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Ship Facts
Originally written and compiled by
Lorraine Marks-Haislip for the instruction of children.
This is continued to be used by various schools as part of
instruction about Pearl Harbor. |
Click on links below for topics.
Speaking The Language
| Definition Of "Ship"
| Construction Of Hulls
| Exterior Parts Of A Hull
| Compartmentation & Tanks
| Superstructure |
Ordnance |
Director Towers & Masts
| Mechanical Equipment |
Damage Control Center
| Living Quarters
Speaking The Language
| To understand ship
construction and duties afloat, you must learn Navy language.
You do not get on a ship; you go aboard,
using the gangway. You do not put your clothes
in drawers; you stow your gear. The head of
the ship is the bow. The rear end is the
stern.
When you stand at the center of the ship and face the bow, you face
forward; if you turn around you face
aft. Facing forward, the right side of the
ship is the starboard side; the left side of
the ship is the port side.
An imaginary line from bow to stern is the
centerline; it runs fore-and-aft; the
length of this line is the length of the ship.
The greatest width of the ship is the beam. An
object directly off the side of your ship is abeam.
An object or line running directly across the ship, like a
passageway or deck beam, is athwartships. When
you stand at the center of the ship you are amidships.
When you face either side, you face outboard.
Your shipmate at the rail who looks back at you is facing
inboard. An object over your head is
above; an object underneath you is
below.
The floors of a ship are decks; walls are
bulkheads; stairs are
ladders. Halls and corridors are passageways.
No ceiling in your room; only the overhead of
your compartment.
No windows on your ship; ports are the
openings to the outside. Other openings in decks and bulkheads are
hatches. You never shut the windows and lock
the doors; you close the ports and
dog the hatches.
A picture is never nailed to the wall; it is
secured to the bulkhead. Floors do not
get mopped; you swab the deck.
Smoke from the ships boilers come out of a stack,
not a chimney.
You never, never get out of bed in the morning and go to work
(school); you hit the deck and
turn to.
You will never be requested to run downstairs to the kitchen and
turn on the stove, even if it is your job. You will get an
order to lay below on the
double and light off the galley range.
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Definition of "Ship" & "Boat"
| SHIP,
a general term for any large floating vessel which moves through the
water under its own power. The sole function and the only reason for the
fighting ships existence is to move guns and others weapons to the scene
of battle, a floating gun platform that can cross vast oceans and seas.
Transports and cargo ships are designed to load, move and unload men and
materials.
BOAT, any vessel small enough to be
hoisted and carried aboard a ship. |
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Construction of Hulls
The
hull is the main body of the ship below the
weather deck, and must keep water out in order for the ship to float.
The outside covering, or skin is fastened to
the inside structural framework. Both are made of steel and are
constructed by the use of welding and sometimes rivets.
Shell plating; the term used for the skin.
Fighting ships use armored
hulls because of the extra layers and thicknesses of steel
plating to protect the vital parts of the ship from enemy shells, bombs
and torpedos.
Keel; main structural part of the ship
which runs from the stem (bow) to
sternpost (stern).
Frames; fastened to the keel which run
artwartships and suport the shell plating (skin).
Bulkheads, deck beams and stanchions
support the decks and resist the pressure of the water on the sides of
the hull through interlocking system of bulkheads and decks.
Names of Decks: Decks of a ship serve the
same function as floors of a building. Together with the fore-and-aft
and athwartships bulkheads they divide the inside of the hull into
spaces for living quarters, machinery, armament, storage and other uses.
Main Deck: highest deck extends over the
entire ship from stem to stern.
Second Deck, Third Deck, etc., are other
complete decks below the main deck, numbered from the topside down.
Part Deck: above the main deck. At the
bow it is called Forecastle Deck; amidships is
is called the Upper Deck; at the stern it is
called a Poop Deck.
Weather Deck:; all parts of the main,
forecastle, upper and poop decks which are exposed to the weather.
Quarter Deck:; not a structural part of
the ship but is a location on or below the main deck, designated by the
commanding officer as the place for masts and ceremonies.
Superstructure Deck:; any deck above the
main, upper, forecastle or poop decks.
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Exterior Parts of the Hull
Waterline;
the line to which the water rises on a hull.
Freeboard; vertical distance from the
waterline to the lowest edge of the weather deck.
Draft; vertical distance from the
waterline to the lowest part of the ships bottom. Draft is also used to
determine the least depth of water in which the ship will float.
Waterline, freeboard and draft will vary with the weight of the load
carried by the ship. Draft is measured in feet. Numbered scales are
painted on the sides of the ship at both bow and stern.
Trim; the relation between drafts at the
bow and stern.
In Trim; properly balanced fore-and-aft.
Out of Trim; can be caused by damage or
unequal loading.
Down by the Head or Stern; out of trim.
Listing to Starboard or to Port; out of
balance athwartship.
Both Trim and List
are adjusted by emptying or filling tanks and compartments in various
parts of the hull.
Prow; part of the bow structure above the
waterline.
Forecastle (fos'cle); general area of the
weather deck in the forward part of the ship even though the ship may
not have a forecastle deck.
Life Lines; edges of the weather deck
from bow to stern (stem to stern) are usually guarded by removable light
cables and stanchions.
Bulwarks; the extension of the ship's
side above the deck, fortified ramparts.
Fantail; deck area at the stern of the
ship.
Overhang; part of the stern which
literally hangs over the water.
Bilge; flat part of the bottom of a ship.
Turn of the Bilge; curved section where
the bottom meets the side.
Propellers or Screws; drive the ship
through the water and are attached to the ends of propeller
shafts and turned by them.
Single Screw; ships with one propeller.
Twin Screw; two propellers.
Multiple Screw; more than two, usually
four propellers.
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Compartmentation and Tanks
Watertight
Integrity; interior of the ship is divided by bulkheads and decks
into watertight compartments to prevent sinking that would occur if the
interior of the hull were all one space.
Compartments; aboard are numbered from
forward aft, with the starboard side odd numbers and the port side even
numbers.
Double Bottoms; outer and inner bottom on
large ships are divided into many compartments. In armored hulls the
inner bottom at the turn of the bilge to form an inner side for more
compartments that could be used as tanks for fuel storage, fresh water
or for trimming ship.
Peak Tanks; extreme bow and stern used
for trimming ship fore and aft.
Collision Bulkhead; heavy watertight
bulkhead just abaft the forward peak tank. All compartments and tanks
have pump and drain connections for pumping out seawater and for
transferring fuel or water from one part of the ship to another.
Scuttles; a small, covered opening or
hatchway in the outer hull or deck of a ship and
hatches must be closed to maintain wateright integrity.
Dogs; set up on wateright doors and
hatches secure them from opening. Releasing the dog by the hinge first
will keep the hatch from springing open and makes it easier to operate
the remaining dogs. Proper organization and disciplie in closing of
wateright doors and hatches plays a vital part in the control of battle
or other damage. Lack of vigilance has caused the loss of ships.
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Superstructure
All superstructure
of a fighting ship, above the weather deck, is made up of armament and
controls necessary for operting the ship.
Amidships; on battleships, deckhouses,
platforms, ladders and spaces for enclosing gun, ship and fire control
equipment. Nerve Center of the ship.
Bridge; a major part on all ships from
where the commanding officer operates.
Conning Tower; just forward of and
slightly below the bridge. Heavily armored structure containing
duplicates of all the control apparatus found on the bridge.
Battle Bridge; an open platform used by
the captain during battle.
Fire Control Tower; contains equipment
for the control of gunfire and the battle station of the gunnery
officer.
Signal Bridge; near the bridge from which
signalman maintains visual communication with other ships.
Radio Room; quickly available to the
commanding officer.
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Ordnance
Turrets, gun
houses, gun mounts, fire control apparatus and other ordnance play such
an important part in the function of a battleship. Remember, it is a
floating gun platform. The only reason for its existance.
Turrets; found in armoured ships
containing up to four guns that are the
Main Battery; USS Arizona's guns were 14:
45 Cal. Three to turret, four turrets, two forward and two aft. The
turret rotates within a heavily armored cylinder called a
Barbette; extending from the armored
upper part of the turret down to the lowest armored deck protecting the
gun crews and ammunition from enemy fire.
Magazine; place where powder is stowed.
Battleships usually have three, one forward, one admidships, one aft.
Shellroom; shell is stowed adjacent to
the magazine.
Gun Houses; revolving, box-shaped
structures which contain the
Secondary Battery; located along each
side amidships on a battleship. Five inch dual purpose guns are mounted
in each house, 51 Cal.
Antiaircraft Battery; 5-inch/25 Cal.
Eight guns were fitted, four on each side atop Arizona's new
superstructure deck house. Air and surface targets.
Antiaircraft; 1.1-inch Mount machine gun
intermediate range weapon to supplement the 5-inch/25 antiaircraft gun
and the .50 Cal. machine gun.
Antiaircraft Battery; .50 Cal. mounted
high on both tripod masts.
Torpedo Tubes; USS Arizona was supposed
to be fitted with four tubes. Was completed with only two athwartship
below the waterline for broadside firing. Tubes were removed when the
ship was reconstructed because they were considered useless.
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Director Towers and Masts
Foremast;
mast closest to the bow.
Mainmast; amidships, towards the stern.
Yard; a spar used for flags and other
signal devices to be visible from other ships.
Truck; the top of any mast.
Pigstick; a slender vertical extension of
the mainmast from which the commission pennant or an admiral;s personal
flag is flown.
Gaff; extending abaft the mainmast is a
small spar from which the national ensign is flown when underway.
Jack Staff; on bow of ship that flies the
Union Jack when anchored or moored.
Flag Staff; on stern of ship that flies
the national ensign from 0800 to sunset when anchored or moored.
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Mechanical Equipment
Main
Engines; which turn the propeller shafts which drive the ship
through the water.
Steam Turbines; ships driven at high
speed from high pressure turbines receive superheated steam from
boilers that are oil burning.
Drainage Systems; a complete system of
piping and valves connected with pumps, that collects and discharges all
water, whether it is waste or sea water which has come into the hull
because of damage. The USS Arizona BB-39 was a floating city and was
self contained by a series of systems as any city operates with.
Ventilator System,Fresh Water System, Salt Water
Service Room, Fire Main, Fuel Oil System, Compressed Air System, and
Auxiliary Motors and Equipment; operate
the many mechanical systems. Thousands of motors, compressors,
generators, pumps and other pieces of equipment represents a large part
of the building, operating and maintaining a large fighting ship.
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Damage Control System
| The main function
is to keep the ship afloat on an even keel by using the drainage
systems, salt water service system, the fuel oil system and any and all
part of the fire fighting system and apparatus. Damage control also
includes the design and operation of all watertight hatches. Proper
maintenance and operation which preserves watertight integrity is first
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Living Quarters
Quarters and Mess
Facilities for the ship's complement use a large portion of the interior
of the ship. Officers; generally near the
bridge.
Enlisted Men; distributed throughout a
large ship.
Galley; kitchen.
Washrooms and Heads; bathrooms.
Sick Bay; hospital.
Storerooms; where gear and supplies are
stowed.
Mess; each division had their own area
for eating and Mess Cook. Officers enjoyed separate messes. The Admiral
and Captain had individual mess cooks so they could entertain
dignitaries in their quarters.
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Copyright © 2002-2018 Lorraine Marks-Haislip
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