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Countless holes pierce watertight compart-
ments to accommodate doors and hatches; water,
steam, oil and air piping; electrical cables;
ventilation ducts; and other necessary utilities.
Each hole is plugged by a stuffing tube, a pipe
spool, or some other device to prevent water from
leaking in and around piping and cables. Piping
and ventilation ducts are equipped with cutoff
valves or other closures at each main bulkhead
so that they can be closed off if ruptured. Ships
enforce rigid restrictions against opening
watertight doors or hatches during action or in
dangerous waters. A ship must take all of these
“defense” precautions to ensure its full fighting
capability.
The main transverse watertight bulkheads
contain no access doors or hatches below the
damage control deck. The damage control deck
is the lowest deck that permits fore-and-aft access,
and that access is by watertight doors. The
damage control deck is usually the first deck
below the main deck.
Compartment Numbering System
This chapter does not discuss the numbering
system for compartments of ships built before
1949. However, if you are stationed aboard one
of these ships, you will be required to learn that
numbering system as part of your damage control
qualification.
In ships built after March 1949, each compart-
ment number indicates that compartment’s deck
number, frame number, relation to the centerline
of the ship, and usage. A hyphen separates the
numbers and letters representing each type of
information. The following is an example of a
common compartment number and what each
part of the number represents:
3-75-4-M
3-third deck
75-forward boundary at or immediately
abaft of frame 75
4-second compartment outboard of CL to
port
M—ammunition compartment
We will now explain how each part of the
compartment number is assigned.
DECK NUMBER. —The main deck is deck
number 1. The first deck or horizontal division
below the main deck is number 2; the second
below, number 3; and so forth. If a compartment
extends down to the shell of the ship, the number
assigned the bottom compartment is used. The
first horizontal division above the main deck is
number 01, the second above 02, and so on. The
deck number, indicating its vertical position
within the ship, becomes the first part of the
compartment number.
FRAME NUMBER. —The frame number at
the foremost bulkhead of the enclosing boundary
of a compartment is its frame location number.
When a forward boundary lies between frames,
the frame number forward is used. Fractional
numbers are used only when frame spacing
exceeds 4 feet.
RELATION TO CENTERLINE. —Compart-
ments through which the centerline of the ship
passes carry the number 0 in the third part of the
compartment number. Compartments located
completely to starboard of the centerline have odd
numbers; those completely to port bear even
numbers. Two or more compartments that have
the same deck and frame number and are entirely
starboard or entirely port of the centerline have
consecutively higher odd or even numbers, as the
case may be. They are numbered from the
centerline outboard. For example, the first
compartment outboard of the centerline to
starboard is 1; the second, 3; and so on. Similarly,
the first compartment outboard of the centerline
to port is 2; the second, 4; and so on.
COMPARTMENT USAGE. —The fourth
and last part of the compartment number is a
capital letter that identifies the assigned primary
usage of the compartment. Since most ships do
not consider a secondary usage of compartments,
they identify them by a single letter only.
However, dry and liquid cargo ships do not follow
this practice. These ships use a double-letter
identification to designate compartments assigned
to cargo carrying. Ships assign letter
identifications as follows:
Letter and Category
Types of Spaces
A—Dry stowage
Storerooms, issue
rooms,
refrigerated
spaces
C—Ship control and
Plotting rooms, CIC,
fire control operating
radio, radar, sonar
spaces
operating spaces, pilot-
house
17-5
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