The sub., 1943-11-25


 continuously for four days with out failure" sucking out the food ing waters that rushed through the gaping hole torn in her hull be- low the water line by an 8-inch enemy shell. Had either the propulsion ma chinery or the pumps failed, an illustrious fighting ship and her gallant survivors of the battle would never have had the chance to fight again. The same thing ap- plies to the functioning of the BOSSES steering equipment which, despite the terrific pounding taken by the ship, operated with re- markable precision both during and after the battle. The combat report relates:
 "At the height of the battle, the 5-inch control officer received a report from one of the guns-'Tor- pedo starboard' He sent word to the bridge, and the rudder was put hard over, to bring the ship on parallel course to it. The torpedo slipped by the BOSSES bow. Had the steering unit not responded perfectly, the result would have been a direct hit. The maneuver likewise saved the ship from second fish which immediately af- terward passed harmlessly by the stern"
 It was American skill and sweat put into this equipment by the workers on the production lines , that made it efficient and fool proof.
 Then there was the high praise for the quality of the ammunition the workers in ordnance plants are producing for the Navy. Here is what a BOISE gunnery officer had to say about it: "Our ammunition worked when we opened fire on the enemy ships. When you're working a gun, you can't keep from wondering whether or not your shells are going to be effec- tive or duds. We opened fire on the Jap ships. They caught fire they exploded-they went down. As long as we continue to get arn- munition like that, you can count on us to come through"
 Consider, too, this first-hand comment on other ordnance ma, terial on the ship-the electric mo- tors and hydro-electric drives pow ering such 5-inch gun equipment as ammunition hoistS, loading gear. rammers, etc. The following de- scribes the ruggedness of 5-inch gun motors: "This equipment op- erated under almost unbelievably difficult conditions during the 27- minute action. Splashes from ac- curate enemy gunfire covered the motors with water and in many in stances their cases were penetrated by she'll fragments. But they op- erated beautifully throughout the engagement as long as electrical circuits remained intact"
 Or take the matter of ships arc type searchlightS. The average worker whose toll goes into the making of the numerous parts be- gins to get some accurate idea of the vital importance of his contri- button, no matter how trivial it previously seemed, when he reads such a report as this:
 Despite the numerous hits on the BOISE and the terrific beat ing taken by the searchlight equip ment, there were no failures on the part of these lights. They per formed perfectly when the BOISE required illumination to pick up Jap destroyers and to aid in the control of gunfire. When the con trol officer said, Open shutters. the old pencil of light would flash out across the battle are with un- erring speed and accuracy to show us our targets"
 The combat report of the BOSSES officers likewise speaks of the reliability of ordinary fash light batteries-one of the appar- e..tly minor items of a fighting ships equipment which assume major importance during emergen- cies. "We used these fiashlight | batteries throughOut the BOISE