Bummer for the Bonnie Dick:
Problems with its steam service turbine generators are delaying Friday’s planned deployment of amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, Navy officials confirmed late Wednesday.
Maintenance crews were determining the repairs needed so Bonhomme Richard, carrying nearly 3,000 Marines and sailors, can begin its scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf regions. The turbine generators convert steam into electricity, which in turn feeds energy into the ship’s power supply.
“The ship received an inspection advisory for the ship’s service turbine generators,” said Cmdr. Greg Hicks, a U.S. 3rd Fleet spokesman in San Diego. “Issues were discovered that are best corrected pierside before commencing deployment.”
I was aboard the USS Independence in 1990 when Cat 3 went down. All alert launches were from the waist catapults, and the embarked F-14s couldn’t launch off Cat 4 with Phoenix missiles aboard. The flag wouldn’t cross the Bear Box without Tomcats, so the ship was delayed about a week undergoing repairs.
A lot of people got very excited at the news.
When we left San Diego in Jan ’73 Connie sucked up half the mud in San Diego Bay and packed it into the water tubes of two of those Babcock & Wilcox boilers. But we went on our way, dragging a screw.
Even though I was an airdale I joined the OOD training program and, among other interesting opportunities, managed to climb inside one of the boilers while they were drilling out the crud. Talk about Dirty Jobs! Man was it hot in there, and I was just standing around watching (like JOs do).
Then one of our evaporators went belly up and we were not only on water hours (make that water hour, conveniently set for 3-4am) but the cats use fresh water too and we had to limit the launches. And the laundry used fresh waterd too.
That was right before the air condition went off line, and we all learned how foo-foo powder can make a rank bunk that hasn’t been changed in two weeks almost tolerable. But compared to a foxhole we were in good shape, I figured.
All this during a 59 day line period. Yeah, we were all a little grumpy.
I have read many of these. When I was young and a CHENG it was literally the kiss of death to fail to sail. It does, after all, exhibit a profound lack of management ability and readiness to meet scheduled underway obligations. These sorts of things don’t happen unless the CHENG is wholly deficient in his job or has been browbeaten by the CoC to not make waves and “we’ll postpone the fix to the next scheduled availability….”
I was probably blessed as four times a CHENG by the utter and complete absence of anything like a squadron material officer and the absence of anybody off ship that could be handily “fixed” with the blame should the underway not happen. Even the most dismal and worthless skippers knew that it was a very short chain blaming me that would find them at the other end of said short chain.
I only had one fail to sail and that was my second day after reporting aboard in Bahrain with the offgoing crew still embarked and in charge. We dropped the anchor and could not get it back up. There were two “fixes”, slip the cable or drill big honking holes into the anchor windlass coupling and put the biggest strongest bolts we had in there to bind the two halves together…my vote”.
I had fun with that one.
Curtis:
Wow! Four times a CHENG? You have my utmost respect and admiration. Without you and the “snipes” nothing on a ship would happen.
xairboss,
Nothing easier, show up at a Packard plant for 7 months of fun, deploy for Ernest Will for 5 months of real fun on a Waukesha during Praying Mantis and then back again to the Packard Plant with another 5 month return to the Waukesha plant in 1989. Two engineering tours twice on two different ships. The sporting part was going from a ship that was 14% manned to one that was 160% manned and back again.
I’ve written it here before, I’ll write it again, my ISIC and chain of command held that we could get u/w and support a 4 day steaming exercise when 14% manned and we did. It was the sort of thing that forever made me a heretic about “fleet training exercises. BLAH BLAH BLAH.
oh, we sort of capped that by getting screwed by the COBRA at Mine Group ONE who decided that we needed to be the first of the Group to go through a 3M Inspection from Surfpac while we were still at roughly 19% manning. What fun! The inspecting party would sit in the CPO mess and make their selections for 3M spotchecks and my two chiefs and I would say unto them that, those dudes weren’t on the ship. I think the inspection team was able to conduct 3 spotchecks and they were all sat. They left the ship muttering about what a total and complete waste of time it was. I suggested that they direct all complaints to Mine Group ONE who had advised us all that all such admin inspections would be called off for the duration of Ernest Will.
As usual, ALL of my duties came more easily while deployed to MIDEASTFOR. Something about leaving the drones and bureaucrats behind, way behind.
Had a friend who was told by the CO to clear the CASREP on the supercharger on the P-Fired boiler (FF-1040 Class), so they could deploy “CASREP Free.” Said…”No, Sir.” Got hauled by the stacking swivel to the Commodore’s Office. Got same order. Explained “It’s not fixed.” Got told again to clear it. Direct order. Aye, Aye…and straight back to the Log Room to make factual entry in the Smooth Log. CASCOR written, chopped and released said msg for the offending CASREP.
Part way across the big water heading east, the CV was behind PIM and the direction came from the Bridge to “lit off #2.” No Sir…it’s broke. Direct order. Duly noted, standby…(scribbling in Smooth Log). A few hours later, broke turbo-charger broke more and spewed blades into the firebox, separating tubes from welded fixtures.
CO demanded written statements. ENG said: No. Pulled into Naples, 3M Teams swarmed the ship, accompanied by lawyers. Findings Eng Dept had well into 90s for RAR, lawyers were quiet and no mention was made of blame and courts Martials.
Spent 4 months getting the boiler rebuilt. That was 1984.
HAH!
That was us too! My first CHENG flat refused to subject the equipment to reverse power relay trip and load shedding. As I recall, he said the SSTG would shed the blades and there wasn’t much point to doing it since it would cripple the ship. He told the INSURV inspectors to fuck off.
Indy ’90? Was Dave Amorosi a shooter on that cruise (maybe he rolled out of FCDSSA for the next one)? That’s one I’d like to catch up with — good Div O.
Ah, I was just an ell-tee airdale. Shooters were guys you flipped off on the fly-off. Sorry.
I took two unexpected cruises due to sister ships having major engineering casualties less than a month before deployment. The natural result of being rode hard and put away wet time after time, and then pretending you don’t have problems. The sad thing is that the people who could fix the problem are the ones that don’t get promoted.
Maybe you flyboys will show some respect for the black gang now.
This is totally unsat. Never, during my six years in the nukular navy, four of which were on Bainbridge (CGN-25) did we fail to sail–all during the Carter years.
Now, just why it’s unsat, is a topic for debate. Design? Not enough SSTGs? Not all of our five SSTGs were functional all the time. But we would troubleshoot, fix, and keep them ready. Money? Not enough? (Very likely, BTW.) Poor workmanship? Possibly, but not likely.
But this running things hard, putting them away wet, then pretending they aren’t tired and worn out, is totally unsat.
It jeopardizes crew, mission, and our national security.
UNSAT.
Why couldn’t a Tomcat go off cat4 with Phoenix missiles? Is it a length thing?
You’d have to ask XAirboss, but as I recall it had to summat to do with insufficient clearance for the missile fins if a tire blew on the port side.
So, F-14s have blow job issues?
I don’t recall any prohibition on Toms going off Cat 4 with Phoenix aboard on America. Course, it’s been awhile and I could be having a brain fa#t here.
That they “received an inspection advisory” makes it sound like maybe a very deep, and potentially serious, problem, not a garden variety ships force detected (or fixed) problem. Possibly based on a failure of a similar unit elsewhere in the fleet. Turbines are nice, but when in aircraft or SSTGs, they can really make a mess if they come apart. And that steam stuff can be exciting too if it gets loose.
Probably better to take the last minute hit for FTS due to a previously undiscovered problem than to risk answering lots of questions about knowingly sailing away with a hazardous SSTG which can kill people and leave lots of others in the dark.
Too few ships. Too many old ships. Too many missions. Even the best sailors and skippers and magicians like Byron cannot keep them running forever.
But, we get cash for clunkers, buy GM and Chrysler, and fund funky art and pay ACORN to commit fraud. And build worthless LCSs. All hail the leaders. We are doomed if this keeps up.
Ah Lex, you mention the Independence, I cruised on her in ’77 left the pier in January for the MED on one evaporator. We were on Water Hours the whole cruise including while in port. My squadron (VS-31) twice flew the Engineering O and once with the Chaplin; back to CONUS for parts and I guess advice, but nothing helped. Dovetailing with your previous post regrading extended deployments, and just because we were having so much fun and smelling so nice what ever ship it was that was supposed to come out and relieve us in July, well it was a no show. We got back the 27th of November. Good cruise though, lots of liberty in Naples – to do laundry.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
I’d have more sympathy for the extended cruise comments if I weren’t looking at two framed Homeward Bound Pennant sections I earned on Coral Sea. (Dec. ’64 to November ’65, and July 67 to April ’68) Married Jun of ’64, and the divorce was final in Jun of ’68. Breaks of Naval Air, commonly called Air Brakes.
For mechanical casualties, I believe it was ’63 when Coral Sea lost the entire portside elevator early in the cruise, and did her deployment with just the two starboard side elevators.
3 stage flash evap. No moving parts…really. I think it’s safe to say that ship’s engineering company really really hated you.
Trust me.
Geez Jimmy, you just brought back some long-suppressed memories of that ’77 cruise. My first Fleet traps were on that cruise, I was in the Whale Det. I didn’t know that things could be any different until I went aboard Sara that fall. (of course that’s where I learned to throw a match in the water basin before shaving to make sure there was no JP in it)
As the son and grandson of Marine Engineers (that’s the merchant marine equivalent of CHENG) this thread is way too familiar.
VR,
Comjam
Curtis,
I have fond memories of my time on Indy (documenting them here: http://voicefromthenoise.blogspot.com/ as well as all my time in the Navy). I remember how they always parked the Whale on the High point next to Cat #1 cause we were always either on the Cat itself or the next one aft of the High Point (they almost always put the S-3 on the Cat right out of the landing zone). And, I think it was the Sara that was supposed to come out and relieve us in July. Not sure which boat, you know we were busy at the time.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
Hey, I was on Liberty in Naples when Elvis died in ’77.. small world.
I remember walking by some building by the tower and they had these newspaper vending machines out front. One of them proclaimed, in English “The King Is Dead”. I remember thinking to myself “That’s funny, I didn’t realize that Naples still had a King”… then I saw the pic of Elvis and it all hot. WOW!
Naples was a hoot and a hlaf, and I enjoyed it immensely. We were flying out of Rota at the time, and had to take some flag to a NATO conference in Naples, so had the run of the place for 3 days. I’d like to go back sometime. Sigh…
And it WAS Saratoga that came out to relieve you guys. I have a great story about her inchopping the Med that I posted over to Xformed’s blog awhile back. Involved Sara and her TSC, my crew, a Soviet AGI, and an Echo II trying to shadow her. Great times, great times.
The coolest thing about that evolution Lex? We got to CQ on Nimitz. I distinctly recall orbiting overhead after day two or three, our Air Wing had beat the snot out of the 3 wire. So much so that you could barely make out the centerline stripe. It was a lot more fun than that other night you’ve described before. And you know which one I’m talking about.
Yeah, compared to the Indy-boat, Nimitz was like strawberries and ice cream. No real burble to speak of. Remember how chapped the leave behinds were to have to stay out four days after their leadership had flown off, while CVW-14 occupied their ready rooms and made them look humble on the greenie board?
Good times. Unlike that other night. Which is when I believe my hair started turning seriously gray, having only fooled around with the notion previously.
I was never the best ball flyer but I was a green machine on Nimitz. Good times indeed.
John, I’m not a “magician”…I’m a craftsman. So are my brother yardbirds. We do our best to keep you haze grey and underway, and that’s about it. Keep in mind that (for the most part) we care about what we do, but the biggest stumbling block to getting a quality job done is our real customer: NAVSEA. We do inspections, turn in condition reports damn near every day. And on a regular basis, a suprisingly large number of “discrepancies” get rejected or “deferred to a later availability”. We always laugh at the later choice, because we know that when, not if, it breaks for sure and causes a “repair before operating” we will be back, and it will cost much more to repair. I did an inspection on a fuel oil tank once and submitted it. The “ship building specialist” (thats what they call themselves today) said that he wasn’t going to do anything I wrote up, so you can just forget it. I told him no problem, I don’t have a dog in the hunt, I inspect, I report…but I do have a hard copy of the report, and WHEN, not IF, the tank top starts sloshing fuel around below the missile launcher, we’ll see if it gets worked on or not. We ended up doing the repairs anyway.
Keep in mind that sometimes your enemy is yourselves. Sad, but true.
Oyster, that whole inside joke, what happens at the ‘Hook, stays at the ‘Hook, sucks. Mere mortals such as us are not allowed to listen to the sacred rites. It is not nice to tease us
Oh, I believe Oyster is talking about this story. I know I was. Yer man was one of my teammates standing on the deck edge ready to jump into the net whilst I recovered from being frightened nearly to death.
What I remember about the nets by LSO on the Vinson were that they had a big padded one for the officers and a little one with no padding for the V-2 guy. I guess ’cause they were jumping from higher up.
Spent quite a few hours sitting on that little perch yelling out ‘gear set…’ and looking up every so often to see that the tanker was still up there and that meant we weren’t done.
Tomcat launches from 4 were my favorite – with no jbd to get in the way of the beautiful flames shooting back. Didn’t do it often, but loved it when we did. Best at night of course.
I’ll see you one F/A-18 taxi one landing with the hook striking the round down and raise you one Whale landing (daylight no less) with three sections of safety net taken out, main mount skid marks on the round down, bounce a few times and grab the 4 wire – and I was still an Ens.
Boss:
You know you’ve been flying Whales too long when you can actually describe the three kinds of “colorful” Whale landings. So when and where did you learn about the less-than-spectacular spool-up time of the J-57?
VR,
Comjam
Comjam, it had to be Oct/Nov of 66. It was my first work ups on America and I think I had about 19 “ride aboards” under my belt.
Lex, regarding last words, didn’t the Navy have a project during the VN conflict where they monitored and/or collated all last xmissions prior to punching out and IIRC the overwhelming leader was the phrase “AW S**T!” In fact IIRC the Navy lost so many birds where the crew had to punch out near Hainan Island either coming off the beach with BD or on the way in, it became known as “Aw Shit Island.” LOL. Or is my memory wrong?..Anyone?…It was a Navy thing, after-all…
My apologies Byron. After you read the link Lex provided, you’ll be fully read in.
No apologies needed, Oyster, was just a gentle poke at you nasal, er, Naval Aviators
Speaking of the Bear line, below is a link to a story on the NorPac ’82 cruise with Enterprise and Midway. It gives a very good idea of how a 1000 ft long, 60,000 ton ship can be essentially invisible.
http://www.navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-031.htm
Cool read. Of course it went the other way at times as well. PACEX ’89 was on the flight deck when they called for launching the alert 5 with an initial vector of ‘overhead’. A bunch of us looked up and there they were. All alone. That wasn’t a good feeling.
coolest thing I saw was a CVN launching aircraft while anchored off Adak. Wind over the deck, no problem.
Takeoffs from Kef were much like that some days. Well, most days…..
JR, I was aboard Connie or Indy (forget which) out in the IO and we were having a Steel Beach when all of the sudden there appeared off the aft starboard quarter one of those little double-rotored SOVIET helos. Holy S**T. The pilot side had no door and he was in there wearing shorts. Needless to say, they cleared away the BBQ line real quick and launched a couple pointy noses. Funny now. Then, not so much.
Sure would have liked to hear the AB to AW chat on that one.
Geez, guys. These are not happy stories. Might make me start thinking you’re actually human instead of god-like paragons.
“Nothing easier, show up at a Packard plant for 7 months of fun, deploy for Ernest Will for 5 months of real fun on a Waukesha ” Sounds suspiciously like Aggressive class MSOs. J hoses, anyone?
It made so much sense! Deploy the boats with the best plants and arrange to relieve ship’s company before they actually went on task with the most highly trained crews.
Still, we killed no one. Kind of the antithesis of what the navy is about. Killing took deep thought.
Indy ’90. I was a QM2 on the Antietam, out along with you folks on that cruise.
We had a fail to sail while in port San Diego. A chain of errors resulted in sending a 200 ft slug of roasted seawater into every operating condenser. The 2SB went from zero to “You’re boned” in about 3 seconds. The crew got 3 extra days in port. I got 6 hours of sleep that entire time. It was 2 weeks before we got everything cleaned up and the ELT’s were constantly sampling generators for almost a month.
It was the best and worst 3 days of my career.