General quarters
General quarters, battle stations, or action stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal that all hands (everyone available) aboard a ship must go to battle stations (the positions they are to assume when the vessel is in combat) as quickly as possible.[1]
According to The Encyclopedia of War, formerly "[i]n naval service, the phrase 'beat to quarters' indicated a particular kind of drum roll that ordered sailors to their posts for a fight where some would load and prepare to fire the ship's guns and others would arm with muskets and ascend the rigging as sharpshooters in preparation for combat."[2]
Aboard U.S. Navy vessels, the following announcement would be made using the vessel’s public address system (known as the 1MC):
General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands, man your battle stations. The route of travel is forward and up to starboard, down and aft to port. Set material condition 'Zebra'[3] throughout the ship. Reason for General Quarters: [Inbound hostile aircraft/Hostile surface contact/etc.]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cutler, Deborah W.; Cutler, Thomas J. (2005). Dictionary of naval terms (6th ed.). Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781591141501.
- ^ David, Saul (2012). The Encyclopedia of War. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. p. 396. ISBN 978-1409386643.
- ^ "Material Conditions". GlobalSecurity.org. April 30, 2005. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
External links
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