The electrical division aboard ship has grown, like Topsy, without much fathering or mothering until very recent years. It is the purpose of this article to trace the growth of the electrical personnel aboard ship from its beginning to its present organization, which is believed to be the logical and ideal one for the proper performance and upkeep of the electric plant.
Electricity for lighting purposes was first introduced on a man-of-war in 1883, when the U. S. S. Trenton was equipped with an Edison lighting plant. Before this time electricity supplied by batteries had been used for call bells and annunciators, and small hand-generating sets for the firing of torpedoes (mines) and guns. The power of these devices was, of course, negligible.
The dynamo of the Trenton was installed at the navy yard, New York, under the cognizance of the Bureau of Navigation, although the Bureau of Ordnance agreed to pay half the cost of the labor and material to fit the dynamo engine with steam and exhaust piping. The cognizance of the Bureau of Navigation over electrical apparatus was established even before electric lighting had been installed on any naval vessel.
It (the Bureau of Navigation) shall furnish signal lights, running lights and standing lights on board vessels, including electric apparatus for lighting purposes.—General Order 293, March 30, 1882.
The rating of electrician was established in November, 1883, shortly after the Trenton's plant was completed, at a rate of pay of $50 per month. (General Order 310, November 17, 1883.) After being in existence two months, however, the rating was abolished (General Order 315, January 5, 1884).
As men trained for seamen gunners at this time received instructions at the torpedo station, Newport, in electrical matters, it was apparently decided that a special rating was not necessary for the upkeep of the plant on the Trenton. The engine and dynamo of this plant were very ruggedly built and required little attention. Reports made during the year following their installation say nothing of engine or dynamo trouble.
The office of Naval Inspector of Electric Lighting was established in January, 1887. Lieut. Commander R. B. Bradford was the first inspector. He had performed much the same duty for some time previous, and as executive officer of the Trenton had supervised her installation.
During this early period, while dynamos were being installed for lighting purposes by the Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of Ordnance was also installing dynamos for use with searchlights. The searchlights were operated from series-wound machines giving about 50 volts, and the incandescent lamps from shunt-wound machines giving various voltages from 70 to 110. With the introduction of the compound-wound dynamo, both searchlights and lamps could be operated from the same machine. The divided cognizance (ordnance and navigation) brought in various types of dynamos, engines and appurtenances, and it soon became apparent that one bureau should have the cognizance of all electrical material.
This was done in 1889 when the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting was given cognizance of all electric appliances aboard ship.
The responsibility for the care, preservation, efficiency and working of all electric apparatus on board ship rested with the navigator. He had seaman gunners and gunners' mates to stand watch on the dynamos and repair the circuits. These men were given a certain amount of instruction in electricity at Newport, but they did not specialize in that subject.
The need for specially trained men became apparent as electricity was extended to other uses besides lighting, such as signal sets, interior communication and telephone.
On account of the steadily increasing demands upon the electric plant of a ship and its consequent extension to meet the requirements, the care and attention necessary for efficiency is also growing. In view of this fact, it is respectfully recommended that the rate of electrical machinist be established with adequate pay that will compensate and attract suitable persons, and that the rating be open to any enlisted man who possesses the necessary qualifications.—Report of Naval Inspector of Electric Lighting, 1890.
This recommendation was continued without success, however, until 1898, when the ratings of chief electrician, electrician 1st class, and electrician 2d class, were established, with monthly rates of pay of $50,45 and $35, respectively.
Even in the early nineties it was believed that an officer should be in charge of the electric plant, and the midshipman aid to the navigator was sometimes given charge of the installation. As he frequently had no more than the most rudimentary knowledge of electrical principles, his supervision amounted to little. So the plant limped along under the gunner's gang, which consisted of men with little or no theoretical knowledge. With engines and dynamos which were rugged and required little upkeep, and with the only apparatus outside the dynamo room consisting of lamps and call bells, this organization was able to keep the apparatus working.
With the introduction of motors aboard ship, the situation was changed, and we find in the report of the Naval Inspector of Electrical Appliances (1898):
As the electric plant of the modern battleship has increased to such an extent that it requires the constant superintendence of an officer, I have to recommend that this duty be assigned to a junior officer who can devote his whole time and attention to the care and preservation of the plant.
And in 1899 the chief of the Bureau of Equipment (Admiral Bradford) recommended to the Secretary of the Navy:
It is respectfully urged that the time has arrived when it is necessary to detail a larger staff to take charge of electrical appliances on shipboard. At least one lieutenant and a warrant officer, in addition to a number of petty officers, should be exclusively employed for this duty as in foreign navies. At present no officer is detailed for this duty alone. The power now developed in the larger ships is . . . . almost equal to that developed by the motive steam machinery in the ships 30 years ago, when a large staff of engineer officers and others were thought necessary for its care. In addition, the appliances used in electrical installations are delicate and require a high order of intelligence and technical knowledge.
It was at this time that the Kentucky and Kearsarge were being built with 350 kilowatts generator capacity, and electrical appliances calling for 661 kilowatts. These appliances included turret motors, ammunition hoists, boat cranes, deck winches and ventilating motors. In addition to there being this great amount of new gear, the ship had a rather complicated three-wire system for distributing current.
The Bureau of Equipment was much concerned with the constantly increasing demands for repairs and renewals to the electrical outfits of ships. Ships were not long self-sustaining electrically without extensive dockyard work. After the abandonment of the course in electricity for officers at the torpedo station, all official progress towards educating officers in electrical matters ceased. No instruction of practical value was given at the Naval Academy, and we find battleships going into commission with extensive electrical plants and no skilled personnel to care for them.
In 1899, schools of instruction were started. The course for officers was re-established at Newport, and a school for enlisted men at the navy yards in New York and Boston. The following year the school at Boston was discontinued, and a school established at Mare Island. These men were taught the rudimentary principles of electricity and had practical work with electrical machinery, in addition to work on ships under repair. Most of these men when they finished the course of instruction were eligible for rating as third-class electricians. The course for officers, held during the summer, was of an elementary character and merely touched on a variety of electrical subjects.
In 1900, it was recommended that the grade of warrant electrician be established and that warrant electricians be assigned to duty in connection with electric plants of battleships and armored cruisers.
Nothing was done toward creating a grade of warrant electricians until 1912. In that year, candidates for gunner were divided into two classes: those fitted to specialize in ordnance and those fitted to specialize in electricity. Before this time (as early as 1905) electricians had been warranted as gunners, but no effort was made to detail them for electrical duty only. There is no doubt that the warrant rank of electrician and chief electrician should be established. The present rate of electrician should then be changed to that of electrician's mate to conform to other ratings in the service.
Until very recently the electricians have not been gathered together in an electrical division. Watch bills of ships in commission during the last 20 years generally show the electricians assigned to the powder division, although sometimes they were put in the navigator's division, and sometimes split up among the various deck divisions.
As the powder division was made up of odds and ends of the complement who were put there because of their stations at general drills, no particular attention was paid to the electricians as electricians. The powder division officer had no cognizance of the electrical machinery, and his only interest in electricians consisted in mustering and inspecting them. The navigator was too busy with his other duties to pay much attention to electrical matters, and the efficiency of the plant depended on the gunners. Neither the gunner nor the electricians were skilled mechanics, and there was usually friction when it came to getting work done by the engineer's force on the dynamos and dynamo engines. So the electricians renewed gaskets, packed valves and fitted bearings as well as they could most of the time, rather than call on the engineer department. It is astonishing that the plants held together as well as they did.
The establishment of the postgraduate school at Annapolis in 1909 opened the way for the navy to obtain officers with special electrical training. Although it was stated at the time of the establishment of this school that its object was the obtaining of designing engineers and not operating engineers, yet there is no doubt in the service that the gradual outflow of electrical engineers from the postgraduate school has helped and will help the efficiency of our electrical machinery.
The navigator remained in charge of the electrical plant aboard ship until 1911, when correction No. 15 to the 1909 regulations was published. By this "the ordnance officer is the officer detailed by the department to have supervision over and be responsible for . . . . the electrical installation under the cognizance of all bureaus outside the dynamo rooms, including the wireless telegraph outfit. His responsibility as to the care, preservation and efficiency of the electrical installation begins at the dynamo-room bulkhead and embraces all electrical apparatus fittings and appliances outside the dynamo rooms." At the same time the senior engineer officer was made "responsible for the preservation and efficient working . . . . of the dynamo engines, generators and appurtenances, including all electrical apparatus and accessories contained within the dynamo rooms."
This change was brought about by continued demands of the electrical force upon the engineer, department for repairs and overhaul of the dynamos.
The electricians were not competent to make proper repairs on the dynamos and each item of work had to be handled by a request of the navigator to the engineer officer.
The engineer officer did not want to transfer machinists to the navigator's division (when there was one} or to the powder division. The simplest way out seemed to be to transfer the dynamos and their auxiliaries to the engineer department and make them part of the auxiliary division in that department.
At the same time, it seemed best to transfer the electrical machinery outside the dynamo room to the ordnance officer, as he had a particular interest in much of this machinery. The turrets were trained and guns elevated by motors, ammunition was hoisted by electricity, and the fire-control installation with its telephones, range and deflection visuals, battle order indicators, etc., began to increase in size and importance. It was felt that, with gunnery efficiency dependent absolutely on electrical efficiency, the gunnery officer would take measures to achieve the latter.
This division of cognizance aboard ship, however, did not work out in an entirely satisfactory manner. The auxiliary machinists usually had little or no knowledge of electricity and, while repairs to the steam machinery were made efficiently enough, the generators and switchboards were not sufficiently well cared for.
The duties of the ordnance officer were sufficiently arduous from a strictly gunnery point of view without putting upon him the burden of responsibility for a power plant of great diversity. He had no time for the supervision of an installation which well could take the whole time of an officer trained in electrical matters. His primary interest, naturally, was in the gunnery electrical gear, and the remainder of the plant, such as lighting-circuits, winches, cranes, steering gear, blowers, etc., was a matter of secondary importance.
The usual method of handling the situation was to turn the plant over to the electrical gunner and require him to "fix it." On some ships there was a fire-control officer who looked out for the electrical fire-control circuits.
All of these assignments of cognizance were but evasions of the early recognized and often recommended principle that the electrical installation of a modern ship demanded the exclusive services of an experienced commissioned officer.
There was no division loyalty and esprit de corps among the electricians such as there is in the deck divisions. There was constant friction between the dynamo electricians and the remainder of the electrical force. There was no division officer to whom the electricians could go; no one who "spoke the same language" and would see that their interests were taken care of.
There were two paramount reasons during this time (1911-14) for not detailing officers aboard ship for electrical duty only: the first was a lack of officers specially trained in electricity, and the second was a general deficiency of commissioned personnel in the service, due to new ships going into commission and to increased demands for officers on ships already in commission.
Having in mind the above-mentioned difficulties, the commanding officer of the Texas, when she was first commissioned in 1914, organized the electricians as a part of the engineer department. An electrical postgraduate had inspected the electrical machinery during its installation and was detailed by the commanding officer as electrical officer when the vessel was commissioned.
In January, 1916, Mr. Frank J. Sprague, the eminent electrician, spent three weeks on the U. S. S. New York. In a report to the Secretary of the Navy, he made the following comment:
The electrical equipment of a ship is now so complicated, and its operation and the handling of its guns so dependent upon electricity, that there should be on every first-class ship an officer who is a specialist in that scientific branch; one who might be designated as the chief electrical officer or electrical chief, as distinguished from the terms electrical engineer or electrician, which are oftentimes misused. At present the electrical knowledge is more or less divided between the ordnance officer, gun captains, electrical gunner and electricians of the ship; that is, between commissioned and warrant officers and enlisted men. It would be far better if a commissioned officer who has made a specialty of the subject were given a complete supervision and responsibility with regard to electrical equipment.
In a memorandum to the secretary, the Bureau of Steam Engineering made the following comment on the above statement:
The bureau heartily endorses this recommendation. At present, the senior engineer officer and the gunnery officer of a ship divide responsibility for maintenance and operation of the electric plant. Both officers have multitudinous duties, and many parts of the installation do not directly affect the efficiency of the department of either officer. The latest ships have an electrical officer whose sole duty is the care of the electric plant; but this officer is merely detailed by the captain, and by naval regulations has no standing. The position should be made official and should be made subordinate to senior engineer. This is the case on the Texas, whose electric plant is, so far as the bureau knows, the best handled in the fleet. The bureau in the past has received very little help from the fleet in improving electric installations, because there has been no one charged exclusively with such installations, who took the interest to make suggestions.
The subject of electrical organization aboard ship was referred to the fleet and there was no doubt expressed concerning the necessity for an electrical officer on battleships. The consensus of opinion favored the electrical officer being a subordinate of the .engineer, officer, and in August, 1916, the regulations were changed to incorporate the following:
Par. 2826 (R):
1. The electrical officer shall be an assistant to the senior engineer officer. He shall be charged with the maintenance, care, and preservation of all electrical appliances installed on the ship, including radio and fire-control appliances and other electrical signal apparatus; to this end the electrical gunner and all electricians attached to the ship shall be subject to his orders so far as maintenance, care and preservation of all electrical appliances are concerned.
2. He shall, through the proper channels, make recommendations to the Navy Department concerning any alterations in methods or in the apparatus or installation of new devices which will contribute to increased efficiency .or economy of the electric installations.
3. He shall have the custody of the record of electrical appliances and all plans relative to the electric installation, supervise the keeping of the electric log, make the routine reports required by the Naval Instructions, make lists of repairs needed, and keep all records of electrical work done.
4. He shall be charged with conducting all tests of electric apparatus called for by the Navy Department, and with the making of reports thereon.
5. When fitting out he shall make a thorough inspection of the entire electric outfit of the ship, including spare parts and fittings, stores and supplies. He shall also carefully inspect all electrical storerooms, workshops and other space intended for electrical equipment or supplies. Should he discover any defects or deficiencies he shall immediately make a detailed written report of the facts to the commanding officer.
The history of the electricians on board ship has been reviewed in detail to show how long it has taken to reach the logical assignment of the electrical personnel.
The organization, routine, tests, etc., developed on the Texas is given below. This organization has been in effect practically without change since the Texas was commissioned in 1914. It is very flexible, permitting the ultilization of men on work for which they are best fitted and also permitting the concentration of any needed number of men upon any emergency or repair job without going outside the division.
ELECTRICAL DIVISION, U. S. S. TEXAS—ORGANIZATION, ROUTINE AND TESTS
1. The electrical division of the engineer department consists of all the general electricians assigned to the ship, and a sufficient number of machinist's mates and firemen to make repairs upon and stand watch over the turbines and auxiliaries.
2. The electrical division has cognizance of and makes repairs upon all electrical machinery of the ship, including the turbo-generators, all motors, telephones, fire-control circuits, storage batteries, interior communication circuits and gyro-compasses.
3. The complement of the electrical division is as follows:
Electrical officer.
Electrical gunner.
3 Chief electricians.
10 Electricians, 1st class.
10 Electricians, 2d class.
10 Electricians, 3d class.
I Chief machinist's mate.
2 Machinist's mates, 2d class.
4 Firemen, 2d class.
5 Firemen, 3d class.
7 Deck division strikers.
1 Engineering division striker, fireman, 3d class.
53
One electrician is detailed as storeroom keeper in the supply department from the above complement.
The deck division strikers have billet numbers in the electrical division, mess with the electricians, muster with the electrical division and stand bag and hammock inspection with the electricians. They are considered to be electricians in training, and do duty as electricians with the exception of general quarters and coaling ship, where they work with the divisions from which they were detailed.
4. The division is divided into five units, each in charge of a chief petty officer. These units are as follows:
P1 Dynamo watch.
P2 Lighting and workshop.
P3 Power and searchlights.
P4 Interior Communication and fire-control.
P5 Dynamo repair.
These units are further subdivided into four sections to conform to the section arrangement of other divisions.
5. The duties of the various units are as follows:
Dynamo Watch.—This unit stands watch on the running dynamos and the ventilating blower motors throughout the ship. A first- or second-class electrician is on watch in the running dynamo room, with a fireman, 2d class, to look out for the turbines and auxiliaries. In the idle distribution room is a second- or third-class electrician and in the running distribution room a striker who makes the rounds of the ventilating blower motors once an hour. The dynamo watch is responsible for the cleanliness of the compartments assigned to the electrical division, except the workshop, storeroom, telephone repair shop and battery locker.
COMPLEMENT
1 Chief electrician.
2 Electricians, 1st class.
4 Electricians, 2d class.
2 Electricians, 3d class.
4 Firemen, 2d class.
4 Strikers.
A watch in four is stood in the dynamo room.
Lighting and Workshop.—This unit has cognizance of all lighting and battle lighting circuits, except the magazine lights, including navigational and signal lights, and also the galley ranges and bakeshop ovens and the motors of the galleys. The lighting circuits are divided into: Gun and and half-deck forward; gun and berth deck aft; bridge and upper decks; and fire and engine rooms. An electrician is detailed for work in the workshop and to look out for the storeroom. A striker from the engineer's force is detailed to assist on the fire- and engine-room circuits. The electricians on the lighting circuits also look out for the room and desk fans.
COMPLEMENT
2 Electricians, 1st class.
4 Electricians, 2d class.
Striker.
The chief electrician of the dynamo watch also has charge of this unit unless there is a chief electrician on board in excess of the complement, when he is put in charge.
Power and Searchlights.—This unit has charge of all power and ventilating blower motors, searchlights, storage batteries and the electrical work in the power boats. The various motors and searchlights are divided among the electricians assigned to this unit for cleaning, testing and repair. A third-class electrician is assigned to each turret. He has charge of the motors and lighting circuits in the turret and magazines, and looks out for the 5-inch ammunition hoists assigned to him. He is required to carry out the routine of cleaning, testing, making insulation tests, etc. All repairs in the turrets are supervised by the chief electrician in charge of the unit. Each searchlight has an electrician in charge, both for cleaning and testing, and for operating during night torpedo defence quarters.
COMPLEMENT
1 Chief electrician.
3 Electricians, 1st class.
7 Electricians, 3d class.
2 Strikers.
Interior Communication and Fire-Control.—This unit has cognizance of all interior communication circuits, ship's service telephones, gyro-compasses, fire-control telephones and instruments and firing circuits up to the locks of the guns. This includes the director system for the main battery and the sight lighting for the 5-inch guns and the range-finders.
COMPLEMENT
1 Chief electrician.
3 Electricians, 1st class.
2 Electricians, 2d class.
1 Striker.
Dynamo Repair.—This unit consists of the machinist's mates and helpers, who make all repairs on the turbines and dynamo auxiliaries. The plants are run a month at a time, approximately; the two machines in one room taking the load on alternate days during the month. During the month the idle plant is given a thorough overhaul. As a rule, only such repairs as can be finished during working hours are undertaken in any one day, both plants being ready to run during the night, if necessary. The machinery of the idle plant is turned over under steam each week and all emergency devices tested.
COMPLEMENT
1 Chief machinist's mate.
2 Machinist's mates, 2d class.
2 Firemen, 3d class.
DUTIES OF THE DIVISION AT GENERAL DRILLS
General Quarters.—The dynamo watch reports to the dynamo rooms; starboard watch to the after dynamo room; and the port watch to the forward dynamo room. The lighting unit is divided between the forward and after repair parties. The power unit furnishes men for the repair parties; the turret electricians report to their turrets; one electrician goes to the steering motor room and one to the forced draft blowers. The I. C. and F. C. unit mans the I. C. room and the plotting room switchboards; one man is in the central station standing by the gyros; and one with gunnery officer. The chief electrician tends the fire-control switchboards. The dynamo repair unit is divided between the dynamo rooms. The deck strikers go to their gun stations.
Night Torpedo Defence Quarters.—The dynamo watch and the dynamo repair units go to the dynamo rooms. The lighting unit stands by the battle lanterns and battle circuits. The power unit mans the searchlights. The I. C. and F. C. unit is divided among the 5-inch guns to look out for buzzers and sight lighting. Deck strikers go to their gun stations.
War Watch.—The dynamo watch stands regular watch. Lighting unit stands by for calls. The power unit mans two searchlights. I. C. and F. C. unit stands a trouble watch on the bridge. The dynamo repair unit sleeps in the idle dynamo room.
Fire.—The idle plant is manned and gotten ready to start up if necessary. Men on watch in the distribution rooms cut out ventilating blowers supplying compartments in the vicinity of the fire. The lighting, power, I. C. and F. C. and radio units fall in at quarters. One electrician reports to the first lieutenant at the scene of the fire.
Collision.—The dynamo watch and dynamo repair third and fourth sections stand by to start the idle plant. The lighting unit falls in at quarters. The third and fourth sections of the power unit mans the boat cranes, deck winch, capstan and the dynamo trunk hatches. The I. C. and F. C. unit closes water-tight doors and then falls in at quarters. The third and fourth sections are used for above duties, as they are the last to leave the ship.
Abandon Ship.—The division abandons ship as follows:
First section First motor sailer, first trip.
Second section Second motor sailer, first trip.
Third section First motor sailer, second trip.
Fourth section Second motor sailer, second trip.
The third and fourth sections of the dynamo watch and dynamo repair units man the dynamo rooms until second party is about to leave ship. Dynamo watch remains in the dynamo rooms until the ship is abandoned, escaping up the trunks. The cranes, deck winch and capstan are manned by the third and fourth sections of the power unit until they are no longer required.
ROUTINE, INSPECTIONS, TESTS AND REPAIRS IN DIVISION
DAILY
Dynamo Station
Test insulation on lighting and searchlight circuits.
Jack over spare generator armature.
Inspect all stations.
Test auxiliary lighting circuits.
Inspect recording ammeters.
Test signals for interlocking circuit-breakers relay.
Inspect dynamo room exhaust blower motors.
Check up dynamo log sheets and get out data.
Make up work sheet and write up work book.
Inspect running generators.
Inspect all blowers hourly.
Clean switchboards.
Lighting and Shop Station
Inspect and check up daily insulation book.
Make up work sheets and write up work book.
Inspect all lighting circuits for burned out lamps, blown fuses and low insulation.
Inspect galley and bakeshop ranges, ovens and motors.
Test out all bridge lights and instruments that are on lighting circuits, and signal searchlights.
Power Station
Inspect all ventilating blowers, ice machines, machine shop motors, laundry motors, carpenter shop motors and flushing pump motors.
Clean, inspect and test 'Searchlights.
Test all turret motors.
If under way, test steering motor and forced draft motors.
I. C. and F. C. Station
Insulation test on all circuits.
Inspect and clean gyro-compasses.
Inspect time-firing device.
Inspect ship's service telephone board.
Before battle stations or general quarters, test director firing, range and deflection instruments, turret bells and buzzers, and target turret transmitters.
Before getting under way, test all bridge instruments.
Test general alarm gongs and howlers.
Dynamo Repair Station
Inspect running plant and all sea valves.
Jack idle machinery.
Carry on repairs.
WEEKLY
Dynamo Station
Inspect all power division compartments.
Blow out generators in running plant with air.
Check up all watt meters.
Check up voltmeters on running generator panel.
Inspect circuit-breaker settings.
Lighting and Shop Station
Clean up work shop.
Inspect and test branch circuits in fire and engine rooms for low resistance.
Clean up storeroom A-24-S.
Check up lamp expenditures.
Check up G. S. K. chit book.
Inspect work books and work order briefs.
Test out fire and engine room auxiliary lights.
Inspect and check up portables.
Power Station
Inspect and test fresh-water pump motors, capstan motors, deck winch motor, forced draft motors, all turret motors and panels, steering motor, 5-inch hoist motors, ice-cream motor.
Make insulation test on all motors and turrets.
I. C. and F. C. Station
Discharge and charge gyro-batteries, I. C. batteries, telephone batteries and auxiliary lighting-circuit batteries.
Test general alarm contact makers.
Test all water-tight door warning-signal contact makers.
Clean plotting room and I. C. room, telephone repair shop.
Dynamo Repair Station
Test idle generators and auxiliaries under steam.
Test atmospheric valve, sentinel valve, back-pressure trip and overspeed trip.
MONTHLY
Dynamo Station
Insulation test of power and lighting circuits.
Insulation test of generators overall.
Inspection of circuit-breakers.
Renew oil in dynamo room exhaust blowers.
Inspect and clean thoroughly generators after monthly run.
Lighting and Shop Station
Inspect and check up tools and instruments.
Inspect and test lighting circuits and panels.
Inspect and clean out switches and panels of galley and bakeshop ranges, ovens and motors.
Inspect and test portable blowers.
Inspect stores and material in A-24-S.
Power Station
Make individual insulation test on each motor.
Water and charge all storage batteries.
Open and inspect all closed laundry motors.
I.C. and F. C. Station
Inspect and clean motor generators for telephone, telephone-ringing, I. C., gun-firing, and warning signal.
Inspect and clean all batteries.
Inspect helm-angle transmitter.
Dynamo Repair Station
Overhaul idle plant. Re-pack generator and auxiliary steam stops and generator throttles.
Examine water and oil service. Grind in and re-pack valves.
Examine, clean and adjust generator and auxiliary reducing valves.
Examine carbon packing on all turbines.
Re-pack lifting valves.
Filter oil in generator wells.
Blow out condenser, examine tubes and zincs.
Circulating engine: Take off water casing of pump, examine keys and set screws. Take off cylinder head, examine cylinder, piston and valve Vaseline cylinder. Examine oil pump and bearings. Re-pack rod and stem.
Air pump: Take off cylinder head. Vaseline cylinder. Same for valve chest. Re-pack rods and stems. Take bull's eyes off on water end. Examine valves.
Hotwell pump: Take off cylinder head and valve-chest cover. Vaseline cylinders. Re-pack rod and stem. Examine valves in water end.
Traps: Take up on leaks. Grind in main and pilot valves. Re-pack cut-out valves.
Drain valves: Grind in and re-pack all reducing and pump drain valves, and steam and exhaust valves on all pumps.
Hotwell tank: Clean out and take up on leaks.
QUARTERLY
Dynamo Station
Make insulation tests on all circuits from dynamo and distribution rooms.
Makeup log sheet data for quarterly returns.
Make insulation test on generators as follows: Armature to armature; drop across the separate fields; air-gap clearance; ground test over-all; insulation of feeders; armature fields and rheostat to ground.
Lighting and Shop Station
Check up quarterly report.
Inspect and repair all bracket fans.
Inventory tools and instruments.
Power Station
Lift portable searchlights off base and examine turntables, if these lights are kept on deck.
SEMI-ANNUALLY
Dynamo Station
Before target practice, shut power off distribution boards, tighten all studs and inspect for weak insulation and chafed leads.
Dynamo Repair Station
Grind in generator and auxiliary steam stops, sentinel, back-pressure, and carbon steam seal relief valves, atmospheric and trap cut-out valves.
Overhaul carbon steatn seal reducing valves.
In dry dock: Grind in sea valves and renew zincs.
Take clearances on all generator rotor's.
Examine thrusts.
ANNUALLY
Power Station
Lift mast searchlight S off bases and examine turntables.
I. C. and F. C. Station
Make complete examination of all range and deflection circuits and tighten all connections.
Forms were printed aboard ship for reporting results of tests, current consumption, etc.
In addition to these forms, a book was kept with a list of circuit numbers on each page, against which was written each day the insulation resistance of the various circuits.
Monthly curves (Figs. I and 2) were also kept, showing the light, power and total consumption of electricity" for each day
under way and at anchor, and yearly curves showing the same data by months. These curves showed graphically the amount of electricity generated and, with suitable notes, for what purposes it was employed.
The organization for the electrical division as developed on the Texas was privately circulated among many of the ships of the fleet during the years 1916 and 1917.
In December, 1917, a type organization for ships was promulgated to battleship force two by Admiral Coffman, and in January, 1918, to the fleet by Admiral Mayo. This type plan prescribed the organization of the electrical division and stations of the personnel for various duties.
At the risk of seeming to repeat, this organization, based on the Texas scheme, is quoted in order that the record of electrical personnel administration aboard ship may be complete.
ELECTRICAL DIVISION
To this division assign the electrical gunner, all electricians and such other men of the engineering department necessary for the maintenance and operation of the electrical installation of the ship. This division is responsible for all electrical equipment of the ship.
Divide the electrical division into crews to man the following stations:
DYNAMO WATCH
This crew consists of electricians and other men of the engineer force for watch standing in dynamo and distribution rooms.
LIGHTING AND POWER
This crew is assigned to keep, in efficient condition all lighting circuits and battle circuits except magazine lights. Also room and desk fans and electric galley ranges, and bake ovens, if ship is so fitted. One electrician to be detailed to electrical workshop and electrical issuing room.
POWER AND SEARCHLIGHTS
The crew has charge of all power and ventilating blower motors, searchlights and storage batteries. One electrician to be assigned to each turret and has charge of all electrical gear in turret handling room and magazines connecting with turret. One electrician is assigned to torpedo defence groups 1 to 4, and one electrician to torpedo defence groups 5 to 8, for care of searchlights. One electrician to be assigned to crew of each searchlight, for operation at torpedo defence quarters.
This crew has the duty of testing and electrical repair of all interior communication circuits and instruments, ship's service telephones, gyro-compasses, fire-control telephones, and instruments and firing circuits up to the locks of the guns, and the range-finders.
Divide each station into four sections, for the purpose of standing watch, liberty, messing, berthing, etc.; as far as practicable, assign men to stations so that they will have the same station for battle that they have for maintenance.
Other extracts from the "type organization" applying to the electrical personnel are set forth below:
The electrical officer, if qualified for fire-control duties, shall be in charge of the plotting room. If the electrical officer is not so qualified, the above arrangement shall be used. If there is no regular electrical officer assigned, a plotting room officer performs the necessary electrical duties; the general doctrine being that the electrical officer shall have some station in the plotting room.
In this organization the maintenance of the dynamo engines and their auxiliaries are not under the electrical officer, but are under the auxiliaries division of the engineering department.
Stations of electrical personnel for ship-control, fire-control and general drills are given below:
SHIP CONTROL
CENTRAL STATION
One electrician for gyro-compasses.
INTERIOR COMMUNICATION ROOM
One electrician tends switchboard, looks out for motor generators and stands by to shift navigational instrument control from one station to another as required.
FORWARD AND AFTER REPAIR STATIONS
Such electricians as may be required, depending on the construction of the ship.
FORWARD DISTRIBUTION ROOM
Electrical gunner in charge tests out all communications, energizes all fire- and ship-control circuits. Stops blowers not required. Engine-room and fire-room blowers will not be stopped. Furnishes power and light to necesary circuits. Stands by to stop ventilation blowers in case powder gases are drawn in. Magazine exhaust blowers shall be kept running to withdraw other fumes. Sees fire-extinguishing apparatus and fresh water at hand. Receives reports from after dynamo room and distribution rooms, and forward dynamo room, and reports ready to starboard engine room. Stops ventilating supply blowers leading to magazines.
PERSONNEL DUTY
Electrical gunner In charge.
Chief electrician In charge, distribution switchboard.
One electrician Switch operator and communications.
Three electricians Repairs.
FORWARD DYNAMO ROOM
Machinist's mate in direct charge. Starts all generators. Stands by to equalize, divide or shift load as may be required. Closes battle gratings and water-tight doors; sees chemical fire extinguishers in place, and fresh water at hand. Reports to forward distribution room when ready.
PERSONNEL DUTY
One machinist's mate. In charge.
One electrician On watch and generator switchboard.
One machinist's mate. On Watch.
One oiler On watch.
AFTER DYNAMO ROOM
Machinist's mate in charge. Starts all generators. Stands by to equalize, divide or shift load as may be required. Closes battle gratings and watertight doors; see chemical fire extinguishers in place and fresh water at hand. Reports to after distribution room when ready.
PERSONNEL DUTY
One machinist's mate In charge.
One electrician On watch and generator switchboard.
One machinist's mate On watch.
One oiler On watch.
STARBOARD ENGINE ROOM One electrician, lighting.
MIDDLE ENGINE RROOM One electrician, lighting.
PORT ENGINE ROOM One electrician, lighting.
ENGINEER'S REPAIR STATION Electricians, repairs.
FIRE CONTROL
PLOTTING Room
PERSONNEL DUTY
Switchboard operator Switchboards.
*(Usually chief electrician of fire-control crew.)
EACH TURRET
One electrician Repairs to electrical installation.
SEARCHLIGHTS
One electrician, each searchlight Operates light,
TYPE BILL FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES
Getting under way.
Coming to anchor.
Mooring an unmooring.
Electrical gunner At electric windlass.
COALING BILL
Electrical division Runs winches. Repairs defects. Excess men to coal.
FIRE BILL
FIRE OTHER THAN IN ACTION
Electrical gunner Starts generators for power on winches. Sends
party to location of fire to stop blowers, pull
fuses, etc.
*Italics are mine.
DIVISIONAL DUTIES
Stops blowers Electrical division, only in part of the ship where fire is
located. Stands by to start if needed. Stops all magazine
supply blowers.
Electrical repairs Electrical. To pull fuses; in case of electrical fires supply
portable lights and blowers.
COLLISION BILL
COLLISION OTHER THAN IN ACTION
Electrical gunner Starts generators for power f or cranes, winches and anchor gear winches.
The above organization is in effect to-day for battleships of the Atlantic fleet.
Soon after the outbreak of war, 100 men with electrical training were obtained and given commissions as lieutenants, junior grade. After a course at the Naval Academy, they were sent to sea for three months, most of them to battleships, two to a ship. At the end of that time, one was retained aboard for electrical duty, and the other made available for shore duty at navy yards and in the Bureau of Steam Engineering.
The experience of these officers in civilian life, together with their naval training, makes them a valuable asset, and it is hoped that those who have proved their value and aptitude for the service may be retained in the navy.
The electrical plants of our battleships are in efficient condition to-day, and every effort must be made to keep them so. Their increased efficiency is due in a large measure, it is believed, to the assignment of electrical officers to our ships and the placing of all electrical personnel and material under their supervision.