When a
ship is precommissioned it’s allotted a large load out of equipment prior to
sea trials which is stored in the shipyard. In one shipyard warehouse, the
equipment for each ship was segregated and stored in separate wire mesh cages
with locked doors.
Ship's
crew members were only allowed in the cages after being properly identified. However,
warehousemen were far too busy to monitor activities, once proper authorization
was established.
One Boatswain’s
Mate peered through the cage wire mesh and noted that the cruiser's cage next
door had a lot of equipment his ship could use as well as a beautiful, huge
coil of mooring line whose diameter was much larger than authorized for a
destroyer. He also noted that tile cage partitions did not extend all the way
to the warehouse ceiling.
He and
his crew then stacked equipment high enough to climb over the partition and
into the cruiser's cage and equipment transfers were quickly made. The coil of
mooring line, however, was another matter. It was much too heavy to move as a
coil. This problem was solved by passing one end over the partition and coiling
the line on the destroyer side.
All went
well until halfway through the evolution. That’s when the Boatswain and a few
other crewmen from the cruiser showed up about as welcome as a nut cutlet at
a cannibal barbeque! Old Boats from the cruiser looked stonier than a biblical
execution! Things got a little intense for a while but the cruiser's Boatswain seemingly
realized they were a little outnumbered. So looking at the coil of line he wisely
suggested…
"Could
you just put it back and we’ll call it a day?!?"
The Tin
Can Sailors did just that and nothing was made of it, including any of the rest
of the equipment transfers that apparently went unnoticed! However, since that
type of requisition works both ways, you can't help but wonder how much of the
destroyer’s gear went to sea on that cruiser.
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