U.S. NAVY DAMAGE CONTROLMAN (DC) BALL CAP DEVICE

In the seven decades since the establishment of the Damage Controlman (DC) rating in 1948, the number and types of weapons an enemy might launch against a U.S. Navy ship have increased dramatically, along with the amount of damage that can be inflicted with a single successful strike.

In World War II, for example, some 85 percent of U.S. Navy vessels that were hit by enemy fire not only survived, but were able to continue their combat mission. The case of the USS Liberty, a World War II-era “Victory Ship,” is a good example of just how much damage even an older vessel can take from traditional ordnance such as aircraft-mounted rockets and torpedoes. Attacked by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats in a controversial case of mistaken identity during the Six-Day War in 1967, the Liberty survived multiple rocket strikes, strafing by 30mm cannons, Napalm bombs, and a torpedo hit that blasted a hole in the ship’s hull nearly forty feet wide and twenty-five feet in height. Despite losing 34 Sailors (another 172 were injured), the heroic efforts of the Liberty’s crew in performing damage control meant that the ship was able to leave the area of the attack under its own power.

Contrast that with the fighting during the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom just fifteen years later. Six out of the sixteen ships that were hit by weapons fire were lost—a loss rate of 37 percent—and others were not able to maintain their combat missions. In fact, a Royal Navy Board of Inquiry Report found that the evidence indicated that one ship, the HMS Sheffield, sank after being struck by an Exocet anti-ship missile even though the warhead failed to detonate.

Though a bystander in the conflict, the U.S. Navy learned lessons from the Falklands War, and not only stepped up the training for Damage Controlmen, but also invested in new technologies such as high-expansion foam generators and water-misting fire suppression technologies. The sophisticated, multi-layered defense systems deployed on U.S. Navy ships means the chances of enemy ordnance even reaching a vessel are orders of magnitude lower than during World War II—but the Navy’s Damage Controlmen stand ready to minimize the damage and maximize the safety of their fellow Sailors should such an event take place.

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Price

$7.19

Quantity

USPHS

Merchant Marine

AUXILIARY

U.S. NAVY DAMAGE CONTROLMAN (DC) BALL CAP DEVICE