LOOKOUT TRAINING HANDBOOK

CHAPTER 5

CONTACT REPORTING PROCEDURES

Lookouts supplement the information received from radar and other electronic equipment to provide a clearer and more complete picture of the air and surface situations. Visual sightings are the only means available to guard against contacts slipping in through blindspots and holes in the radar coverage. Many times the ship will be operating under electronic silence conditions and must depend entirely on your information.

Always report everything you see, hear, or believe you see or hear. By reporting doubtful targets, more eyes are brought to bear on them, resulting in improved chances of identification. At night and in poor visibility, report even the faintest hunches. At such times, a hunch that you have seen something often means you really have. Do not delay the report while you try to get a better look—the main thing is speed.

INITIAL REPORT

Give the initial report when you first sight a contact. Usually the contact is too far away for a positive identification, but do not delay the report. Include in the initial report:

1. WHAT YOU SEE: Describe the contact quickly and briefly. Name the type or class of ship or aircraft if you recognize it; otherwise, simply report “ship,” “plane,” and so forth. 2. BEARING: Always report contacts in re lative bearings. These are given as three digits, spoken digit by digit. 3. RANGE: Ranges are reported in yards/m iles and spoken digit by digit, except that multiples of hundreds and thousands are spoken as such. 4. TARGET ANGLE: Report target angle on all ships. It will be given in three digits, spoken digit by digit. 5. POSITION ANGLE: Report pos ition angle on all aircraft. It will be given in one or two digits, spoken as a whole, not digit by digit. 6. MOVEMENT: Report whether the contact is moving from right to left, left to right, opening, closing, paralleling, high speed, slow speed, dead in the water, and so forth.

BEARINGS

The direction of an object from a ship is called the bearing. Bearing is measured in degrees clockwise around a circle, from 000° to 360°. Relative bearings have the ship's bow as a reference point; true bearings use true, or geographic north, as a reference point; magnetic bearings use the magnetic North Pole as their reference point. All three types of bearings may sometimes coincide, but such a situation is rare and of a temporary nature. Lookouts report objects in degrees of relative bearing.

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Figure 5-1 shows the relative bearings around a ship. An object dead ahead is bearing 000°; one on the starboard beam is at 090°, and so on. Study the illustration. Practice pointing to various objects and compare your estimates of their bearing to what they really are. With practice you will be able to report a contact within 10° of its actual bearing.

Figure 5-1: Relative Bearing.

To prevent confusion, the Navy has established a definite procedure for reporting bearings, ranges, and so forth. The accompanying list shows how numerals are to be spoken.

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Numeral Pronounced 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ZE-RO 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WUN 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOO 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TREE 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FOW-ER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIFE 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SIX 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEV-EN 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AIT 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NIN-ER Bearings are always reported in three digits, and spoken digit by digit, except that objects dead ahead or astern (000°, 180°); on either beam (090°, 270°); or on either bow (045°, 315°) or quarter (135°, 225°) may be indicated as such. For example, a ship bearing 315° could be reported as being broad on the port bow, although the bearing itself can be used. Do not become excited and neglect to report the bearing. If you say, "There's a periscope ahead," when it actually is to one side, valuable time can be lost while the OOD tries to spot it. But if you say, "Periscope bearing Tree Fife Ze-ro," the OOD will have no difficulty determining in which direction to look. Note that the word "relative" was not included in our sample report. It is understood that lookouts report only relative bearings. POSITION ANGLE

Position angle is the angle, measured in degrees, between the line of sight to the horizon and the line of sight to the detected aircraft. The OOD does not have time to search from the horizon (0°) to the zenith (directly overhead—90°) for a contact reported without a given position angle. A position angle will quickly locate the target for the OOD and the antiaircraft gun directors.

Position angles should be given on all aircraft in one or two digits and spoken as a whole, not digit by digit. The reference "position angle" is always spoken before the numerals.

Position Angle Spoken

0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position angle Ze-ro 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position angle Fife 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position angle Fifteen 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position angle Twenty Sev-en 85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position angle Eighty Fife 90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position angle Ninety

As shown by the aircraft in Figure 5-2, as it approaches the ship, the position angle increases. Inform all stations when the angle changes more than 20°. Use the aids shown in Figure 5-3 to help you more accurately determine an aircraft's position angle. 19

Figure 5-2: Position Angles. Figure 5-3: Position Angle Aids.

Note: To gauge angles correctly you must hold your arm straight out in front of you.

TARGET ANGLE

Target angle is the relative bearing of your ship from another ship. You may wonder why you should care what your ship bears from another ship, but it can be of great help to the OOD if you include target angle in your report. The OOD uses target angle as an aid in determining the course of action to take when another ship is encountered. Target angle is also useful in gunnery and antisubmarine operations. Assume that you are the starboard lookout and you detect a ship on your starboard bow heading at right angles across your course (Figure 5-4). You report to the OOD

SHIP BROAD ON THE STARBOARD BOW (OR 045°)—TARGET ANGLE 315.

Relative Bearings and Target Angles Relative Bearing 000 Target Angle 180 Relative Bearing 000 Target Angle 270 Relative Bearing 000 Target Angle 320 Relative Bearing 000 Target Angle 070 RB 330 TA 150 RB 330 TA 240 RB 330 TA 290 RB 330 TA 040

Figure 5-4: Relative Bearing and Target Angle. 20

Assuming your course to be due north, the OOD knows the other ship's course is due west. Depending on the speeds of the two ships, if they continue on their present course, a collision may result. Under the International Rules of the Road, this condition is known as a crossing situation, and in a crossing situation the ship to port is the give-way vessel and must keep clear of the other (stand-on) vessel. Your target angle report has alerted the OOD that a change of course or speed, or both, may be needed and there is now time in which to plan appropriate actions. A change in target angle means that the target has changed course.

Following are some examples of initial reports:

BRIDGE—PORT LOOKOUT—SURFACE CONTACT BEARING TWO EIGHT ZERO— TWO THOUSAND YARDS—TARGET ANGLE ZERO NINER ZERO—MOVING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT SLOWLY.

BRIDGE—STARBOARD LOOKOUT— DESTROYER BEARING ONE ZERO ZERO—SIX MILES—TARGET ANGLE ZERO ONE ZERO—CLOSING RAPIDLY.

BRIDGE—STARBOARD LOOKOUT—F-14 JET FIGHTER BEARING ZERO FOUR ZERO—POSITION ANGLE THIRTY THREE—MOVING FROM RIGHT TO LEFT VERY RAPIDLY.

AMPLIFYING REPORT

An amplifying report is made when any change occurs or more accuracy can be given to a previous report. Such cases include:

• When the ship or aircraft alters course or changes speed. These changes can be detected by the human eye much faster than with electronic devices. • When a more positive identification can be made. You can now see what the nationality of the ship is, or its hull number, or other identifying features. • When anything unusual occurs. A ship may sound its whistle, make smoke, drop the anchor, display additional lights, and so forth.

RANGE ESTIMATION

A range in yards for each contact reported would be invaluable, but estimating ranges over water is very difficult for the inexperienced lookout because distances are deceptive. Only with a lot of on-the-job experience will you become proficient in estimating ranges to 21

contacts. Question CIC concerning the radar ranges to visual contacts and compare them with your estimated range. The only readily available reference point you can use when estimating ranges is the horizon. Knowing your height above the waterline will help you estimate ranges because the distance to the horizon varies with the height of the eye (Figure 5-5).

Figure 5-5: Range – Height Table.

At a height of 50 feet, for example, the distance to the horizon is about 16,000 yards (8 miles); at a height of 100 feet, the distance is about 23,000 yards (11-1/2 miles). Practice estimating ranges to other vessels in company whose distances are known or can be easily determined. If your ship does much formation steaming, you will become pretty good at judging distances such as 500, 1,000, and 2,000 yards. Until you become proficient at estimating distances, use such phrases as “close aboard,” “on the horizon,” “hull down,” and so forth (Figure 5-6).

Figure 5-6: Range Supplements.

HULL UP - The ship is in from the horizon. HULL DOWN - The ship is over the horizon. Only a part of the superstructure can be seen, but the hull is not yet visible on the horizon. ON THE HORIZON - The waterline of the ship's hull appears to be on or near the horizon. CLOSE ABOARD - The contact reported is extremely close to own ship. 22

In addition to ranges and range references given, any geographic references available can be used to aid the bridge and CIC in locating the ship sighted. Fixed objects such as buoys, small islands, coves, bridges, and piers are helpful in referring to a contact's location. Here are some examples:

2500 YARDS—VERY CLOSE AND TO TH E RIGHT OF RED BELL BUOY NUMBER 4.

4 MILES—PASSING THROUGH THE BRIDGE OPENING AT THIS TIME

6 MILES—ABOUT 500 YARDS TO THE LE FT OF THAT EARLIER REPORTED DESTROYER

SPEED ESTIMATION

Speeds can be either easy or difficult to estimate, depending on how far away the contact is. Just as references are needed for ranges, speed references are also needed. Knowing your own-ship's speed at all times can be a valuable aid in estimating other ship's speeds. A question to ask yourself is “How fast is the ship going in relation to me?” If your ship is steaming at 10 knots and is overtaking a ship on your starboard side, steaming a few knots slower than you are, it is safe to estimate the other ship's speed at about 5 to 8 knots. If a ship on your port side is overtaking you, steaming a few knots faster than you are, it is safe to estimate that the other ship's speed is about 12 to 15 knots.

A readily visible aid in estimating speed is a ship's bow wave and stern wake. A bow wave is the wave of water the bow of a ship makes as it travels through the water. As a ship travels faster, the bow wave becomes larger (Figure 5-7). A stern wake is the phosphorus trail that a ship leaves as it travels through the water. Unlike the bow wave, it is a calm, whitecolored water. As a ship travels fast, the stern wake increases in length; when the ship slows down, the stern wake decreases.

Figure 5-7: Bow Wave and Stern Wake.

The bridge and CIC do not expect accurate, to the exact knot speed, reports from you. However, a good estimate is always valuable and can be used as a reference for CIC's courses and speeds sent to the bridge. Use the following terms in reporting speeds: 23

Very High speed: 50 knots or greater

High speed: 25 knots to 49 knots

Medium-high speed: 20 to 24 knots

Medium speed: 15 to 19 knots

Medium-low speed: 10 to 14 knots

Low speed: 9 knots or less

Dead in the water: Not moving

Increasing your skill at estimating ranges and speeds can only be done one way—by constant practice. An easy way to check your accuracy is by estimating a ship's range and speed, reporting it to all stations, and then asking CIC for its radar range and computed speed. CIC will help you develop your estimating skills.

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CHAPTER 11

SHIP RECOGNITION AND IDENTIFICATION

As stated earlier, sighting contacts and reporting them to the bridge and CIC are the primary duties of the lookout. However, your job as lookout does not end there: the contact must be identified. Ships normally should be identified while they still are distant enough to present only a silhouette to the observer. The types/classes of ships can be determined from silhouettes long before their hull numbers or names can be distinguished. The first determination to be made is whether a vessel is a merchant (civil) or naval ship. Visual identifications will be plotted and logged in CIC so it is important for you to be able to recognize a friend or foe quickly and accurately. If you do not know the exact identity of the contact, the thing to do is to describe it. A critical goal of the lookout is to quickly categorize the visual surface contact into one of a few major categories. The principal categories are warships, merchants, and pleasure craft. Warships include large combatants like carriers, cruisers, and destroyers, amphibious ships, frigates and larger patrol craft, small patrol craft, and various support vessels. Merchants can be classed by the type of cargo they carry; liquid tankers, container carriers, roll-on roll-off, dry cargo, passenger ships, and ferries. In parts of the world a more common traditional merchant ship can be categorized as a dhow. A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more triangular sails, called lateens. A modern dhow can be motorized. It is indigenous to the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, India, and East Africa. A larger dhow may have a crew of approximately thirty with capacity for 400 tons of cargo while smaller dhow may have crews typically ranging around twelve. Pleasure craft can be identified as powered cruiser sporting vessels, personal watercraft, or sailing vessels used to enjoy the water. Often non-military craft have been involved in military or paramilitary applications like smuggling, surveillance, terrorism, and asymmetrical warfare. Non-traditional methods of attack are now used to offset traditional military superiority. These methods include use of deception, and concealment within the normal shipping lanes, fishing fleets, and small boat concentrations. Lookouts must be ever vigilant for unusual activities, fishing gear not used or in disrepair, or uncharacteristic behavior for the vessel type. The navies of the world include many various types of warships and support vessels of all sizes and specialties, and would take enormous volumes to display, in fact too many to include in this manual. This manual will provide only US Navy ships. Foreign navies, both allied and non-allied silhouettes are available in Foreign Recognition Guides – World (ONI-1250-003-99), and should be obtained for study prior to entering a specific theater of operations. These guides area also available in CD-ROM format from the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and the National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC) and are available online at nmic.navy.smil.mil.

The following figures will help with ship recognition. 43

U. S. AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

KITTY HAWK CLASS (CV 63)

ENTERPRISE CLASS (CVN 65)

JOHN F. KENNEDY CLASS (CV 67)

NIMITZ CLASS (CVN 68)

Figure 11-1: U.S. Navy ship types.

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U. S. CRUISERS

TICONDEROGA CLASS (CG 52-73)

U. S. DESTROYERS

ARLEIGH BURKE CLASS (DDG 51 – 78)

OSCAR AUSTIN CLASS (DDG 79 – 107)

Figure 11-1: U.S. Navy ship types.

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U. S. FRIGATES

OLIVER HAZARD PERRY CLASS (FFG 7)

U. S. AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT WARFARE SHIPS

TARAWA CLASS (LHA 1)

WASP CLASS (LHD 1)

PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE. LHD 8 IS SCHEDULED FOR COMMISSIONING IN 2007. SIDE VIEW IS VERY SIMILAR TO WASP CLASS AND IS SAME LENGTH OF 844 FEET. MAKIN ISLAND CLASS (LHD 8)

Figure 11-1: U.S. Navy ship types. 46

U. S. AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE SHIPS

AUSTIN CLASS (LPD 4)

SAN ANTONIO CLASS (LPD 17)

WHIDBEY ISLAND CLASS (LSD 41)

HARPERS FERRY CLASS (LSD 49)

Figure 11-1: U.S. Navy ship types. 47

U. S. AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE SHIPS

BLUE RIDGE CLASS (LCC 19)

U. S. MINE WARFARE SHIPS

AVENGER CLASS (MCM 1)

OSPRY CLASS (MHC 1)

Figure 11-1: U.S. Navy ship types.

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SMALL FIGHTING VESSELS

CYCLONE CLASS (PC 1)

FREEDOM CLASS (LCS 1)

Figure 11-1: U.S. Navy ship types.

U. S. SUBMARINES

LOS ANGELES CLASS (SSN 688)

SEAWOLF CLASS (SSN 21)

VIRGINIA CLASS (SSN 774)

Figure 11-2: U.S. Navy submarines.

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U. S. SUBMARINES

OHIO CLASS (SSBN 725) Four SSBN 725 Class Submarines have been converted to SSGN Class replacing the 24 Trident Missile capabilities with 154 Conventional Cruise Missile capabilities. The exterior appearance of the SSGN is unchanged.

Figure 11-2: U.S. Navy submarines.

MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND VESSELS

SUPPLY CLASS (T-AOE 6)

KILAUEA CLASS (T-AE 26)

Figure 11-3: Military Sealift Command ships.

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MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND VESSELS

LEWIS AND CLARK CLASS (T-AKE 1)

HENRY J. KAISER CLASS (T-AO 187)

MERCY CLASS (T-AH 19)

Figure 11-3: Military Sealift Command ships.

AUXILIARY VESSELS

EMORY S. LAND CLASS (AS 39)

Figure 11-4: U.S. Auxiliary ships. 51

MERCHANT SHIPS

As a lookout, you must be able to identify and report the various types of merchant ships. The purpose of this section is to acquaint you with the primary identification features unique to merchant ships. The primary publication that will help you in your identification of merchant ships is the Merchant Marine Identification Guide.

Any system used for identifying and reporting merchant ships during peacetime must be adaptable to wartime as well. Such ordinary aids to identification as stack markings, hull and superstructure paint combinations, striping, and house flags (all of which are of great assistance in peacetime identification) are easily camouflaged or painted over. Consequently, we must rely on those physical characteristics that are readily seen and difficult to alter or disguise.

Armament

An indication of the merchant/naval character of a vessel is the presence of visible weapons. The absence of guns may have little significance, but their presence almost certainly indicates a naval vessel. You should start forward and work aft (Figure 11-5) to identify the following armament:

1. Guns 2. Missiles/directors 3. ASROC 4. Torpedoes 5. Depth charges 6. Aircraft and helicopters on board

Figure 11-5: Identifying a ship’s armament.

Identification Procedures

To identify a merchant ship, you must classify it by appearance group, hull type, and upright sequence. The appearance group is determined by the size, shape, and location of the superstructure. The hull type is determined by the shape of the hull and the number and location of islands. The upright sequence includes the identification and location of the masts, gantries, king posts, cranes, and funnels. Using these features and consulting Merchant Marine Identification Guide—World and Communist Merchant Marine Identification Guide, you can identify a merchant ship quickly and accurately. 52

Appearance Group

The size, shape, and location of the superstructure on merchant ships depend on the functions of the ship. This identification feature is used to place the ship in one of three appearance groups (Figure 11-6).

1. Group 1 is the large superstructure appearance group. The superstructure exceeds one-third the overall length of the ship. Passenger ships generally belong in this group. 2. Group 2 is the composite superstructure. The composite superstructure is located amidships and is less than one-third the overall length. These ships generally have a small blocklike superstructure with deck spaces devoted to cargo-handling equipment and hatches. 3. Group 3 is stack aft. Stack aft means ships with funnels located within the after-third of the ship. However, if the superstructure exceeds one-third the overall length, the ship will be in appearance group 1.

Figure 11-6: Appearance groups.

Roll on – Roll Off (RO-RO) vessels are common merchant ships on today’s seas. Notice that the superstructure is located on the aft-portion of the vessel making it a Group 3 merchant.

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Figure 11-7: Roll on – Roll off (RO-RO) vessel Primary Car Carrier (PCC) vessels are another common merchant ship. The superstructure is forward and the stack is aft. Referring back to Figure 11-6 you’ll see that this vessel is also a Group 3 merchant.

Figure 11-8: Primary Car Carrier (PCC) vessel

Hull Type

It is unlikely that the hull will be sufficiently distinct at a distance to enable an accurate initial report to be made. However, once the vessel is well above the horizon, distinctive features begin to appear, such as stems and sterns. These features can be added to your amplifying report. By numbering the castles from forward to aft, as in Figures 11-6 and 11-9, an indication of the hull type can be given. For example, a three-island ship is described as having hull type l-2-3, and ships that have no raised castles are classed as flush-decked vessels.

A ship with a single weather deck extending from bow to stern is called a flush-deck ship. An additional deck spanning the breadth of the ship, but not extending from bow to stern, forms the island. Islands may be located at the bow, amidships, at the stern, or in a combination of these locations. However, any raises in the after-third of the ship but not extending to the stern are disregarded in determining the appearance type.

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Figure 11-9: Hull type selector.

Islands are numbered according to their position from bow to stern (Figure 11-10). For example, the hull type of a ship with an island at the bow is raised 1, and an island amidships is raised 2. A ship with an island at both the bow and amidships is a raised 1-2; 55

a well between islands is represented by a dash. The common three-island, well-deck-type ship is a raised 1-2-3. Two islands may be combined to form a continuous deck from the bow to the after end of the superstructure. This is referred to as a raised 12. A few ships with this configuration also have a raise aft and is called a raised 12-3. On some ships with a raise astern, the deck extends into the amidships section. On these ships, the after raise is considered a raised 23. When the deck does not extend to the amidships section, it is a raised 2-3. Then there are ships that have an enclosed superstructure at the stern of the ship. The first two-thirds of the deck is flush, the main deck is raised. Such ships are raised 3.

Figure 11-10: Variations and locations of raises.

Deckhouses are not raised (Figure 11-11). An island extends the full width of the ship's hull. Deckhouses are structures built on deck level but do not extend the full width of the ship. At times, the distinction between the deckhouse and the island is difficult to establish.

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Figure 11-11: Differences between deckhouse and island.

Bulwarks are not considered raises. A bulwark is the stake of shell plating that is above the weather deck and is designed to keep the deck dry and guard against losing deck cargo and personnel overboard. A bulwark may occasionally be difficult to distinguish from a raised island. A raise is generally from 2 to 3 meters high; a bulwark is generally about 1 meter high. Occasionally, a bulwark will be as high as a raise. It is then almost impossible to distinguish the bulwark from the raise unless there is an opening in the bulwark. This opening is a definite indication of a bulwark. A rail on top a raised section of the hull usually indicates a raise instead of an bulwark. Scuppers, or freeing ports, which permit rain and seawater to run off the deck, indicate a bulwark.

Bows and sterns can also assist in the identification of ships. For recognition purposes bows and sterns are grouped into three designs, although there are variations or modifications of most of them.

Bow types (Figure 11-12)

1. Straight plumb or vertical. The oldest type, it offers the most resistance to the sea. 2. Raking or sloping, and curved and raking. Angle varies greatly. Clipper or cable bows come within this group. 3. Maier. An outward curve, all rounded and not “sitting” on the water. 4. Bulbous. A protruding bulb at the bow of the ship below the waterline.

Figure 11-12 Bow Designs. 57

Stern Types (Figure 11-13)

1. Counter. The stern is hooked and curved inward. 2. Cruiser. The stern is butted and straight, rounding only at the bottom. 3. Spoon. The stern is angled greatly. A particular feature of German or Russian built ships.

Figure 11-13 Stern Designs.

Sequence of Uprights

The coding of uprights (cranes, funnels, gantries, king posts, and masts) is the third step in identifying merchant ships. The vessel must be studied according to a definite plan, starting forward and working aft noting the prominent features in sequence, as listed below.

1. Cranes (C) – Cargo-handling devices; whole unit pivots about its base. 2. Funnels (F) – Engine exhaust. 3. Gantry (G) – Large crane extending width of ship; moves on rails. 4. Kingpost (K) – An upright with cargo-handling devices. 5. Masts (M) – A post that has no cargo-handling gear.

The presence of these verticals is indicated by the letters C, for crane; F, for funnel; G for gantry; K, for king post; and M, for mast as they are located on the ship, starting at the bow. For example, the upright sequence for the ship (Figure 11-14) would be coded MKKMMFM. 58

Figure 11-14: Coding of uprights. 59