the field artillery journal - Fort Sill - U.S. Army

To move, to shoot, to communicate; those are our jobs.
To get within range of the enemy, we must all move by
water. Casualties may start while we are at sea, but they
can be held to a minimum by a little forethought and
energy. Prepare yourself as you would for battle.
Increasingly, the Field Artillery officer who wants to be
in the front rank of his profession needs to study
navigation. Simple methods, such as those described by
Captain Amory in the November, 1942, FIELD ARTILLERY
JOURNAL, can be mastered in a matter of weeks by anyone
familiar with survey. A nautical almanac is a good thing to
have; a U. S. Hydrographic Office Pilot Chart (the world in
six sheets at ten cents apiece) is a perfectly feasible
substitute at sea.
If you have a chart, measure distances on the scale of
latitude found on the margin. You will be given your
approximate position as you go over the side, then modify
it by three or four knots per hour (as the average speed of a
loaded life boat under full sail in a moderate breeze). Set
your watch by Greenwich Mean Time before leaving the
ship. Do this whether you expect to navigate or not, as the
coxswain may have forgotten or been unable to do so
—————
*With acknowledgments to the N.Y.P.E. and to Richards and
Banigan, co-authors of How to Abandon Ship (Cornell Maritime
Press; $1.00).
ABANDON SHIP!
By Capt. Edward A. Raymond, FA *
214
himself. With no chart, sail due east or due west and if you
keep on long enough, you will reach land. Hours spent in
learning to navigate may purchase years of life for you and
a boatload of men.
Any officer may have life dependant upon his skill in
handling wounds, fractures, burns, shock, or suffocation at
sea.
Upon going aboard, start preparing yourself and your
men for an emergency. The more times a man goes from
his bunk to his boat station blindfolded, the better his
chances for survival. He should learn and practice all
available routes. As the greater proportion of sinkings
occur at night, lights may or may not be in service.
Nothing is so fearful as the unknown, and constant
abandon-ship drills have been proved by experience to
cut down panic, which itself takes a heavy toll of lives.
Panic stampedes narrow hatches and companionways.
Panic swamps boats. Panic throws men into burning fuel
oil around a ship which is still afloat and burning a week
later. To decrease panic enforce silence on all but the
ship's crew after the order to abandon ship has been
given.
Be ready. Probably your life, and certainly your
comfort will depend on what you take overboard with
you. More die of exposure at sea than drown. Never sleep
undressed. Wear woolen underwear, even in the tropics.