Inside The Big E

[Music] this is the the Big E the Enterprise the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier the largest ship in the world displacement of over 85,000 tons 230 Mi of pipe 625 M of electrical Cable 1 million electronic tubes and transistors yes the Big E is aptly named it's been called and rightly so a floating city [Music] like most large cities it has its own airport its own metal and woodworking shops offices electrical repair shops trucks and vehicles of all kinds cranes to handle the big chores elevators to speed the flow of materials winches to put muscle into the lines and its own post office Hospital newspaper plant and even its own TV [Music] studio it has laundry men take ters cobblers dentists storekeepers Barbers Bakers cooks and of course a police force all its own at CA when men are working Round the Clock the mes lines are open 19 hours a day there are two galleys one for one F to handle the job of feeding 4,600 enlisted men officers over 14,000 meals [Music] daily practically the entire ship is air conditioned each bunk in fact has its own adjustable air conditioning Outlet yes whatever the folks back on land have the Big E has too including machines Machines of many different shapes many different sizes for many and varied purposes and here on the Enterprise many machines float in their own sea a sea of lubricating oil as important to the machine as the ocean is to the ship without lubricants no machine can run lubricating oil means life to the Big E even as it does to the countless machines Americans depend on ashore what exactly does lubricating oil do basically lubricating oil prev vents gears wheels and other mechanical moving parts from coming into contact yet it allows the transmission of energy from one part to another oil Smooths the way for massive Pistons or delicate Springs when it is made into grease it protects rods and gears as a coolant it prevents these tools from burning up when blended with other substances it can literally perform a thousand different tasks but basically its function is to minimize friction with the arrival of nuclear power a new dimension was added to the problem of lubrication for example aboard the Enterprise deep in the hull behind protective barriers lie the nuclear reactors which can drive this giant carrier around the world many times without refueling ships with such prolonged operating potential must be free from Impossible by the dep oils and greases that coat the Enterprise's various propulsion units especially engineered for ships at Sea the Enterprise which represents the latest technological advances in propulsion plants uses these time- tested and proven lubricants in addition another another nuclear powered vessel designed for commercial application the NS Savannah served as a floating laboratory for the testing of the petroleum industry's lubricating oils besides this testing aboard the Savannah under operating conditions one of the world's largest Research Laboratories owned by an oil company conducted further tests and screening of the many and varied lubricants required for nuclear applications one such test was the exposing of oils to the gamma waves of Cobalt 60 to determine their stability under any unforeseen exposure to radiation in each test the aim was to select the best lubricant for the job inside the radiation room various samples are spread around a raised ring to be exposed to doses of radiation a door 5 ft thick seals off the radiation room [Music] when all is secure a button is pressed and hollow steel pencils filled with Cobalt 60 appear to expose the oil to powerful doses of gamma rays a door is closed to safeguard the 42 in of special protective glass the tests continue for months to screen out unsuitable [Music] lubricants once the screening test test are passed the most versatile lubricants with the best records of performance in Industry are [Music] chosen additives in lubricating oil though a comparatively new technique in lubricating are finding increasing uses all the [Music] time these chemicals which prevent rust bolster viscosity and do dozens of other internal chores have materially contributed to the successful conquest of wear and oxidation which helps not only to make our nuclear powered ships go but also to act as a continuing indispensable factor in the operation of all our ships in the fleet in most phases of activity in which atomic energy May someday play A Part lubricants will keep the machines moving this is the oil which now coats the gears of the main propulsion unit yes oil makes the Enterprise go in a thousand ways to see just what it means to this ship let's live with the crew of the Enterprise for a day at Sea it is a few minutes after Dawn somewhere in the Atlantic here on on the bridge men are on watch on the Mast above radar is probing the distant Sky re re All Hands he TR up smoking ramp is lighted and all authorized [Music] spaces [Music] [Music] out on the flight deck the jet planes are poised to catapult into a new day's operations the bombers can be accelerated into the air from a standing start at the rate of one every 15 seconds using the ship's four catapults it is here that lubricating oil faces another real challenge at speed's approaching sound the jet engines heat up rapidly the oil must not fail in this furnace-like temperature High engine speeds heat and thin the oil intensive oil industry research has ensured that this oil will continue to function at Peak efficiency even under the most severe operating conditions petroleum research has developed lubricants that maintain a tough lubricating film at these high [Music] temperatures operating throughout the day these thirsty Jets require a lot of fuel spaces in the Enterprise which would normally carry boiler fuel have been converted for jet fuel extending her capacity and thereby increasing the operating capability while some Jets continue to fly others require maintenance this giant of the sea carries over 100 different kinds of lube oil for her multi-purpose [Music] operations each with its own especially engineered composition position the Enterprise's extra capacity for fuel below decks makes her the largest floating service station in existence carrying oil for fueling her escort ships permits extended Fleet operations at sea without Shore support and greater mobility and flexibility than ever before known to Fleet commanders this Independence pays off in a completely self- sustaining Air Base an Optimum weapon system for deterrence of limit War anywhere in the [Music] world up on the bridge the captain awaits the return of the last aircraft and here they [Music] come touchdown at 150 mph slamming into the arresting cable then on to the elevators within seconds to be whisked below and secured on the hanger [Music] deck now the day is over time to relax and rest these men of the Navy and these scientists of the oil industry though they may never meet our [Music] partners for it is only research painstaking never-ending research that makes mechanical Miracles like the Enterprise a reality this then is the Big E one of the truly great scientific accomplishments of modern times a powerful instrument for the defense of the United States a testimony to the wonders of the technology of modern industry applied to our nuclear age a seagoing metropolis carrying the American flag around the [Music] world