Questions For Desertswo

[desertswo]

Due to the fact that in the past on another website I was accused of going off topic, I decided to start this thread should a question asked of me threaten to take a thread where the OT Hitler Jungen do not want it to go. I had the uneasy feeling that we were heading in that direction earlier today. So while I will be happy to engage in a non-Lego question on HMS Queen Elizabeth as but one example, if it looks like we're veering off course, I will ask those interested to come here where we can kick it around to our hearts content. Fair enough?

[seaspear]

On the subject of damage control ,of a crew of say a large aircraft carrier how many would have specialised training for eventualities that were not wear and tear but serious ,apart from their normal duties .and are you able to specify the types of training for any eventuality .?

[bobp]

I don't think any reasonable person here could have complaints about your valued and knowledgeable posts that being said there is always one I guess who would want to spoil the party.

[The Armchair Soldier]

Nice idea for a thread. I have moved it into Defence Elsewhere, as I assume there will be postings on more than just RN equipment.

[ArmChairCivvy]

My QE post of today should follow (to that new location; guess only admin rights let you do the moving)

[desertswo]

I don't think any reasonable person here could have complaints about your valued and knowledgeable posts that being said there is always one I guess who would want to spoil the party.

Thank you. I guess you had to be there. It was as if I spat in Her Majesty's face! Hell, I love the Queen (as an American, I wouldn't want a monarch you understand, but She is as good as it gets, and She ain't half bad). It's because of Her that I have had two confirmed bachelor Pembroke Welsh Corgis in my family pack for the last 14 years. Imagine that, 14 years old and still full of piss and vinegar! I should feel so good. They would have died rather than let my children come to harm. Best damn dogs I've ever known, so I have Her Majesty to thank for that.

Anyway, as occasionally happens, I commented on some aspect or other of QE's design, or potential employment. For instance, I love the fact that our Leathernecks might grace her decks and deploy as part of her strike group. I don't see it as us commandeering your resources and giving you "or else" rudder orders; just all of us sharing the ever decreasing wealth. Regardless, we'd get into discussions about this and that, and there were a few people who thought I had purposely hijacked the thread to "tell sea stories." I cannot help it if people have questions or require clarification. I was educated as a military historian on the Masters level, and was employed as one for ten years, so I endeavor not to leave loose ends. As a consequence, I can be long winded or even pedantic if one is being uncharitable. The thing is, had the OT Hitler Jungen noticed, I never allowed such occurrences to happen WHEN SOMETHING DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION RELATED WAS ACTUALLY GOING ON!!! No, it was during downtime when no Lego blocks were being delivered or glued together, ergo no news at all. I wouldn't have minded being asked to not do what I was absentmindedly doing, but the accusers were extremely rude, not to say "cruel" in belittling me, my career, my Navy, and my country. Things I would NEVER do! More to the point at 1.9 meters and 16 stone, even at my advanced age and state of physical decrepitude, they wouldn't say such things to my face because there would be blood in the scuppers. I was never made to feel so worthless in my life.

OK, I'm ranting now. Suffice it to say, they hurt an old man's feelings, whose intentions were good, so in order to avoid that sort of pain, even accidentally, I created this thread . . . and everyone is welcome, regardless of topic. I'll even talk about playing guitar if someone has a mind to. Nothing is off the board, and no one is offended.

[desertswo]

On the subject of damage control ,of a crew of say a large aircraft carrier how many would have specialised training for eventualities that were not wear and tear but serious ,apart from their normal duties .and are you able to specify the types of training for any eventuality .?

Yes, everyone who works on the flight deck (whether CVN or DDG), even the pilots and aircrew, attend the Aviation Firefighting Course; which I owned in addition to the Shipboard Fire Fighting Course as a post-command Commander, and Director of Engineering and Damage Control Training, at Surface Warfare Officers School Command (SWOSCOLCOM) in Newport, Rhode Island.

It's a different game on the flight deck primarily because of one aspect of nature with which we don't deal below decks, and that's the wind, which can be ally or mortal enemy. Also, the art and science of aviation firefighting is geared initially toward rescue of aircrew if still alive, then in order, securing of munitions (this may sound crazy given the fact some of the things hanging off hard points can cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars, saving them in a repairable state becomes a mission that did not exist in the age of "dumb" bombs), and preserving of the flight deck in operational condition.

There is one really great ally that ships didn't have back when Enterprise, Oriskany, and Forestall had their trials by fire during Vietnam; the Flight Deck Water Wash Down and AFF Application System. Imagine a large lawn with an installed water sprinkling system. Turn it on and the "sprinklers" start spraying Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), which is basically highly concentrated laundry detergent (we engineers used to wash our coveralls with it down in the main spaces, where we had a basic home clothes washing machine for washing rags, and then hang them to dry on a steam line), and it creates lots of suds that smother any fire, and because it makes a film, it will seal any fuel on deck and prevent the dissemination of fumes. I swear when you start the thing it looks like this rather famous scene from the movie "Mr. Roberts."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCK6DqbCJMQ

It can be activated from numerous locations, bridge, PRIFLY, Flight Deck Control, Hangar Deck Control, DC Central, Engineering Main Control, and several places around the cat walks. All one must do is slam a large button and the fun begins. If desired, the AFFF can be cut out so that you just get a nice salt water shower. There is one spot on the flight deck that does not receive AFFF, only saltwater; the bomb farm outboard of the island. You don't want to put an insulating layer on munitions for fear it will keep heat in and help promote a "cook off."

Anyway, there's more to it but that's the basic idea.

[seaspear]

Thanks Desertswo very interesting keep em coming regards

[seaspear]

Will the recent commencement of work on the Arleigh Burkes on the engines, enable it to be quieter at slow speeds, be used in asw operations

[ArmChairCivvy]

Is it true that the Zumwalts have stability issues? Certainly that would not be down to the "guns" as their true weight is in the humongous mags feeding them, but from deep down (so what is it then, if true at all?).

[desertswo]

Will the recent commencement of work on the Arleigh Burkes on the engines, enable it to be quieter at slow speeds, be used in asw operations

Yeah being able to run on electric motors will make an already quiet ship much quiter.

[desertswo]

Is it true that the Zumwalts have stability issues? Certainly that would not be down to the "guns" as their true weight is in the humongous mags feeding them, but from deep down (so what is it then, if true at all?).

Not sure, but I suspect the answer lies somewhere in the tumbledown design of the hull.

[seaspear]

Thanks Desertswo, it might come in handy chasing Gottlands or areas of the Pacific ocean

[seaspear]

Hi Desertswo
Would you please explain the protocols on how U.S.N marines for instance are briefed on serving with the forces of other countries

[Enigmatically]

I have some questions (off topic from anything except a casual discussion earlier today):

Why has the USN named ships after numerous political non-entities but not after Martin Luther King?

Why has the USN named a ship after the Italian King who brought in Mussolini?

Was the USN ship named King Philip named after the Spanish or French despot?

Was the USN trying to convey its values when it named ships:
USS Truant?
USS Pirate?

[Halidon]

I have some questions (off topic from anything except a casual discussion earlier today):

Why has the USN named ships after numerous political non-entities but not after Martin Luther King?

Why has the USN named a ship after the Italian King who brought in Mussolini?

Was the USN ship named King Philip named after the Spanish or French despot?

Was the USN trying to convey its values when it named ships:
USS Truant?
USS Pirate?

I'm not Mike but you should know that USS King Philip was not named after any European monarchs/despots. The name was intended to honor Metacomet, who was known by the name "King Philip" at the time. Neither USS Victor was named after VE3. I believe MLK's family has indicated in the past they would not appreciate a ship of war bearing his name. Oddball names like Truant and Pirate came in because the Navy purchased civilian craft bearing those names into the service as patrol craft and didn't bother to change the name (because the Navy usually referred to them by their number anyway).

[Enigmatically]

Thank you Halidon.

I didn't mean any USS Victor but USS Vittorio Emmanuele III, however following the same line of thought as the latter ones, I see she was a merchant ship taken up from trade.

[Halidon]

See and I'd never even heard of that freighter until today, nice to learn something new!

[Pseudo]

Thank you Halidon.

I didn't mean any USS Victor but USS Vittorio Emmanuele III, however following the same line of thought as the latter ones, I see she was a merchant ship taken up from trade.

Isn't it a tad unfair to mention his support for Mussolini given that the ship entered service four and a half years before the march on Rome? Maybe they named the ship in his honour for bringing Italy in to the first world war on the side of the allies even though they were a member of the triple alliance?

[Enigmatically]

It may be unfair, but not deliberately so. I wasn't aware of that

[Pseudo]

It may be unfair, but not deliberately so. I wasn't aware of that

Fair enough. I do wonder how much honour the King of Italy would take from having a foreign cargo ship named after him especially when his grandad got an Italian battleship named after him. Do you think that these potential hurt feelings might have contributed to his support of Mussolini? Would that give us a ridiculously tenuous and ungracious reason to blame the rise of fascism in Europe on the US?

[ArmChairCivvy]

Certainly not... It must have been Sweetman, Spey & Karlo Kopp-Co?
- not that any of them were around, but name calling always helps, when facts get too tiresome

[desertswo]

I have some questions (off topic from anything except a casual discussion earlier today):

Why has the USN named ships after numerous political non-entities but not after Martin Luther King?

Why has the USN named a ship after the Italian King who brought in Mussolini?

Was the USN ship named King Philip named after the Spanish or French despot?

Was the USN trying to convey its values when it named ships:
USS Truant?
USS Pirate?

True story. When we first brought USS Jesse L. Brown (FFG 1089) to what turned out to be a very short lived home port of Mobile, Alabama, there was no official welcome from the city. Meanwhile the other three ships that were relocated there had received these huge rousing welcomes. The difference? ENS Brown was the first African American Naval aviator. No one ever said that was the reason, but we were not amused.

BTW, Jesse was killed at Inch on in 1950. In a plot line that made it into Hollywood's Vietnam film "Flight of the Intruder", Jesse wing man Tom Hudner crash landed his F-45 near Jesse and braving withering fire from the enemy attempted to extricate the mortally wounded Brown from the wreckage while the rest of his flight circled them and kept the enemy off with their .50 Cal machineguns. Jesse died before Hudner could get him out. Tom got the MOH for his effort and Jesse got a ship named for him. USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) has since been named for the late Captain Tom Hudner.

[Pseudo]

That's a powerful and poignant story desertswo, thanks for sharing it.

[desertswo]

That's a powerful and poignant story desertswo, thanks for sharing it.

As James Taylor once wrote, "That's why I'm here."