In this episode we're climbing up an escape trunk from the engine room as if there were an emergency down there. To support this channel and the museum, go to: www.battleshipnewjersey.org/v...
We had the 1200psi Main Line blow on our Knox class FF. Fortunately the lead PO sensed that something was wrong and had the control room evacuate up the emergency scuttle just before the steam pipe blew. We were "Stuck" in Subic Bay for a month while they removed all the Asbestos that went everywhere and replace the pipes.
As a former Machinist mate on a carrier I was always down in the engine room. We had escape trunks that went up to just below the hanger bay. ended up either in medical or the mess decks then we went up one more ladder to get up and out. But that was a very long climb with several hatches to open on the way. We engineering types all had it in the back of our minds that if the ship was hit below the water line and our engine room started to fill that it was just our time. We knew what we were getting into and we all knew the chances of getting out were fairly slim for us. The trunks were more for a peace of mind.
For a while my GQ station on the Newport News was at the throttles of #1 engine. The Des Moines cruisers were built with combined engineering spaces (engine room and fire room together). For emergency exit I would have needed to go down one level to the bottom of the escape trunk and back up three or four decks in the trunk. We had a couple of more senior POs who were a little rotund and as a skinny 19 year old I set my goal to get up the trunk before those guys jammed the route. Thankfully we never had to use the escape trunk for real but we did use the route a couple of times during drills. I remember going through the scuttle once while wearing an OBA. It was a very tight fit even for my 130 pound frame.
For a untrained civilian contractor, the escape trunk is not an enjoyable climb. I was working on a piece of equipment that had components in both the engine rooms and CCS when they opened the reduction gear, you do not cross an open reduction gear on a gas turbine powered ship. I had to exit by the escape trunk, I think my fingerprints are permanently engraved in the ladder.
Ryan: Just an FYI from a Gunners Mate who became a Professional Fire Fighter after his 4 years of service. A Tripple F ( Aquious Film Forming Foam ) makes water lighter than oil. Oil floats on water. So it in effect floats and forms a thin layer of water over the oil. Denying Oxygen. There is a famous Training film of an oil fire in Texas where a fire fighter runs through the pool and each step where he disturbed the AFFF flares up almost burning him and then you see the footsteps close up and extinguish the flames.
Having read all the comments no one has mentioned how hot it is in the boiler room and therefore the escape trunk. I served on the USS Luce DLG7 (DDG38) 3/1/2 years as a Boilertech and lucky enough to be stationed as Repair 5 for GQ all that time. I spent GQ on the mess deck, and most of my training for it was firefighting. So I only had the escape training for the boilerroom once (in getmo) And I will never forget it. Outside air temp 98 boiler temperature 800+ we did our watches huddled under the air vents and rushing through our routine work to get back to the vents. So you have an escape tunnel which is sealed in that atmosphere. The hatch dogs are hot, the escape tunnel is over 150* and every metal surface is hotter.
When I was going through DC training one of the instructors I had was on the Samuel b Roberts when she took a mine hit to the engine room. He could not get to the escape trunk because the entrance was crushed so he went out the regular entrance/exit. He was lucky, snipes don’t have the best chance of survival when things go south.
I'm reminded of my training/DC quals on board Lexington (AVT-16) shortly after my arrival there in 1984. It was explained to me by my Chief on Day 1 that my future liberty depended on meeting certain DC training deadlines, the very first being escaping from OA Div berthing (O-2 level starboard, just aft of the island and forward of the mid-ship expansion joint) under simulated fire/lights-out conditions, blindfolded (a blacked-out OBA) to the outside of the ship (60 seconds to the expansion joint and 90 seconds to flight deck catwalk via aircraft elevator machinery room); this had to be signed off within my first week aboard. And it wouldn't have looked very good for the AG1 LPO to have his liberty pulled (in Pensacola, yet), so you know I got her done!
Capsizing being so fatal to crew and also the ship is the reason that post WW1 U.S. combat ships had full beam fire and engine spaces with no centerline bulkhead to split them unlike other nations. Even flooding of the largest spaces on the ships would prevent capsizing which would make a ship sink even faster. And with later U.S. boiler design and turbines staggering the fire and engine rooms meant propulsion was nearly as resilient as splitting the compartments.
Well, we have at least two things in common: I like battleships, and more importantly "I also like oxygen".
We had the 1200psi Main Line blow on our Knox class FF. Fortunately the lead PO sensed that something was wrong and had the control room evacuate up the emergency scuttle just before the steam pipe blew. We were "Stuck" in Subic Bay for a month while they removed all the Asbestos that went everywhere and replace the pipes.
As a former Machinist mate on a carrier I was always down in the engine room. We had escape trunks that went up to just below the hanger bay. ended up either in medical or the mess decks then we went up one more ladder to get up and out. But that was a very long climb with several hatches to open on the way. We engineering types all had it in the back of our minds that if the ship was hit below the water line and our engine room started to fill that it was just our time. We knew what we were getting into and we all knew the chances of getting out were fairly slim for us. The trunks were more for a peace of mind.
For a while my GQ station on the Newport News was at the throttles of #1 engine. The Des Moines cruisers were built with combined engineering spaces (engine room and fire room together). For emergency exit I would have needed to go down one level to the bottom of the escape trunk and back up three or four decks in the trunk. We had a couple of more senior POs who were a little rotund and as a skinny 19 year old I set my goal to get up the trunk before those guys jammed the route. Thankfully we never had to use the escape trunk for real but we did use the route a couple of times during drills. I remember going through the scuttle once while wearing an OBA. It was a very tight fit even for my 130 pound frame.
When water is bubbling up from your deck plates, "that makes for a very bad day."
For a untrained civilian contractor, the escape trunk is not an enjoyable climb. I was working on a piece of equipment that had components in both the engine rooms and CCS when they opened the reduction gear, you do not cross an open reduction gear on a gas turbine powered ship. I had to exit by the escape trunk, I think my fingerprints are permanently engraved in the ladder.
Set The Fire Alarm Off i want to hear it
It's a minor thing but I always appreciate Ryan for saying the farewell lines each time you all film. Much more personal than a pre-made bumper.
A bit off-topic comment: New Jersey is going to appear in a mobile game Azur Lane in personified form in a newest in-game event. ;)
To mix a quote from @The_Chieftain and @Drachinifel "Oh bugger, the ship is disagreeable!"
"Oh my God, the ship is on fire!"
“Halon would prevent the fire from getting oxygen - Well I also like oxygen”
Yesterday, 24th May 2021, was the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the loss of HMS Hood.
Ryan: Just an FYI from a Gunners Mate who became a Professional Fire Fighter after his 4 years of service. A Tripple F ( Aquious Film Forming Foam ) makes water lighter than oil. Oil floats on water. So it in effect floats and forms a thin layer of water over the oil. Denying Oxygen. There is a famous Training film of an oil fire in Texas where a fire fighter runs through the pool and each step where he disturbed the AFFF flares up almost burning him and then you see the footsteps close up and extinguish the flames.
Having read all the comments no one has mentioned how hot it is in the boiler room and therefore the escape trunk. I served on the USS Luce DLG7 (DDG38) 3/1/2 years as a Boilertech and lucky enough to be stationed as Repair 5 for GQ all that time. I spent GQ on the mess deck, and most of my training for it was firefighting. So I only had the escape training for the boilerroom once (in getmo) And I will never forget it. Outside air temp 98 boiler temperature 800+ we did our watches huddled under the air vents and rushing through our routine work to get back to the vents. So you have an escape tunnel which is sealed in that atmosphere. The hatch dogs are hot, the escape tunnel is over 150* and every metal surface is hotter.
When I was going through DC training one of the instructors I had was on the Samuel b Roberts when she took a mine hit to the engine room. He could not get to the escape trunk because the entrance was crushed so he went out the regular entrance/exit. He was lucky, snipes don’t have the best chance of survival when things go south.
I'm reminded of my training/DC quals on board Lexington (AVT-16) shortly after my arrival there in 1984. It was explained to me by my Chief on Day 1 that my future liberty depended on meeting certain DC training deadlines, the very first being escaping from OA Div berthing (O-2 level starboard, just aft of the island and forward of the mid-ship expansion joint) under simulated fire/lights-out conditions, blindfolded (a blacked-out OBA) to the outside of the ship (60 seconds to the expansion joint and 90 seconds to flight deck catwalk via aircraft elevator machinery room); this had to be signed off within my first week aboard. And it wouldn't have looked very good for the AG1 LPO to have his liberty pulled (in Pensacola, yet), so you know I got her done!
I can see the shock on peoples faces when they show up for the USS NJ Escape room challenge and they find out they repainting the escape routes.....
Capsizing being so fatal to crew and also the ship is the reason that post WW1 U.S. combat ships had full beam fire and engine spaces with no centerline bulkhead to split them unlike other nations. Even flooding of the largest spaces on the ships would prevent capsizing which would make a ship sink even faster. And with later U.S. boiler design and turbines staggering the fire and engine rooms meant propulsion was nearly as resilient as splitting the compartments.
Mr. Bean had a nice, fast way of painting awkward areas with minimal fuss. You could try that ;)