Navy Men: What's a Bo'sun?

In books and movies about the navy, some guy is often a bo'sun. I think this is a contraction of Boatswain.

The dictionary says he's in charge of the hull and rigging. Got to be a more complete answer...

Anyone know what a modern bo'sun or a traditional one did? Is he the guy with the funny whistle who "pipes" admirals and whatnot aboard a vessel?

Is he a senior petty officer, or a commissioned officer?

Thanks.

You're correct, it's a contraction of Boatswain.

Bo'sun Mates are enlisted men, petty officers. Once they get the rating, they could be any level of petty officer from BM3 (E4) through BMCM (E9). They are in the Deck division, so yes, caring for the hull and rigging is roughly their duty. There are a lot of other things involved, like operating small boats.

That's a quick answer, I'm sure there are some Bo'sun Mates around here who will gladly tell you everything about it!

BruceB said:

You're correct, it's a contraction of Boatswain.

Bo'sun Mates are enlisted men, petty officers. Once they get the rating, they could be any level of petty officer from BM3 (E4) through BMCM (E9). They are in the Deck division, so yes, caring for the hull and rigging is roughly their duty. There are a lot of other things involved, like operating small boats.

That's a quick answer, I'm sure there are some Bo'sun Mates around here who will gladly tell you everything about it!

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Thanks. My contact with the Navy was limited to speaking to a few of their aircrews that I met in the club on base whlie they laid over during a flight. They did have some people attending tech schools at USAF bases, but I normally met them only in line of duty as a military cop. They were usually drunk and abrasive and I didn't have occasion to discuss their duties.

I'm sure that most sailors are better people.

I think it a term that has lost much of its original meaning, a bit like Sailing Master as there used to be in the Royal Navy. The triple-expansion engine and later a man called Charles Parsons were responsible for the demise of the Sailing Master.

Yes, they are the guys with the funny whistles (Boatswains pipes). They are responsible for all deck seamanship functions. They are the chippers, painters, riggers, small boat operators, etc....

We didn't have any on submarines.

The real sailors, everyone else is just doing a job

They are the original sailors. Responsible for all jobs involving the ship itself. Like painting and maintaining the ship. When you see someone hanging from ropes on a boatswain chair painting the side of a ship, or painting the mast on a Aircraft Carrier 15 or 20 (?) stories high it is a boatswain. When you see lines of sailors on two ships holding ropes (think tug of war game) that move supplies from a supply-ship to another ship it’s them. And as the petty officer in charge barks orders (more serious than most modern Marines) he “is” serious. His men better not drop nothing or nobody into the water. If someone got dropped when steaming and got sucked into the propellers it is very bad. To maintain highline distance from ship to ship one must be under steam. No forward power and the ships would hit each other. If highlining an officer from ship to ship and the ships rock toward each other dipping him in the water it is going to get loud out there. Blowing the boatswains pipe for reveille is one of them. Announcing it over the loud speakers is one of them.
Steering the ship as the captain barks order’s, it is one of them. Master at arms (ship cops) I believe is them. When Marines in WWII had the big amphibious landings under fire on Islands it was them driving the landing craft boats where the front folded down. (Not good to drop marines in deep water and not good to get stuck on the beach).
I think they do most of the shore patrol duty overseas. but ships cops might all be a Master At Arms specialty?
A retired Coast Guard Boatswains Mate friend who had been a hard hat salvage diver knew all about really big wrenches to turn really big nuts and bolts. All about big wenches that lift really bit motors and such. All about welding. When the SF bay bridge had one end of an upper section fall on the lower, and we watched on TV as the floating crane approach the bridge he told me all about that floating crane and how big of a ship it could lift up out of the water.
Do not ask a sailor about a ship who is a baker, radioman, plumber, machinist, electrician, electronics tech, radar operator, weatherman, boilerman, (or the numerous other jobs). Most modern sailors only know their job and how to get to that part of the ship from the gangplank, their berthing quarters or the dining room.
You want to know photography talk to a photographers mate.
You want to know about ships ask a Boatswain. It is a hard serious job with much danger. They do more than drop the anchor or tie up at the dock. More than lower and operate the life boat when you have a man overboard.

But if you are going to argue with a sailor in a bar almost any other profession is a better choice.
Radio and Radar operators sit all day and have the normal wimp factor. If one of them get loud in a bar jump up in his face quick. Any old man the other sailors are calling “Boats” is worth being reasonably polite to.

A cook or plumber can tell you only about his job and what ports he had the most fun in.

Painters!!! And my god do they paint over "Everything"

Better info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boatswain's_Mate_(United_States_Navy)

This is written better than my opinions.

I should note. A city would not be a city without the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker.

It also takes every profession to run a ship.

The rank is enlisted men starting at seaman apprentice like every enlisted rank/job.

But rank comes slowly because they do not need lots of higher enlisted ranks. Perhaps more enjoy the job and stay in for a career? Promotions come faster to sailors who have gone to the various technical schools in the military.

I was a USN ETn2 (E5 electronics technician) on a sub tender. In port, I stood POOW (Petty Officer Of the Watch) duties, one of which was 'piping' folks aboard/off the ship via the 1MC, the ship's PA system. As most folks don't have a bo'sun's pipe, one was left on the quarterdeck - along with a bottle of ethanol to disinfect the pipe at watch changes. Of course, the pipe was frequently cleaned. I was armed - one AM as I scurried down the after starboard ladder (stairs) to the main deck to relieve the POOW - a cook. I heard a 'twang' and exited the ladder well in time to see a flattened .45 ACP ball bullet rolling around on the deck - the E5 cook, with 12+ yr in, still didn't know how to clear a 1911. No one who eats on a ship irritates either a cook or a disbursing clerk. It's easy to see why that's the case with a cook, but the fact that a disbursing clerk can send your pay records to Kodiak, AK escapes most folks. I also would drive a disbursing clerk to/from the sub base for payroll cash. I would be armed with a 1911, too. In foreign ports, I often drew Shore Patrol duties - unarmed, other than a wooden stick - that wasn't even pointed! Underway, I stood radar duties in CIC and helped ship's company ET's with their repairs, etc. I was the Reactor Instrument Shop supervisor, too. Not all ET billets were the same - and I did get out in '72, so things may have changed. Bo'sun's mates did handle many of the ship duties - and run 'working parties', too. Ashore, most sailors were good ambassadors for the USA & the USN. I only remember being thrown out of a bar in Mallorca, Spain and a dive in Kingston, Jamaica. The latter was a shocker - we were Shore Patrol then!

Stainz

I was First Lieutenant on two of the cutters I served on, and as such was in charge of the Deck Department. Boatswain's mates from E-4 to E-7 were in my department, but the bulk of the department was E-2 and E-3 guys. Mind you, my cutters had total crews of around 75 to 100; on larger Coast Guard and most Navy ships, the "deck crew" s a division of the Weapons Department instead of a department.

There is also a warrant officer and chief warrant officer level of boatswains, "Warrant Boatswain" and "Chief Warrant Boatswain" -- typically referred to to as "Bos'n." These come fromt the ranks of enlisted Boatswain's Mates who pass a rigorous warrant officer exam and have the other time in service and command recommendations.

There are many, many Boatswain's Mates in the Coast Guard, given the number of boats (vessels up to 65 feet long) and ships operated by the service. Many are cross trained as maritime law enforcement officers (though this is now also a separate enlisted rating), so they are involved in boardings at sea. They also, in the senior enlisted ranks, serve as officers in charge (the enlisted equivalent of Commanding Officer) of small cutters and, ashore, boat stations.

Boatswain's Mates have a reputation of being rough, tough, sailors, and many of them embrace that. I have known many Boatswain's Mates, though, who were among the best and most effective leaders of any of the ratings, and being "rough and tough" wasn't the way they got to where they were: they were highly intelligent, dedicated, and good with people.

Any Boatswain's Mate E-4 to E-6, call 'em "Boats" as a sort of nickname (like "Guns" for gunner's mates and "Sparks" for radiomen). Any E-7 and above is always, always, "Chief." And a Warrant Bos'n is "Mister".

Navy Days

I was an Etn3 on the USS Yorktown CVS-10 until 1962. I forgot how many crew we had (over 1,000) and with the Pilots and support crews aboard probably a couple thousand more.

I Assume all the TBM and TBX transmitters and the motor generators were gone by your time. We had one Single Sideband Transmitter of only 500 watts that could do everything the older 1000 watt transmitters could do. But it blew power supply transistors often.

It sounds like your sub tender had a much smaller crew and had to share duties more than on a bigger ship. I was only assigned Shore Patrol one night in Japan. Two of us with nightsticks.

We had marines aboard to work brig duty and stand gangplank watches on the pier. Sometimes a marine officer was the (OOD?) standing at top of gangplank to make sure only ships company came on board and we were sober enough to salute and walk at the same time. We always had Commissioned Officers at top of the gangplank.

I assume most of your cargo back then was fuel and food for the subs. Please tell me you did not need to do their laundry.

We had a lot of work for deck workers to do.

The only ones I saw pack a .45 was marines. Except the Master At Arms (Boatswains mate) standing behind the paymaster on payday.

I was a little impressed that our pilots carried small S&W revolvers. I was not sure what they were going to do with them out hunting submarines over the ocean. Maybe if they had to ditch they could shoot a shark or something. But they never know when they might be near an Island.

Just the Philippines has over 7,000 Islands.

One of our pilots went off radar in the fog off Alaska and no sign of his plane was ever found that we heard of. Lots of Islands with bears on them around there. Maybe they should at least be packing .357 J-frames.


A few years ago I was reading about Amelia Earhart (spelling?) being able to be heard by the ships radio but her not hearing them (not answering their reply). In the old vacuum tube days the tubes blew pretty fast, particularly the output tube. I assume what she needed was an extra power output tube. Hard to imagine her going out that far without an extra radio, or extra tubes. Not good to be over the ocean in the fog with a bad radio receiver. Now days any pocket radio could be turned sideways to any local station to cut the odds in half almost anywhere.

I knew and was friends with lots of "Deck Apes" on my ship- USS Stormes DD-780.
Rank did come slow for them and it was not unusual for an E-3 to be leading seaman in charge.
Regarding the high line for ship to ship transfer, that was a All Hands evolution, not just Deck Force, but the man in charge was definitely the Bo`sun .
I was in the "Black Gang"-anyone here know what that is?
Jack

Texas Star said:

Thanks. My contact with the Navy was limited to speaking to a few of their aircrews that I met in the club on base whlie they laid over during a flight. They did have some people attending tech schools at USAF bases, but I normally met them only in line of duty as a military cop. They were usually drunk and abrasive and I didn't have occasion to discuss their duties.

I'm sure that most sailors are better people.

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Hey!!!!

I was a Naval Aircrewman (P-3s), and I resemble that remark!

jack oconnor said:

I knew and was friends with lots of "Deck Apes" on my ship- USS Stormes DD-780.
Rank did come slow for them and it was not unusual for an E-3 to be leading seaman in charge.
Regarding the high line for ship to ship transfer, that was a All Hands evolution, not just Deck Force, but the man in charge was definitely the Bo`sun .
I was in the "Black Gang"-anyone here know what that is?
Jack

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Another name for SNIPE. AKA the engine room crew.

jack oconnor said:

I knew and was friends with lots of "Deck Apes" on my ship- USS Stormes DD-780.
Rank did come slow for them and it was not unusual for an E-3 to be leading seaman in charge.
Regarding the high line for ship to ship transfer, that was a All Hands evolution, not just Deck Force, but the man in charge was definitely the Bo`sun .
I was in the "Black Gang"-anyone here know what that is?
Jack

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Wasn't the "Black-Gang" originally the men who shoveled coal into the boilers? Don't they now take care of the ship's engines, if that's what they are called?

jack oconnor said:

I knew and was friends with lots of "Deck Apes" on my ship- USS Stormes DD-780.
Rank did come slow for them and it was not unusual for an E-3 to be leading seaman in charge.
Regarding the high line for ship to ship transfer, that was a All Hands evolution, not just Deck Force, but the man in charge was definitely the Bo`sun .
I was in the "Black Gang"-anyone here know what that is?
Jack

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Hey Jack, how's your lungs? Hope you don't have meso. Most of my wiper/oiler buddies have the disability.

I was a Boatswain Mate Striker and a Assault Boat Coxswain on the USS Thubin (AKA19) 1956-1957 My boat a LCM 6 ( Landing Craft Mechanize)

USS Thuban (AKA-19) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Made two trips to the Med and went into Alexandria Bay Egypt to rescue Nationals during the six day war with Israel versus Egypt. We sailed with the Six Fleet. The APA Chilton and Cambria and LSD Fort Snelling LSD 30 were with us all the time. Played war games in Turkey practicing Beach landings. We would pull along the troop carriers and the Marines would come over the side of the ship climbing down the cargo nets into the boats.

We would then move away from the ship and go around in circles with a group of five or six boats. When all troops were loaded we would go to the beach. Buy this time the 125 Marines in the boat would be sick as dogs some puking their guts out.

Deck force, chipped and wired brushed a lot of paint. Three colors in the Navy, Red Lead, Haze Gray and Deck Gray. We were underway all the time never in port for very long.

That was a long time ago.

Bello said:

Painters!!! And my god do they paint over "Everything"

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"If it moves, salute it. If it doesn't move, pick it up. If it doesn't move and you can't pick it up, paint it!"

Don't forget needle gunning. YIKES!

Oh yes. Don't forget brass polishing.

So, would the Royal Navy have had bo'suns by that name in the late 1920's?

I think I saw that somewhere in a story. It may have been set a little later, but not by much.

Most of what I read about military operations is about land or air warfare. I did read, "Japanese Destroyer Captain" and about WWII aircraft carrier ops.

It wasn`t just the Snipes, breathing asbestos , it was all of us.
When ever we shot our 5 inch /38`s the stuff floated like snow every where.
Eye, ear, breathing , protection????? Not on my ship!!!!

I seem to have escaped -or maybe I`m just ignoring it - any permanent damage ,except for my hearing .

I stepped out on deck right between two 5 inchers the moment they fired. I was an Electricians Mate and I was on my way to an electrical fire in the mount 51 handling room.
I was in too much hurry to check first, I wish I had now, since I was knocked unconscious and didn`t get to put out the dxxx fire !!!One of my Mates got the pleasure instead of me.

Old TexMex said:

Hey Jack, how's your lungs? Hope you don't have meso. Most of my wiper/oiler buddies have the disability.

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