0986 Sleeping Aboard Ship Img_19136 - a photo on Flickriver

0986 Sleeping Aboard Ship Img_19136

            19136 “Sleeping Aboard Ship: The Crew Helps Answer Your Questions” – Battleship North Carolina, #1 Battleship Rd., Wilmington, New Hanover, NC. May 12, 2017. Decimal degrees: 34.234955, -77.953337

“Sleeping Aboard Ship: The Crew Helps Answer Your Questions”

“Who slept here?’
“You are standing in compartment B-214-L. It contained berths or racks (bed) for most of 6th Division. 

One hundred and forty-six men served in 6th Division. They were part of the Gunnery Department. They manned and maintained the port side 5-inch guns.”

“On the Battleship, you worked, lived and became friends with guys from your division. It was kind of clannish. Men from the same division formed a working unit within a department. They worked and slept in the same designated area. Your living area is pretty close to your work area and you tended to stay within your assigned areas. The guys in your divisions tended to be protective of their area. Buddies from other divisions could visit your space, but everyone was wary of guys they didn’t know hanging out in there space.’ – Paul Wieser, Boatswain’s Mate 1/c”

“How were you assigned a berth?”
“The Executive Officer assigned newly arriving sailors to one of the Ship’s 23 divisions. The First Lieutenant assigned berthing quarters (sleeping area) by division. Most divisions had battle and duty stations near their berthing. Division police petty officers took the new sailors to their division berthing quarters. 

The sailors chose a rack (bed) from those available. Most men had a favorite location such as top rack or bottom rack. If hed did not like his rack, he could request a different rack when someone left the division. More senior sailors could bump junior sailors for the racks.”

“What was it like to sleep here?”

“Below decks it was HOT, no air conditioning. Air was taken from topside (outside) and blown into the living compartments.

At night when you slept in you bunk, you sweat; your mattress would get real damp. When you got up, the first thing you did was cover up your mattress with a fireproof cover. This would be almost airtight and after a few weeks your bunk became pretty ripe. First chance you had, the Ship would air bedding, you would take your bedding topside and air it. 

I had a large air duct alongside by bunk, I cut a small hole in it and fitted a piece of a tin can to divert some air onto me. It helped.’ – Bill Taylor, Boatswain’s Mate 1/c”

“Crew member Ralph Swift managed to obtain a fan. He asked a friend to weld it near his berth. Another man sleeping nearby kept turning the fan to his own direction. Ralph had the friend weld the fan into one permanent position.

Smells were not usually a problem. Someone cleaned the compartment daily. Men were expected to shower regularly. The Ship’s laundry cleaned your clothes and sheets. The crew aired their bedding. 

Ship noises drowned out any snoring.

There were no ladders to the upper bunks. You removed your shoes and climbed up.”

“Did people ever sleep somewhere else?”

“Some men found other places to sleep. Some tried outside on the upper decks. Other slept near their work stations. You had to get permission to change sleeping places. Someone had to know where to find you. 

Sleeping out on the decks presented risks. Water rushed over the Main Deck when the Ship turned. You could get wet sleeping on the upper decks when a storm came. Soot covered you if the engineering gang blew out the smokestack deposits.”

“Routine was to bring your mattress up from the bunk down below because nobody wanted to get caught below if we got torpedoed. Sleep up on the Signal Bridge. Every once in a while you wake up in a puddle. It would rain in on you.’ – Jackson Belford, Signalman 3/c”

“After we got torpedoed. I was scared to death when we were out in the war zone. I was scared to death to sleep below decks. In fact, I had a blanket that I slept on topside. I wouldn’t sleep in my regular bunk.’ – Daniel Schroll, Gunner’s Mate 2/c”

“When I came off watch at midnight, I’d get a blanket and a pillow and go up by the forward 16-inch guns and sleep on the deck until it was time to go on watch again or breakfast. That’s the only way you could stay cool.’ – Ortho Farrar, Machinist’s Mate 1/c”

“They let me work in Flag Plot… It was a small place. I can remember it was… air conditioned … I was so lucky to be able to work in there and I even had a little canvas cot and l slept in there at night.’ – Lieutenant Ben Blee, Combat Intelligence Officer”

“What came with a berth?”

“The beds came with a mattress, a mattress cover, and a fireproof cover. The Navy issued each man two blankets and two sheets. You were expected to change sheet weekly. You had to purchase your own pillow. Some men folded their blanket and used it as a pillow.”

“Fireproof canvas bags were provided. When at General Quarters [battle stations] or when not occupied, the mattress, pillow, and bedding were rolled up and stuffed into a bag. This was to reduce fire hazards. One could go from deep sleep to bedding stored and bunk folded up against a stanchion to hot/ footing it to battles station.’ – Frank Hazes, Motor Machinist’s Mate 1/c”

“Where are closets?” 

“The small aluminum lockers served as closets. Each locker has a number that corresponds to the number on a berth. The Ship’s command determined how you arranged your locker contents. 

Locker contents:
Uniforms
Sheet 
Underwear
Toiletries 
Shoes 
Personal items like books, Bible, stationery, candy, and souvenirs  

NO civilian clothes
NO cameras. You could rent one when on liberty. 
NO diaries. If you had one, you found a very safe place for it. Diaries were forbidden for security reasons. 

Did the space look like this? Almost. 
Battleship NORTH CAROLINA was commissioned on April 9, 1941. She was beautiful with soft red linoleum on decks. Her bulkheads (walls) gleamed with fresh white paint. 

The war started on December 8, 1941 and things changed. Unnecessary items that would burn easily had to be removed for safety’s sake. Off came the linoleum and paint. The decks remained bare. A chalky white fireproof paint covered the bulkheads. Even the Ship’s silver service was removed for safekeeping.

Generously Funded by Hank & Terry Falkowski”

In lower left photograph:
“sleeping on deck”

Taken in: United States / North Carolina / Wilmington (show map)

Taken on: May 12, 2017

Sets appears in: • 2017 Year Album D • My 2017 Year Album

Camera: Nikon D5000, f/3.8, 1/60 sec, 20mm (=30mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5000
Aperture:	f/3.8
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	20mm (35mm equivalent: 30mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Fired, Return detected
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Nikon Transfer 1.4 W
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