continued… In 1970, Taney returned to her pre-Vietnam War Ocean Weather Station duty in Alameda, CA. Two years later, she was transferred to the east coast for Ocean Weather Station duty. In 1977, she was relieved of this task, as the advancement of satellites removed the need for ships to do it.
While this room did give a lot of information on the Taney’s general history, about half the exhibits were focused on the Vietnam War, with a lot of general information about the war along with the Taney’s specific involvement in it.
The arrows took us through another hallway into the Chief Petty Officers Mess, where they ate eat meals and hung out in their free time. There were usually 12 – 14 aboard.
The engine room was directly underneath. The propulsion system was made up of two double reduction geared steam turbine units, each with a high pressure and low pressure turbine that were connected to a propellor shaft through a reduction gear set. The shaft horsepower was 3,100 each (6,300 total), the HP Turbine RPM was 5,995, the LP PRM was 4,496, the propellor RPM 256 and the hull speed was 21 knots.
Engineering Log Room. In addition to keeping records, in an emergency, damage to the ship was reported to them and they coordinated the repair logistics.
We passed the Boiler Room, AKA Fire Room. They used a special fuel oil to boil water to 420 degrees Fahrenheit and piped the steam into the turbines at a maximum pressure of 400 PSI. The waste was captured in a condensation tank, cooled, and moved back into the boiler to be reused.
Next was the Enlisted Crew Mess Hall
The kitchen was upstairs. Food was sent down through a dumb waiter. The food was served and dishes washed here.
Then we took a ladder back up to the upper deck, where we found ourselves in the crew quarters for the enlisted men. Unlike the Torsk submarine, in the Taney, everyone had their own bed.
There was even a lounge area in there. The lounge had signs with personal stories of various crew and some of their ship-related memorabilia, such as photos, clothing, medals, etc.
We’re sure many a soldier tripped over this hatch in the floor near the door to the crew quarters.
The crew quarters led us through this area. We can’t remember now what it was used for.
Then we entered another relatively large room with a big exhibit that focused on the Pearl Harbor attack and World War II, with a lot of general information about the war along with the Taney’s specific involvement in it. There was a TV playing a video on a loop with various soldiers sharing their personal stories. One of the most memorable was a woman who was promised that Honolulu would be an easy duty station where nothing exciting would happen.
