Nomenclature of Naval Vessels

What did you need to know? Originally printed in 1942....now ...once again in print. In its construction, a ship or vessel, like a building, is started on its foundation and carried through to completion by the fitting and securing of its many parts together to form a designed shape. However, the nomenclature of the several members of which the ship is composed and the parts and spaces provided in its erection differs from that used for buildings. The foundation of a ship is called the KEEL and extends FORE and AFT from BOW to STERN, which, when speaking of a building in a similar way, would be from front to back. The STEM is located at the very forward end of the keel and the STERN POST to which the RUDDER is attached is at the after end. The keel is the "backbone" of the ship, and extending outward from it to form the "ribs" or framing of the ship are the FRAMES, to which steel PLATES are welded or riveted to form the "skin" or SHELL of the ship. The ship is divided into it many spaces by "walls" called BULKHEADS, and these spaces or rooms are called COMPARTMENTS or TANKS as the case may be. Corresponding to the floors of a building of several stories are the DECKS and PLATFORMS which are made of steel plates laid across steel beams called DECK BEAMS. The "windows" of a ship are called PORTHOLES, and entrance into compartments or tanks is gained through DOORS, HATCHWAYS, SCUTTLES, or MANHOLES. The "chimneys" are called STACKS or FUNNELS. The ship is driven through the water by the PROPELLER, sometimes called the WHEEL, and it is steered by the RUDDER. Looking from the stern in a direction toward the bow, the right-hand side of the ship is called STARBOARD, the left-hand side, PORT. When a ship is being constructed, the frames are shown on blueprints and are numbered from the forward toward the stern commencing with the first frame at the bow of the ship. The zero point is taken at the FORWARD PERPENDICULAR, which is a design point on the stem of the ship, the first frame aft of this point being called FRAME #1, the second, #2, and continuing consecutively to the AFTER PERPENDICULAR which is a design point located at the after end of the ship. Usually frames on a ship are evenly spaced; however, in some sections, as for example, the very bow of the ship, the frames are close together due to strength requirements. The various units placed aboard ship are located fore and aft, according to a position, relative to a certain distance from the closest frame; up or down relative to a certain distance above or below a particular deck or the base line; and port or starboard relative to a certain distance from the CENTER LINE of the ship.