in excess of this number must use sea bags or share lockers as 19 are doing it present vegetable preparation should normally occur in the small vegetable preparation room immediately behind the door shown but warm weather often temps the mess cooks outside this type galley is typical in destroyers and is adequate for food preparation its location topside improves ventilation conditions but requires carrying food 63 feet board along the weather deck thence down to decks normally the mess line forms topside in inclement weather it forms inside causing serious congestion of passageways and ladders men average 20 minutes waiting in line and 15 minutes in eating meals after descending to decks the man entered the cafeteria style serving line in softly an average meal consists of a meat to vegetables soup dessert and coffee or a cold drink equipment limitations prevent any optional items and quantity control of the meat and dessert items must be maintained food quality is reported excellent and the quantity ample as mentioned earlier the route from galley to serving line is long and exposed causing difficulties during rough weather covers protect the food from contamination but undesirable cooling and unavoidable spilling occurs occasionally on the two ladders leading into the mess hall when food containers are emptied the mess line service is interrupted until the food is replaced however the mess line delay is caused by shortages of seats in the mess hall present a more frequent and serious problem complete messing of the crew including early meals for watch standers and duty personnel requires 1 hour and 45 minutes per miel these men occupy part of the mess halls 50 seats which accommodates simultaneously 19% of the crew bar below abuse ships maximum standard of 33 percent usually individual assistance in preliminary tray cleaning is required to save time in washing mess gear for reuse this mess hall has about 12 square feet per man and therefore is above you ship standard of 9 square feet but the bunks and other miscellaneous ship's gear renders much of the nominal seating space objectionable moreover the constant noise from the scullery and blowers combined with the frequent high temperatures in existence make eating conditions far from ideal operation of this scullery during the meal permits reuse of the mess gear thereby saving valuable storage space however this means that subsequent personnel may receive very hot and damp mess gear acceptable for hot dishes but hardly suitable for ice-cream and salads the soft Li's chief petty officers mess room is considered superior for destroyer types a major defect is the necessity for hanging clothes here due to lack of space elsewhere the shortage of wardrobe space previously noted is obvious in this view of the starboard chief petty officers bunk room the ward room seats 63% of the ship's total officer complement with all Messing being completed in an hour under normal conditions since this is the only space available to the officers other than their rooms the ward room must serve many purposes messing shipboard recreation official entertainment emergency surgical operations movies and courts-martial among others daily officer instruction periods such as this tactical school and frequent conferences utilize this space continuously moreover the wardroom mess table must be pressed into use whenever large blueprints or other voluminous matter is handled this officers bunk room provides space for four persons all their possessions and a considerable number of the ship's records since many officers have no office assigned much of the ship's paperwork must be processed and retained here in one secretary Bureau and one ship an ear type desk is provide for such bunk rooms one double stateroom and two individual state rooms provide a total of 20 accommodations during recreational periods the ship's combined library and athletic gear Locker provides reading material and athletic equipment paid for in part by the men themselves through the profits of the ship's store the mess hall is the only interior space aboard provided the men for recreational purposes and it is available only after the evening meal moreover at sea watchstanders when occupying the bunk shown prevent the tables from being used for most men locker tops and bunks are the only facilities available for reading and letter writing whenever weather conditions prevent showing of movies topside the mess hall is used approximately 1/3 of the crew can be packed in with mess benches and the deck serving as seats the daily movie has become an integral part of most ships routines and so the end of another day when at sea naval personnel today are generally either working on watch or in their bunks there is no place else to go and little else to do present installations on our ships need all the men assigned watches must be stood battle stations manned and equipment operated and maintained under all types of operating conditions and against all types of possible enemy action and yet can we keep putting on board more complex equipment requiring more operating and maintenance personnel at the expense of living spaces already marginal for the men presently assigned have we already overcrowded our ships beyond the limits of efficient operation

Channel: braintrusts

Views: 1,336,895

Keywords: DD-465, EDDE, Destroyer, USN, US Navy, Tin Can, Old Navy, Greyhound Fleet, DD, Lieutenant Richard Saufley, LT Richard Saufley, DDE, Kearney, Kearney NJ, WWII, WW2, WW2 Navy, WW2 Destroyers, WWII Destroyers

Id: 8RHcz1KS7F8

Length: 13min 29sec (809 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 15 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/ttbnz]

I wouldn't want to be that guy who drops all the grub down those stairs!

[u/Qckslvrslash]

I can say not a whole lot has changed as far as messing. We just get a thin piece of tin rather than a curtain. Though I have woken up not in my rack on one of the older ships I sailed on. Hit a wave and wound up in my buddies bunk. He was confused when he came down off watch

[u/walter3kurtz]

Seems nice, taking a shit with 3 8 persons in a row.

[u/Deeptrance83]

Damn, makes my time aboard a CVN look like a luxury cruise.

[u/TonboIV]

Why pixel boats are so much better than real ones.

[u/Mauzeraut]

Most of that seemed pretty familiar from my time at sea, but that head would have given me some pretty bad anxiety. Guessing it's partly a time-and-culture thing, but really, not even a curtain?

[u/Barbosa003]

Hardly a recruitment video.

[u/Dinkelspiel]

Gees I do not envy those bunks, and I slept in the torpedo room while letting the Trim hydraulic motor sing me to sleep.