Australian Ddgs, A Bygone Era

[BrettGC]

Hi Guys, 

 

Came across this on Youtube this morning.  The old Perth class DDGs (US Charles F Adams).  These are the ships I spent the majority of my surface service on before going to submarines, mainly in HMAS Perth; many fond memories.  They were accepted into service by the Royal Australian Navy between '63-'66 and the final old girl decommissioned in 2001.  They've now all been scuttled and  are dive wrecks in various parts of Australia.  

 

Watching the video bought a bit of a tear to my eye; what is it about ships you've served in that invokes such emotion?  You would think that I, of all people would be able to explain it, but for a change, I'm lost for words.

 

[robert k]

I wasn't in the navy but I have known several who were and all were attached to their ship. The smaller the ship, the more attached they seemed to be, I guess because it's a small world.

[Jake]

Attention on deck!  CWO Brett arriving.......

 

Nice action photos of the Adam class destroyers.  I think you Aussie guys look better with that fresh paint job.....he, he.

Did you hear that USS Waddell DDG-23 claimed 40 knots and no smoke was her motto, probably making good time to pull

into Olongapo ahead of the fleet......he, he.  That SPS-40A air search radar (black one, main mast) was my baby as a young

radar tech.  I tuned and groomed that radar to reach out and touch someone at over 250 miles.  I've been known to sleep

in the radar room and whisper sweet nothings up her waveguide.....he, he.  

 

I had many opportunities to visit-sail various warships, including LA class subs and Nimitz class carriers.  As a crew member

of the escort ships (frigates and destroyers), those were the best times for me.   Robert K is right, smaller crew is a tighter

crew.  

 

However, on my last tour of sea duty on board a nuclear powered missile cruiser, I hated it with a passion.  I ran a division

of about 25 technicians who specialize in radar, comms, satnav and weapons system.  Outside of combat system dept, I

was also the ship's command master chief, conning officer and combat information watch officer.  The mundane routine

of watch, eat and sleep around the clock for the next 6-9 months deployment was getting old real fast.  I bailed out (retired)

before USS Truxtun CGN-35 went over the horizon for another WestPac deployment.

 

Thank god she recycled into razor blades upon decomm.  But I had some fun times driving her around without colliding with

anybody.  On the other hand, conning a frigate, FFG-7 class was like driving a Porsche -- quick and nimble.    

 

I really don't miss the navy -- only my young techs.

 

Haze grey and underway  -- Jake

[BrettGC]

That SPS-40A air search radar (black one, main mast) was my baby as a young radar tech.  I tuned and groomed that radar to reach out and touch someone at over 250 miles.  I've been known to sleep in the radar room and whisper sweet nothings up her waveguide.....he, he.  

 

Hahahaha Jake, I remember being a young Seaman Sig and our part of ship was the bridge/flagdeck/mast area - basically anything above 01 deck on the forward superstructure.  I'd just finished my training at HMAS Cerberus and posted to HMAS Perth.  The ship was in an extended maintenance period at the time, and as a result there was a lot chipping and painting going on my us executive branch types.  We had to strip back the mast and repaint it that lovely fire-retardent black.  The stripping part involved much banging with chipping hammers.  My Chief just sent me to the top in a safety harness and said "Work your way down on everything".  Being young and inexperienced I had no idea what that hollow metal tube were running out of the "52C" were so just assumed they had to be "chipped" as well.... When one of the Chief techs worked out where all the noise was coming from in the radar room.... I've never seen a chubby, old, grey haired man move so fast in any circumstances, never mind up a ladder!  He arrived up there with me, grabbed my hammer and threw it in the water, all the time yelling at me so incoherently he was frothing and spitting at the mouth!  

 

The resultant yelling match between my Chief, and said resulted in me, during my first two hours after secure every day, using an eraser to clean all the "gold" contacts, in all the equipment in the Comcen!  I never realised there was so many patch panels in a warship! Only took me about a month, and finished in record time apparently....

 

Edit:  Stupid auto-correct.

Edited July 16, 2014 by BrettGC

[Jake]

no idea what that hollow metal tube were running out of the "52C" fire control radar (waveguide)

 

Good thing your ship was still at pierside maintenance.  Nevertheless, you should always check your gonads

if they are glowing red for RF radiation and if they're blue, check for gamma rays exposure......he, he.   

 

Working aloft at sea needs a little bit more balls and craziness.  I volunteered myself and my young radar tech

to go up the mast while the ship was doing about 16 knots.  I needed special permission from the skipper to

perform emergency repair on my radar.  It only took about 30 minutes of work but I persuaded my nervous tech

to stay with me until just before sunset.  He was no longer scared of heights and enjoyed the random pendulum

swing as we held on tight whenever the ship pitch and roll.  

 

By the way, those man aloft harness are called nut busters for obvious reasons.....he, he. 

 

[BrettGC]

no idea what that hollow metal tube were running out of the "52C" fire control radar (waveguide)

 

Good thing your ship was still at pierside maintenance.  Nevertheless, you should always check your gonads

if they are glowing red for RF radiation and if they're blue, check for gamma rays exposure......he, he.   

 

Working aloft at sea needs a little bit more balls and craziness.  I volunteered myself and my young radar tech

to go up the mast while the ship was doing about 16 knots.  I needed special permission from the skipper to

perform emergency repair on my radar.  It only took about 30 minutes of work but I persuaded my nervous tech

to stay with me until just before sunset.  He was no longer scared of heights and enjoyed the random pendulum

swing as we held on tight whenever the ship pitch and roll.  

 

By the way, those man aloft harness are called nut busters for obvious reasons.....he, he. 

Man Aloft.JPG

 

 

LOL that's right, it was the SPS-40C!  Think I'd remember that given my specialty once I went to subs was ELINT!  We had the SPS-67 as our nav/SS radar.  

 

He was more worried about the damage to the waveguide than anything else.  All the standard "Man Aloft" precautions were taken, keys locked in the man aloft keyboard, flag Kilo flying.  I think the worst time I had of it, was when in about sea state 5, running EMCON silent, so all communications were by flag and light (can't be intercepted over the horizon; the reason why naval vessels still use visual signalling to this day), one of the signalling lanyards was lost up the mast and the retriever snapped in the 40 knot winds.  Up I went, crawling out onto the yardarm to feed it back down.. As you know Jake those ships had a very high centre of gravity and we were in a beam swell at the time.  I was crapping myself but my crusty old Chief instilled even more fear!  

 

Funny thing anecdotally, personnel that spent most of their sea time on the upper decks, signalmen, gunnery rates etc, tended to conceive boys rather than girls.  For myself, my eldest daughter was conceived whilst serving in Perth, my son whilst in a shore posting, and my youngest daughter whilst back on Perth again.  It was much the same for most of my peers at the time.  I once had a chat to a government scientist doing some work on the Perth at the time and he said to me "If this was a civilian ship, there's no way anyone would be allowed on the upper decks ever, at sea on a warship".  The red Radhaz lines around the HF whips used to make me laugh:  Apparently the difference between fried or not by the 1000's of watts these antennas pumped out was only a matter of inches!  You were unsafe on one side of the circle, but safe 2 inches further away... Yeah right.  Hate to think what the 52C pumped out. 

 

Good call on the ball busters, seems they come in more than the forms of mothers-in-law and wives!  Man one slip and.... 

Edited July 16, 2014 by BrettGC