The Crew—Ship’s Organization
Before describing the trial trip it is well to say something here of the crew and the ship’s organization, which was a vital factor in the successful operation of the Leviathan and its participation in the World War.
The crew of the Leviathan is divided into two main parts, one part consisting of the deck divisions and the other of the engineer’s division. The deck force is composed of nine divisions all told, four of which do the deck work proper and five of which are special branches. The deck divisions are divided into four sections each and the engineer’s division into three sections. Each man of the crew is assigned a number which gives his division, section and personal number. For instance, the man holding the number 841 would be the first man in the fourth section of the eighth division. The first figure of the number is the division, the second figure the section and the third figure or third and fourth figures together is the man’s number. The men of the deck force wear a white band around the left arm at the shoulder on blue uniforms, and a blue band on white uniforms. The men of the engineer’s force wear a red band on both blue and white uniforms. The petty officers of the deck force proper wear their rating badges on the right arm and all other petty officers wear them on the left arm.
The first, second, third and fourth divisions are the men detailed for the deck work, manning guns, lookouts, fire control, etc. The first division has the fore part of the ship or forecastle; the second division the top deck; the third division the inside decks and the fourth division the after part of the ship. The fifth division is known as the repair division, and consists of the carpenters, painters, plumbers, buglers, yeomen and other men of special ratings.
The sixth division is known as the navigators’ division and consists of the quartermasters and signalmen. The seventh division is the hospital corpsmen. The eighth division is the Supply division and consists of the personnel of the Pay and Commissary branches and the mess attendants or waiters.
The ninth division is known as the Bluejacket guard and has the policing of the ship, also furnishes orderlies for the Commanding and Executive officer and all ship’s guards.
The tenth division is the engineer’s force consisting of half the ship’s crew, and includes all men working in the engine rooms, firerooms, and dynamo rooms. The radio force of the ship is also included in this division.
The ship’s complement is 68 officers and 2,240 men.