BAY CITY, Mich. (Michigan Back Roads) – The Edson, a Forest-Sherman class destroyer, is the only surface warship in the Midwest. It is part of the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum in Bay City, Michigan. Touring the ship was fascinating, educational, and way more fun than I expected. I had no idea how big a destroyer really is. This one is 418 feet long overall, 407 feet at the waterline. The bridge is more than 30 feet above the waterline.

I also had no idea how a warship like this would function when in action.  The various systems from propulsion to guns are complicated. It must have required intense in-depth training and world class discipline to keep the whole thing operating for weeks at a time while at sea.

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The Self-Guided Tour

You board the ship near the stern or fantail, and one of the first things you see is one of the three automatic 5-inch guns. These could fire 20 rounds a minute with a range of 13 miles. The ammo feed for these guns is below decks. From here you enter the interior of the ship and take a ladder down to a lower level.

There is a lot to see. One of the first impressions is how cramped the interior is. The space is packed with equipment and an incredibly complex array of workstations, valves, pipes, dials, gauges, and combat stations. This ship may be over 400 feet long but there is no wasted space. Conditions while under way or involved in combat must have been difficult in the extreme for the crew of 17 officers and 218 men. The work and combat stations are cramped, and it didn’t get much better when it was your turn to sleep. A sailor’s berth, that’s navy talk for bed, was cramped as well measuring just 6′ 3″ long, 28″ wide, and 22″ high. These berths are stacked in rows and were not designed with comfort in mind.

The Edson saw duty as fire support off the North Vietnam coast. During that time Destroyers were used to provide artillery support for onshore operations.  During this duty the main battery on the Edson became known for great accuracy. The combination of the ambient temperature in Southeast Asia and the heat generated by the steam turbines must have made working in the interior of the ship nearly unbearable. Add in the tension of war and rough waters and you gain a whole new respect for the sailors who served aboard this ship. It is difficult to imagine how a man could even reach some of the valves and controls in some of the tightest spaces during action, let alone how repairs could have been made.

It was during the Vietnam campaign that the Edson earned its nickname, The Grey Ghost of the Vietnamese Coast. On May 27, 1967, the Edson took enemy fire that damaged her forward mast. Due to the damage, she immediately left the area for repairs. The North Vietnamese thought they had sunk the ship because her departure was obscured by smoke from the battle. When she returned several weeks later the North Vietnamese thought they were seeing a ghost ship.

Again, this was a warship and at some point, damage was going to be inevitable. The navy had guidance for that eventuality as well.

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Ten Commandments of Damage Control

1 Keep your ship watertight.

2 Do not violate material conditions.

3 Have confidence in your ship’s ability to withstand severe damage.

4 Know your way around – even in the dark. (This one is no joke. We got lost a couple times during our walk through the ship even with directions posted all over the place.)

5 Know how to use and maintain damage control equipment.

6 Report damage to the nearest damage control station.

7 Keep personal articles properly secured at all times. (You can imagine the danger posed by stuff flying around in rough seas or combat conditions.)

8 Practice personal damage control. Protect yourself so you can protect your ship!

9 Take every possible step to save the ship as long as a bit of hope remains.

10 Keep Cool: Don’t Give Up The Ship!

USS Edson DD-946 – Commissioned 1958 – Decommissioned 1988