50 Years Ago Today – Mullinnix Heads Towards The Dry Docks

Excerpt from “The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944” - A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood

In the early morning hours of 16 November, the ship was underway from Berth 8 and with the aid of YTB 232, headed towards Dry-dock Four. By 1030, Mullinnix was resting on hull blocks.

On 17 November, the members of the Hull Board met and reported the following:

• The underwater hull paint is in poor condition and require sand blasting and repainting
• The struts and shafting are in good material condition and the shaft’s protective coating is in excellent condition
• The struts need preservation and will be painted
• Screws are in good condition with only minor dents (which will be removed) and spoons in the trailing edges
• There is considerable cavitation on the port screw on the face of the blades in the aeas of the hub. These areas will be filled in with DEUCON plastic steel and smootled off
• The starboard screw has two areas of extreme cavitation on the back of the blades near the hub. They will be corrected in a similar manner as the port screw
• The protective zincs are approximately 50% deteriorated and will be replaced by a new type zinc anode
• The sonar dome was inspected and found to be in sound material condition
• The fairing stripe on the starboard side is loose but will not vibrate under operating conditions
• The dome will be sanded and polished by shipyard personnel. There are several large areas of cavitations on the hull in the vicinity of the dome. It is considered that this discrepancy is a result of the low frequency of the dome.
• There is excessive rust in all areas around the riveted seams on the hull
• The fathometer transducer is rusted and there is a bolt missing
• The hydrophone opening is clogged
• The welds on the bilge keels will require a close inspection for cracks and failures

To be continued...
Woody