USS Yorktown

[DWBOX2000]

I walked around the Yorktown yesterday. First, let me say I was blown away by the size of it. It was like a large floating convention center.
The big question I had was being in the engine room. approximately how many people were needed to run something like that. I could not believe the number of switches and valves, there must have been thousands. Regarding man power, how did they know what switch did what?
Last thing, I didn’t realize how much the carrier dwarfed the battleship there (USS Laffey).
Great day, I learned quite a bit.

[DWBOX2000]

My bad, destroyer.

[Zeke]

Launched 1943. No computers to run those. Not taking away from any seamen but the guys that ran those were some real men. An not as many as you would think in the engine room.

https://uniform-reference.net/insignia/usn/usn_ww2_enl_engine_room.html

[Tobra]

I was on a helicopter carrier that was a similar size, same number of boilers, had 15 guys maybe in each main engineering space

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

I walked around the Yorktown yesterday. First, let me say I was blown away by the size of it. It was like a large floating convention center.
The big question I had was being in the engine room. approximately how many people were needed to run something like that. I could not believe the number of switches and valves, there must have been thousands. Regarding man power, how did they know what switch did what?
Last thing, I didn’t realize how much the carrier dwarfed the battleship there (USS Laffey).
Great day, I learned quite a bit.

This explains everything:

[pwd72s]

Video on the WWII Yorktown...about 45 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez_-w5VCefI&ab_channel=MilitaryHeroes

[70SATMan]

[70SATMan]

There’s always a bigger fish, lol.

Looking forward to seeing this lady!

[flatbutt]

My first time on the Intrepid (Essex class) I thought "huh this is smaller than I thought" but it was still pretty big.

[70SATMan]

I’d always had an impression of our battleships being so very huge until,,,

We pulled alongside the Mighty Mo. Being on the flight deck looking DOWN on her was a bit surreal.

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

I Regarding man power, how did they know what switch did what?

Originally Posted by Zeke

Launched 1943. No computers to run those.

My first ship was Battleship Wisconsin, Iowa class. The Missouri is in Hawaii, the Iowa in San Pedro, New Jersey in Camden and Wisconsin is in Portsmouth. All are open for tours. I strongly recommend visiting one, or all. I was aboard all while they were active in the late ‘80s.

I was a Fire controlman and manned the main battery ballistic computer that was from the 1940s. It was incredibly accurate. Once on target, we could launch 16” projectiles all day and land within the area of a tennis court.

Main plot had a wall of those barrel switches, we knew where every one went and why. We ran drills constantly to reinforce the where’s and when’s they get turned.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

For the USS Yorktown CV5, I can't recommend this series on Midway enough.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

My first ship was Battleship Wisconsin, Iowa class. The Missouri is in Hawaii, the Iowa in San Pedro, New Jersey in Camden and Wisconsin is in Portsmouth. All are open for tours. I strongly recommend visiting one, or all. I was aboard all while they were active in the late ‘80s.

I was a Fire controlman and manned the main battery ballistic computer that was from the 1940s. It was incredibly accurate. Once on target, we could launch 16” projectiles all day and land within the area of a tennis court.

Main plot had a wall of those barrel switches, we knew where every one went and why. We ran drills constantly to reinforce the where’s and when’s they get turned.

I guess I need to define what I mean by 'computers'. Glad you pointed that out.

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by Zeke

…snip…Glad you pointed that out.

No worries bro, I’m ‘here’ for you.

[otto_kretschmer]

[Rusty Heap]

Was on the Lincoln Aircraft carrier during a tour. 5 acre flight deck. 5000 people. The hydraulic piston assisted dampened retaining cables that catch the plane hook was interesting!

[bob deluke]

I was on the USS Hancock CVA 19 for 3.5 years during Nam. 3 cruises there. My dad was on the Wisconsin during WWll. Saw some action in the Pacific. The Hancock was also an Essex class carrier built a couple years before the Yorktown. I knew a couple engine snipes on the Hanna. They told me the engine room was so hot, they would only work 20 minutes shifts. They told me the engine room temps would hover around 110-120 degrees. First cruise on the Hanna the ship had no A/C in the sleeping compartments. Engine room had fans that brought in outside air at 90+degrees in the Tonkin Gulf. We used to bring a pillow up on the flight deck, climb over the side and sleep in the safety nets. Not during flight ops though….

[fireant911]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

I walked around the Yorktown yesterday. First, let me say I was blown away by the size of it. It was like a large floating convention center.
The big question I had was being in the engine room. approximately how many people were needed to run something like that. I could not believe the number of switches and valves, there must have been thousands. Regarding man power, how did they know what switch did what?
Last thing, I didn’t realize how much the carrier dwarfed the battleship there (USS Laffey).
Great day, I learned quite a bit.

I served onboard the USS Dewey DDG-45 in the main engine room. I googled the USS Yorktown to see its main propulsion system for reference. It had eight boilers, four steam turbines, and four propellers. The ship I served had half of that – four boilers, two steam turbines, and two propellers – the Dewey was a 1,200 psi steam plant (I am guessing the Yorktown was as well). The Dewey had two main engine rooms and well as two fire rooms. Our normal manning for each main engine room which covered two main generators, one steam turbine, and one main reduction gear for the propeller was only five people – a messenger, lower-level man, upper-level man, throttleman, and machinist mate of the watch. The upper-level man also was in charge of the evaporator for making potable water from sea water (boiling this salty water at a balmy 75 F temperature to make fresh water for, most importantly, the boiler feedwater sysyem and secondarily for cooking and drinking, and lastly for showering - sometimes, we went days without being able to shower!). The manning levels for the four main propulsion spaces while at sea was approximately 21 sailors including those boiler technicians that served in those ever-hot fire rooms.

Yes, lots of valves we have to know about – several were critical and, yes, there were a few that no one had any idea on what was their service.

Just like 'bob deluke' stated, the engine rooms got hot... especially while were in the Persian Gulf yet the fire rooms were even hotter - those poor guys were falling out on the deck plates.

Interestingly, I attended a reunion for the USS Dewey DDG-45 last year. I left just a few months prior to its decommissioning in 1990. For the first day and a half of the reunion, I was the youngest representative there (I was 59 at the time). There were former sailors there that served onboard as early as 1960 (the ship was commissioned in 1959). This was a great opportunity to find out details about some of the stories I heard while assigned to that ship... mostly about the boiler room explosion that happened in Toulon, France in 1969. Navy ships are dangerous places!!!

[Zeke]

I understand that the Titanic coal shovelers worked in short rotating shifts. I think there were 4 at at time stoking 2 boilers. Must have been similar on the Queen Mary.

An odd fact is that I worked on the conversion of the QM in 1970 after 2 years of work had already been done. I was involved with finishes inside at various places like first class cabins. IOW, a painter. I saw a LOT of the ship during lunch actually running to different destinations in order to be back at my job in 30 minutes. I saw amazing places like rope and chain lockers. I climbed to the crow's nest one day. I never found the one engine left out of 4 that were there originally. The thing was too big. 1/4 mile long.

[DWBOX2000]

My grandfather worked at the shipyard when he was a young man. He mentioned that the men working deep in the ships were given salt tablets or something because of men passing out from the heat. That sound right? I vaguely remember the story since I was young when he told me.
I found out later in life that when he was drafted for WWII, he got pulled out as skilled labor. He had gone to trade school. During the war He went from working on the ships to building models. One of his boats was on display at MIT for years. Guy had skill.