- Handy billy
Handy billy -- also known as Handy-billie -- was/is a common emergency portable
pump that was placed aboard mostU.S. Navy ships sinceWorld War I .Purpose of the pump
The "handy billy" was
gasoline -powered and could be used, during flooding conditions, in conjunction with other pumps on the ship. However, it was especially valuable when the ship lost electrical power and normal pumping ability was lost.On smaller ships, it was a critical piece of equipment.
Named “handy billy”
The pump gained its name because it was very “handy” and dependable. It was especially handy because it could be easily transported from place to place by two strong crew members, one at each end, as it weighed 160 pounds during World War II.
Source:
*cite book
last = Marrison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1963
chapter = page 529
title = The Two-Ocean War
publisher = Galahad Books
location = New York
id = ISBN 1-57866-003-3Versatility
The handy billy could be used for fire-fighting and/or pumping water from flooded spaces aboard ship.
References
* [http://www.rtcol.com/~oakland/atldamage.html USS ATLANTA CL-51 - Battle damage during evening of 12 November 1942 ]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-Esperance/USN-CN-Esperance-9.html Abandonment of the "Duncan" and Rescue of Her Survivors by the "McCalla" ]
* [http://www.vetfriends.com/Lingo/index.cfm?i=5&startNum=376 Fire pump aboard ship to pump sea water.]Example of use
See USS|Auk|AM-38
See also
*
Pump
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