Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld
The main reason for the Williamson is to immediately kick the stern away from the MOB.... IIRC...returning to a reciprocal course too ....of course
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On a ship, you cannot get the stern moving fast enough unless you see the MOB go over and he is well forward when he does. In reality anytime a man goes overboard from just about anything unless from the bow of a sailboat with the helmsman well aft and watching as he goes over, there will never be a time the ship's/boat's stern will be swung anywhere before the MOB is well astern. And sometimes the word comes to the conn without reference to which side he went over! No, the Williamson is for the sole purpose of returning down the same track (to reattack a sub with depth charges), which if you have lost sight of the person is a darned sight better way to reacquire visual on him than a circle which could rejoin the original track well after the position of the MOB if the word was late arriving at the bridge. If you can maintain visual, nothing beats a fast circle approach, twisting with engines if necessary.
That said, I once watched a couple of fools dive off of the destroyer ahead of us into San Diego Bay to avoid the deployment for which our ships were departing. The ship from which they jumped backed full, tossed the whaleboat in the water and had them corralled before they got a hundred yards while we stood by astern ready to do whatever. There are lots of ways to crack the MOB nut.