Needs more pirate lingo.
Posted on 04/28/2017 11:15:28 AM PDT by Bull Snipe
Thought you might appreciate this:
Snipe’s Lament Now each of us from time to time has gazed upon the sea and watched the mighty warships pulling out to keep this country free. And most of us have read a book or heard a lusty tale, about these men who sail these ships through lightning, wind and hail. But there's a place within each ship that legend's fail to teach. It's down below the water-line and it takes a living toll - - a hot metal living hell, that sailors call the "Hole." It houses engines run with steam that makes the shafts go round. A place of fire, noise, and heat that beats your spirits down. Where boilers like a hellish heart, with blood of angry steam, are molded gods without remorse, are nightmares in a dream. Whose threat from the fires roar, is like a living doubt, that at any moment with such scorn, might escape and crush you out. Where turbines scream like tortured souls, alone and lost in Hell, are ordered from above somewhere, they answer every bell. The men who keep the fires lit and make the engines run, are strangers to the light and rarely see the sun. They have no time for man or God, no tolerance for fear, their aspect pays no living thing a tribute of a tear. For there's not much that men can do that these men haven't done, beneath the decks, deep in the hole, to make the engines run. And every hour of every day they keep the watch in Hell, for if the fires ever fail their ship's a useless shell. When ships converge to have a war upon an angry sea, the men below just grimly smile at what their fate will be. They're locked below like men fore-doomed, who hear no battle cry, it's well assumed that if they're hit men below will die. For every day's a war down there when gauges all read red, twelve-hundred pounds of heated steam can kill you mighty dead. So if you ever write their songs or try to tell their tale, the very words would make you hear a fired furnace's wail. And people as a general rule don't hear of these men of steel, so little heard about this place that sailors call the "Hole." But I can sing about this place and try to make you see, the hardened life of the men down there, 'cause one of them is me. I've seen these sweat-soaked heroes fight in superheated air, to keep their ship alive and right, though no one knows they're there. And thus they'll fight for ages on till warships sail no more, amid the boiler's mighty heat and the turbine's hellish roar. So when you see a ship pull out to meet a war-like foe, remember faintly if you can, "The Men Who Sail Below." -Anonymous
Needs more pirate lingo.
The Snipe’s Lament
Author unknown
Now each of us from time to time, has gazed upon the sea
And watched the warships pulling out, to keep this country free.
And most of us have read a book, or heard a lusty tale,
About the men who sail these ships, through lightning, wind and hail.
But there’s a place within each ship, that legend fails to teach.
It’s down below the waterline, it takes a living toll-—
A hot metal living hell, that sailors call the “hole.”
It houses engines run by steam, that makes the shafts go round,
A place of fire and noise and heat, that beats your spirit down,
Are of molded gods without remorse, are nightmares in a dream.
Whose threat that from the fires roar, is like living doubt,
That any minute would with scorn, escape and crush you out.
Where turbines scream like tortured souls, alone and lost in hell,
As ordered from above somewhere, they answer every bell.
The men who keep the fires lit, and make the engines run,
Are strangers to the world of night, and rarely see the sun.
They have no time for man or God, no tolerance for fear,
Their aspect pays no living thing, the tribute of a tear.
For there’s not much that men can do, that these men haven’t done,
Beneath the decks deep in the hole, to make the engines run.
And every hour of every day, they keep the watch in hell,
For if the fires ever fail, their ship’s a useless shell.
When ships converge to have a war, upon the sea,
The men below just grimly smile, at what their fate might be.
They’re locked in below like men for doomed, who hear no battle cry,
It’s well assumed that if they’re hit, the men below will die.
For every day’s a war down there, when the gauges all read red,
Twelve hundred pounds of heated steam, can kill you mighty dead.
So if you ever write their sons, or try to tell their tale,
The very words would make you hear, a fired furnace’s wail.
And people as a general rule, don’t hear of men of steel,
So little’s heard about the place, that sailors call the “hole.”
But I can sing about this place, and try to make you see,
The hardened life of men down there, cause one of them is me.
I’ve seen these sweat soaked heroes fight, in superheated air,
To keep their ship alive and right through no one knows they’re there.
And thus they’ll fight for ages on, till warships sail no more
Amid the boiler’s mighty heat, and the turbines hellish roar.
So when you see a ship pull out, to meet a warlike foe,
Remember faintly if you can, “THE MEN WHO SAIL BELOW.”
1200# plants are recent. So this poem is more modern than it appears. Best snipe book. Sand Pebbles.
I have always had a healthy respect for you and your mates who work in the engineering spaces below decks.
I worked on the flight deck, and often thought how terrible it would be to be under an actual attack, and not be able to see what is coming, and only know from an actual hit.
Never mind the smoke, fire, and rising water.
Read an excellent book called “Neptune’s Inferno” recently about the naval battles around Guadalcanal in 1942, and the carnage was sobering, to put it lightly.
No, I tip my hat to all of you.
Define ‘recent’.....................
As a former destroyer man, I say its about time the snipes get some recognition, though I wasn’t one myself.
I think a lot about the men below when ships were torpedoed in WW2. If they weren’t killed outright, what it must have been for them trapped in their boiler and turbine rooms. It was a long trip to the bottom. We hear a lot about how horrific it was for the men in B-17’s, shot up by enemy fighters, who had their long descent to the earth, trapped by centrifugal force in their bombers, but what about the snipes in the Navy?
I am forever grateful that they were only taking pilots the day I first interviewed for OCS, and that the Electronics Mate quota was all filled by the time my IBM card got to the sorter. Going to Electrician’s Mate A School and spending time on USS Columbus (CG-12) was the best preparation for, eventually, becoming an officer that I could have gotten.
The scene where the chief engineer is smiling at the purring of the engines is amazing.
Same respect here. Above the weather decks on a destroyer. Was in the hole only on an exercise to patch power.
http://www.tampabay.com/features/popculture/arrrrrrr-you-ready-for-talk-like-a-pirate-day/817148
A Florida take on the issue from above link:
“Keel-haul. As in, “Let’s drop off after work to keel-haul a few PBR tall boys.” Or, “Thanks a lot, Lehman Brothers, my portfolio has really taken a good keel-hauling this week.”
Bilge rat. An insult of the highest magnitude: “The Rays will keel-haul those bilge rats from Boston in the playoffs!”
Lubber. A bilge rat who refuses to participate in International Talk Like a Pirate Day: “Them lubbers at the counter told me to hit the gangplank when I brought me parrot into Dunkin’ Donuts.”
Ahoy!, Avast! and Aye! Use these words as often as you can, no matter the context.
Arrrrrrr! No explanation necessary. Arrrrrrr!
Lookin’ for a pub where ye can hoist a few flagons of grog with your fellow buccaneers and wenches? Point your sails to the Friendly Fisherman at John’s Pass in Madeira Beach, where a host of scurvy scalliwags will be enjoyin’ rum specials, hand-rolled cigars and pirate songs ...
MM2 Larsen, USS Ajax AR6, Aft Engine Room, ‘74-’78
Fortunately for me as an electrical snipe I spent my GQ time in the forward emergency diesel generator room. Never once saw the coastline of a port we entered. Ocean everywhere.... Bam, 2 hours later Hong Kong Harbor.
Been there and done that. Sea and Anchor detail was burnerman in Bravo 3.
That’s very good. Thanks for posting. Stirred a memory:
I was in V-2 Cats on a CVA. We had one E-2 Snipe in our division. He’d been on active duty for 9 years and most were down below. He’d made FN3 twice and kept getting into trouble, so was busted back to E-2. ...He loved working on the flight deck in the open air!
Great stuff, thanks
Great movie.
I loved the party scene before they went to sea.
Sailors have much commonality, no matter where they hail from.
This reply is dedicated to my late father-in-law, Bertram Snouffer. A dedicated sailor on USS Stafford DE-411 during WWII. My wife and I went to many Stafford reunions with him and I learned well what a snipe was. We stopped the reunions a few years ago when children and grand-children substantially outnumbered the sailors. In later years the reunion was the high point of the year for Bert and many of his shipmates. We heard the stories year after year and never failed to enjoy and comment on them each year. Bert carried his shellback card until his passing and was one of his most cherished positions. Not that it had any value to anyone but him. Now that they are all gone the only thing left are memories of these great heroes of WWII. Thank you for sharing this poem it means a great deal.
I believe most US Navy ships built after WWII (with the exception of the Dealy class of escorts, replaced by the Knox class frigates) had 1200 psi steam.
The last ships using 600 psi were phased out in the early to mid Seventies.
The USS Kitty Hawk was the last carrier operating with the traditional boiler. All nuclear now.
(Any of you Snipes who know this better than me, correct me. I am “just an Airdale”!)
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