HELMSMAN WATCH  by Chuck Johnson

My experiences on the FIGHTING LADY back in 54 to 55 seemed so insignificant compared to those brave crews that served aboard her during WWII.  But not many in this world have had the opportunity to steer a big ship like our FIGHTING LADY.

It was August 1954 somewhere in the South China Sea.  Normally I would be stationed on a 5 inch cannon as sight setter.  But, tonight would be different.  I had been assigned from midnight to 0400 on the bridge as the HELMSMAN!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I had NO training or even the slightest instructions.

  I broke into a cold sweat as my heart raced, filled with fear as to what to expect when I got up on the bridge.  As fate would have it I couldn't squeeze out one wink of sleep and soon found my wrist watch reading 2330 (half an hour to my bridge watch).  I leaped out of my rack, fully awake and got dressed.

  As I climbed the ladder to the bridge, my thought was to go hide.  But how could I do that?  I felt DOOMED, realizing I had to face whatever lay ahead.  I was ten minutes early as I reached the hatchway to the bridge.  It was dark inside except for the green glow emanating up from the three compasses in front of the helmsman's face.  My knees went weak at the thought I would soon be standing in his place and I didn't have the first idea of what I should do.  I knew I would grip that wheel with all my strength and negotiate it to keep that middle compass on the course se3tting given to me.  I couldn't understand the significance of the other two compasses.  They stared at me!  (to find out what the other instruments meant go to bottom of this page)

  At five minutes to midnight, I walked up to the Helmsman and said in a shaking voice that I was there to relieve him.  before I could ask him anything about the job, he signed a relief and lifted both hands straight off the wheel and said "It's all yours". as he walked away and stepped out the hatchway.  Instinctively I grabbed the wheel and with precision focus, I locked my eyes onto the ship's course setting on the compass.  It started to drift to one side and I panicked.  I turned the wheel ever-so-slightly but nothing occurred.

   It was now off by two degrees.  I looked up and found the Officer of the Deck looking into my eyes.  He seemed to stare right through me.  Frantically I began turning the wheel more and more until the compass started back toward the original setting.  when it reached its mark, it kept right on going until it reached past 5 degrees the other way.  During this time I spun the wheel hard to the right, then hard to the left, gaining a feel until it settled back on course.

  I was about to sign a breath of relief when the Officer of the Deck belched out a new course setting! HELL was upon me again as I spun the wheel to the left.  I flat didn't know how to negotiate this ship that was longer than a football field.  I spun the wheel hard again and looked up to see if the Officer was looking at me, momentarily losing track of this awesome job.  I looked out the forward windows of the bridge to see the flight deck begin to tilt downward on the right while the Yorktown began a left turn.  My head instantly jerked downward, locking my eyes on the compass.  It was moving rapidly by now and I smacked the wheel, spinning it to the right before over-shooting the new course setting.  The big ship slowly but gently fish-tailed to the right and then left until finally settling on its new course.  It would be another five or ten minutes before I heard another course change.  This continued for the entire watch.

  After an hour or so I began to relax with confidence at doing my job.  I could spend more time between course changes watching the activities of the Officers on deck and looking at the other ships in the fleet as they struggled along in the stormy sea.  The Yorktown's flight deck rose upward, then down with the big swells, pitching right, then left.  Huge sprays of seawater engulfed the front of the flight deck as the bow plunged into the swells.  I watched as the Destroyer Escorts plunged inn to the huge swells and shot out the other side with much of their undersides exposed.  The sky was very cloudy with moon rays showing through openings.  The sea of violent with mountainous waves and white caps. 

It was one of those times in my life that I wanted to capture every minute.  I knew that not many would experience what I was experiencing at that time.  I thought of the 3000 men sleeping below decks and what would happen if I made a wrong turn and rammed into one of the escorting ships.  I thought if anyone back home could see me now I'd be some kind of hero.

  My replacement soon arrived.  The past 4 hours seemed like fifteen minutes.  I enjoyed the job and was high on doing it.

   It was 0400 and I was still not tired.  I worked my way back to the fantail gun tubs.  The Yorktown's four large propellers churning the water into violent swirls and I saw the fluorescent glow stretching straight back as far as I could see in the night's moonlight...a glow that I had created at the helm of the FIGHTING LADY.

Chatter heard on the bridge during typical bridge watch
(by Boatswain Mate, Petty Officer 3rd Class Rey Colon)

OD: (looks at the helmsman) I have the deck and the con

Helmsman: aye aye sir

OD: RIGHT STANDARD RUDDER !!

Helmsman: aye aye sir right standard rudder, my rudder is right 15 Degrees

OD: Very well, come to course 090

Helmsman: aye aye sir 090
(at this I take a grease pencil and write 090 right on the gyro repeater)

Full rudder is 20 Degrees
 

Behind Nicole is a glass top rectangular box that's called "THE CON" as in controls, so before becoming a helmsman you must pass a written exam on navigation and stand watch on the con, it was a seaman apprentice (SA) The con has knot log, ships port and starboard speed control , rudder and shaft indicator. The seamen had a "headset" that is in constant communication with the Engine Room and the Fantail Watch, Anchor Locker and Flight Ops. The SA would take the wheel if the helmsmen had to use the head, at times would also "pipe" on the ships intercom....NOW HEAR THIS, NOW HEAR THIS, THE SMOKING LAMP IS OUT THRU OUT THE SHIP....
The Helm has a wheel. It has two gyro repeaters (port/starboard) why two? Because of the earths curves and magnetic field or "Variation". True north differs depending on what part of the earth you are in. Variation in the Caribbean is as much as 7 degrees difference from true north and as much as 15 degrees the further north you travel. On the Yorktown we use the starboard gyro (closes to true) When the officer of the deck gives a course change(090) the helmsmen with a grease pencil writes it on the starboard gyro. Before casting off on a long voyage a prudent sailor does his home work and at sea must be on 24/7 watch. The OD's duty is to use an equation that has been arround before Columbus, It's call "Dead Reckoning" (60 minutes = Distance divided by Speed / Time) Underway, a sailor would drop a piece of wood at the bow and count the time it takes to pass the stern, multiply that time by the length of the ship you can calculate the speed. the same sailor would have a rope ("line" on a boat) with knots tyed at 6ft increments(6ft=fathom) he would use it to measure how deep the water is hence the "knot log" is born.
To the lower right of the wheel you can find the "Rudder angle indicator". The reading are 0 (midship) right or left 10 to 35 degrees (red line at 40 degrees) and in the picture you can just make out the magnetic compass to the left of the starboard gyro and in between of that compipe (with the cap) In a battle with no bridge power that pipe would be used for communicating.
I remember after rounding the Horn heading to Norfork in the Bermuda triangle north of Puerto Rico, the magnetic compass would not stop rotating. strange huh
Rey Colin Helmsman BM3 USS Yorktown 1966 to 1969

The Yorktown actually had two master gyros - one was located aft in the ship, almost directly above the rudders; the second was located in Central Station, which was a little forward of midships, almost directly below the officers galley for the officers wardroom, but down about eight decks. The gyro repeaters on the bridge displayed the outputs of these two gyros which were fore and aft, not port and starboard.
You may have noticed that there would be a slight difference in the readings of these two gyros especially in turns of the ship because they were separated by a distance of approximately 400 feet. As IC men, we maintained these repeaters and gyros. During my duty on the Yorktown I attended the U.S. Navy's "C" school located at Great Lakes NTC on the Sperry gyrocompass systems that were installed on the USS Yorktown during our Long Beach yard visit in '63/'64. The next time you visit the ship you can see one of the main gyros where it is now on display in the "E" division office.
Dean Peterson, E, IC2