NAMA ‘Airlubbers’ Direct Cargo at Liverpool Docks

[The Patriot]

NAMA ‘Airlubbers’ Direct Cargo at Liverpool Docks

07-21-2010 05:41 AM

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Wed, 2010-07-21 13:37


NAMA ‘Airlubbers’ Direct Cargo at Liverpool Docks


NAMA ‘Airlubbers’ Direct Cargo at Liverpool Docks

Liverpool, England
April 21, 1954
While it’s generally true that members of Uncle Sam’s air Force are flyers and technicians who “keep ‘em flying,” there’s a small group of airmen stationed here whose primary concern is with ocean vessels and their cargoes.
These airmen, whose knowledge of ocean shipping would qualify them as experts in any man’s navy, direct all American military cargo in and out of the port of Liverpool and other UK ports north of the 52nd parallel. They are members of Northern Air Material Area’s Liverpool Port Detachment, a unit of the 7559th Transportation Squadron.
Shipments of incoming cargo handled by the detachment include items ranging in size and weight from a carton of toothpicks to a fleet of 2.5 ton trucks.
Largest Item Shipped
In July 1953, the port unit created UK-wide interest when it shipped to New York a steel casting weighing 185 tons. It was believed to be the largest item ever shipped from the Liverpool port. Newsreel and television cameramen were on hand to record the loading of the heavy casting, which took five days to be moved over the roads from Sheffield to Liverpool – a distance of only 73 miles.
Then in January the detachment chalked up a new record by shipping another Sheffield casting, this one topping the scales at 398, 720 pounds.
To lift these heavy pieces of equipment from the dock on to the vessels, port airmen utilized the services of “Mammoth,” the largest floating crane in the UK, capable of lifting 250 tons.
Under the command of Maj. Leonard R. Vogel, the Port Detachment operates from an office in the Royal Liver Building, located at the pierhead in the heart of the Liverpool docks system. A busy staff of two officers, 35 airmen and 12 civilians comprise personnel of the unit.
Their mission requires close liaison with the movements units of the RAF and the British Army, British customs, and various commercial port facilities.
Goods received at the port are destined for many points in the UK- and sometimes the Continent- and the task of segregating items and sending them on by rail or other means is another phase of the port group’s mission.
Incoming and outgoing ships are no respecters of holidays, and processing a shipment often keeps detachment personnel at their posts day and night over a weekend or holiday.
The detachment is divided into three sections, administration, documentation and operations.
The administrative staff, headed by Technical Sgt. Floyd J. Adkins, prepares manifests. This document must be prepared for each outgoing vessel.
Procedure for manifesting works something like this: A clearance is received from Military Sea Transportation Service in London covering the cargo, the ports of debarkation and the designation of the vessel on which it will be shipped. On receipt of this clearance, the vouchers covering the cargo are called forward from the originating stations throughout the UK, a step necessary for the assembly process which eventually makes the manifest.
Next, the carrier’s representative is contacted regarding the time and berth where the vessel will be to load the cargo. Particulars about the cargo are given the shipper regarding any unusual or awkward items which may require special handling.
At this point the originators are notified when and where to bring their cargo forward for actual loading. As the loading takes place, last-minute adjustments are made on the manifest and the master of the vessel. Copies are also sent the port of destination and several other agencies.
Boss Stevedores
Operations personnel, under the supervision of Master Sgt. Joseph R. Holgate, ship, receive, segregate and divert cargo items. They direct stevedoring activities on the docks and maintain a close contact with RAF tally clerks, who check each case of cargo and enter it on a tally sheet. This section also determines and orders the surface transport requirements for a given vessel or day.
While the operations section maintains an office on the Gladstone Dock, personnel work on any required dock in the famed 13-mile Liverpool dock system, depending on where the vessel is berthed.
Once the loading or unloading of a vessel has begun, operations airmen stay with their ship until the work is completed. This often keeps them on the docks at all hours of the night and on Sundays.
Documenting Problem
The job of the documentation section, in charge of Technical Sgt. Frank D. Monaco, is to determine whether each incoming ship discharges cargo assigned to this port.
Ocean and supply manifests which list the cargo on board are used as the authority for what is due in, while the tallies made by RAF tally clerks on the dock indicate what was actually received. A comparison of the two provides data for what is known as an outturn report, listing all over, short, damaged or pilfered cargo on each vessel.
An example of the extent of this report, which is prepared by Master Sgt. Troy L. French and Staff Sgt. George L. Duvall, is provided by a vessel with 10,000 or more pieces of cargo; the listing of each piece, and the posting and correlating necessary to outturn the ship takes many man-hours.
Operate Other Ports
Other UK ports included in the detachment’s operations are Hull, on England’s North Sea Coast, and Carin Ryan and Glasgow, in Scotland. Port airmen handle shipments at these ports on a TDY basis.
The magnitude of the port detachment’s job is reflected in their activities in the first two months of this year, in which they handled 52 vessels. Incoming cargo amounted to 14,009 metric tons and outgoing cargo totaled 1,669.
To transport cargo from the port to various UK bases, required some 1,696 vehicles of six to 20 long-ton capacity, and 196 rail cars.
Vogel’s assistant commander at the port is Lt. John P. Jarnett. Lawrence H. Jackson, a DAF civilian, serves as supervisor of freight traffic.

Source:Stars and Stripes Archives









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