Section I

INTRODUCTION

 

As the speed of construction of destroyers increased, the percentage of experienced engineering personnel available for assignment to these newly constructed destroyers became smaller and smaller, and the time available for these personnel to familiarize themselves with their particular installations became less and less. Because of these facts it was decided that the Office of the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, U. S. N., Staten Island, must establish a training course to enable the prospective engineering crews to more quickly learn the operation of their engineering plants. In the early stages, the Instructor of this course made notes and sketches to aid in the instruction. As these notes increased it became apparent that they could be collated and placed in coherent form, to form an instruction book which could be used by engineer officers afloat for instruction of new members of their crew. This manual is a compilation and outgrowth of these notes. Its purpose is to present to engineering personnel of all ratings the complete cycle of operation of the closed feed system in a manner which can be easily understood by all, from firemen to engineer officers. In order to make this possible a great amount of the detail and highly technical explanation presented in the regular machinery instruction books have been eliminated, and special operating notes have been incorporated. The object has been to present the operating action within the machinery rather than the details of construction of the machinery. The premise upon which the construction of this book is based is that the prospective ship's force does not have a comprehensive picture of the operation of the plant as a whole and does not fully understand the interdependence of each part of the plant upon each other part. To present this comprehensive picture, it is necessary to present the plant from the point of view of the complete steam cycle of the closed feed system. To establish this method the following basic facts must first be recognized:  
1. The steam cycle is composed of a series of systems.

2. These systems may be either an integral part of the main cycle or furnish a service to some system of the main cycle.

3. These systems are composed of elements, the proper operation of which will insure proper operation of the system.

4. Proper operation of the elements composing this system depends upon proper operation of the systems furnishing service.

5. Proper operation of all systems in the steam cycle will insure proper operation of the machinery plant as a whole.

Using the steam cycle as a base, each system has been broken down into its elements and after discussion of each element in chronological order they are all connected together by a discussion of the piping system. To tie the steam cycle together. the systems are presented in their chronological order, with the systems furnishing service presented in connection with the proper part of the steam cycle. Most of the information presented in this manual is available in the manufacturers' instruction books, in the Bureau of Ships Manual or in the Gibbs and Cox Appendices (1) (Notes on Operation), (2) (Operation for Maximum Economy) and Principal Engineering Piping Systems and Related Equipment for these classes of destroyers. However, it is here presented in chronological form and in such a manner that it can be more easily understood and oriented by the student. Little attention has been paid to the auxiliaries not directly connected to the main propulsion plant. These auxiliaries are relatively few and are operated only by a few men on board ship. Because so few men are involved, detailed instruction in the operation of these auxiliary units can easily be accomplished from the manufacturers' instruction books. This text has been written specifically for the DD445 and DD692 class destroyers of the U. S. Navy and applies in detail

 
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to all destroyers and converted types of those classes. While it does apply, in general, to all ships whose engineering plants follow the pressure closed feed system, it is not intended to be a description of any plant except those above designated. This book has been written with the original assumption that students will have had some   basic training in marine engineering operation and, therefore, must be at least partially grounded in engineering fundamentals. A thorough and complete knowledge of this text should enable any student, who has a previous engineering background, to successfully operate any ship employing the pressure closed feed system.
 
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