WITHIN the past decade interest in damage control has increased noticeably; the first requisite of a fighting ship is that it remain afloat, and appreciation of this axiom has gradually led to a better understanding of the necessity for the organization and equipment with which all phases of damage may be met and neutralized.
Design and construction have of late years conformed to the newer conception of stability and water-tight integrity, and the forces afloat have gone into the subject of water-tight integrity in great detail. The latest and most important addition to the important subject of damage control has been contributed by the Manual of Interior Control. Having, as it does, official sanction, the manual has definitely given the subject of damage control a status which insures recognition and definite action toward the end that ships will be organized and equipped to meet and control damage in all of its phases.
Prior to the issue of the Manual of Interior Control, the service came to be familiar with the reports of the Fire Control Board and Ship Control Board. Ship control was a general cover-all which included practically every angle of control that could not be classified as a fire-control matter; the new conception of ship control recognizes that there are two important and distinct functions embraced under that heading: maneuvering control and damage control. The navigator is now considered to be the maneuvering officer instead of the ship-control officer as heretofore; the damage- control officer is responsible for that part of ship control relating to the control of damage in all of its various forms.
Damage control, itself defined as a phase of ship control, may be further divided under five subheads: stability control, gas defense, fire fighting, repairs, and care of the wounded.
In every ship some officer is charged with the responsibility of coordinating damage- control matters; in large surface vessels the first lieutenant is the damage-control officer; in destroyers the executive officer acts in that capacity; the depth-control officer of the submarine is the damage-control officer in that type; and in the large dirigibles damage control comes under the jurisdiction of the keel officer.
In ships having a central station, damage control is coordinated from that station. The officers in charge of the repair stations forward, amidships, aft, and on the upper deck act as assistants to the damage-control officer. The damage-control officer exercises control over this function by means of the 2JZ (casualty repair) battle telephone circuit and such parallel communications as exist. The damage-control officer reports directly to the commanding officer and cooperates with the battery-control officers, engineer officer, etc., in damage matters as necessary.
Stability Control
The first lieutenant, as damage-control officer, coordinates the various activities of the stability-control organization in large ships. In smaller vessels this, of course, is modified as shown in a foregoing paragraph. There is prepared for each ship a table showing the change in list, trim, and draft, caused by flooding the various compartments of the ship. This table together with small plans, suitably arranged, is located in the central station and the whole is known as the casualty board. In certain ships provision has been made for the remote operation of flooding valves and these devices have been located in a single compartment known as the wing-tank control room. In ships having the wing-tank control room there is a duplicate casualty board and the officer stationed in that compartment is directly charged with the duty of stability control under the supervision of the damage- control officer.
The damage-control officer exercises supervision over the control of stability from the central station, using the 2JZ battle telephone circuit which connects him with all repair stations, and with those flooding stations which are habitually manned in battle. The officers in charge of the wing-tank control room and repair parties, and the personnel at flooding stations which are habitually manned in battle, will exercise control in the areas in which they are stationed, but are at all times under the direct orders of the damage-control officer and at all times must keep him informed of the situation, as he must coordinate all stability- control activities in order to keep the ship on an even keel.
Those compartments under the cognizance of the engineering officer, such as the fuel- oil tanks, etc., should be flooded and pumped under the direction of the engineering officer, but with the advice of the damage-control officer when stability is affected; conversely, when the damage-control officer has occasion to change trim by means of flooding or pumping out compartments or tanks under the cognizance of the engineering officer, he should inform the engineering officer of such necessity and request that the necessary action be taken. Should the engineering officer disagree with the recommendation of the damage-control officer in the case of compartments and tanks under the cognizance of the engineering department, the captain must decide the action to be taken.
The subject of water-tight integrity is closely related to stability control and the damage-control officer must be thoroughly familiar with all the appliances and methods of maintaining the water-tight integrity.
Gas Defense
At the present time the methods of protecting personnel and material against the effects of war gases are far from being perfected. Difficulties arise and make it necessary to compromise in many cases in order that the military virtues of the various types be not altogether lost in an effort to protect them from this menace. In general, it may be considered that there are five degrees of gas protection:
- Complete protection, involving gas-tight sealing and the cooling, purifying, and recirculation of air;
- Protection afforded by gas-tight sealing together with the use of soda lime, and the supply of oxygen from special containers;
- Temporary protection afforded by sealing compartments gas-tight during the period of the attack;
- Prevention of the entry of gas into a space by maintaining that space under a pressure;
- The protection afforded by gas masks and specially designed clothing.
The introduction of gas filters may be employed in the fourth case and in certain other instances.
In arriving at any definite policy in the matter of prescribing gas protection, the weight, time, and cost factors will inevitably lead to a comparison of types with the very natural result that the same protection cannot be guaranteed to the destroyer, for example, as the battleship. It is doubtful if such a policy allows of a more definite statement than the following:
The personnel of each station should be afforded the maximum gas protection compatible with the type of service expected of the ship, the importance of the station in the battle organization, the structural characteristics of the station, and the weight, space, and expense involved.
Following that formula, the degree of gas protection has been determined for the various stations in all classes of vessels. Assuming that complete protection for all personnel is not practicable, we must face the fact that a large percentage of the ship’s company will have to rely on masks and gas-proof clothing for protection.
In view of the fact that gas masks in their present form admittedly reduce the efficiency of personnel at battle stations, the authority to sound the gas alarm should be vested in the captain only. Masks may be put on or other gas-defense measures may be adopted locally as directed by the officer in charge, but the alarm putting the entire ship in a state of gas defense must not be sounded indiscriminately.
The first lieutenant, as damage-control officer, is designated as gas-defense officer. He concerns himself with the gas integrity of the ship, the officers in charge of repair parties acting as his assistants when battle stations are manned. The casualty board contains all pertinent information regarding the degree of gas-tightness of all parts of the ship. In case of gas attack he should demand and receive reports concerning the condition of personnel and material after gas stations have been manned.
A distinctive note transmitted over the general announcing system is considered an efficient gas alarm and one that should be effective and practicable.
Immediately upon detecting the presence of gas at any station the personnel of that station should don masks, and the officer in charge should report direct to the captain if direct communication exists; otherwise to the appropriate control officer, who in turn will report to the captain.
If, in the opinion of the captain, the gas alarm should be sounded, he will cause it to be sounded, and immediately thereafter the control officers of all units of the armament and the control officers of all the major ship-control activities will report to the damage-control officer the condition of personnel and material under their control.
After receiving reports from all parts of the ship the damage-control officer will take such corrective steps as may be possible and will keep the captain, chief fire-control officer, and engineer officer fully informed of all developments, casualties, and progress in overcoming the gas menace.
Fire Fighting
The matters of fire prevention and fire fighting require little special mention. Even in Nelson’s time “general quarters” called for leading out fire hose, filling gun tubs, wetting the blanket curtains over the magazine doors, wetting down bulkheads and overhead beams, manning the pumps, and unlocking the magazine flooding valves. Fire prevention and fire fighting are drummed into every man at every station in every ship so that local measures may be taken until the full resources of the ship can be brought to bear. Here again, the damage-control officer and his assistants control major activities and no further description is necessary here in view of the detailed manner in which this subject is covered in the safety precautions and elsewhere.
On the aircraft carriers special precautions are taken in the hangar and on the flight deck and a fire-integrity watch is maintained owing to the tremendous fire hazard on ships of this class and the dire consequences possibly resulting from fire in the vicinity of the great amount of inflammable material on board.
Repairs
On capital ships there are four repair parties under the jurisdiction of the damage- control officer: forward, amidships (engineers’), aft, and upper-deck repair parties. Battery repair parties are authorized but are not normally under the control of the damage-control officer.
The damage-control officer supervises repairs through his assistants by means of the 2JZ telephone circuit, his assistants in the various areas carrying out his orders and reporting progress and general conditions. He cooperates with the engineering officer in the matter of supplying assistance to the amidships repair party for hull damage owing to the fact that the amidships repair party is primarily concerned with repairs under the cognizance of the engineering department.
In small ships the repair organization is modified to meet the personnel situation and special characteristics of the ship.
Care of the Wounded
The battle dressing stations are manned by the medical department but are a part of the damage organization, owing to the fact that movement of the injured may involve opening water-tight subdivisions of the ship, and also because the employment of crews in reserve may be affected by casualties in large numbers. The damage- control officer exercises control over such of the battle dressing station activities as concern him by means of the 2JZ circuit.
In the foregoing paragraphs, damage- control methods have been discussed as accomplished facts; without doubt much that has been said will have an unfamiliar ring to damage-control officers earning their respective livings as such in the fleet. However, I have outlined the principles that are now sanctioned and approved—principles which will in the future govern material installations and battle bills, and it is fondly hoped that this brief discussion may be of assistance in interpreting the intent and provisions of the Interior Control Manual.