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April 22, 2005
Anomoly on the USS Walke DD-723
The Allen M. Sumner class destroyer USS Walke, DD-723 was somewhere in the Pacific Ocean performing a drill. In this drill, the gyrocompass was covered, and all navigation was done using the magnetic compass. During the drill, the captain was not on deck. The crew was to navigate for a period of time using only the magnetic compass.
The drill had been going on for some time when suddenly, the compass swung wildly toward starboard. The crew scrambled to correct course to match the compass heading, but the compass didn't move. Shortly, the compass swung wildly to port. The crew again attempted in vain to correct by turning to port. After a short time, the compass returned to normal, allowing the crew to correct course. The Captain, understandably upset about the wild turns in what was supposed to be a straight-course navigation, flew onto the bridge wanting to know what was wrong.
No answer to the anamoly was forthcoming. Of course, I know exactly what happened. A pocketknife had been placed next to the compass. When the ship began to swing to starboard, the knife was moved to the port side of the compass. After a swing to port, the knife was removed again, completely unknown to the bridge crew, but for one man. That man was the culprit, Billy Walker, my dad.
Happy Veteran's Day.
[UPDATE] Some details corrected
Posted by Lockjaw at April 22, 2005 12:26 PM
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Comments
That's a pretty funny story. I ran across it while searching for my Dad's Naval History in WWII. He was on the USS Walke DD-723. So does this mean the Walke is still going strong in 2005? Or is this a story from the past?
Posted by: Cathy Moore at July 11, 2005 4:39 PM
I believe that the USS Walke was scrapped, unfortunately. There is a regular reunion of people who served on the ship, though. My father has been to a few of those.
Ah, the stories I've heard about life on the boat.
Posted by: lockjaw ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.lockjawslair.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 11, 2005 9:00 PM
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