CHAPTER 4 



PREVENTIVE AND CORRECTIVE DAMAGE CONTROL 



Aboard ship, the overall damage and casualty 

 control function is composed of two separate but 

 related phases: the engineering casualty control 

 phase and the damage control phase. The en- 

 gineering officer is responsible for both phases. 



The engineering casualty control phase is 

 concerned with the prevention, minimization, and 

 correction of the effects of operational and battle 

 casualties to the machinery, electrical systems, 

 and piping installations, to the end that all engi- 

 neering services may be maintained in a state of 

 maximum reliability under all conditions of op- 

 eration. Engineering casualty control is handled 

 almost entirely by personnel of the engineering 

 department. 



The damage control phase, on the other hand, 

 involves practically every person aboard ship. 

 The damage control phase is concerned with such 

 things as the preservation of stability and water- 

 tight integrity, the control of fires, the control of 

 flooding, the repair of structural damage, and the 

 control of nuclear, biological, and chemical 

 contamination. Although under the control of the 

 engineer officer, damage control is an all-hands 

 responsibility. 



This chapter presents some basic informa- 

 tion on the principles of the damage control 

 phase of the damage and casualty control func- 

 tion. Information on engineer ing casualty control 

 is not included here; any such information would 

 be relatively meaningless without a considerable 

 background knowledge of the normal operating 

 characteristics of shipboard machinery and 

 equipment. 



PREPARATIONS TO RESIST DAMAGE 



Naval ships are designed to resist accidental 

 and battle damage. Damage resistant features in- 

 clude structural strength, watertight compart- 

 mentation, stability, and buoyancy. Maintaining 

 these damage resistant features and maintaining 



a high state of material and personnel readiness 

 before damage is far more important for sur- 

 vival than are any damage control measures 

 that can be taken after the ship has been dam- 

 aged. It has been said that 90 percent of the 

 damage control needed to save a ship takes place 

 before the ship is damaged and only 10 percent 

 can be done after the damage has occurred. In 

 spite of all precautions and all preparatory 

 measures, however, the survival of a ship some- 

 times depends upon prompt and effective damage 

 control measures taken after damage has occur- 

 red. It is essential, therefore, that all shipboard 

 personnel be trained in damage control proce- 

 dures. 



The maintenance of watertight integrity is a 

 vital part of any ship's preparations to resist 

 damage. Each undamaged tank or compartment 

 aboard ship must be kept watertight if flooding 

 is not to be progressive after damage. Water- 

 tight integrity can be lost in a number of ways. 

 Failure to secure access closures and improper 

 maintenance of watertight fittings and compart- 

 ment boundaries, as well as external damage to 

 the ship, can cause loss of watertight integrity, 

 a thorough system of tests and inspections is 

 prescribed. The condition of watertight bounda- 

 ries, compartments, and fittings is determined 

 by visual observation and by various tests, in- 

 cluding chalk tests and air tests. All defects 

 discovered by any test or inspection must be 

 remedied immediately. 



For most ships, a mandatory schedule of wa- 

 tertight integrity tests and inspections is pre- 

 pared. This schedule informs each ship of the 

 compartments subject to test and/or inspection, 

 specifying which type of test or inspection shall 

 be applied. Ships not provided with such a sched- 

 ule are nevertheless required to make inspec- 

 tions of important watertight boundaries as re- 

 quired by chapter 9290 of the of Naval Ships 

 Teclinical Manual. 



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