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SNIPE country! Points of Interest was published and distributed aboard Forrestal on Sunday, 30 April, 1967 and reads as follows: "Com'on down. Down to the 7th deck, below the water line, way below. Feel the engines shake the deck plates with power, listen to the boilers scream." "Sure the work is hard, hot, and dirty here in the bowels of the ship, but it has to be done and we're doing it." "Com'on down and help move 80,000 tons of steel. Day and night, pushing 5,000 men toward their destination," "Com'on down and see the heart of Forrestal," "Com'on down, ------to SNIPE country!" |
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These might be the words of the men who keep this ship moving. You don't see them too often above decks, and when you do, they look pretty tired and dirty. This is because the main machinery spaces, their working areas, are designed to produce power, not comfort. The same with their watches, 4 on and 8 off, followed by 8 hours of work. No scuttlebutts are found in the main propulsion spaces and the forced air makes little, headway against the 120° F heat. Catwalks wind among the maze of shafts and pipes, giving access to out of the way control valves, which when found, are too hot to turn without gloves. Beneath your feet are the bilges, pools of black oil and water. Bilge cleaning is almost as dirty a task as cleaning the inside of the boilers, a job done every 600 steaming hours, or about once a month on each boiler. Forrestal's eight boilers are divided two to every main machinery space. Each pair of boilers has a control room, which is cool and relaxing. Here are the veterans who served their time in the heat and maze outside, now man wheels and levers, or watch the gauges, which control the four, 65,000 horsepower, main engines. The heart of the system is the Bailey Board, which automatically controls the amount of steam generated. Upon orders from the bridge, and/or central control, throttle men deliver this energy to the turbines. They in turn provide speed and power to the shafts. As of April 26th, and since leaving the yards, Forrestal has already steamed some 18,941 miles. The expected total distance for this year is 100,000 miles. Considering this, and the fact we burn 150,00 gallons of oil per day, it is evident why fuel storage capacity is 2 1/2 million gals. Lt. Fredrickson, acting as guide through Snipe territory, said that the engine-boiler workers, or main propulsion gang, comprise 40% of the total 740 man Engineering force under the command of CDR M. Rowland. The other men in this department are found all over the ship, doing all sorts of Jobs. They control, make, or service everything but electronics and planes. In fact, snipes can repair anything but a broken heart. Snipe spaces range from forward in the anchor windless room, all the way aft to after steering in the rudder space. Their responsibility includes Damage Control Central, emergency diesel generator spaces where the men not only work but also sleep, the oxygen plant, fog foam stations, and elevator machinery spaces. Plus all the control boards and systems for void, fresh water, fuel tanks, and the fire and flooding system. Engineering divisions and jobs are:
The snipes' most important job, necessary for survival anywhere, is controlling the air and water aboard ship. More important, than drinking water is water for the boilers. The amount of salt in boiler water cannot exceed .025 for every million parts of water. Anything over this amount and we drink it. This is fortunate because with no impurities has no taste. So you can see that the unsung heroes of Forrestal could very well be the below deck Snipes. The men who take us where we're going, and then bring us back home. |
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