USS Wiseman DE 667 Commissioning Photos

Power Plant

Black Rectangle is Engine Room-Black Circle is Fireroom

In 1942 General Electric was given the contract to build steam driven turboelectric power plants that would supply the power to run the Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts. Now instead of diesel engines used to power the destroyer escorts, two boilers and two steam turbines generators would run two electric motors that would turn the two shafts and screws.

There were two Firerooms and each contained a water tube boiler. Usually two Foster-Wheeler, Babcock & Wilcox or Combustion Engineering boilers. The boilers generated 430 PSI- 980-degree superheated steam. The steam would turn the turbines. There were two Engine Rooms and each Engine Room contained a turbine and generator that would produce the electricity that would run the motors. The motors would turn the shafts that the screws were attached to.

At full power the Forward Fireroom and the Forward Engine room would supply the steam and the electricity to power the motor that turned the starboard screw. The After Fireroom and After Engine Room would handle the port screw. Both Engine Rooms had a control panel to operate the motors and RPM/s of the shafts. The Engine Room also could control the shafts, either forward or reverse.

All orders of course came from the Bridge.

Both Firerooms and Engine Rooms were cross-connected so power could be supplied to either shaft incase of boiler or generator failure. When they were cross-connected one Engine Room would take control of both shafts rpm’s. The only time they would not be cross-connected is when the ship was running at full power. Fuel oil was used to fire the ships boilers. The ship could hold about 350 tons of fuel oil.

Motor RPM    Knots

    153                     10

    237                     15

    327                     20

    430                     24 

Water for the boilers had to be pure or the boiler tubes would deteriorate rapidly. The ship evaporators produced the water for the boilers. The evaporators got there water from the sea, so the salt and other impurity’s had to be removed. The crew’s water supply also came from the evaporators. This water was used for drinking, cooking, bathing, and for general clean up. The crew’s water was stored in two separate fresh water tanks in the after part of the ship. One tank was on the port side the other on the starboard side. The Water Tender would keep the same amount of water in each tank.