Chapter VII: Part III: Reports of Officers and Department Chiefs (2)

It is difficult to use the range finder against a periscope for the simple reason that the periscope is visible for only a short length of time, and is hard to get a quick reading on. The range will have been obtained by spotting the shots before the range finder can be brought into play. However, the range finder would have been invaluable had we been attacked by a raider, or a submarine on the surface.

AMMUNITION

The ammunition allowance for the ship was:

1,200—6-inch shells, long point.
1,200—6-inch 50-cal. powder charges.
80—6-inch flat nose shells. (Non-ricocheting, for
submarines when submerged.)
480—1-pdr. cartridges.
89,000—Cartridges, for .30-cal. rifle.
10,000—Cartridges, for .45-cal. automatic pistol.

In addition to the above, blank ammunition for rifles was carried for training with ex-caliber.

Forty shells were carried in shell racks at the guns at all times, and twenty rounds of powder at each gun while at sea. The rest of the ammunition was carried in the magazines forward and aft (seven decks below) and supplied to the guns by means of elevators and ammunition parties.

GUN DRILLS

Gun and fire control drills were held daily to keep all hands in practice. These drills were discontinued while in the war zone. Actual conditions were simulated as much as possible at all drills.

GUN WATCHES

When not in the war zone two guns forward (one on each side) and two guns aft, were manned by a crew of six men at all times, with a man at the telephones of each of the guns off watch. The men off watch had to remain in the vicinity of their quarters ready for instant call.

While in the zone all guns were manned by a crew of six men with six men standing by in reserve. The guns were kept loaded, both in and out of the zone, with powder and shell—ready for instant firing by inserting a primer.

LOOKOUTS

Good lookouts are absolutely essential to a ship’s safety. They have one of the most important positions on the ship. On their alertness depends the discovery of any submarine or suspicious object in his arc of lookout and the immediate and accurate reporting of it to the fire control officer, so that the guns may be brought into action in the quickest possible time against the enemy.

There were twelve lookout stations on this vessel—six on each side—so arranged that each lookout had an arc of thirty degrees to keep under close observation. Of course there were additional lookouts on watch at all times, such as the gun crews, control officers, signalmen and officers-of-the-deck. Each tried to be the first to spot a hostile periscope.

PERSONNEL

The personnel of the gun crews, lookouts, etc., showed excellent qualities and sense of duty during the period of the war. In all attacks by submarines, and false alarms, every man performed his duties as he had been taught at drill, showing no undue excitement, always on the job and ready for more.

The letter from 6-inch gun crew No. 2 quoted below is an example that well shows the spirit of the men.

_U. S. S. Leviathan,_
April 26, 1918.

From Number Two Gun Crew
To Commanding Officer,
Via Executive Officer.

Subject: Request to be transferred with 6″ Naval Gun to Western
Front.

1. It is respectfully requested that the Number Two Gun Crew
be transferred with a 6″ Naval Gun to the Western Front to aid
American Artillery.

2. The entire crew of Number Two gun are very desirous of a
six months’ tryout to prove their ability, and if the service
rendered is satisfactory, it is recommended that more gun crews
from U. S. Naval ships be transferred to the Western Front; the
transfer to be voluntary.

3. This is being done in the French and British Navies, and is
proving very successful.

(Signed) P. R. BRADLEY,
_Gun Captain No. 2 Gun._

First Endorsement

_U. S. S. Leviathan,_
April 29, 1919.

From Gunnery Officer
To Commanding Officer,
Via Executive Officer.

1. Forwarded. Recommended that if the ship is required to
furnish a gun crew for the proposed Naval Artillery Brigade,
this request be favorably considered. The spirit of the gun
crew is especially to be commended.

(Signed) A. H. BATEMAN,
_Lieutenant, U. S. N._

The American Artillery referred to was the U. S. Naval Brigade. They served on the Western Front under the command of Admiral Plunkett, United States Navy, and did great credit to themselves and the naval service.

TARGET PRACTICE

Our first target practice was held November 27, 1917, while returning from our trial trip to Guantanamo, Cuba.

During the time the ship was being prepared for sea at Hoboken, little time was had for drills and preparing the gun crews. However, they were all drilled in their various duties and every effort was put forth to get them in shape.

The practice was held in a choppy sea with a stiff wind blowing and an overcast sky, making it difficult to pick up the targets—two spars, so weighted as to make them float upright. Despite this handicap and the newness of the crews, an excellent score was made.

SCORE

Shots fired, 78; hits made, 63; percentage of hits, 75.42 per cent.

This good shooting called forth the following note of commendation from the Gunnery Officer to all gun crews.

_U. S. S. Leviathan,_
December 7th, 1917.

Memo from Gunnery Officer
To All Gun Crews:

The Gunnery Officer is highly pleased with the results of the
late target practice. Such accurate firing in action would
almost surely put a submarine out of action in short order, and
if we are ever called upon to fight for our lives, the Gunnery
Officer is confident that the Gun Crews will bear themselves as
calmly as they did a few days ago and shoot as accurately.

(Signed) G. H. BOUCHER,
_Lieutenant, U. S. N._

Our second target practice was held June 5, 1918, while on our way from Brest, France, to New York. Spotters who had had no previous experience at actual spotting were picked to control the gun fire and made an excellent showing.

SCORE

Shots fired, 38; hits made, 28; percentage of hits, 70.62. Gunnery Officer, Lieut. A. H. Bateman, U. S. N.; Chief Umpire, Lieut. R. H. Jones, U. S. N.

The third and last practice was held on our way from New York to Brest, France, on October 4, 1918. We had unfavorable conditions as to weather and visibility. A high wind and a large swell on the starboard quarter rendered the ship a most unsuitable gun platform. The speed was twenty knots. However, it proved valuable because of the difficulties to contend with. In this practice, as in the second practice, new spotters were put in control of guns in order to gain experience.

SCORE

Shots fired, 32; hits made, 18; percentage of hits, 51.66. Gunnery Officer, Lieut. A. H. Bateman, U. S. N.; Chief Umpire, Lieut. R. H. Jones, U. S. N.

SUBMARINE ATTACKS

The submarine attacks and alarms are described in detail in Part II of this book. See the following dates: May 6, 1918; May 30, 1918; June 1, 1918; June 25, 1918; September 2, 1918; October 31, 1918.

F. I. Collup, Chief Gunner’s Mate, U. S. N.

_The Electric Plant_

W. S.

Lieutenant W. H. F. Schluter reported for duty July 29, 1917. The electrical plant at that date was in charge of Mr. Joe. O’Donnell, head electrician, Navy Yard, New York. The civilian force were scattered over the ship, tracing out and locating circuits. This was a most difficult procedure because there were absolutely no plans of circuits nor any descriptive matter of electrical apparatus.

On August 13, 1917, the first Navy electrician reported for duty and a few days later more reported. As soon as enough electricians reported, the civilian electricians were relieved from dynamo watch. Next the entire communication, lighting and power details were taken over by the Navy electricians, both regular and reserve.

When these details were arranged the Navy Yard electricians were relieved from the maintenance of the plant and attended to new installation and repair work only. It was at this point where actual headway was made in preparing the plant for sea, for under the former arrangement the Navy Yard electricians could not devote their entire time to repair work and new installation without being called off their job every little while.

The co-operation between the civilian and enlisted electricians was splendid and too much credit cannot be given to these two classes of men. It was fine to see the spirit that prevailed, for both were anxious to get the ship ready for sea. To say that this called for good hard work, hour after hour and day after day, is putting it mildly.

To describe in detail just how all this was accomplished would fill a book in itself, but it may be grouped under the following heading and then each group described in general terms.

LIGHTING, VENTILATION AND INTERIOR COMMUNICATION

The first problem was light. To solve this so as to be able to have battleship control, it was necessary to locate every light on its proper circuit. There are about fifteen thousand lights, controlled from eighty-one lighting or power stations and each station containing from eighty, the highest, to ten the lowest, local branch circuits, which in turn are supplied from seventy-six main circuit switches and these again from eight main switchboard feeder switches. When this lighting is distributed over fourteen decks, of which the main deck, at sea level, has an area of seventy-six thousand square feet, one may grasp the magnitude of the problem attempted by these men. This had to be completed without any wiring plans and without interfering with the ship’s repair work of other departments.

To crown it all, along came the wreckers. That is, the construction gang who stripped four decks of all room paneling. If it had not been for the alertness and co-operation of the electrical force, both civilian and enlisted, serious fires would have surely resulted. As it was, not a fire alarm was turned in during the entire reconstruction period, due to nothing else except the alertness of these loyal men.

TRACING THE LIGHTING CIRCUIT

During the day the electricians would search out lighting stations, turn off lighting switches, test out circuits and do all minor repair work. At night after the main working force had knocked off, the electricians would muster in primary station number two, main lighting distribution station. Then a main distribution switch of either general lighting, police gangway, or police cabin lighting would be cut off. Emergency lighting was never cut out. The men would then leave in squads and make note of what lighting was cut out and what remained in; and in that manner the lighting control was traced down to such a degree of safety that at dusk all lights that might be visible to the enemy and at the same time provide sufficient lighting for reasonable comfort for the crew and troops could be controlled from one central lighting station and cut out in less than a minute’s time.

The proof of how successfully this was accomplished, is in the fact that during the entire period of the war, only one light was reported visible by the escort and that was due to the carelessness of a young officer who left a port open against orders.

Emergency lighting circuits were picked up by cutting out all general lighting circuits and then marking all remaining lights with a blue stripe. These circuits were then cut down to bring them to a safe carrying capacity of a 110 volt, 140 ampere storage battery, which was installed for additional safety in case of accident. These latter circuits were so arranged that if for any reason the main supply should fail a solenoid would automatically cut them in on the storage battery.

VENTILATION

The next problem was the ventilation of the ship. There are 113 ventilating blowers (51 exhaust and 62 supply) and after all blowers were located the problem that remained was to locate the compartment they ventilated. No plans were available. This system was traced out by starting a blower and then tracing up the ducts and recording the particular section that it ventilated.

INTERIOR COMMUNICATION

All interior communication was traced out in the same manner, _i. e._, start from the transmitting apparatus and from there on trace the piping and wiring until finally we arrived at the receiving end. Then there were two Anshutz Gyro compasses, which no one knew anything about, but here, again, through the close co-operation of the Navy Yard force and the ship’s electrical force, the secret of operating these compasses was successfully solved.

To sum up the whole, one may say, it was the dogged determination of the electrical forces, both civilian and enlisted, who never gave in to any proposition that came before them, that carried everything through to a successful issue.

_Steering Engine Data_

E. P. H.

The control and manœuvering of a large ship such as the _Leviathan_ is a responsible job. This vessel’s steering arrangement, or steering gear, is of steam engine type, connected to a hydraulic telemotor. The gear is so easily manipulated that a small boy standing on the bridge of this great ship can control any course or given route that is desired to be taken.

The engines, of which there are two, one port and one starboard, are connected to the rudder head, which is approximately thirty inches in diameter, by meshing into a huge quadrant gear twenty-four feet in diameter. This gear secured to the rudder head or stern is moved right or left, _i. e._, starboard or port, by a simple turn of a small steering wheel on the bridge. This wheel is connected to the telemotor, which is simply a hydraulic ram of two system pipe lines with plungers set amidships when the rudder, engines, steering wheel and rudder quadrant are in a neutral or center line position. The telemotor is in the wheel house on the bridge approximately 800 feet from the steering engine, which is aft or at the stern of the ship. Two small three-quarter inch copper pipe lines, one port and one starboard, extend from bridge to steering engine room and these little pipe lines are filled with a fluid mixture of fifty per cent glycerine and fifty per cent water. When the hand wheel on the bridge is moved, this forces the hydraulic ram down or up, causing the fluid in pipes to open a control valve on the steam steering engine operating this engine and moving quadrant to right or left as desired.

This rudder and stem and steering engine quadrant are the largest and most powerful installed on any vessel afloat.

_The Black Gang_

BY ONE OF THEM—H. E.

The fire room boys of the _Leviathan_ came from almost every State in the Union. They worked hand in hand from about August 1, 1917, until the end of the war. The success of the big ship is due to their hearty co-operation. The part taken in the war by the _Leviathan_ is known the world over, and the spirit of the “black gang” merits commendation and a chapter in this book.

While in the dreaded war zone, trip after trip, these boys plugged the fires, day and night, determined to beat Kaiser Bill and fool the submarines. The submarine scare from time to time aroused the firemen and the ship made far greater speed than even the original contractors thought possible. The pressure on the gauges at all times was on the blood mark.

The pass word throughout the fire rooms was: “Give her hell, boys.”

At no time was there a boy or man who showed signs of fear during any run, they had no time to think of “subs.” Speed, chow and liberty in Hoboken was all we thought of. Our work was hard and laborious, but no one grumbled.

Believe me, we had at first some ash-hopper installation. The Germans who installed the outfit in these fire rooms should have been made prisoners before the war started. Water in fire rooms was ankle deep. We were also obliged to use coal from the barrows in charging the furnaces owing to the _Leviathan’s_ goat getter “flarebacks.”

“Split Hoof” Barnes, “Handsome” Hook, “Horse” Ross and Gus Rush, the grouchy old chief water jerkers, made four round trips, before either of them showed signs of a smile. But they were far better off on this ship, wading in water up to their knees, than they would be on many German ships where the crew had to carry the ashes through the main dining saloon to dump over the side. After a few trips with this installation the whole system was thrown on to the Gladstone Dock Piers in Liverpool, and a new style, such as human beings would put in any sea-going ship, was installed. The Germans sure are a funny people!

The fire rooms were touted later and all that was necessary to make the fire rooms complete was a little plush furniture. The boilers shaped up spick and span and the bilges were free from water. With this accomplished real efficiency began. The team work of firing the furnaces on bell signal caused many witnesses to wonder in amazement. Boys who were away from home for the first time stood manfully before the raging fires and defied the intense heat in performance of their duty.

The average weight of these boys when reporting for duty averaged about 130 pounds. Being bright and young, with lots of pep, they grew strong and became efficient firemen. The work seemed to agree with them, even if it was particularly strenuous. In conclusion let us tell about “Wop” Cariddo.

Cariddo was passing coal for seven and ten boilers in number four fire room, as the ship was speeding through the war zone on the 4 to 8 watch, when resting just inside the bunker, one of the destroyers in our convoy, dropped a depth charge just off our port beam. The report and jar of the explosion caused the coal in this bunker to shift. “Wop” was somewhat upset and surprised, but not frightened. He came dashing out of the bunker. Old “Biff,” the “War Horse,” who chanced to be passing through this fire room at the time grabbed him.

“What do you mean by jumping around in this way? Don’t you know that is a water-tight door on G-deck?

“It’s water-tight hell,” shouted the “Wop.” “I think that’s what they call a ‘can,’ but I ain’t bluffed, I’m game. I just want to stay with the boys a minute. Just give me a sandwich and I will heave more coal out of that bunker than any five boilers on this ship can burn”—and he did.

_Radio Data_

G. A.

No original records or blueprints were found on the ship for the radio equipment when she was taken over by the Navy. This necessitated tracing out each and every individual circuit and making blueprints of the same for future use. All apparatus installed was of German make—Telefunken Wireless Telegraph Company of Berlin. There were three complete telegraph transmitters on board and three receivers. The large transmitter was rated at ten kilowatts and was what is known as an “undamped transmitter.” Under favorable atmospheric conditions it was capable of working across the Atlantic and has been known to do so.

During the three-year period of internment it had been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that it would have been necessary to practically rebuild it in order to use it again. The main trouble was caused by the salt water cooling system eating its way through a galvanized iron case and getting into the frequency transformer coils making them unfit for use. It has not been used since. The second transmitter, known as a five kilowatt quench gap set, did excellent work ever since the ship was taken over. It is good for 1,200 miles under fair conditions and has worked 2,200 miles. The third transmitter is a one-half kilowatt spark coil set and can be used from the ship’s power mains for short distances, or in case of emergency (if the dynamos were not working for any reason), it can be used from power supplied by storage batteries. Its radius is about two hundred miles.

Two of the original German receivers were kept, but one was replaced by a later type U. S. Navy receiver. The ship was never out of transmitting communication as the European coast is picked up before the American coast is lost and vice versa. The large transmitting stations of the United States and Europe are copied from any part of the ocean. Honolulu, a high powered station, has been copied while the ship lay in Liverpool, England, a distance of approximately 8,000 miles.

When at sea we had special stations to copy on specified schedules, so that messages to the ship from the United States are copied when the ship is only a few hours from the European ports. These messages are acknowledged after transmitting communication has been established with the United States.

There are three antennæ, or aerials, two used for telegraphic transmission and one for telephonic transmission. All three are used for receiving. The radio telephone set has been installed since the ship was taken over and is an American invention. It is very effective up to twenty miles and has been used to transmit a distance of thirty-six miles from this vessel. It was used during the war for inter-communication among the ships of a convoy or to and from the convoy and their escort, and after the war was used for inter-communication between ships lying in a harbor and the harbor station itself. This eliminates interference with the main harbor station working ships at sea. At the same time it allows the ships in the harbor to work among themselves or communicate with the shore. Prior to the telephone invention this work was done by visual signal when the ships were within visual signal distance with each other or the shore. When not so situated it had to be done by boat, as so many ships using their telegraph would have made it practically impossible for the shore station to work ships at sea on account of the interference. The voice over a radio phone has been proven to be clearer and more distinct than over land line telephones.

On the _Leviathan_ there are three operators and a messenger on duty at all hours of the day and night when at sea. One operator supervises the watch, two are constantly “listening in” with telephones, and one man does the messenger work. Both “listening in” operators copy signals practically all the time when on watch. Each has an antenna and a receiving set of his own and listens on different wave lengths. Two messages may be sent simultaneously, or two received simultaneously, but it is not possible to send and receive at the same time. The two receiving operators sit within a foot of each other, yet it has happened more than once, that while one operator was copying a message from Rome, Italy, at the same instant the other man was copying a message from Balboa, Canal Zone. It is a common occurrence for one operator to be copying a European station while the other copies a United States station. The radio force at present consists of one radio gunner, one radio officer, one chief radio electrician and nine operators.

LIEUT. COMDR. J. W. FORD LIEUT. R. S. SKEAD ENSIGN H. B. ROWEDDER

_Bottom Row_, Left to Right—

LIEUT. COMDR. J. FOSTER LIEUT. COMDR. J. J. JONES]

_The Engineering Department_

By COMMANDER VAUGHN V. WOODWARD, U. S. N.

On July 26, 1917, the Commandant ordered me to report to the _Vaterland_ for duty, which I did, and on the above date the vessel was commissioned. When I arrived on board, the engineering department was in charge of the Shipping Board Engineers and personnel. There had also recently arrived about 200 Navy firemen and a few petty officers; this was the total of Navy engineering personnel on board. In company with one of the junior engineers I went below for an inspection of the department. During the next three days all my time was taken up getting my bearings below and the layout fixed in my mind in order to make out a station bill so that I could determine as quickly as possible the personnel required.

LT. WATSON LT. MILLER ENS. LEVENTHAL LT. KEESER LT. KIRK ENS. WILSON LT. BRIGHT

LT. LAU LT. EDWARDS LT. R. H. JONES COM’DR. WOODWARD LT. ANDREWS LT. SCHLUTER LT. PARKER]

At the end of the third day I conveyed this information to the Captain with the request that he bring pressure to bear on the Bureau of Navigation to send our personnel, both officers and enlisted men, as quickly as possible. The men and officers began to arrive and by August 15th the last officer of the complement had arrived. As each arrived he was put in charge of a station and told to trace out his station, make a thorough examination of the interior of all piping and machinery and submit a report on repairs necessary and estimated time. Most of my time during the day was spent below and the nights were occupied drawing up station bills and handling the office paper work, my only assistant being a reserve yeoman in the service of the Shipping Board. I realized that, even at the expense of time that should be spent inspecting repair work, I must get my organization planned and laid out as quickly as possible, and in operation. By August 5th all station bills and organization had been completed and blueprinted and all officers on board instructed. At this time, on account of report of damage to machinery under repair on German ships by aliens, I organized a secret service force below in an effort to detect any attempts made to inflict damage. I purposely let the report spread around among the civilian workmen that there was a large force of government agents employed among them and also in the crew. This seemed to have the desired moral effect, because during the entire period there was but one case of attempted malicious damage, which was discovered immediately. An attempt had been made to thrust welding wire into both of the L. P. astern turbines through the gauge line holes in the flanges and thus damage the blading.

I will not go into details as to the condition of the machinery, but will indicate some of the work done and the changes made in order to get her ready for sea in the quickest possible time. Most of the changes in design and arrangement were made before her dock trial.

Each piece of machinery and boiler was opened up in all its parts and thoroughly examined for foreign material or damage. While open necessary repairs were made.

The joint on every auxiliary steam and exhaust line at the piece of machinery was broken and steam blown through before attempting to operate the machine: this to free the line of foreign material.

All main, spring and thrust bearings were opened up, examined, cleaned and realigned.

The float of the main thrusts were changed from .006 to .015 inches to conform to U. S. Naval practice.

The rotors and casings of the four astern turbines were all partially rebladed in place in the ship.

The dummy ring and piston were found broken in the port H. P. astern; but these were renewed and machined in place, the jacking engine turning the rotor while a cutting tool was attached to the flange of the casting, thus making a lathe out of the turbine and solving the practically impossible problem of removing the rotor from the ship to be placed in a lathe ashore.

It was found that the impulse stages in this turbine had been the cause of the damage to this dummy, so it was decided to remove the impulse stages entirely, which was done. This decreases the economy of the turbine, but the safety guarantee to the successful operation of this unit so far overbalanced this factor that economy was sacrificed.

The starboard H. P. astern casing had several bad cracks in both top and bottom, and from records on board had not been in use on the last voyage of the vessel. This was in process of being electrically welded when I reported on board. The method in use, however, proved later on test, to give a faulty weld, so that it was decided to cut a deep “V” groove in the cracks and lace with steel studs, the lacing being filled in with the weld, thus giving the weld holding power due to the welding material fusing with the studs. This machine operated successfully during the entire commission of the vessel with no signs of ruptures or faulty welds.

On examination of the main throttles the starboard H. P. astern throttle spool was found to be broken and off the stem. This throttle was renewed and operated satisfactorily.

The system of automatic control of feed pumps in the engine room by float and pressure control was decided on as being highly dangerous, this system was at once removed and hand control of pumps substituted.

After operating for some time it was found impossible to obtain a vacuum that would afford economical operation for a turbine plant. The capacities of the pumps and condensers were computed and checked up and found adequate for the horsepower to be handled. The low pressure system was then tested out by water pressure and every noticeable leak stopped. This however gave us no better results, the best vacuum we could obtain averaging around 27 inches under normal operating conditions. The question of the wet and dry suctions of the pumps was next taken into consideration and it was decided to blank the dry suction off from the condenser and lead it into the wet suction of its own pump. This was done and with the results desired. The vacuum desired can be obtained at all times. With circulating water at forty degrees a vacuum of as high as twenty-nine inches has been obtained. The average vacuum under all conditions obtained since this change is about twenty-eight inches.

GLAND STEAM TURBINE SUPPLY

In order to further increase economy a radical change was made in the method of supplying the turbines with gland steam. As installed, all turbine glands required the use of live steam, which with turbines of such large dimensions, was quite an item. By a simple change in pipe leads and valves, the leak off from the H. P. ahead glands, which formerly led to the condenser, was piped to supply the glands of all astern turbines and the I. P. and L. P. ahead turbines, thus utilizing a three-inch line of steam which was formerly wasted in the condenser. It is believed that this vessel is the only vessel afloat that uses this system of gland steam.

The above concludes briefly a history of the major items of alterations and repairs in the engine rooms.

In the fire rooms, all boilers were opened up and thoroughly cleaned and all zincs removed. My attention was first attracted by several burned boilers and next by the elaborate system of automatic feeding of each individual boiler by means of floats, levers, valves, etc. This system was at once dismantled, removed from all boilers and scrapped. I then heard reports that the Germans had experienced great trouble with leaky tubes at the back ends of the boilers. Trams were at once made and accurate measurements taken on the expansion of the boiler between upper and lower drums on raising steam. This was found to be quite excessive and greatest between the back ends of the drums. After several experiments and deductions from results obtained, it was decided to remove the short circular internal feed in the front end of the steam drum and fit a standard Navy internal feed pipe running the entire length of the drum. This was done in all boilers and the expansion was reduced about eighty per cent. Since her commission we have never had to reroll a leaky boiler tube. From commissioning to Nov. 11, 1918, there has been a total of 7,198 boiler steaming days, or an average per boiler of 156.5 days of 3,756 hours. Great care was exercised in the cleanliness of the boilers and boiler water. No pits or corrosion have been found in any part of the boilers.

On the first trip overseas great difficulty was experienced in steaming, all boilers were in use and 144 revolutions per minute was about the maximum speed we could maintain for any length of time. There was an excessive amount of clinker formation covering the grate bars. On diagnosing this trouble and consulting standard works on combustion, air required per pound of fuel, etc., it was decided that the grate bars did not have sufficient air space. From computations made, a new grate bar was designed with an increase in air space over the old of thirty-five per cent. Our troubles in this line at once ceased, and our trip home was made at 151 revolutions per minute with forty-six boilers in use. Later we used thirty-eight to forty boilers for as high as 154 revolutions per minute.

We experienced a great deal of trouble with the side brick walls of the furnaces the first two trips, which required the renewal of about 4,000 bricks each voyage. On being notified that we would be required to start making quick turn-arounds on the next voyage, I realized that this could not be done with such an amount of brick work to be repaired. After many conferences while at sea, we finally decided to tear all the brick work out of one boiler and substitute cast iron liners, shaped to fit the drums and punched with holes for ventilation. This idea proved highly successful. All boilers were immediately fitted likewise and all operated successfully. Besides the elimination of the expense for the purchase of bricks and cement, the labor and time of cleaning furnaces was reduced ninety per cent. All that is necessary for cleaning and repairing furnace walls at the present time is one man and a corn broom.

The steaming efficiency has been greatly hampered at all times by the flow of water over the fire room floor plates, due to the faulty design of the German ash ejector. After many attempts to remedy this by altering the design, we were finally compelled to replace the hoppers with new hoppers of the See type.

There was at all times a great deal of trouble experienced in carrying over water from the boilers to the turbines. The water in the boilers was carried at the lowest level consistent with safety, but in spite of this the trouble still continued. On inspection of the main steam lines and boiler steam drums it was found that they were practically bare of lagging. All these lines and drums were immediately covered with two-inch of magnesia eighty-five per cent pure, and all water trouble was then eliminated. The water level in the boilers was also raised from two to four inches, thus giving a greater factor of safety here.

After several trips we noticed that the uptakes were excessively hot and also that at times torching occurred at the stack tops. This being a menace to the safety of the ship in the war zone, it had to be remedied. After examining the uptake, furnaces and path of gases we decided to alter the baffling. This was done by installing flame baffles at the base of the uptake in each boiler. It not only eliminated the torching, but also decreased the amount of soot formation about fifty per cent.

This includes all the major items of the fire rooms. A few general items follow:

An interesting phase of our overhaul was the method of conducting our dock trial, after all repairs and tests to individual main and auxiliary machinery had been completed. It was realized that it was out of the question to attempt to turn the engines over at a speed which could be called a fair trial, for the reason that there was no mooring that could possibly hold the ship at the dock. After lengthy conference with officers, it was decided to break the tail shaft couplings and jack the tail shaft aft about two inches to clear the line shafting. This was done on each shaft and we ran each engine individually for 4 hours up its designed speed 180 revolutions per minute, then in manœuvering combination to full speed, 119 revolutions per minute, then all four shafts in cruising combination up to 180 revolutions per minute. The dock trial proved a success from start to finish, no casualty of any kind occurring. In this connection, in order to get a test on the boilers, No. 1 fire room was used the first day of the trial, No. 2 the second day, No. 3 the third day, and No. 4 the fourth day.

During the period between August 15th and October 16th, I can safely say that the officers and men of the department averaged every day, Saturdays and Sundays, included, eighteen working hours below without complaint or murmur. It seemed to be a matter of great pride and determination with them. We had heard many reports that the _Vaterland_ would never leave the dock, and many letters came threatening some officer or man in the department. Of the men and petty officers we were compelled to work with, I should say that twenty per cent of them had never been on board a ship previous to their reporting here. They were all recruits direct from recruiting rendezvous, with the exception of a few C. P. O.’s who came from the fleet. During all our overhaul and repair we had no plans to guide us, all lines and arrangements had to be traced out by the officer concerned, who submitted sketches to me. These sketches have been forwarded to the Bureau of Steam Engineering.

We found three logs made by the Germans on the _Vaterland._ These logs, I believe were forwarded to Washington, but to the best of my memory the speeds on these three trips averaged for the entire voyage 22.4, 21 and something over 20 knots, with an average coal consumption per day of about 1,100 tons, running up to about 1,157 for one voyage. The present consumption of this vessel at 20 knots is 816 tons per day east bound, and 720 west bound. West bound we use Welsh coal. We have never steamed at 22 knots for any period long enough to obtain a point.

Going to Liverpool on a trip during an emergency she maintained a speed of 181 revolutions per minute for a short period of time until a slow bell was received.

Since the war service of the vessel started until November 11, 1918, the _Leviathan_ has never had an engineering casualty of any description, nor has the ship been delayed due to any cause in the engineering department.

The Medical Department

By DR. DUNLAP

The Medical Department is represented by the Senior Medical Officer, Commander F. A. Asserson, M. C. U. S. N., four Junior Medical Officers with the rank of Lieutenant each, one Chief Pharmacist, one Pharmacist, two Chief Pharmacist’s Mates, and about one hundred and thirty Hospital Corpsmen. There are also eight nurses, in charge of Miss Mary M. Robinson, Chief Nurse, U. S. N. The units composing the Department are as follows: Office of the Senior Medical Officer; office of the Medical Officer of the Day; Major and Minor Operating Rooms; Laboratory; Sick Officers’ Quarters of ten beds; Medical and Surgical Wards with one hundred and thirty-two beds; Isolation Ward with forty beds; total, one hundred and eighty-two beds; Diet Kitchen; two Sick Call Stations; Dispensary; Mental Ward; Guinea pig houses.

The history of this department dates from July, 1917, when the first medical officers, Drs. F. J. Carroll, and E. M. Hudson came aboard. These officers, both Lieutenants in the U. S. Naval Medical Corps, were on duty at the U. S. Naval Hospital in Brooklyn when our government assumed control of the _Leviathan_, and they were ordered to report aboard for duty. The vessel at that time being just as the Germans had left her. Drs. Carroll and Hudson at once began tentative plans for a medical department capable of handling the sick among the thousands of troops the _Leviathan_ was being rapidly fitted to carry. Plans were drawn by them converting the social hall on A-deck into wards and operating rooms. The orchestra stage at the forward end of the hall was to be cut away, lowered to the level of the deck and that space utilized as two operating rooms with a sterilizing room. Wash rooms, toilets, linen lockers, and an Isolation Ward were also provided for. Places fore and aft were chosen as sick call stations and Dispensary.

LIEUT. J. L. BEEBE, LIEUT. COM. H. C. CUNNINGHAM.

BOTTOM PICTURE, LEFT TO RIGHT—DR. J. E. PORTER, DR. T. C. HEMINGSEN, DR. F. A. ASSERSON, DR. W. F. RATHBUN, DR. H. F. HOWELL, DR. E. F. CROFUTT, PHARMACIST F. B. REDMAN.]

On August 9, 1917, Commander John J. Snyder, M. C. U. S. N., reported aboard as the first Senior Medical Officer. The plans for the medical department were submitted to Dr. Snyder and to the Naval Constructor, and were later adopted by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Before the first trip three more medical officers reported, viz: Lieut. Commander G. T. Vaughan, U. S. N. R. F., Lieut. Max M. Braff, M. C. U. S. N., and Lieut. S. Strauss, M. C. N. N. V., so that on the first trip there were five medical officers, besides the Senior Medical Officer. After the trial trip to Cuba the _Leviathan_ went to Liverpool. The amount of work was found to be too much for the number of doctors, and upon returning to the States another Medical Officer was requested. Lieut. A. K. Dunlap, M. C. U. S. N., was sent aboard in February, 1918, so that on the second trip seven doctors were aboard. On subsequent trips into New York, Lieut. Robt. Lorentz, M. C. U. S. N., Chief Pharmacist C. I. Campbell, U. S. N. R. F., and Lieut. Edward Crofutt, M. C. U. S. N., were sent aboard for duty. During the month of May, 1918, Commander Snyder left to assume his new duties as Fleet Surgeon, and his position on board as Senior Medical Officer was assumed by Commander H. A. May, M. C. U. S. N. Lieut. Harold Hulbert, M. C. U. S. N., and Pharmacist F. B. Redman also joined the ship about the same time. Later in the summer the medical corps was further strengthened by the addition of Lieuts. Harry L. Howell and John E. Porter, U. S. Navy Medical Corps. In December, 1918, Dr. May was detailed to duty ashore and the duties of Senior Medical Officer assigned to Commander F. A. Asserson, M. C. U. S. N. Lieuts. Walter L. Rathbun, Thos. Sheppard, and A. T. Weston, M. C. U. S. R. F., reported at the same time. As new officers reported on board from time to time, others were relieved and detailed elsewhere. For the greater part of the time since the ship has been in commission the medical department has had nine doctors on board.

As the _Leviathan_ transported nearly one hundred and twenty thousand men to Europe during the war, and has brought back nearly as many since, it requires no active imagination to realize that the medical department has had its hands full. The percentage of sickness bound to occur among thirteen thousand men was enough to keep nine doctors busy, and this was only a small part of their work. Sanitation on such a huge ship was in itself a problem. Samples of food and water had to be examined and accepted or rejected; troop compartments and every nook and corner of the ship were inspected daily and a high sanitary standard maintained; quotative examinations of the air in the troop spaces were made at different hours both day and night to determine the temperature, humidity, and amount of carbon dioxide in these places; these observations were made the subjects of various reports and resulted in the installation of new ventilating systems and correction of those already in operation; during threatened epidemics of infectious diseases it was often necessary to take cultures and do other laboratory work among hundreds of men. In July, 1918, the _Leviathan_ began transporting wounded men and has carried a large number of them to date. The wounded required much attention and the manner in which they have been cared for on board this vessel reflects great credit upon the medical department.

A new departure for ships of war was the Nurse Corps. The corps consists of Mary M. Robinson, Head Nurse, U. S. N., Irene Reed, U. S. N., Charlotte F. Hyde, U. S. N., Ruby F. Nutling, U. S. N. R. F., Ruby Russell, U. S. N. R. F., Madelon Stowell, U. S. N. R. F., Alice B. Newcomb, U. S. N. R. F., Vera O. Harmon, U. S. N., Mary A. O’Neill, U. S. N. R. F. These were the first nurses who ever had duty on a man-o’-war. Their duties have been supervisory over the hospital corps, and their training and experience as nurses have made them of invaluable assistance.

THE INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC

The following are extracts from reports of the influenza epidemic submitted to commanding officer by Lieut. Com. H. A. May, M. C., October 11th, 1918:

There were 260 officers and 8,873 enlisted men of all grades reported as present when the ship left the dock in Hoboken. These made up the personnel of several organizations—the 323d Field Signal Corps, the 401st, 467th and 468th Engineers, the 302d Water Tank Train, a September Automatic Replacement Draft, the 57th Pioneer Infantry, and the 73d Medical Replacement Section. In addition, there were 191 members of the 60th and 62d units, Army Nurse Corps.

The ship sailed on September 29th. Because troop space H-8 was deemed unfit for occupancy by reason of inadequate ventilation, troops quartered there were moved on the 30th to other compartments, causing congestion in many spaces. All available bunks in the sick bay were filled by army sick before the morning of September 30th. Arrangements were then made to empty F room section 3, port side, containing 200 standees. These bunks were filled within a few minutes with sick men picked up from the decks. When this space was found to be insufficient E room section 2, starboard side, 415 bunks, was vacated (October 1st), and the occupants sent down to H-8 regardless of improper ventilation. On October 3d, the port side of E room section 2, 463 bunks, was vacated by the Army guard, those sick in F. H. S. 3 were moved up to E. R. S. 2, and the guard sent below to be scattered wherever they could find space. Thus, on the night of October 3d, there was, beside the sick bay, a ward on E-deck capable of bunking 878 men. As the bunks are arranged four in a tier, one above the other, the top bunk could not be used for the sick, except in emergencies, because nurses could not climb up to them nor could sick men climb down to go to toilets.

The Navy medical officers confined their efforts mostly to those in the sick bay spaces, while all the sick quarters below were turned over to the army medical officers. The army chief surgeon, Colonel Decker, and two of his juniors became ill on October 1st, leaving but eleven army doctors to hold sick call, treat patients below, and care for about thirty nurses and twenty officers who were ill in rooms. The navy medical officers stood watches in E. R. S. 3 at such times as they could be spared from the sick bay work, and relays of army nurses were assigned to duty below, with the pneumonia cases in the isolation ward, with sick officers in the officer’s ward, and with sick nurses and officers in staterooms. In fact every available medical officer, nurse and hospital corpsman was utilized to the extreme of endurance. Below, in the E-deck ward, every possible appliance for the care of the sick was furnished to the army surgeons on duty. The commissary officer placed at our disposal stewards, cooks and mess men, and furnished just the kind of food required, in the best possible fashion. The Medical Department of the ship owes, and I wish here to acknowledge, a great debt of gratitude to the Commissary Department, and to Paymaster Farwell and Chief Commissary Steward Flowers, especially, for their co-operation in this matter, the success with which they gave comfort and aid to the sick, and removed from our shoulders the always worrisome burden of feeding men unable to eat regular diet.

COURSE OF THE EPIDEMIC

This was influenced materially by these main factors:

First, the widespread infection of several organizations before they embarked, and their assignment to many different parts of the ship.

Second, the type of men comprising the most heavily infected group. These men were particularly liable to infection.

Third, the absolute lassitude of those becoming ill caused them to lie in their bunks without complaint until their infection had become profound and pneumonia had begun. The severe epistaxis which ushered in the disease in a very large proportion of the cases, caused a lowering of resisting powers which was added to by fright, by the confined space, and the motion of the ship. Where pneumonia set in, not one man was in condition to make a fight for life.

As noted above, the sick bay was filled a few hours after leaving Hoboken. All pneumonia cases were placed in one isolation ward at the beginning, and another isolation unit was set aside for measles and mumps, both of which diseases were present among the troops. The other isolation units were first filled with influenza cases and later with pneumonias. Until the fifth day of the voyage, few patients could be sent to duty because of great weakness following the drop in temperature as they grew better. Only the worst cases in E-deck ward were sent to sick bay at any time, and all were potentially pneumonias. The E-deck ward was more than full all the time and there were many ill men in various troop spaces in other parts of the ship.

There are no means of knowing the actual number of sick at any one time, but it is estimated that fully 700 cases had developed by the night of September 30th. They were brought to the sick bay from all parts of the ship, in a continuous stream, only to be turned away because all beds were occupied. Most of them then lay down on the decks, inside and out, and made no effort to reach the compartment where they belonged. In fact practically no one had the slightest idea where he did belong, and he left his blankets, clothing, kit, and all his possessions to be salvaged at the end of the voyage.

During October 1st, every effort was made to increase hospital space below, as noted above. The heretofore satisfactory arrangements for army sick call were not adhered to by the army medical officers, and hundreds of men applied for treatment at the E-deck ward instead of going to the twelve outlying sick call stations. On this day, Colonel Decker, the Chief Army Surgeon, became ill. As he was the only army medical officer who had had army experience in administrative matters there was now no competent head to the army organization. Two other medical officers also became ill and remained in their rooms to the end of the voyage.

Late in the evening of this day the E-deck ward was opened on the starboard side and was filled before morning. Twenty army nurses were detailed for duty during the night. When patients were brought up, their mates carefully left their blankets and clothing below and scouting parties had to be sent through the compartments to gather up all loose blankets for use of the sick. Fortunately we had about 100 army blankets in the medical storeroom which had been salvaged on other voyages. These were used while they lasted.

HORRORS OF WAR

The conditions during this night cannot be visualized by any one who has not actually seen them.

The morning of October 2nd brought no relief. Things seemed to grow worse instead of better. Cleaning details were demanded of the army, but few men responded. Those who came would stay awhile and wander away, never to be seen again. No N. C. O.’s were sent, and there was no organization for control. The nurses made a valiant effort to clean up and the navy hospital corpsmen did marvels of work, but always against tremendous odds. Only by constant patrolling between the bunks could any impression be made upon the litter and finally our own sailors were put on the job. They took hold like veterans and the place was kept respectably clean thereafter.