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a couple of hours later and said the he had completed his task but wanted me to know that those messenger buoys were about 1" thick and there were a whole bunch of them up there. "Well that peaked my interest I want to tell you". What he had done was to cut holes to the torpedo impulse flasks instead of the messenger buoy. "Thank the lord that there was no air in them". That was the last time I let someone loose without direct supervision. The final preparation was to remove all excess fuel and lube oils, except for what we needed to last us four days at sea.
Powering her up:
The Master Chief was responsible for getting the engines ready. After charging the air banks and priming the fuel system and checking the oil, we rolled the #4 main engine. After about two minutes of rolling we found about 6 injectors stuck. After a slight adjustment with a crescent wrench, so to speak we rolled it again. This time, after a couple more minutes of rolling over, it fired up and ran like a fine Swiss watch. We were some impressed. The #4 engine was then selected as our primary power and then we started to get #3 ready as the backup.
We had similar luck when starting #3 main engine, although we did leave a couple of the injectors inoperative rather that be troubled with removing and fixing them. After all it was a backup engine.
When it came time to light up the electrical system we hired an old diesel boat electrician, from wherever it is that you find old diesel boat electricians. I do not remember his name, but he came in and set up the maneuvering cubical so that we had power to the main motors and to the hydraulic pumps. We also needed 110 volts to run the remote control system and lighting.
Setting up the remote control:
This was my responsibility. What I did was to go to Radio Shack and purchase a model airplane remote control unit and servos. I then set up a chain driven micro-switch assembly that ran off the emergency rudder indicator in the after torpedo room. As I am sure that you are well aware, anytime you put the rudder amidships in emergency, it would drift right or left, whichever it felt like doing at any particular time. These micro-switch assemblies allowed the hydraulic system to center the rudder each time it drifted. We also had another unit attached to the emergency rudder control lever between the tubes to operate the rudder on demand off the servos.
Sea Trials:
It was finally time to see, if, what we had actually done, was really going to work. There were about 10 of us on board during sea trials including a Navy Capt. from SUBRON6 After all; we were taking one of the Navy's finest ships out into Chesapeake Bay, and play with it. We were towed out to sea behind an ASR. I believe it was the Ortalon. Once out beyond the bay-bridge tunnel we fired up the # 4 main engine. With our old submarine electrician on hand, we proceeded to get underway on diesel power. After a while, with all systems working, including the remote control steering system, it was decided to drop the tow line and run on our own. All was going well until all of a sudden a huge explosion from the Starboard Electrical Cubical followed by a fireball from maneuvering. We all know that's not good news. As there were no personnel in maneuvering at the time, no one was injured, but needless to say, we came to a sudden stop, well almost. We were now in the outbound Norfolk channel "adrift". That would be drifting into the inbound channel with an aircraft carrier bearing down on us. We had no communications except for a hand held radio to talk to the Ortalon. Needless to say it got a little tense before we got the aircraft carrier to stop and got hooked up again behind the ASR. This is when I was glad to have a four stripper on board. What was his name anyway? Once we were hooked up for tow and out of harms way, we proceeded to effect repairs to get back underway. Basically we switched to the other main motor, as the problem was not in the engine/generator unit. The sea trials continued for the remainder of the day. The trials were deemed a success and as we were not on a commissioned ship, the Capt. had brought along a few beers for us to all share while we were being towed back into Norfolk. What was his name anyway?
The Final Voyage:
On a clear day in July, again we got underway behind the Ortalon and were towed out unto the center of Chesapeake Bay for the three-day SINKEX. There were four of us allowed to go out this time. The Master Chief, myself, and two other sailors from the tender were chosen. No staff officers rode the TIRU for the SINKEX. They didn't want to get that close to an explosion! Just kidding, they all rode the Ortalon.
Before I go any further I need to explain the "Rules of engagement". Rules of engagement: Before any weapon could be "fired" at us, and I'm not using that word loosely, there had to be a 25-mile box around us, clear of any vessel. OK now to continue.
For the first two days the USS Silversides ran torpedo runs on us. On the third day we were supposed to be lifted from the ship by helicopter when it came time to complete the exercise.
Keep in mind that we had no way of knowing when that was, as the only radio communication we had was hand held, line of sight radio and the ASR was 25 miles away, "under the rules of engagement". Our first clue that there was going to be a shot was the arrival of the helicopter, over the horizon. As it turned out, under the Rules of Engagement, every time
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