Upon reporting in Camden for duty- in connection with the building of the Tuscaloosa, I expected to find a great improvement in the appearance of the wardroom of this new 10,000-ton cruiser. However, upon going on board I was disappointed to find that the appearance of the wardroom and its fittings had changed very little from that of the U.S.S. Nebraska, the first ship in which I served.
Many necessary changes to improve the appearance of this wardroom were self-evident. After looking things over carefully, I went to one of the high officials of the New York Shipbuilding Company and requested certain changes. This official frowned on any suggested changes and finally, in answer to my arguments, told me that a man-of-war should not in any sense be considered the home of seagoing officers. I learned a new point of view. Here was a man who had been building ships for the Navy for many years and was really sincere in his opinion that appearances and comfort on board a man-of-war were not to be desired. Needless to say this man had never lived on board a ship other than during acceptance trials when he picked out one of the best single rooms. His other seagoing experience consisted mainly of trips to Europe on luxurious liners. Of course, I lost this conference but I learned a very important point. I learned that if living on board were to be made comfortable and attractive it must necessarily be accomplished by the wardroom officers themselves. Fully realizing this, the wardroom officers voted to improve the appearance of the wardroom. A committee of five officers was appointed to investigate and to recommend such changes as they considered necessary. While we were still in Camden, this committee invited several interior decorators from Philadelphia to come on board and suggest ways and means for improving the wardroom so that the work could be undertaken immediately. These decorators, after looking over the wardroom, threw up their hands at the futility of the job. The officers, however, were not in the least discouraged and eventually worked out a plan. With our plans well laid, the ship’s force assisted by various civilian experts undertook and accomplished these changes during the four weeks of our fitting-out period at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
A wardroom, as we all know, is a combination library, clubroom, and dining-room. During a comparatively few hours of the day it is used as a dining-room and during the remainder of the day as a library and clubroom. Furthermore, in the wardrooms of the 10,000-ton cruisers there is a great difference in ages of the members due to the fact that there is no junior officers’ mess. In making changes in our wardroom, due consideration was given to all these points.
As originally built the wardroom had a fore-and-aft partition on the starboard side which divided the room into two small crowded rooms. Furthermore, the transoms are not built in to fit around the frames at the side of the ship, thereby occupying the least possible floor space. They are simply placed against the frames and, in the case of the wardroom, are placed against a web at the deck which extends well out from the frame with the result that the transoms extend several feet out from the side of the ship. This construction and the installation of the book cases on the outboard side of the fore-and-aft partition made the forward end of what was to have been a lounge too narrow for much practical use. The Wardroom itself with three mess tables, sideboards, and cigar locker seemed crowded at all times. Therefore, the first major change decided upon was to remove this fore-and-aft partition and to make the wardroom into one large satisfactory room rather than two small unsatisfactory ones. The next major consideration was the long unattractive transoms on each side of the wardroom extending from the forward to the after bulkhead without a break. As we all know, the corners of a transom are much more comfortable than the center and it was decided to double the number of corners. To oversale this objectionable feature of the long transoms a second objection fitted very well into our scheme. Two sideboards or serving tables had been placed by the contractor side by side amidship against the after bulkhead of the wardroom. In this location they created congestion and it was apparent that they should be moved. Accordingly, it was decided to St a section out of the center of each of the long transoms and place a sideboard or serving table in each of these sections. In this location these sideboards are very useful as serving tables as one is close to the starboard table and the other close to the port table when the wardroom is set Up for meals. By placing them in the center, we broke up the long, ugly transoms and made eight corners (or comfortable Seats) instead of the four as originally installed. Another improvement was made by closing the two serving windows from the pantry to the wardroom. These windows on most ships are, I think, unnecessary and only afford a view of the pantry (and mess attendants working there) to Anyone facing them. Also, no matter how careful the mess attendants may be, there is always a certain amount of noise in the Pantry. Eliminating these serving windows has proved very satisfactory indeed and all noise from the pantry has been eliminated. It was also decided to remove the cigar locker from the wardroom and place it in the passageway abaft the wardroom. It is never necessary to have a cigar locker in a wardroom and this floor space can always be used to better advantage.
The above rearrangement of the heavy furniture having been decided upon, it was next necessary to consider the movable furniture and the necessary decorations to give an improved and comfortable wardroom. In order to go about this planning in an intelligent manner, a small cardboard model of the wardroom was made. This model showed the details of chairs, tables, etc. It appeared that there should be an attractive center group in the wardroom about midships on the forward bulkhead, where our fireplace, mantel, and built-in bookshelves were finally located. It was planned also to have four smaller conversational groupings in the four corners of the wardroom. Thus, if officers of different ages have guests aboard, there are five groups in the wardroom available for entertaining and talking to such guests. It was further decided, in order not to break up the main center or library group during meals, to rearrange the mess tables. Therefore, the new arrangement in our model showed a fore- and-aft table on the starboard side, a fore-and-aft table on the port side, and an athwartships table forward of the after bulkhead and well clear of our fireplace group. By this arrangement the center group of furniture is never disturbed even during meals. This general arrangement of tables made the small rugs unsuitable and a large 9'X15' rug for the fireplace was furnished by the contractor after we had gone into commission and after he realized that the changes were, after all, worth while.
After consulting the various interior decorators, the committee of officers decided that the best results could be obtained by using Flexwood, manufactured by the U. S. Plywood Company. This Flexwood is a very remarkable material. It is a fine cabinet wood cut very thin (1/85"), mounted on a cloth, and made flexible by a patented process so that it can be applied to a wall in the same manner that wall paper is applied. Flexwood is available in all kinds of wood and it is really an ideal covering for any smooth wall. After being applied, it is fireproof. Of all the woods available, we selected walnut, obtainable both in a quartered cut which shows the knots of the wood and also in a straight cut which shows nothing but the straight grain of the wood. A combination of these two cuts aided materially in the paneling of the room. It was decided to use the quartered walnut for the center of the panels and to use the straight edge walnut between the panels. Various sizes of walnut molding were used for a finish to the panels and to the overhead and deck line.
The committee decided to seal the overhead and to install a more attractive type of overhead lights.
In order to execute the plans outlined by the committee a great many difficulties had to be overcome. The bulkheads with their welded seams and various rivet heads did not present the necessary smooth sur- face for the Flexwood and it was necessary to find a smooth foundation upon which to make the walnut room. We found that asbestos board would provide an ideal surface on which to apply the Flexwood but we had to find some way to erect this asbestos. After a great deal of investigation and worry we found a patented metal strip known as “Olsen Members.” These could be welded to the bulkheads or to the overhead and, had we not found them, I am afraid the installation would have been impossible during the short time available. It was not necessary to drill a single hole in the entire wardroom. The entire fitting was accomplished by welding to the various bulkheads and deck.
A net work of “Olsen Members” was erected and to these members were screwed the thin hard sheet asbestos, which were drilled and countersunk for the screws, the heads of which were covered with Swedish putty to make a smooth surface.
In erecting the bulkheads, we made provisions to reach the necessary electrical fittings by cutting doors in the asbestos lining. In sheathing overhead we faced the problem of having accessible the overhead wiring. This difficulty was overcome by the design of the new lights installed in the wardroom. These lights have a 14-inch metal disc to which the globe is held by a center bolt. Thus, 12 holes are cut in the asbestos overhead (under the discs) and each hole is 12 inches in diameter. Through these holes work or repairs on the overhead wiring may be accomplished. In sheathing overhead only one pipe was covered; this is a small fresh-water pipe which leads to the wardroom scuttle butt just forward of the wardroom. In the overhead there were four unattractive Ventilating pipes as shown in the picture of the original wardroom. These pipes protruded below what was to have been the ceiling. To overcome this ugly feature, we dismounted the large bell mouths of these pipes and installed metal conduits above the sheathing. These conduits lead to the square openings shown in the ceiling which were covered with an attractive grill or grid. The general announcing speaker was likewise covered with a grill. The material used in sealing the overhead is a light-colored material similar to oil cloth which can be painted or washed at any time.
The paneling throughout the room was all planned in advance by the ship’s officers and a draftsman, so that the work of hanging the proper kind of Flexwood both in the center of and between the panels went along very smoothly. After the Flexwood had been hung, the walnut molding was installed by our carpenter’s gang. The finish to the Flexwood is the same as that of any wood. A coat of clear shellac is applied and allowed to dry, after which the surface is rubbed down with steel wool and another coat of clear shellac is applied and again rubbed down. A coat of clear varnish is then applied and allowed to dry, after which it is rubbed down thoroughly. Finally, a finishing coat of wax is applied. The cost of upkeep with Flexwood is much less than that of a painted wardroom. Since the ship has been in commission, the wardroom would probably have been painted twice had we had a painted finish. With the Flexyrood finish it is only necessary to wipe off occasionally. The cost of two coats of paint, plus labor, has been saved so far.
To get the proper effect for the built-in bookshelves and fireplace, it was only- necessary to offset the forward bulkhead about nine inches. During this period of construction, plans for furnishing the wardroom kept apace or a little in advance. A walnut mantel, a set of brass andirons, and electric logs for the fireplace were ordered in New York in ample time for installation. The furniture for the fireplace group had been ordered in advance, and was built and delivered prior to our shakedown cruise. It was rather expensive but, judging from the comfort it has given, we feel it has paid for itself.
For the various groupings (both at the fireplace and in the four corners), attractive lamps were ordered in New York and were delivered to the ship prior to the start of our shakedown cruise.
The hangings at the doors and at the air ports are of tan and red Fortuny prints. It should be noted from the photographs that the air-port curtains are of the proper length whereas those originally furnished the ship were much too short and of the same old green color as those used on the Nebraska and earlier ships.
During the construction and after completion of the wardroom, there were many gloomy and sorrowful predictions as to its standing the many strains of a ship at sea. Some experts predicted that once the guns were fired everything would come tumbling down. Others foretold the bad effect of changing from hot weather to cold weather, prophesying that expansion and contraction would ruin our wood finish. Upon one thing all agreed—it is a comfortable, pleasant place to live. We have had our structural firing, which is a severe test, and everything remained intact. We have crossed the equator twice and have spent the winter in New York; the heat and cold have made no impression. We have had a few days of bad weather at sea; and the vibration of the ship has not loosened a thing.
We did not tell our pessimistic friends that we had looked into expansion and contraction and that steel and asbestos have a reasonably close coefficient of expansion; and that we had allowed a hall inch at the top of the bulkheads for any movement of the upper deck. This half inch is covered with molding and is not apparent; but the officers of the ship are not certain as to the future. However, we made all provisions possible.
The accompanying photographs illustrate the changes made in the wardroom- Two of these photographs show the wardroom with its arrangements and fittings as delivered by the contractor when the Tuscaloosa went into commission The other photographs show the results of a great deal of thought and effort on the part of the officers in the same wardroom since the ship commissioned. See pp. 950-56.
After a great deal of searching we finally found an attractive design for a clock. It consists of a regulation Navy clock and two dolphins, all mounted on a brass pedestal. The pedestal, dolphins, and clock have been finished in an attractive, harmonious bronze.
This wardroom is not yet complete and from time to time as funds permit it is hoped to purchase various necessary articles that will improve its looks. The main construction is far from perfect, but I believe it is a step in the right direction and a vast improvement over the wardroom as it was when the ship went into commission. With the progress made in engines and boilers and in directors and practically all equipment on a ship, I feel that officers should make every effort to keep pace with this progress by improving the comfort and appearance of the places in which they live. A ship is the home of a seagoing officer and the wardroom should not have the same finish as storerooms have any more than the library or drawing-room of a house ashore should have the same finish as the cellar.