The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-03-13


Coming Tower Is In Touch With
Evsry Person and Event on Board.
When a warship sails into action he.
heart pulses and throbs as eager fol-
the fray as the hearts of any OF her
crew. Yes. warship has heart.
The heart of warship Is the control
room, deep down under the deck. stu.
ated aft. usually abaft the second
funnel.
Even on big fighting ships the heart
Is small. Generally it is only ten fee!
by six, and Is almost noise proof and
eerily quiet 1t is really steel vault,
entered by door not unlike the door
OF burglar proof safe.
From floor 10 ceiling the walls are
lined with dia!s. wires. gauges. electric
bells, speaking tubes. switches and a
great amount of other apparatus which
keeps the commander in constant touch
with every corner Of the ship. 1t Is
the most wonderful and the most fear.
full room on earth or sea.
II is Il fortress within fortress. a
steel cell within the steel walls OF the
lighting engine.
To be in the control room during &C.
tive service is TO feel like being in a
vault with the door locked on the out
side. This little compartment, which
visitors seldom see, will keep alive as
long as there is living soul on board
able to hear and answer a call.
Ii is through the control room that
the commander issues his instructions,
observes and notes how the battle Is
going. calls the gun crews from place
to place, directs the engineers. steers
the whole fabric and superviscs every
thing. II submarine is seen in any
direction it is through tho control room
that 1t is reported.
a little bell rings, voice far away
speaks. Submarine on the port bow,
sir. two leagues on" In an Instant
the answer thrills the gun crews.
WARE submarine on the port bow;
enemy's craft Ready" The ;nlnners
have been ready for some time. and
when the chief gunner has laid the
gun TO his satisfaction bang goes a
message the enemy will not forge, IL it
hits him
II gun has to cease Gre the order
comes through the control room. II
the enemy lands shell on deck or
anywhere in the warship the doctors
are notified that they are wanted NJ
that spot almost as soon rs the men
have fallen. IL the gun crew are dead
it IL from the heart Of the ship that the
order Is given for fresh men To fly
their places.
Though the captain himself is in the
coming tower above. he knows through
the officer in the control room Just
what has happened to his ship and the
extent of the damage. and IL the cap
tain is killed in the coming tower or
OH tho bridge the chief officer in the
control room goes up at once 10 take
his place.
There are generally about six men
In this little throbbing heart OF the bat
tlesbip. including operators and junior
officers.
The chief officer gives directions to
the torpedo operators, the guuncrs. the
searchlight manipulators and the OH
GERS in charge OF the fighting masts. IL
such are part Of the ships equipment
But. besides all this. there are thou
sand and one things TO attend to dur
Ing an engagement.
Every order has 10 be given at an
instant's notice: given distinctly, tirm-
~, without the slightest hesitation or
curry. II Is only IN the control room
that one learns what the phrase de
yo,lon 10 duty" really means.
Everything goes With automatic pre-
cision in the heart of warship. aud
as it is the most vital spot on board
special care is taken 10 preserve Il
from harm.
Think OF the steady nerves required
Of those men. cooped up In this small
room when the shells are dying around
and the hull is being battered by the
enemy's guns. wrong signal might
mean disaster. but the organization is
so near perfection that Mistakes are
unknown.
There Is no rest for the officers in
the control room during a Gght. They
must stay ut the ships heart tele-
graphing and tclephoning to every
part Of the vessel. without taking No.
ice of the wreckage that is being
heaped up ON every hand. They know
that when the men in turret No. or
iurret No. z cease to reply TO their
signals something serious has hap.
pened
They know that even when the con.
ming tower has been smashed by shot
md shell and the bridge has been
swept away they must stick TO their
switches so long ss there is an officer
live to direct operations = Not until
be ship Is blown up or rammed are
hey allowed to leave that little room.
ind then they 20 dewn with her.-St. |
o,.i, fstnf,n nan,nnrut